Red lentil pasta quality and <i>in vitro</i> digestibility modulation by means of processing conditions

Pulse pasta has, in recent years, gained the interest of consumers and food manufacturers and a deeper understanding of the the effects of flour types and pasta processing on its physical and nutritional characteristics has become a priority. This work investigates the effects of red lentil flour type (raw or pre-cooked), pasta extrusion pressure (i.e. 80 and 125 bars), and drying temperature (i.e.,50 and 80 °C) on pasta quality and <i>in vitro</i> nutritional digestibility. A significant reduction in cooking loss was found in pasta extruded at high pressure and dried at high temperature (80 °C), while all pasta had acceptable cooking quality in terms of length, thickness and weight gains. More slowly digestible starch was found in pasta dried at high temperatures, while less rapidly digestible and more resistant starch was present in pasta extruded at high pressure. <i>In vitro</i> starch digestibility can be effectively reduced by applying proper processing conditions (i.e. high extrusion pressure) which could be vital for designing a 100% legume pasta with modulated glycemic response.