Search

The shelf life of the typical Italian bakery snack "tarallini" depends on the recipe and on the cooking and storage conditions. In this work, the lipid oxidative stability of tarallini was measured using an OXITEST® instrument, an accelerated oxidation test. The OXITEST® methodology was optimised taking into account sample amount and the sample particle size. Homemade tarallini prepared using sunflower oil, extra virgin olive oil and a blend of extra virgin olive oil and lard were cooked for two different cooking times. The results showed a good ability of OXITEST® to discriminate between lipid unsaturation and cooking time, providing information on the lipid shelf life of complex food matrices, such as tarallini. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Gluten-free products present major challenges for the food industry in terms of organoleptic, technological and nutritional characteristics. The absence of gluten has been shown to affect starch digestibility, thus increasing the postprandial glycaemic response. However, in recent years, gluten-free technologies have been improved, thus possibly modifying this quality parameter. We investigated the glycaemic index (GI) of 10 commercial foods aiming to update the GI values of the most common gluten-free products consumed in Italy. Methods: The in vivo GI was evaluated for six bakery products and four types of pasta. The postprandial glucose response was obtained in two groups with 10 healthy volunteers each. Results: The overall GI values ranged from 37.5 for breakfast biscuits to 66.7 for puffed multigrain cake. Breads and pasta had GI values consistently lower than those previously reported in the literature. Conclusion: The present study showed that several commercial GF products exhibited low and medium GI values, not confirming the previous observations on the high GI of GF. However, considering the multiple formulations and processes for preparation of these products, further studies are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]