Effect of blanching and drying methods of spinach on the physicochemical properties and cooking quality of enriched pasta

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of blanching and spinach drying methods on the physicochemical and cooking properties of enriched pasta. Blanched and unblanched spinach were subjected to fixed bed drying and foam mat drying and used to enrich the pasta. The pasta enriched with blanched spinach showed more desirable physicochemical properties, for both drying methods. The blanching associated with fixed bed drying resulted in a greener enriched pasta with a higher total chlorophyll content (9.66 mg/100 g d.b.). On the other hand, foam mat drying contributed to less degradation of total carotenoids and antioxidant activity (ABTS and DPPH methods), with values of 798.01 mu g of lutein/100 g d.b., 7.14 mu M Trolox/g d.b. and 84.81% RSC, respectively. The spinach flours used for enrichment did not significantly affect the technological properties of the pasta. Spinach blanched and dried in a foam mat to obtain flour represents a potential alternative for enriching the pasta, since this processing contributed to the greater preservation of the product's compounds.