Texture,processing and organoleptic properties of chickpea-fortified spaghetti with insights to the underlying mechanisms of traditional durum pasta quality

Nutritionally enhanced spaghetti was prepared from durum semolina fortified with 0–30% desi chickpea ‘besan’ flour. This study examined the dough rheology, processing ease and quality attributes of the fortified spaghetti including protein, starch, texture (firmness, resilience and stickiness), colour, cooking loss, and organoleptic acceptability. Chickpea-fortified spaghetti was acceptable to consumers, had reasonable pasta quality, including lower cooking loss and less stickiness than the control spaghetti and retained firmness better than durum after refrigeration. This study suggests that chickpea-fortified spaghetti may be suited to uses such as fresh pasta, in soups, canning, and microwave re-heating. In addition, this study has added to the understanding of the underlying mechanisms of pasta quality. The main findings were: (1) gluten content/composition appears to be more important than protein content for pasta firmness; (2) the protein–polysaccharide matrix appears to be more important than the starch composition for cooking loss; (3) increased protein and amylose contents were associated with decreased pasta stickiness; (4) cooking loss and stickiness were not necessarily as strongly related as commonly believed. Further research into these theories is necessary to fully understand the underlying mechanisms of pasta quality.