Molecular features and cooking behavior of pasta from pulses

Background and objectives: Pulse pasta is one of the latest responses of the food industry to meet the consumers request for healthy and sustainable foods. Among pulses, red lentils and chickpeas are the preferred raw materials for making 100% pulse pasta. This study aimed at addressing starch and protein features in commercial pulse pasta to provide an insight on how their molecular organization may affect cooking behavior. Findings: Differences in starch pasting profile and in protein overall organization were found among commercial pasta samples. Considering the same pulse, the best performing pasta showed a protein network characterized by a more compact structure. Regardless of the producer, lentils gave pasta with the best cooking behavior (low cooking loss and high firmness). Conclusions: Cooking quality of pulse pasta depends on both the type of pulse (chickpeas or red lentils) and pasta-making process. Significance and novelty: This study lays some molecular groundwork as for elucidating the role of individual pulses and of the pasta-making process in determining the quality of pulse pasta.