ASSESSING THE QUALITY OF SPAGHETTI COOKING

Abstract

The paper presents research on assessing the culinary qualities of spaghetti. Ten brands of commercial spaghetti samples were used for the study. To assess the quality of spaghetti, shear testing (shear force) of pasta was carried out. As cooking time increased, a decrease in shear force values was observed. Their highest values were obtained for pasta made from semolina. Storing pasta after cooking also caused a decrease in these values (maximum shear force decreased by approximately 50% in all samples). The results showed a positive correlation between the consistency of the pasta, as described by the sensory evaluation, and the parameter values obtained from the shear testing of the pasta. The parameters described based on the spaghetti shear test well describe the quality of pasta cooking in terms of cooking time and storage time of the pasta after cooking. These parameters can be useful in assessing the quality of spaghetti cooking and make quality assessment more objective.