Texture Evaluation and In Vivo Oral Tactile Perceptions of Cooked Wheat Pasta Sheets Partially Substituted with Pea...

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Material Science
• Human Sensory Perception

Background:

• Plant proteins are increasingly used in food products for nutritional enhancement.
• The impact of plant protein incorporation on food texture and sensory perception is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of substituting wheat flour with pea protein isolate (PPI) on pasta texture.
• To evaluate oral tactile perceptions and chewing time in humans consuming PPI-modified pasta.

Main Methods:

• Pasta sheets were prepared with varying percentages of PPI (up to 35%) replacing wheat flour.
• Cooked pasta hardness was measured using instrumental analysis.
• An in vivo human mastication test with 116 participants assessed perceived firmness, stickiness, brittleness, and chewing time.

Main Results:

• Pasta hardness initially decreased with 5% PPI due to gluten network disruption but increased with 15-25% PPI, indicating a stronger protein network.
• Pasta with 25% PPI substitution had a shorter chewing time and was perceived as less firm, less sticky, and more brittle.
• Chewing speed influenced sensory perception: fast chewers detected firmness differences, while slow chewers were more sensitive to stickiness and brittleness.

Conclusions:

• Pea protein isolate significantly alters pasta texture and human sensory perception.
• Pasta texture can be tailored by adjusting PPI content for specific consumer groups, such as the elderly.
• Understanding the interplay between PPI content, pasta texture, and human chewing behavior is crucial for developing novel food products.