Celiac.com 08/24/2012 - Tired of the standard choices for gluten-free pasta? If researchers at the University of Brazil have their way, you may soon be enlivening your current gluten-free choices with pasta made from the flour of green bananas.
The researchers included Renata Puppin Zandonadi, PhD, Raquel Braz Assunção Botelho, PhD, Lenora Gandolfi, PhD, Janini Selva Ginani, MSc, Flávio Martins Montenegro, MSc, and Riccardo Pratesi, PhD.
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According to an article in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the team found a way to make pasta out of green banana flour. The flour is completely gluten-free, and the pasta compares favorably with pasta made from whole wheat, according to taste test results.
Currently, green bananas are regarded an undesirable product, with low commercial value, and limited industrial use. In an effort to change that reality, the researchers set out to develop and analyze a gluten-free pasta made with green banana flour.
When they tested their finished product, they found "no significant difference between the modified pasta and standard samples in terms of appearance, aroma, flavor, and overall quality," study researcher Renata Puppin Zandonadi, PhD, of the University of Brazil, said in a statement.
For the study, researchers had 50 people without celiac disease, and 25 with celiac disease, taste whole wheat pasta made with eggs, and compare it with pasta made from green banana flour, egg whites, gums and water.
Both the test group with celiac disease and the group without celiac disease reported that the banana flour pasta tasted better overall than the whole wheat pasta.
If the project pans out, it could be a win-win-win, offering banana growers and pasta product makers a way to expand their markets, and offering consumers of gluten-free pasta a new and delicious alternative.
What do you think about the idea of gluten-free pasta made from green bananas? Share your comments below.
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