Quality parameters of noodles made with various supplements

The influence of various supplements (extruded maize, maize, defatted soy flour and maize/soy flour blends, lecithin and wheat straw) on the pasta quality has been examined. Noodles were prepared by means of conventional laboratory equipment. Common wheat flour supplemented with 1% lecithin powder, 20% extruded maize flour, 20% maize flour, 10% defatted soy flour, 20% defatted soy and maize flour blend (1:1), and 7.5% wheat straw was used. The produced pasta was dried at 55&grad;C in a laboratory dryer (Instrumentaria, Croatia) to 13.0% moisture. Pasta colour was evaluated with fresh pasta by measuring L*, a*, b* parameters by means of a reflectance colorimeter (CR 300 Chroma-metter, Minolta, Japan). The following parameters of cooked noodles were determined: volume increase coefficient, water uptake (g/g), optimum cooking time (min), and cooking loss (%). Sensory quality was evaluated on a scale of 1-5 for: odour, external appearance, flavour and mouth feel, and total quality scores. The noodles made with extruded maize flour, maize flour, and wheat straw supplements had the highest total sensory score. Cooking losses of these samples were below 10%. Regardless of the fact that the sample with lecithin had the lowest cooking loss, it was not acceptable for the panel members. Supplementation with extruded maize, maize and defatted soy flours, and wheat straw could be used to produce pasta without eggs, with a reduced cholesterol content, enriched with dietary fibre and possessing a lower glycemic index.