Effect of storage on the selected properties of macaroni enriched with wheat germ Original Research Article

Macaroni was produced from semolina blended with 15% raw and microwaved wheat germ and stored at room temperature. Samples were analyzed for sensory attributes, cooking quality, color and compressibility during storage. Effect of cooking time (10, 20, 30 min) on cooking quality of macaroni was also studied. Results indicated that protein content of macaroni increased up to 17% with wheat germ addition, as expected. Addition of raw and microwaved wheat germ increased cooking losses and volume of cooked macaroni but reduced weight after cooking. Increasing cooking time significantly increased cooked weight and cooking loss, as well as volume, acidity and compressibility of macaroni samples. However, after 20 min cooking, a decrease in volume of cooked macaroni was observed. No significant effect of storing was found on the measured parameters except acidity. Acidity of enriched samples showed a significant increase during storage. Supplementing durum semolina with raw and microwaved wheat germ provided macaroni with similar results to durum macaroni in compressibility. Enriched macaroni samples were more red and less yellow in color compared to the control sample. In taste panel evaluation, panelists showed the same preference in texture and overall score for both types of macaroni.