Imaging techniques for determination of pasta composition during cooking

Abstract

Pasta is a very important and popular food around the world due to its ease of preparation, transportation and cooking. Traditionally, it is obtained from the extrusion of durum wheat semolina and water, but can be added of alternative ingredients, as fiber, to increase its nutritional value. However, by incorporating extra ingredients to pasta formulation, its quality properties can be affected, such as color, optimal cooking time, cooking losses, among others. The traditional methods of analysis of such attributes can be time-consuming, expensive and invasive, besides not allowing a control of how added nutrients can influence the food matrix. Hence, pasta enriched with fibers and the changes during the cooking process of pasta will be studied by rapid and non-invasive techniques such as Near Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging (NIR-HSI) and Infrared Thermal Imaging (ITI). Enriched pasta will be produced in different percentages of fiber, and the NIR-HSI and ITI images will be acquired for the development of PLSR models, in order to monitor the cooking process and quantify the amount of fiber added to the pasta. Thus, it is expected to develop a new method for control of pasta cooking process and fiber quantification. (AU)