The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of passion fruit peel powder and an emulsifier (sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate) on the characteristics of fresh food pasta. For comparative purposes, a control formulation was developed with wheat flour, water and emulsifier. A complete 2² factorial design was used to investigate the effects of both ingredients (independent variables) on the rate of water absorption during cooking, pasta swelling, loss of solids and pasta elasticity. Varying the concentration of passion fruit peel powder from 5.0 to 8.0% increased the loss of solids by 40% and reduced the elasticity of the pasta by 20%. A formulation was thus developed with 0.4% emulsifier and 5% passion fruit peel powder, showing the following composition on a wet weight basis, 1.34% fat; 9.25% protein; 0.61% ash; 0.0598% sodium; 52.45% carbohydrates and 5.22% fibre. A sensory evaluation for consumer acceptanceof the pasta prepared with both formulations (control and with passion fruit fibre) showed no significant differences between the two (p > 0.05). The overall acceptance of both samples resulted in test scores between "like slightly" and "like moderately" on a 9-point hedonic scale. The resulting product presented more than 3% fibres and could therefore be classified as a source of fibres (2.5 grams of fibres per 80 gram portion of pasta ready for consumption).
Pasta; Passion fruit peel powder; Emulsifier
