A Comparative Assessment of Agronomic and Baking Qualities of Modern/Old Varieties and Landraces of Wheat Grown in Calabria (Italy)

Effect of adding wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) farina with varied integrity of endosperm cell wall on dough characteristics, dried noodles quality and starch digestibility

The changes of intact endosperm cell wall in cereal food processing and its effect on starch digestibility are important for developing nutritious and healthy next generation foods, but their changes in the process of traditional Chinese cooking products such as noodles making have not been investigated. In this paper, the changes in endosperm cell wall in the process of making dried noodles by adding 60 % wheat farina with varied particle sizes were tracked, and the underlying mechanisms affecting the noodle quality and starch digestibility were revealed. With increasing particle size (150-800 μm) of farina, the contents of starch and protein, swelling index of glutenin, and sedimentation value decreased significantly and the dietary fiber increased sharply; moreover, water absorption, stability and extensibility of dough decline obviously while the resistance to extension and thermal stability were enhanced. In addition, noodles made with flour added larger-particle size farina had a lower hardness, springiness, and stretchability while a higher adhesiveness. Compared to the flour and other samples, the flour with the smaller-particle size farina (150-355 μm) showed better rheological properties of dough and cooking quality of noodles. Furthermore, the integrity of the endosperm cell wall increased with increasing particle size (150-800 μm), which was perfectly preserved during noodle processing and was an effective physical barrier to inhibit starch digestion. The starch digestibility of noodles made from mixed farina with low protein content (~15 %) did not significantly reduce compared to that of wheat flour noodles with high protein content (~18 %), probably due to the increased cell wall permeability of noodle processing, or the overwhelming effect of noodle structure or protein content. In conclusion, our findings will contribute to an innovative perspective for in-depth understanding of the impact of endosperm cell wall on the quality and nutrition of noodles at the cellular level, which provided a theoretical basis for the moderate processing of wheat flour and the development of healthier wheat-based food products.

Breadsticks Flavoured with Olives and Onions: One-Year Shelf Life

In this work, we compared breadsticks (known as Treccine) flavoured with onions and olives and prepared with olive pomace oil (OPO) or with extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). The effect on one-year shelf life was also studied. The following physical, chemical and sensory analyses were conducted on the breadsticks: water activity, moisture content, colour, texture and sensory analysis (appearance, colour, flavour, taste, texture and overall acceptability). For the oil extracted from the Treccine, we determined acidity, peroxide value, spectrophotometric parameters, ABTS and DPPH assay on the hydrolitic fraction, DPPH on the lipid fraction, and fatty acids. We detected a progressive deterioration in the quality of breadsticks with a decrease in shelf life after 4-6 months in relation to each studied parameter. In the analysed breadsticks, water activity was 0.342 (OPO recipe) and 0.387 (EVOO recipe) after one-year storage; in the same storage period, the moisture content was 6.34 times (OPO) and 5.32 times (EVOO) greater. Appearance and colour were the only two sensory parameters which, after 12 months, remained above or equal to five stated as the minimum quality value. In the extracted oil, Free acidity increased from 0.35 to 0.56% (OPO) and from 0.71 to 0.98% (EVOO); Peroxide value ranged between 6.10 and 102.89 meq/kg oil (OPO) and between 4.41 and 20.91 meq/kg oil (EVOO). K232 was highest in OPO (2.43-3.70) and lowest in EVOO (1.76-2.92), K268 was 1.32-1.580 (OPO recipe) and 0.570-0.640 (EVOO recipe). Treccine prepared with extra virgin olive oil showed better biological properties and longer shelf life.