FOGGIA, ITALY — Researchers from the University of Foggia in Italy formulated gluten-free fresh pasta and dry pasta based on quinoa, maize and defatted soy in a study appearing on-line March 28 in the International Journal of Food Science & Technology.

Dough samples with a high content of maize had the higher value of elongation and shear viscosity and then increased dough firmness. Pre-gelatinized maize content affected rheological properties by increasing dough firmness.

In dry spaghetti, the overall sensorial properties acceptability of both non-cooked and cooked spaghetti increased with an increase of pre-gelatinized maize content and a decrease of quinoa flour. The pre-gelatinized maize improved the resistance to break and the taste of non-cooked and cooked spaghetti. The soy flour did not affect the overall quality.

In the fresh spaghetti, overall sensorial properties acceptability again increased with an increase of pre-gelatinized maize content and a decrease of quinoa flour. Only the pre-gelatinized maize content affected the overall acceptability of fresh cooked spaghetti.