Influence of vegetable purees on quality attributes of pastas made from bread wheat<i>(T. aestivum)</i>

Abstract

Various vegetable puree-incorporated quick cooking pastas (VPP) from non-durum wheat T. aestivum were developed and their quality attributes were evaluated. The results indicated that maximum incorporation of puree was used in carrot pasta (420 g/kg) and minimum amount was incorporated in beetroot pasta (150 g/kg). High yellowness was observed in carrot pasta (20.33) and low in the case of beetroot pasta (8.73). All VPP had lower cooking loss, swelling index and texture values than the control. Overall sensory scores of all the VPP was low as compared to the control except in the case of carrot pasta (6.1) which had a score comparable with the control (6.2). The pigment and crude fiber content were found to be higher in VPP. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of the cooked pastas revealed that addition of purees have altered microstructure of pasta comprising starch granules and protein matrix network which contributed to the difference in the cooking loss.