Note that pasta with high content of proteins, especially lysine, can be obtained by adding up to 35% soya flour, with no adverse effects on its taste and consistency; this could lead to greater acceptability of foodstuffs made from soybeans. Acceptable parameters concerning the quality in cooking were obtained in samples containing up to 30% unconventional amaranth, buckwheat and lupine flour. However, the addition of more than 30% buckwheat flour, to produce dry pasta, is responsible for pasta’s high fragility before cooking, large losses in water and pretty weak structure after cooking. Therefore, the replacement of durum wheat with significant levels of legume flours requires a preliminary pilot-scale adaptation of the pasta production process. In fact, a lower hydration level and greater mixing speed are needed to limit particle agglomeration during the amalgamation of ingredients, facilitating their subsequent extrusion. In addition, the fortification with these flours has a significant impact on the quality of pasta during its cooking: the introduction of gluten-free proteins and fibers influences its structure and therefore its sensory characteristics and structural properties. Specifically, the introduction of legume flour lowers the gluten content and therefore weakens the protein network. A way to reduce the negative effects of the replacement of durum wheat flour is to add a hydrocolloid as emulsifier, for example carrageenan and guar gum, which interact with starch and various proteins improving mixing viscosity and texture of the finished product. As mentioned above, guar gum is often added to foodstuff as a thickener, stabilizer or bonding agent, because it disperses easily in water and forms viscous solutions. Even galactomannans can affect the microstructure of food by coating starch grains with a mucilaginous layer, thus reducing the degree of food degradation. Finally, carboxymethyl cellulose molecules, usually used as salts of sodium, have high solubility in cold water and are excellent regulators for viscosity control, without gelling food.
Conclusions
There is no doubt that the development of functional foodstuff has a lot of interest by consumers, industry, governments and universities: experts daily declare that the only hope for the future of businesses is in the capacity for continuous innovation. In this context, the development of new functional products turns out to be a real challenge, because these foodstuffs must meet the consumer’s expectation that demands for good and healthy food with growing interest. The direct consequence is that wide knowhow is needed, especially in technology, to meet the needs and expectations in this area. The first group consists of traditional technologies used in the production process, for example the formulation and mixing of ingredients; the second consists of those who try to change the structure to prevent the deterioration of physiologically active compounds. Finally, the third group consists of recent technologies, aimed at designing and manufacturing high value-added food, perhaps according to a certain target of consumers. However, commercial success is function of many parameters, such as taste, appearance, price and nutritional information demanded by consumers. In summary, the food industry must take into account many variables, sometimes even incompatible with each other, to develop or redesign a functional product.
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