Influence of Some Spaghetti Processing Variables on Technological Attributes and the In Vitro Digestion of Starch

Durum semolina spaghetti is known to have a low-moderate glycaemic index but the impact of various processing variables during the manufacture and cooking of pasta does affect pasta structure and potentially could alter starch digestion. In this study, several process variables were investigated to see if they can impact the in vitro starch digestion in spaghetti while also monitoring the pasta’s technological quality. Cooking time had a large impact on pasta starch digestion and reducing cooking from fully cooked to al dente and using pasta of very high protein content (17%), reduced starch digestion extent. The semolina particle size distribution used to prepare pasta impacted pasta quality and starch digestion to a small extent indicating a finer semolina particle size (<180 µm) may promote a more compact structure and help to reduce starch digestion. The addition of a structural enzyme, Transglutaminase in the pasta formulae improved overcooking tolerance in low protein pasta comparable to high protein pasta with no other significant effects and had no effect on starch digestion over a wide protein range (8.6−17%). While cold storage of cooked pasta was expected to increase retrograded starch, the increase in resistant starch was minor (37%) with no consequent improvement in the extent of starch digestion. Varying three extrusion parameters (die temperature, die pressure, extrusion speed) impacted pasta technological quality but not the extent of starch digestion. Results suggest the potential to subtly manipulate the starch digestion of pasta through some processing procedures.