Semolina Pasta Replaced with Whole Unripe Plantain Flour: Chemical, Cooking Quality, Texture, and Starch Digestibility

Spaghetti pasta is prepared with semolina and whole unripe plantain flour (WUPF) as dietary fiber source at three different fractions (0.15, 0.25, and 0.35 w/w). Hi-Maize 260 (HM) is used as commercial dietary fiber to compare the results. It is found that HM producs pasta with cooking parameters similar to pasta containing only semolina. However, WUPF addition increases cooking loss about threefold. Hardness of pasta formulations containing dietary fiber is lowered by about 30% by the addition of either HM or WUPF. In contrast, adhesiveness is reduced by about 80% by the effect of the dietary fiber addition. The digestibility of the cooked pasta is largely affected by the presence of dietary fiber, with similar results for WUPF and HM. The slowly digestible starch fraction is increased from about 15% for pasta made with semolina, to about 75-85% for pasta incorporating dietary fiber, either WUPF or HM. The resistant starch fraction is only marginally affected by dietary fiber. Overall, the results show that WUPF is a viable alternative to commercial dietary fiber sources (like HM) for improving the digestibility characteristics of semolina-based pasta.