What keeps spaghetti from disintegrating in boiling water? The answer, according to new research, is gluten. The amount of salt in the water also has an unexpected significance.
Using advanced techniques, researchers examined the internal structure of regular and gluten-free spaghetti - straight off the shelf. The results show that gluten has a crucial role in protecting the structure of pasta during cooking.
"We were able to show that the gluten in regular spaghetti acts as a safety net that preserves the starch. The gluten-free pasta, which contains an artificial matrix, only works optimally under exactly the right cooking conditions - otherwise the structure easily falls apart," says Andrea Scotti, senior lecturer in physical chemistry at Lund University.
Scotti used both small-angle neutron scattering and X-rays in the research. These methods make it possible to study foods at the microscopic level - down to a billionth of a metre - and link these findings to product characteristics such as texture, shelf life and glycaemic index.
The new study also concludes that the salt in the pasta water plays a role in the end result.
"Our results show that regular pasta has higher tolerance, or better structural resistance, to less optimal cooking conditions such as being cooked for too long or too much salt being added to the water. So, cooking pasta with the right amount of salt is not just a matter of taste - it also affects the microstructure of the pasta and thus the whole dining experience," says Andrea Scotti.
The researchers now plan to continue their work by studying more types of pasta and different manufacturing conditions, as well as replicating what happens to the pasta once it is in the stomach, to see what effect digestion has on its chemical structure.
"With demand for gluten-free alternatives increasing, we hope that our methods can help develop more durable and nutritious products that stand up to the demands placed on them by both the cooking process and by consumers," says Andrea Scotti.
