Physicochemical properties and metabolomic profile of gluten-free spaghetti prepared with unripe plantain flours

Alternative ingredients such as unripe plantain (whole and pulp), maize and chickpea flour were used to prepare extruded dry gluten-free spaghetti with functional characteristics. The chemical composition, cooking quality and metabolomic profile in different processing steps (dough formation, uncooked and cooked) were analysed. Two formulations were prepared using unripe plantain pulp and whole unripe plantain fruit (pulp and peel). The two spaghetti samples showed a similar chemical composition, but the whole flour product had a higher dietary fibre content. No difference in cooked weight and cooking loss of the spaghetti samples was found, and the optimal cooking time was slightly lower for spaghetti with whole flour. The spaghetti sample with whole flour showed higher hardness than spaghetti with pulp flour but was similar to commercial spaghetti. The water absorption of spaghetti with whole flour was lower than spaghetti with pulp flour, but this did not affect the diameter of the cooked spaghetti. The metabolomic profile for both spaghetti was similar; a decrease in the area of metabolites present in the spaghetti was observed with uncooking and cooking, but an important number of metabolites was maintained after cooking. It is possible to develop gluten-free pasta with quality characteristics using whole unripe plantain flour.