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Rheological and sensory behaviors of parboiled pasta cooked using a microwave pasteurization process
Author(s) -
Joyner Helen S.,
Jones Kari E.,
Rasco Barbara A.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of texture studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.593
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1745-4603
pISSN - 0022-4901
DOI - 10.1111/jtxs.12251
Subject(s) - pasteurization , food science , rheology , sensory system , microwave , sensory analysis , rheometry , materials science , chemistry , composite material , computer science , psychology , telecommunications , cognitive psychology
Pasta hydration and cooking requirements make in‐package microwave pasteurization of pasta a processing challenge. The objective of this study was to assess instrumental and sensory attributes of microwave‐treated pasta in comparison to conventionally cooked pasta. Fettuccine pasta was parboiled for 0, 3, 6, 9, or 12 min, pasteurized by microwaves at 915 MHz, then stored under refrigeration for 1 week. Pastas were evaluated by a trained sensory panel and with rheometry. Total pasta heat treatment affected both rheological and sensory behaviors; these differences were attributed to ultrastructure differences. Significant nonlinear behavior and dominant fluid‐like behavior was observed in all pastas at strains >1%. Sensory results suggested microwave pasteurization may intensify the attributes associated with the aging of pasta such as retrogradation. A clear trend between magnitude of heat treatment and attribute intensity was not observed for all sensory attributes tested. The microwave pasta with the longest parboil time showed rheological behavior most similar to conventionally cooked pasta. Principal component analysis revealed that no microwave‐treated pasta was similar to the control pasta. However, pasta parboiled for 9 min before microwave treatment had the greatest number of similar sensory attributes, followed by pasta parboiled for 6 or 12 min. Further study is needed to determine overall consumer acceptance of microwave‐treated pasta and whether the differences in sensory and rheological behavior would impact consumer liking. Practical applications The results of this study may be applied to optimize microwave pasteurization processes for cooked pasta and similar products, such as rice. The measurement and analysis procedures can be used to evaluate processing effects on a variety of different foods to determine overall palatability.