Effect of storage time and packaging on cooking quality and physicochemical properties of pasta with added nontraditional ingredients

Pasta Enriched with Dried and Powdered Leek: Physicochemical Properties and Changes during Cooking

Food enrichment is commonly applied to increase the pro-health and dietary value of final products. This study aimed to evaluate how green leek powder (GL) added to semolina influenced the physicochemical, sensory, and cooking characteristics of the pasta. The pasta was prepared by partially substituting semolina with 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 g/100 g of GL. Then, the pasta samples were assessed for color, cooking properties, sensory features, mechanical properties, total phenolic content (TPC), and antioxidant activity (AA). The results indicated that GL significantly decreased the lightness and increased the yellowness of cooked pasta. The total color difference between the control pasta and enriched pasta samples ranged from 2.54 to 6.89 and 5.60 to 11.06 (for uncooked and cooked pasta, respectively). The addition of GL also caused an increase in the optimal cooking time and cooking loss. Moreover, a significant increase in stretching force was observed in cooked pasta. Sensory evaluation revealed that substitution of semolina with up to 2 g/100 g GL did not affect the smell, taste, and color of pasta. Most importantly, GL-enriched pasta was characterized by higher TPC and higher AA compared to the control samples. In summary, our results recommend partial replacement of semolina by GL (up to 3 g/100 g) in pasta production.

Beetroot as a novel ingredient for its versatile food applications

Beta vulgaris, also known as Beetroot, is a member of a family of Chenopodiaceae and is widely used as a natural food colorant. It gets its distinctive color due to nitrogen-containing water-soluble pigments betalains. Beetroot is an exquisite cradle of nutrients, including proteins, sucrose, carbohydrates, vitamins (B complex and vitamin C), minerals, fiber. They also contain an appreciable amount of phenolic compounds and antioxidants such as coumarins, carotenoids, sesquiterpenoids, triterpenes, flavonoids (astragalin, tiliroside, rhamnocitrin, kaempferol, rhamnetin). Recent studies evidenced that beetroot consumption had favorable physiological benefits, leading to improved cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, hepatic steatosis, liver damage, etc. This review gives insights into developing beetroot as a potential and novel ingredient for versatile food applications and the latest research conducted worldwide. The phytochemical diversity of beetroot makes them potential sources of nutraceutical compounds from which functional foods can be obtained. The article aimed to comprehensively collate some of the vital information published on beetroot incurred in the agri-food sector and a comprehensive review detailing the potentiality of tapping bioactive compounds in the entire agriculture-based food sector.

Sustainable Re-Use of Brewer's Spent Grain for the Production of High Protein and Fibre Pasta

Brewer’s spent grains are one of the principal by-products of the brewing industry. For protein and fibre content, this by-product represents an interesting raw material to be reused for manufacturing many other products. To maximize the nutritional characteristics of this by-product, in this study, ingredients derived from brewer’s spent grains were included in the design of innovative dry pasta. Two brewer’s spent grains derivative ingredients, one enriched in proteins and the other in fibre were blended with semolina. Based on the rheological evaluation, the optimal amount of the two ingredients for producing pasta was determined. In particular, pasta responding to the claims “High Protein” and “High Fibre” was realized using the formulation enriched with 15% of protein-rich ingredient and the claim “High Fibre” and “Source of proteins” using the formulation enriched with 10% of fibre-rich ingredient. The final products were compared to 100% semolina and 100% wholegrain semolina pasta for composition, color, texture, and cooking quality, revealing excellent quality characteristics. The newly formulated pasta represents a successful match of technological aptitude, nutritional/sensorial quality, and sustainability.