Optimization of gluten-free dumplings made from chickpea flour.
The growing consumption of gluten-free foods means that there is a greater interest in innovative gluten-free flours. In this context, the aim of a recent study, carried out by a group of Italian researchers (Imeneo et al., 2024), was to develop and optimize a formulation of gluten-free dumplings based on chickpea flour as such or subjected to two types of heat treatment (extrusion-cooking and turbo-cooking).
The experiment was based on an experimental design, taking into account the flour treatment technology and the amount of water used to produce the dough as factors. The resulting 12 dough samples were characterized in terms of consistency and workability by dynamometric tests. The results showed that the flour subjected to heat treatment by extrusion-cooking presented distinctive technological properties and the gnocchi thus obtained showed characteristics comparable with a fresh pasta of good quality, such as low solids loss during cooking less than 3%.
According to the authors, the consistency of the optimized product was higher than that of traditional and gluten-free gnocchi based on potato flakes and starch, probably due to the lower moisture (48.3 vs. 58.1-57.9%) and weight gain after cooking (2.4 vs. 6.7-10.9%). To conclude, extruded-cooked chickpea flour can be used for the production of gluten-free gnocchi, providing the consumer with an alternative product to those currently on the market and characterized by good nutritional and qualitative properties, especially after cooking.
Impact of the production process and cooking on the antioxidant compounds of new semolina pasta formulations.
The importance of antioxidant compounds in food and for the health of consumers is well known, mainly due to their oxidative stability and functional properties. In this context, the objective of a recent study, carried out by a group of Italian researchers (Marzocchi et al., 2024), was to assess the enrichment of these compounds in semolina pasta (P-s) by incorporating tomato (P-SP) and spinach (P-SS) powder. In particular, antioxidants have been analyzed in raw materials as well as in raw and cooked products to evaluate their stability after processing and heat treatment.
The total phenolic content (TPC) was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu method, and antioxidant activity was measured with DPPH. The results show that both powders have higher values than semolina for both of these last two parameters. It has also been observed that in the pasta, TPC and antioxidant activity were higher in P-SP and P-SS compared to P-s, with a significant increase in the cooked product.
Chromatographic analysis identified three different classes of phenols, namely phenolic acids, flavonols and flavones. P-S samples showed no significant difference between raw and cooked pasta for free phenols, while P-SP and P-SS samples showed a slight decrease. In conclusion, the results obtained so far can be considered very promising for the development of new functional products. Further insights are, however, needed to evaluate other quality properties of enriched dough, in particular the sensory ones.
References: Imeneo et al., Acts of the 13th AISTEC CONFERENCE, Turin, 19-21 June 2024, 62-66; Marzocchi et al., Acts of the 13th AISTEC CONFERENCE, Turin, 19-21 June 2024, 32-36.
