Influence of wheat milling by-products on some physical and chemical properties of filled and unfilled fresh pasta.

The effects of wheat bran (WB) and wheat germ (WG) (5, 10, 15 and 20%) on physical, chemical and sensory properties of filled (with cheese) and unfilled fresh pasta were investigated. Pasta formulations with increased WB and WG ratio resulted in higher water uptake, volume increase, cooking loss, and lower firmness values. Filling material usage and the addition of WB or WG significantly (p < 0.05) affected the color parameters (L*, a* and b*) of the fresh pasta samples. WG supplemented samples had higher protein, fat, Mg, P, Zn content and antioxidant activity, as well as lower cellulose, Ca, Fe, K and phytic acid content than those of containing WB. Filled fresh pasta samples presented superior chemical properties (excluding cellulose and Fe content) compared to unfilled ones. Increasing amount of WB and WG enhanced all the chemical properties of fresh pasta. Sensory analyses results demonstrated a decrease in the overall acceptability of fresh pasta formulations prepared with over 10% of WB and 15% of WG.