Moisture adsorption behaviour of pasta products

Abstract

The moisture sorption isotherms of conventional (from 100% durum wheat semolina) and diet (high protein) spaghetti were constructed at 22, 30, 37 and 45°C, using a computerized inverse gas chromatographic method (CIGC). Conventional spaghetti exhibited a higher sorption capacity than diet spaghetti. This is attributed to the higher carbohydrate content of conventional spaghetti as compared to diet spaghetti. Good agreement was observed between moisture sorption isotherms obtained from the CIGC method and the gravimetric static method. BET (Brunauer, Emmett and Teller), GAB (Guggenheim, Anderson and De Boer) and ‘Local’ isotherm models were tested to fit the experimental sorption data. Goodness of fit, standard deviation and the applicable range of water activity (aw) indicated that GAB and ‘Local’ isotherm models could explain the data well over a wide aw range up to 0.80. © 1993 Academic Press.