Influence of drying temperature on drying kinetics, energy consumption, bioactive compounds and cooking quality of pasta enriched with spinach

The influence of drying temperature on drying kinetics, energy consumption, bioactive compounds, and cooking quality of the pasta enriched with spinach was studied. Pasta enriched with spinach were dried at 35, 45, 55, 65 and 75 degrees C. The drying kinetics, energy consumption, water activity, moisture content, total carotenoids, antioxidant activity, total chlorophyll, total phenolic, hardness, and cooking quality parameters were evaluated. Mathematical models were fitted to predict the drying kinetics, energy consumption and bioactive compounds of pasta. A generalized model to predict the moisture content and energy consumption of pasta in function of drying time and temperature was proposed. The effective moisture diffusivity (D-eff) and activation energy were calculated. The Page model, exponential and polynomial performed best to represent drying kinetics, energy consumption, and bioactive compounds, respectively. The drying time decreased and theD(eff)increased as the drying temperature increased. The drying temperature influenced the energy consumption, carotenoid content, and antioxidant activity, while the total chlorophyll content, total phenolic, hardness, and quality parameters of the pasta cooking were not affected. The optimum condition obtained by the desirability function for drying of pasta enriched with spinach was 45 degrees C. Practical Application The use of ingredients that improve nutritional content of pasta is a good alternative for the manufacture of an attractive product. However, drying conditions in pasta processing can affect the technological and nutritional quality of the products. Therefore, it is extremely important to know the drying process conditions and the pasta properties, in order to obtain a better quality control of the product and to optimize the desired variables of the process.