Microstructure and cooking quality of barley-enriched pasta produced at different process parameters

Pasta is one of the most popular meals in the world. It is affordable, easy to combine with other foods and easy to cook. Unfortunately, pasta is energy-rich and nutrient-poor. Whole-wheat pasta is somewhat better in nutritional quality, but further improvements may be made. One option is to add different raw materials and specific nutritive components (vitamins, polyphenols, fiber, protein, etc.) to semolina. However, this approach changes its physicochemical properties, e.g. cooking loss, texture, etc., which cannot be disregarded. The current research investigates possibilities for production of barley-enriched pasta with acceptable cooking qualities. To ensure the beneficial health effects of β-glucan, β-glucan-rich barley was selected asa starting material. Pasta enriched with 10–50% β-glucan-rich barley flour was produced in the mini-press and the laboratory extruder and then dried at low, medium and high temperature regimes. Colour, cooking quality and microstructure of the enriched pasta were investigated to determine its acceptability. The research showed that barley-enriched pasta of good cooking quality might be produced by selecting an optimal combination of suitable production parameters for forming and drying.