The more environmentally and dietary-conscious among us may soon be playing with old Italian recipes after scientists show that a tasty new pasta made from chickpeas vastly improves the environmental sustainability and nutritional quality of one of the world’s largest food chains. people of mankind.
For the millions of us who love Italian food, a delicious plate of pasta is one of the images we will conjure up when asked to visualize our favorite food.
But new research shows that traditional pasta made from wheat falls into our modern food system characterized by unsustainable farming practices that use environmentally damaging nitrogen fertilizers and excessive consumption of nutrient-poor foods that contribute to non-communicable diseases and malnutrition.
In contrast, the chickpea pasta developed by the Bulgarian company Variva and evaluated in terms of environmental load and nutrient density by scientists from Trinity, Bangor University and the Catholic University of Portugal, negates many of the problems that arise from the production wheat.
Chickpea pasta, when cooked, contains 1.5 times more protein, 3.2 times more fiber and 5 times more essential fatty acids than durum wheat pasta. Plus, it’s more filling so you need smaller portions and mitigates global warming impacts as associated resource use and eutrophication values are 7995% lower than those associated with durum wheat pasta.
Sophie Saget and Mike Williams of Trinity’s School of Natural Sciences are co-authors of the research paper, which was recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Sustainable Consumption and Production.
Professor Williams said:
“This pasta provides another excellent example of how the legumes such as lentils, beans and chickpeas that are used in this case can be incorporated into conventional diets with significant benefits for our health and nutrition and the environment, increasingly under pressure from current agricultural practices. The content of chickpea paste could also contribute to wider environmental benefits if we were to substitute it for some of the animal protein that normally occupies too large a part of many Irish and European diets.
“People can take time to change their habits, especially when it comes to our diets and substituting foods that have been commonly eaten and enjoyed for a long time. But tastes adapt quite quickly, and humanity will have to adapt very quickly to meet the nutritional demands of a rapidly growing world population, while also safeguarding our already fragile environment that is key to feeding billions of mouths. .
“Fortunately, this chickpea pasta is very tasty and has a subtle nutty flavor, we recommend cooking it al dente and adding a typical pasta sauce of your choice to achieve a flavor and texture very similar to the traditional one.
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Video: What is the best way to cook pasta? More information: Sophie Saget et al. Substituting chickpea flour for wheat in pasta production offers more nutrition at a lower environmental cost, Sustainable Production and Consumption (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.spc.2020.06.012 Provided by Trinity College Dublin Date: Meet the New Super Nutrient Pasta with a Greener Footprint (2020, Jul 16) Accessed Aug 31, 2022 at https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-07-super-nutritious-pasta-greener-footprint .html This document is subject to copyright. Other than any fair dealing for private study or research purposes, no part may be reproduced without written permission. The content is provided for informational purposes only.