Search

Physics Nobel laureate Giorgio Parisi recently proposed a novel approach to cooking pasta that is more energy-efficient: Bring the water to a boil, add the pasta, cover the pot with a lid, and turn off the heat source. This heat-off-lid-on (hofflon) method saves energy. Other suggestions recommend soaking dried pasta in cold water to shorten the cooking process. However, there is a paucity of research examining the impact of different cooking methods on pasta texture and quality. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the effects of different cooking methods on the texture and strength of the pasta, a series of experiments were conducted. The experiments demonstrated significant variations in mechanical properties, adhesiveness, and cohesion. The hofflon method requires a longer cooking time due to the gradual decline in temperature. The process of soaking increases the water content of the pasta prior to cooking, which subsequently affects the behavior of proteins and starch when heated. These effects influence the manner in which proteins undergo alteration, the formation of cross-links, and the gelatinization of starch. Pasta prepared using the hofflon method exhibits reduced cohesion and softness, resulting in a texture that is softer and more mushy than that of al dente pasta. Presoaked samples display increased stickiness and a mushy texture when compared to pasta prepared using the classic method and hofflon pasta. The results of this study indicate the promise of developing straightforward models to illuminate the unique roles of proteins and starch during the structural transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Elephant foot yam starch is highly susceptible to enzymatic digestion. To address this, heat-moisture treatment (HMT) has been used to modify its digestive properties and functionalities. However, when using modified starch in various food compositions, it is ultimately necessary to cook it in waterrich environments. The present work thus offers a systematic understanding of the heating and cooking procedures for modified starch, with a view to maintaining its structural and digestive properties. Methods: Experimental investigations employing X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and enzymatic digestion have been utilized to gain insights into the characteristics of cooked starches. The interactions between amylose and amylopectin in native starch are more susceptible to disruption during cooking, which results in changes in texture and a reduction in resistant starch (RS) retention. Additionally, these preparations have been investigated by tribology to test structure and and friction. Results and discussion: The application of HMT has been observed to induce changes that stabilize the interactions between amylose and amylopectin, thereby ensuring better maintenance of granular integrity and higher RS retention under specific cooking conditions. The findings indicate that following a 2-min cooking period at 100°C, the modified elephant foot yam starch (EFYS) demonstrated enhanced granular stability, which was subsequently compromised after 10 min of cooking. Additionally, when modified elephant foot yam starch (EFYS) was heated at a temperature of 86°C for 2 and 6 min, it demonstrated superior preservation of resistant starch (RS) in comparison to a cooking time of 10 min. Moreover, the HMT starch exhibited the highest RS retention when cooked at 100°C for 2 and 6 min at approximately 39.12% and 20.23%, respectively. However, this retention decreased significantly to 1.08% after 10 min of cooking. Furthermore, the insights from tribology, when combined with the proposed naive models, enhance the understanding of how preparation conditions affect the functionalities of starches, which is crucial for designing food products with desired textural and nutritional qualities, especially in water-rich environments, where maintaining structural integrity and RS content is important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oleosomes have emerged in the last decade as a multipurpose oil-in-water emulsion suitable for engineering new lipids materials. The need to increase alternative and sustainable methods to modulate the rheological properties of emulsions has been the leading research interest in the oleogelation field. Soybean oleosomes are evaluated as building blocks for creating oleogels in combination with sodium alginate or ι-carrageenan as the structuring elements. Polymer bridging provides a route to produce compact soft, malleable gels by exploiting attractive electrostatic interactions between negatively charged polysaccharides and oleosome surfaces. We investigated the viscoelastic properties of concentrated polymer bridged gels by oscillatory rheological measurements. The rheological characteristics are governed predominantly by the type of polysaccharide and by the ratio between polysaccharide and oleosome content. One yielding step at low strains indicates the breaking of polysaccharide bridging bonds and was visible in all samples. A two-step yielding process, where the second step corresponds to the cage-breaking process, was present at polysaccharide/oleosome ratios where optimum bridging occurs for alginate and carrageenan, 0.005 g/g, 0.01 g/g, respectively. Nonetheless, the bumps corresponding to the second yielding point were more prominent in alginate gels than in carrageenan gels due to the greater bridging ability of alginate. Identifying these rheological hallmarks could provide new ideas towards the improved design of plant-based fatty food products, e.g., cream cheeses and vegan sausages surrogates.