Fresh, filled and free-from: General Mills seeks patent on gluten-free pastas

By Kacey Culliney

- Last updated on GMT

Fresh, filled and free-from: General Mills seeks patent on gluten-free pastas

Related tags General mills Flour Wheat

General Mills is seeking to patent a way to make gluten-free and reduced-gluten fresh, filled pastas such as ravioli without any breakages or tears during processing.

In its patent application​,​ General Mills said its method relied on a cold extrusion process of pasta dough made with a balanced blend of flours and gums.

This formulation and process enabled the successful manufacture of a variety of free-from, fresh pastas including ravioli, tortellini and agnolotti; products it said were troublesome to make without gluten.

Replacing the physical role of gluten in any foodstuff was a “difficult task”, ​General Mills said, but it was even more difficult with pasta in which gluten is vital to the texture, structure and stretch of the final product.

It proved even tougher again, it said, when manufacturing fresh pasta products and variants with a meat or vegetable filling.

“This is because filled pasta cannot be made in a dry form, as the higher water-activity of the filling will tend to degrade the product overall. The manufacturing process requires the pasta to stretch around the filling, which requires that the pasta itself is not susceptible to tearing or breaking,” ​it wrote in its patent filing.

“…Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a commercially manufacturable gluten-free or reduced-gluten pasta that ameliorates at least some of the problems associated with the prior art.”

Xanthan gum, egg and potato starch

General Mills said gluten-free or reduced-gluten flour formulations could be made with either grain flours that had gluten content removed or lowered, or with blends of protein-free, low-protein grain or vegetable starches and gum.

For this patent, it said a blend of rice flour and cornstarch had been chosen for a bland flavor profile, alongside a xanthan gum inclusion of 2-3% for structure and flexibility.

“Preferably, the pasta further incorporates other advantageous carbohydrate ingredients, including: rice flour; potato starch and/or tapioca starch. A particularly desirably result is achieved with the incorporation of at least 10% by mass of fresh egg,”​ it wrote.

The potato starch used was a modified, pre-gelatinized variant with a smaller particle size than the typical ingredient. This potato starch, in combination with the egg and xanthan gum, gave the dough structure – ensuring it was less susceptible to tearing or cracking during the filling stage – as well as ‘bite’ to the final product, required to meet sensory expectations.

Cold extrusion stretching

But General Mills said beyond formulation, its cold extrusion process was vital to successful manufacturing of fresh, filled gluten-free and reduced-gluten variants.

The steps were relatively simple – mixing all raw materials; cold extruding the mixture into sheets of around 1-1.2mm thickness; adding the filling; and shaping the pasta around it prior to cooling and packing.

General Mills said cold extrusion had to happen at temperatures of 34°C or less; pilot trials showed 32°C was optimal for plain pasta and 25.7°C for filled pasta.

“At significantly higher extrusion temperatures the starch in the pasta dough tends to begin gelatinizing. This is undesirable as it can cause the dough to ‘stick’ to the extruder screw.”

In all cases, the extruder pressure had to be 75 Bar or more: “An extrusion pressure of less than 60 Bar was trialed, however the gluten-free pasta dough product did not extrude well at this pressure. The relatively high level of moisture in the pasta dough tended to cause the dough to break apart.”

General Mills said its invention would help address the increased demand for variety in fresh, gluten-free and reduced-gluten products.

Source: WIPO Publication No. 20170273339

Published: September 28, 2017. Filed: August 3, 2015.

Title: “Pasta with reduced gluten”

Authors: General Mills – R. Vlatis

Related news

Related products

show more

Life is better with more fizz

Life is better with more fizz

Content provided by CO2Sustain | 12-Mar-2024 | Product Brochure

We make carbonated soft drinks fizzier for longer, so your consumers enjoy the best possible drink experience from their first to very last sip.

Future Food-Tech San Francisco, March 21-22, 2024

Future Food-Tech San Francisco, March 21-22, 2024

Content provided by Rethink Events Ltd | 11-Jan-2024 | Event Programme

Future Food-Tech is the go-to meeting place for the food-tech industry to collaborate towards a healthier food system for people and planet.

Oat Beta-glucan – Clean Label Texturizer

Oat Beta-glucan – Clean Label Texturizer

Content provided by Lantmännen Biorefineries AB | 21-Nov-2023 | White Paper

In today's health-conscious world, consumers seek transparent labels and natural ingredients.

How Tech Transforms Pea Protein Production

How Tech Transforms Pea Protein Production

Content provided by Roquette | 13-Nov-2023 | Case Study

Roquette's Canadian pea protein facility is embracing technology-driven changes in production. Key developments include:

Data-centric...

Related suppliers

Follow us

Products

View more

Webinars