Relationship between the properties of raw and cooked spaghetti – new indices for pasta quality evaluation

Abstract

The quality of pasta can be evaluated by measuring the characteristics which encompass the most important quality parameters, such as colour, cooking properties and texture. The aim of the study was to suggest new indices which can be used to evaluate the quality of pasta. For the tests, 15 samples of spaghetti (produced from either semolina or common wheat flour) were used. The bending test was performed for the determination of the strength properties of raw pasta, while the pasta colour parameters were evaluated via the Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage system. The pasta cooking test included the evaluation of optimum cooking time, weight increase index and cooking loss. The samples of cooked spaghetti were cut, and the parameters describing pasta texture were determined. Statistical analysis showed significant correlations (α = 0.05) between colour parameters (lightness and redness) and pasta ash content (R = -0.90 and 0.84, respectively). The mechanical properties of raw pasta correlated positively with pasta density. The strongest correlation was found between pasta density and flexural strength. The destruction force for raw spaghetti during the bending test correlated significantly and positively with the cutting force of the cooked pasta. The obtained correlations can be helpful in pasta quality evaluation.

Flaxseed Enriched Pasta—Chemical Composition and Cooking Quality

“…It was found that a*, which is associated with redness, diminished with the increasing content of the flaxseed component. An increase in the redness parameter was accompanied by the increase in the ash content [18]. Our results are in agreement with others [18,19]; the redness of the flaxseed-enriched pasta was higher than that of the control sample.…”

“…An increase in the redness parameter was accompanied by the increase in the ash content [18]. Our results are in agreement with others [18,19]; the redness of the flaxseed-enriched pasta was higher than that of the control sample. The increasing addition of the flaxseed components from 5% to 23% diminished pasta yellowness compared to that of the control sample, i.e., from 20.5 (CON) to 4.1 (FF23) and 3.1 (FC23).…”

“…The values of the index were 2.18 for the 5% addition of the flaxseed flour and 2.17 for the 5% addition of the flaxseed cake. The weight increase index of fifteen types of traditional pasta made by different producers ranged from 2.62 to 3.00 [18]. The same tendency was observed for the volume increase index of the flaxseed-enriched pasta.…”

“…Parameter L* for products fortified with the flaxseed component was 37.4 and 41.4 for FF23 and FC23, respectively, and 61.1 for the CON sample. Biernacka et al [18] found that the lightness (L*) of fifteen types of traditional pasta made by different producers ranged from 44.5 to 62.9. There was difference in L* values between spaghetti made with common and durum wheat flour.…”

“…The cooking time of pasta with flaxseed flour was longer than cooking time of pasta with flaxseed cake, suggesting that the addition of flaxseed flour causes lower physical disruption of the gluten matrix. The cooking loss (CL) of fifteen types of traditional pasta made by different producers ranged from 4.76% to 6.55% [18]. It was observed that higher enrichment of pasta with reconstituted flaxseed (30% compared to 15%) gave higher cooking losses [20].…”