Effect of the incorporation of cereals (fonio, rice), tubers (sweet potato, cassava), and a legume (cowpea) on the functional properties of Penne type pasta

The partial replacement of wheat in pasta with local cereals, tubers and legumes could constitute an alternative to the massive imports of wheat into Senegal. For this purpose, three formulations of Penne type pasta were prepared by substituting 50% of wheat semolina with locally available foods (fonio, rice, cassava, sweet potato, and cowpea) with the aim of measuring the impact on functional properties. The three formulations prepared are: PBFN (50% wheat, 40% fonio and 10% cowpea), PBRMN (50% wheat, 2%, rice, 20% cassava and 10% cowpea) and PBPN (50% wheat, 40% sweet potato and 10% cowpea). The Prepared pasta was assessed according to the following parameters: optimal cooking time, weight gain, color, cooking losses, protein content and fiber content. The results obtained on cooking losses vary from 5.175g for PBFN, 6.55g for PBRMN and 7.005g for PBPN per 100g of pasta. Results which place penne made from composite flours in the category of high-quality pasta. In addition, shorter optimal cooking times were obtained for all formulations based on composite flour compared to control wheat. Sensory analyzes showed pasta with acceptability indices greater than 70%, making these pasta acceptable. The best formulation was obtained with sweet potato. This study showed that the partial replacement of durum wheat semolina by cereals, tubers and legumes could be a solution to reduce wheat imports without causing consumer rejection.