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Influence of Gluten Proteins and Drying Temperature on the Cooking Quality of Durum Wheat Pasta

¹Molise Innovazione Scientific and Technological Park, Via De Sanctis, 86100 Campobasso, Italy. ²Corresponding author. Phone: +39 06 51494436. Fax: +39 06 51494550. E-mail: carcea@inran.it ³National Institute for Research on Food and Nutrition, Via Ardeatina 546, 00178 Rome, Italy. ⁴DISTAAM, University of Molise, Via De Sanctis, 86100 Campobasso, Italy.

It is well known that gluten plays a major role in determining cooking quality in durum wheat pasta. This work is an attempt to systematically elucidate the role of gluten quantity and nature in determining cooking quality as a function of the drying cycle used in the manufacturing process. Gluten and starch were fractionated from two durum wheat cultivars possessing good and poor gluten quality. Either of them were then added back to the original base semolina to alter its protein content and to produce two semolina series with identical protein contents. Semolinas were processed into pasta and dried following three drying programs (low, medium, and high temperature). Cooking quality was determined with sensorial, chemical, and instrumental methods. The results indicate that optimum cooking time is governed by gluten quality. The positive effect on cooking quality of increasing gluten contents and of the application of HT drying is evident in weak gluten samples, but it is not significant in the strong gluten samples.