he cooking quality of pasta based on soft wheat flour and supplemented with three percentages of oat flour was studied. Results showed that oat flour modified deeply the cooking quality of spaghetti in comparison with samples based on only soft wheat flour. These effects were attributed to both starch-lipid complex formation and presence of β-glucans that weak gluten network. An increase in optimal cooking time with increase in oat percentages was observed (480 vs. 630 min). Samples enriched with oat flour showed a good-quality cooking total organic matter (TOM values ranged from 1.4 to 2).

The cooking quality of pasta based on soft wheat flour and supplemented with three percentages of oat flour was studied. Results showed that oat flour modified deeply the cooking quality of spaghetti in comparison with samples based on only soft wheat flour. These effects were attributed to both starch-lipid complex formation and presence of β-glucans that weak gluten network. An increase in optimal cooking time with increase in oat percentages was observed (480 vs. 630 min). Samples enriched with oat flour showed a good-quality cooking total organic matter (TOM values ranged from 1.4 to 2). © 2013 Institute of Food Science and Technology.

The aim of this research was to evaluate the development of Maillard reaction in pasta dried by microwaves and hot air at different processing conditions. The Maillard reaction was more developed in samples dried by microwaves than in those treated by hot air as resulted from decrease of pH values (5.77 vs. 6.07) and increase of absorption at 294 nm (1.67 vs. 1.57) and 420 nm (0.77 vs. 0.11). Even if no remarkable colour change in samples differently dried was observed, the highest absorbance values indicate a greater potential degradation of product treated by microwaves during storage.

Brewer's spent grain (BSG), the most abundant brewing by-product, has hidden and underexploited nutritional potential. In order to valorize BSG, the effects of three commercial xylanases and a peptidase on water unextractable arabinoxylans (WUAX) were studied. Comparing all treatments, higher addition of xylanase resulted in an increase in water extractable arabinoxylans (WEAX). In the most efficient treatment, xylanase alone was able to solubilise 23.7% of WUAX, while the peptidase showed no effect. However, when added together with xylanase, peptidase increased the solubilisation of WUAX up to 1.6 folds. A positive correlation between particle size reduction and solubilisation of WUAX was also proved through milling BSG. These results suggest that access to xylan backbone increases with proteolytic activities, proving a synergistic effect of these specific enzymes. Therefore, if properly treated before being added as ingredient, BSG could add health functionalities to foodstuff while reducing the environmental impact of brewing industries.

The formation of starch-lipid complexes plays an important role in extruded products. The effect of gluten proteins on thermal conditions at which the starch-lipid complexes formed during extrusion cooking of wheat flour with the addition of oleic acid was evaluated, considering wheat starch as a reference. The presence of gluten proteins in wheat flour extrudates brought about a reduction of the formation of starch-lipid complexes compared to blend of wheat starch and oleic acid extruded at the same operating conditions (melting enthalpy: 0.4 vs. 1.6kJkg(-1)). Moreover, the lubricant effect of oleic acid observed during extrusion of wheat starch (low values of specific mechanical energy and residence time) was not found during extrusion of wheat flour with addition of oleic acid because of the interaction between gluten proteins and oleic acid. This research points out the importance of proteins on biopolymer modifications and their effect on extrudate quality.

Drying process plays a fundamental role in pasta making. The greatest number of studies have been focused on the optimization of drying conditions for semolina pasta, and the obtained results have been applied in a similar way on pasta made up of nonconventional raw materials without considering a processing optimization. The aim of this research was to evaluate the influence of different drying treatments (low, medium, and high temperature) on the quality of uncooked and cooked soft wheat pasta enriched with oat flour. Results of total organic matter and dried residue showed no significant difference between samples dried by medium and high temperature treatments. Moreover, these last samples showed a slight improvement in cooking quality over samples dried at low temperature (total organic matter results were 1.31 versus 1.66 g/100 g of dried pasta). This study revealed that the improvement of cooking quality of pasta enriched with oat flour did not require the application of high drying temperature (>80 degrees C) that involves a considerable consumption of energy and could favor the development of a Maillard reaction, decreasing quality characteristics of this kind of product.

Sweet cherry is a precious fruit for the wealth of minerals, vitamins and other important protecting, detoxifying and purifying principles. These features make it interesting in terms of nutritional and health point of view. Many studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects on prevention of cardiovascular and articular diseases, due to anti-inflammatory and analgesic action of sweet cherry. However, because of its seasonality, it needs technological treatments to be preserved (jam, puree or semi-finished products for pastry), that could compromise its nutritional quality. The aim of this work was to study the effects of ripening stage and technological tratments on mechanical and functional properties of pastries filled with sweet cherries during storage at room temperature. Results showed that the different ripeness of cherries influenced the mechanical properties of samples: pastries filled with overripe cherries resulted more hard (97 vs. 79 N), less cohesive (0.19 vs. 0.25) and springy (6.4 vs. 8.5 mm) than medium harvest cherries. The antioxidant capacity of medium harvest sweet cherries did not change after both technological treatments and storage (0.93 vs. 0.89 TEAC micromol/g dry basis). These results highlight the importance of ripening stage of processed fruit used as ingredient in complex food in order to obtain a product with good functional and quality properties.

Vegetables are strongly recommended in human diet since their consumption is closely related to the decrease of cardiovascular diseases. Despite these advantages, many people do not like vegetables as it, as opposed to some foods that are very attractive for their sensorial characteristics but nutritionally unbalanced. Among them, ‘Salami’ are typical Italian fermented products made up of pork meat and back-fat that are very appreciated for their flavour and taste but present a high content of fatty saturated acids and cholesterol. This research aimed at the study and realization of new fermented vegetable Salami, with an appropriately balanced composition of nutrients and able to simulate the meat Salami in terms of colour and consistency. Those characteristics were obtained by choosing vegetables with good sensory and structural characteristics and optimizing the ripening processing that, for this type of Salami, was 18 days at 25°C and 75% RU in early days and 45% RU in the final stage of ripening. During ripening stage, lactic bacteria concentration was more than 108 CFU/g. This value represents the minimum threshold to consider a food as probiotic in vitro. The chromatic characteristics of vegetable Salami during ripening showed a reduction of L* (from 50.27 to 39.02) and b* indexes (from 44.92 to 30.59) caused by the gradual dehydration of vegetable matrix. As a matter of fact, a sudden increase of shear stress, hardness, chewiness and springiness of the slices was recorded as a function of maturation.

il brevetto concerne un film edibile innovativo realizzato per la sostituzione di additivi e conservanti utilizzati nei prodotti da forno e per la pasticceria

L'invenzione consente di ottenere, senza utilizzazione di solventi ad alto impatto ambientale e di difficile smaltimento, materiale da imballaggio per alimenti completamente biodegradabile, a basso costo e ridotto impatto ambientale.

The preswent invention concerns a biodegradable and compostable material for packaging obtainable from the use of the whole wastes of production and transformation of food of vegatable origin in a manufacturing process comprising a preliminary step of drying, a step of controlling the particle size of said waste and, if necessary, a step of grinding of said waste to a particle size in the range between 200 and 300 microns, and a step of extrusion-cooking.

La presente invenzione concerne una composizione edibile per la conservazione degli alimenti, procedimento per la sua preparazione e relativi usi. In particolare, l'invenzione concerne una composizione edibile a base di ingredienti naturali per la conservazione degli alimenti, procedimento per la sua preparazione e relativi usi, in cui detta composizione viene impiegata in forma di film edibile sulla superficie dell’alimento.