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Effect of Source and Proportion of Waxy Starches on Pasta Cooking Quality

¹CSIRO Plant Industry, P.O. Box 1600, Black Mountain, ACT 2601, Australia. ²Corresponding author, Phone: 612-62-465245. Fax: 612-62-465000. E-mail: cristina.gianibelli@csiro.au ³NSW Agriculture, Tamworth NSW 2340, Australia. ⁴Value Added Wheat Cooperative Research Centre Ltd, P.O. Box 7, North Ryde, NSW 1670, Australia. ⁵Present address: Food Science Australia, PO Box 52, North Ryde, NSW 1670, Australia.

Starches from the endosperm of three types of total-waxy cereals (bread wheat, maize, and barley) were used in reconstitution studies of durum wheat semolinas to investigate the effect of waxy starch on pasta cooking quality. The chemical composition and the pasting and gelatinization properties of the starches used in this study were evaluated to define the functional properties of each waxy starch. The rheological properties of dough semolinas were evaluated by small-scale mixograph. Spaghetti was prepared using a small-scale pasta extruder and its cooking quality was assessed using a texture analyzer. Cooked pasta firmness, resilience, and stickiness were measured. The substitution of semolina starch with waxy starches from different sources changed the functional properties of dough and their pasta quality. A decrease in firmness was detected in all the semolinas reconstituted with waxy starches. An increase in stickiness was found when semolinas with waxy starch from wheat were evaluated. No improvement in pasta quality should be expected if the waxy character is introduced in durum wheat.