Use of ohmic heating as an alternative method for cooking pasta

Background: In this study, the alternative method of ohmic heating (OH) was applied to investigate its potential usage in the cooking process for pasta and its comparison with the conventional method. For this purpose, OH was operated at four different voltage gradients (10, 20, 30, 40 V cm^-1 ). The electrical conductivity of pasta σ (S m^-1 ) was calculated for the temperature range 22-95 °C and a three-phase linear relation between σ and temperature was determined.

Results: According to the results, the energy consumption of the OH system and cooking time were lower than the conventional method. Energy conservation was about 73.7% at 40 V cm^-1 and increased up to 90.4% (at 10 V cm^-1 ) with lower voltage gradients. Total cooking time, cooking loss, water absorption, degree of gelatinization, volume uptake, energy consumption and sensorial properties were investigated. No significant differences between the results of samples cooked with the conventional method and OH at 30-40 V cm^-1 were found in terms of starch gelatinization degree, volume change, water absorption, and sensorial analysis (P > 0.05).

Conclusion: These results revealed that OH did not cause any negative effects on the quality parameters of pasta samples, and positive effects were observed on energy and time saving. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.