‘Super-Spaghetti’ Could Hit Shelves Soon

A report in the ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry says we should expect pasta packages marked “good source of dietary fiber” and “may reduce the risk of heart disease.” That’s because a new genre of pasta has been developed with barley-the grain synonymous with beer.

Barley, a new ingredient for “functional foods” is gaining popularity because of its high fiber and antioxidant properties. Functional foods are those foods that are supplemented with nutritious additives and have become a growing industry worldwide. In order to determine if barley could help in creating a new functional spaghetti (by adding fiber and antioxidants), researchers designed a barley flour. As expected, they found that barley spaghetti is in fact more nutritional than the standard semolina-based spaghetti. Additionally, they discovered that adding gluten to barley flour improved the pastas’ cooking quality but lowered the level of antioxidants. So keep an eye on the pasta isle in your grocery store. We’re curious to see how it tastes.