Oat and quinoa possible semolina replacers in pasta

05-Apr-2009 - Last updated on 06-Apr-2009 at 10:21 GMT

Formulating pasta with oats or quinoa may offer pasta manufacturers alternatives to traditional semolina, and open up opportunities in the gluten-free market, says new research from Italy.

Writing in the Journal of Cereal Science, researchers from the University of Foggia report that tagliatelle made from amaranth, quinoa and oat with the same rheological properties of semolina pasta became possible with additives such as whey protein and pre-gelatinized starch.

“This paper gives information to pasta manufacturers on the rheological and mechanical properties of non-conventional fresh handmade tagliatelle with additives,” wrote the researchers.

Study details

The researchers looked at the effects of various additives, including carboxymethylcellulose of sodium (CMC), whey protein isolate (WPI), casein, chitosan, and pre-gelatinized starch, on extruded tagliatelle dough made from amaranth, quinoa and oats.

The storage and loss moduli for quinoa and oat doughs with pre-gelatinized starch were also similar to those of semolina dough, added the researchers. The elastic modulus of all the dough was reduced to a similar level as semolina tagliatelle when WPI was used as the additive.

In terms of rheological properties, the most similarities to the semolina dough were observed for the quinoa and oat doughs formulated with pre-gelatinized starch.

“In future work, a study of pasta quality, such as mechanical and sensorial characteristics during cooking and overcooking, will be carried out,” they concluded.

Gluten-free boom

If future studies support the potential of the extract, it may see gluten-free breads formulated with amaranth ingredients adding to the ever-growing gluten-free market.

According to a recent report from Packaged Facts, the gluten-free market has grown at an average annual rate of 28 per cent since 2004, when it was valued at $580m, to reach $1.56bn last year. Packaged Facts estimates that sales will be worth $2.6bn by 2012.

The market researcher said it expected to see a much wider range of gluten-free products on shelves by 2012, and said that this will be driven by companies reformulating existing products for gluten-free acceptability, as well as by releasing new ones.

Source: Journal of Cereal Science Volume 49, Issue 2, Pages 163-170“Effects of additives on the rheological and mechanical properties of non-conventional fresh handmade tagliatelle” Authors: S. Chillo, N. Suriano, C. Lamacchia, M.A. Del Nobile