Methods for the characterisation of breadcrumb, an important ingredient of stuffed pasta

Very few methods have been proposed to evaluate the technological characteristics of breadcrumb, an ingredient of stuffed pasta. Nevertheless, the physical properties of this raw material can play a relevant role in modifying the filling texture, which is important both for the filling workability and product consistency after cooking. The aim of this study was to determine the most suitable methodologies for describing breadcrumb characteristics, with particular attention to those features that can potentially influence the performance of this ingredient. Three lots of two different types of commercial breadcrumb were analysed for their chemical composition, particle size distributions, pasting properties, and water binding capacity. The texture of breadcrumb/water dispersion was also evaluated using different methods. Chemical analyses did not prove to give a satisfactory differentiation between samples. On the contrary, the different rheological tests adopted (Bostwick, Farinographic, and compression test) turned out to be very effective in describing the thickening properties of breadcrumb. In particular, a statistically significant differentiation (P < 0.05) between the samples was obtained by means of the Bostwick consistometer, an easy to use, rapid and cheap instrument that turned out to be suitable for defining the technological characteristics of breadcrumb.