Introduction:

In recent decades, there has been growing interest in healthy foods that are easy to purchase and prepare, which has led to the potential use of new or lower-cost raw materials. However, these foods must also be accepted by most of the population and provide adequate nutrients.

Objective:

To formulate and analyze, proximally and sensorily, white sorghum pastas with added sorghum starch isolate to obtain a nutritious, easily accepted, gluten-free food.

Materials and methods:

Three white sorghum pastas were formulated by changing the starch concentration (5, 10, and 15%). Subsequently, a sensory analysis was performed using a 7-point hedonic scale by untrained panelists, and a proximate analysis was performed using official AACC methods. A comparison of means was performed to find significant differences between the formulations.

Results:

The pastas had an overall acceptance rating of 5 (“moderately like”); in terms of proximate content, the protein content stood out at 14.7 to 15.5%, ash 1.96 to 2.09%, lipids 2.8 to 4.5%, crude fiber 1.5 to 2.4%, and low moisture (4.16 to 4.98%). As expected, the starch content of the pasta increased as the percentage of this compound increased.

Conclusions:

The nutritional content of the formulations stands out for its high protein and ash content; therefore, the formulations can be improved to offer a healthy and economical alternative for the general population, including celiac patients and those allergic to gluten.