A New Insight into Ancient Wheat Pasta: Physicochemical, Technological and Cooking Quality of Triticum dicoccum (Emmer)

Emmer (Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccum) is attracting renewed interest as a nutrient-dense ancient wheat for sustainable cereal foods; however, product-level evidence for region-specific landraces remains limited. This study characterizes pasta produced exclusively from 100% Triticum dicoccum semolina cultivated in Ardahan (Türkiye) by integrating proximate composition, cooking performance, and instrumental texture (TPA). The emmer pasta contained 12.70% protein, 4.93% total dietary fiber, and 1.68% ash, with an energy value of 366.25 kcal/100 g. Cooking tests revealed 10.86% cooking loss, 219.98% water absorption, and 101.62% volume increase, indicating limited cooking tolerance consistent with a weaker starch–protein matrix. In comparison with conventional T. durum pasta, cooked emmer pasta exhibited comparable hardness, gumminess, and chewiness, but higher adhesiveness and springiness alongside lower resilience and cohesiveness. These results highlight Ardahan-grown T. dicoccum as a nutritionally valuable pasta raw material, albeit with technological constraints (particularly cooking loss) that warrant further optimization for industrial use.