José Juan Islas-Hernández

Pasta with unripe banana flour: physical, texture, and preference study.

Banana is a starchy food that contains a high proportion of undigestible compounds such as resistant starch and nonstarch polysaccharides. Products with low glycemic response such as pasta are considered favorable to health. The objective of this study was to use unripe banana flour to make spaghetti with low-carbohydrates digestibility and evaluate its physical and texture characteristics, as well as consumer preference. Formulations with 100% durum wheat semolina (control) and formulations with 3 semolina: banana flour ratios (85: 15, 70: 30, and 55: 45) were prepared for spaghetti processing. The use of banana flour decreased the lightness and diameter of cooked spaghetti, and increased the water absorption of the product. Hardness and elasticity of spaghetti were not affected by banana flour, but adhesiveness and chewiness increased as the banana flour level in the blend rose. Spaghettis prepared in the laboratory (control and those with banana flour) did not show differences in preference by consumers. In general, the preference of spaghettis with different banana flour level was similar. The addition of a source of undigestible carbohydrates (banana flour) to spaghetti is possible without affecting the consumer preference.

In vitro starch digestibility of tortillas elaborated by different masa preparation procedures

ABSTRACT Starch digestibility was evaluated in freshly prepared tortillas elaborated from masa obtained from different procedures (laboratory-made masa, commercial masa, and nixtamalized corn flour) and from laboratory-made masa with added commercial hydrocolloid, and stored for 24, 48, and 74 hr. Tortillas prepared with commercial masa had the highest available starch (AS) content and the commercial tortillas had the lowest, showing a decrease in AS content when storage time increased. Tortilla of commercial masa showed the lowest resistant starch (RS) content that agrees with the AS measured. However, tortilla of laboratory-made masa presented the highest AS and RS contents. RS increased with storage time, a pattern that is related to the starch retrogradation phenomenon observed when retrograded resistant starch (RRS) was quantified. Commercial tortillas showed predicted glycemic index (pGI) values of 62–75% using a chewing/dialysis procedure (semi in vitro method). Index values were lower than those d...