Effects of mixing, sheeting, and cooking on the starch, protein, and water structures of durum wheat semolina and chickpea flour pasta

The influence of the pasta preparation stages on starch, proteins, and water structures of semolina and chickpea pasta was studied. The hydrated starch structures (995/1022 FTIR ratio) increased in semolina and reduced in chickpea pasta. The processing stages in semolina pasta led to a significant increase of β-sheet structures (~50% to ~68%). The β-sheet structures content in chickpea pasta was lower (~52%), and was most affected by sheeting and cooking. The water structure was assessed by the analysis of the OH fingerprint FTIR region (3700–2800 cm⁻¹) and showing that water molecules (~90%) are strongly and moderately bound. The chickpea pasta displayed the highest content of strongly bonded water (about 55%) in contrast to the semolina pasta (~48%). A principal component analysis showed that the molecular organization of semolina pasta was mostly affected by dough formation and cooking; the molecular organization of chickpea pasta was determined by the cooking stage.