Light and dark buckwheat, amaranth, and lupin flours were substituted
for extra fancy and fancy durum wheat flours at 5, 15, 25, and 30% to
produce multigrain pastas. The samples were analyzed for color, cooked
weight, firmness, cooking loss (total solids) and total carbohydrate
loss in the cooking water, in vitro protein digestibility, lysine cont
ent, and sensory attributes. Color scores of spaghetti containing ligh
t buckwheat and amaranth decreased as the substitution level increased
. Color scores of dry spaghetti containing lupin remained constant at
all substitution levels (10.3 average). The optimum cooking time of sp
aghetti was similar in all samples, about 11.3 min. The majority of th
e samples exhibited acceptable cooked weights of about three times the
dry weight. The cooking loss ranged from 7.2 to 8.0%, significantly h
igher than that of the controls but still at acceptable levels. Sample
s containing dark buckwheat and amaranth showed significantly lower fi
rmness values than the control durum-flour spaghettis. Total carbohydr
ate in the cooking water was independent of substitution level within
a flour. Samples in which amaranth was substituted for durum showed th
e highest total carbohydrate in the water (2.7%), and those with lupin
showed the lowest (1.2%). Lupin-containing spaghetti showed higher in
vitro protein digestibility content (86.4%) than did the controls and
the other composite samples (averages 85.5 and 84.3%, respectively).
The lysine content increased as the substitution level increased, and
lupin-containing spaghetti showed the highest lysine values (average 3
.2 g/100 g of protein). Sensory evaluation showed that changes in text
ure and flavor were detected at 30% light buckwheat, 15% dark buckwhea
t, 25% amaranth, and 15% lupin. The results showed that multigrain pas
ta can be produced with higher levels of lysine than commercial pasta
made of 100% durum wheat flour and also with acceptable cooking qualit
y and sensory attributes.