Cereal Chem 68:622-627   |  VIEW ARTICLE

Starch Gelatinization in Pasta Cooking: Differential Flux Calorimetry Investigations.

M. Riva, L. Piazza, and A. Schiraldi. Copyright 1991 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Pasta cooking conditions were simulated in a differential flux calorimeter. The profile of the endothermic starch gelatinization peak was observed to directly describe the process according to first-order kinetics. An early small exothermic effect was attributed to wetting. Isothermal calorimetry provided much more reliable results than do other traditional approaches, and it allows comparison among different kinds of pasta. This work gives a detailed presentation of the physical meaning underlying the calorimetric trace, which allows assessment of the gelatinization kinetics and simple thermodynamic treatment.