Shabnam Garkani
Scientific Sales Manager
Pak Fan Company
“Pasta production requires more than quality ingredients and requires precision in all production steps. Fluctuations in humidity, temperature and the quality of ingredients can cause production problems. The key to stability lies in mastering the production line settings. For example, careful control of extrusion pressure and moisture levels during drying steps can greatly reduce common problems such as cracking or sticking.”
The pasta and noodle industry is constantly evolving to meet consumer needs, nutritional needs, and culinary trends and sustainability concerns. In the production of all kinds of pasta, substitutes for combination with wheat flour have become popular, which increases the need to check the texture. These products include types of pasta using:
Alternative flours: In response to gluten-free and low-carb needs, many companies have developed pastas and noodles made from alternative flours such as chickpeas, lentils, quinoa, brown rice, and even cauliflower.
Legume pastas: Lentil, chickpea, and black bean pastas are gluten-free alternatives with higher protein content.
Pasta with Vegetables: Spinach, beets, carrots, and zucchini are used to add flavor, nutrition, and color.
Ancient grains: quinoa, amaranth, spelt and kamut are combined with wheat flour for their rich nutrients.
Pseudograins: Buckwheat noodles (such as soba) have gained global popularity.
Functional Ingredients: Adding ingredients that provide specific health benefits, such as spirulina for additional protein or omega-3 fatty acids, or prebiotic fibers for digestive health.
Protein-enriched pastas: Adding ingredients like whey or plant-based proteins caters to the fitness-conscious crowd.
Fiber-enhanced pastas: Incorporation of ingredients like inulin or oat bran to boost dietary fiber content.
Omega-3 enriched pastas: Using chia seeds or flaxseeds for an omega-3 boost.
Diet-specific Noodles: Innovations for those following a low-carb or ketogenic diet, such as shirataki noodles made from the konjac plant.
Keto-friendly pastas: Made using almond flour, coconut flour, or other low-carb ingredients.
Paleo pastas: Ingredients like cassava or almond flour cater to the paleo diet followers.
Low-glycemic index pastas: Targeting diabetics or those watching their sugar intake.
Reduced salt or sodium noodles: For health-conscious consumers.
Example: Physicochemical characteristics of green banana flour and its use in the development of konjac-green banana noodles
Vegan and Plant-based: Pasta and noodles that cater to vegan consumers, avoiding any animal-derived ingredients.
Example: Effect of vegetable juice, puree, and pomace on chemical and technological quality of fresh pasta
Allergy-friendly: Pasta and noodle varieties that are suitable for consumption by those with allergies such as nut-free and gluten-free.
Example: Partial replacement of starch-based flours with quinoa or yellow lentil flour in the production of gluten-free noodles
Sustainable Ingredients: Using sustainable farming practices for wheat or other grains and ensuring eco-friendly packaging, as well as using by-products where possible.
Algae-based pastas: Seaweed or spirulina can be used both for their nutritional benefits and sustainability.
Insect-based pastas: Pasta made from cricket flour or other insect flours is being explored for its protein content and sustainability.
Example: Durum wheat fresh pasta fortification with trub, a beer industry by-product
Ready-to-Eat & Convenience: Ready-to-eat or easy-to-prepare fresh pasta and noodle products for convenience.
Pre-cooked or flash-frozen pastas: For quicker meal preparation.
Meal kits: Offering complete pasta meal solutions with sauces and seasonings.
Example: Physicochemical, Textural and Sensory Characteristics of Instant Noodles Produced from Wheat and Plantain Flour Blends, Spiced with Ginger
Multi-sensory Experiences: Pasta and noodles that offer unique textures, colors (using natural ingredients like beetroot or spinach), or flavor profiles.
International flavors: Incorporating global tastes, like curry-flavored noodles or Mediterranean herb-infused pastas.
Spicy variants: With the rise of spicy food trends, chili-infused noodles or pastas can cater to this demand.
Example: Influence of supplementation with pangas protein isolates on textural attributes and sensory acceptability of semolina pasta
Fortified Pastas: Vitamin and mineral fortification: Such as iron, vitamin B, or calcium to enhance nutritional value.
Pasta production requires more than quality ingredients and requires precision in all production steps. Fluctuations in humidity, temperature and the quality of ingredients can cause production problems. The key to stability lies in mastering the production line settings. For example, careful control of extrusion pressure and moisture levels during drying steps can greatly reduce common problems such as cracking or sticking. Such precision ensures that the pasta not only tastes good, but also has the ideal texture and cooking behavior.
System review and regular maintenance and product quality analysis are very important. Installing sensors to monitor environmental and machine parameters helps manufacturers quickly adapt to any deviations and ensure the process stays on track.
The use of Texture Analyzer in the research and development of pasta and noodle products introduces a wide range of valuable applications that help optimize these staple foods. Evaluation of cooking quality, such as determining the ideal cooking time and evaluating quality during the cooking process, is very important to achieve the desired texture. Elasticity and strength, especially important for noodles, can be precisely measured by the texture analyzer, elucidating tensile and fracture forces. Addressing stickiness as an undesirable feature in cooked pasta and noodles is facilitated through accurate measurement using a texture analyzer.
Shelf-life studies are becoming more important, especially in fresh or ready-to-eat products, because the texture analyzer helps track potential texture changes during shelf life. In the research and development of pasta and noodle products, the Texture Analyzer is emerging as a vital tool that enables accurate analysis and helps create products that meet consumers’ expectations for taste and texture. By combining innovative ingredients and products with scientific tools such as the Texture Analyzer, the pasta and noodle industry can ensure that it produces high-quality products that meet the needs of modern consumers.
Pasta is produced in different shapes and sizes. Quality control methods, often manual in pasta production without the use of professional laboratory equipment, are increasingly implemented with objective testing equipment to monitor production with high and consistent standards. Many experimental methods have been adopted to evaluate the quality of wheat flour for bread preparation, but pasta-specific methods have also been developed for the rheological evaluation of durum or semolina flour.
Texture Analyzer, which shows how QA quality assurance depends not only on material quality, but also on other variables such as processing methods. A wide range of probes and fixtures are readily available for these objective tests, which have shown great potential for use as research and QA methods.
To measure pasta texture, tests designed for use in near-line production include breaking and bending strength of dry pasta, and tensile strength, firmness, and stickiness tests for the cooked product. These tests, performed on the TA.XTplus tissue analyzer with Exponent software, have been developed for use as a practical, rapid and cost-effective quality control device.