Research Paper
The Quality of Pasta with the Addition of 
Buckwheat Microgreens or Sprouts
Jana PEXOVÁ KALINOVÁ, Mayowa OLADELE NOJEEM
Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Studentská 1668, 370 05 České 
Budějovice, Czech Republic
E-mail addresses: janak@zf.jcu.cz (corresponding author), oladem00@fzt.jcu.cz
DOI https://doi.org/10.3986/fag0034 
Received: August 15, 2023; accepted August 19, 2023. 
Keywords: microgreens; pasta; sensory evaluation; sprouts 
ABSTRACT
Sprouts and microgreens are important functional foods used as nutrition supplements. The aim of this work was 
to test the possibility of pasta production with different proportions of buckwheat sprouts or microgreens and evaluate 
their selected qualitative properties. Semolina pasta containing different proportions of flour from buckwheat sprouts 
(10-20%) and buckwheat microgreens (10%) were produced. Optimal cooking time, cooking water absorption, swelling, 
cooking losses, adhesion, color, overall look, surface, elasticity, translucency, flavour, taste, and the overall impression 
were evaluated. For pasta production, buckwheat sprout flour can be recommended in a portion of up to 10%.
55
Fagopyrum 40 (2): 55-60 (2023)
INTRODUCTION
Buckwheat sprouts have a slightly crispy texture 
and an attractive fragrance (Kim et al. 2004). They are 
abundant in amino acids (28–38% higher than in seeds), 
especially lysine, vitamins (especially vitamins C and B, 
α-tocopherol, and carotenoids), minerals, crude fiber, and 
flavonoid contents (Sun Lim et al., 2001).
Microgreens are slightly larger and older (usually 5-10 
cm tall) than sprouts. They are harvested after the coty-
ledon leaves have developed, at the first true leaf stage 
(Treadwell et al. 2020). Microgreens are used as a nutri-
tion supplement, visual enhancement, and food flavour 
and texture enhancement (Wojdyło et al., 2020). Sprouts 
and microgreens are considered “functional foods” be-
cause they are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxi-
dants, and their popularity has been constantly growing 
(Brentlinger, 2007; Choe and Wang, 2018). 
Although sprouts have been a diet staple in Chinese 
culture for over 5,000 years, they remain relatively un-
popular in other countries (Food Source Information 
2022). Fortification is the incorporation of bioactive 
compounds within a food matrix to prevent specific nu-
trient deficiencies and promote population health (Dw-
yer et al., 2015). Therefore, a possible way to include 
sprouts or microgreens in human nutrition is to fortify 
food such as bread, pasta, noodles, and breakfast flakes 
with these raw materials.
The global pasta market reached about USD 25.67 
billion in 2022 and is expected to reach approximately 
USD 31.14 billion by 2028 (EMR2023). WHO (the World 
Health Organization) and FAO (the Food and Agriculture 
Organization of the United Nations) described pasta as a 
healthy, sustainable, and quality food model (Bresciani et 
al., 2022). Clinical data suggest that pasta consumption 
is not directly associated with overweight or obesity in 
healthy children and adults (Sanders and Slavin, 2023). 
Cooked pasta can have a low glycaemic index, is choles-
terol-free, and is low in sodium (EMR 2023). 
In the last two decades, there has been much research 
into improving pasta nutritional value by including non-
conventional ingredients (dietary fibre, fish ingredients, 
herbs, inulin, resistant starches, legumes, vegetables, 
and protein extracts). Buckwheat, amaranth, or quinoa 
are becoming increasingly popular as ingredients in pas-
ta due to improving nutritional quality too (Kahlon and 
Chiu, 2015). However, these ingredients can affect the 
technological properties, such as the texture, taste, and 
odor of the pasta (Gao et al., 2018). Health effects with 
good taste, texture, and an acceptable price are essential 
for the consumer demand for such foods (Sissons, 2022).
This work aimed to test the possibility of pasta pro-
duction with different proportions of buckwheat sprouts 
or microgreens and evaluate their qualitative properties
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Sprouts preparation
The common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Mo-
ench) achenes (500g), Jana variety from organic farming 
were cleaned and freed from foreign seeds and mechani-
cally dehulled. 250 g of seeds surface-sterilized were pre-
soaked in sterile water for 4 h.  The seeds were directly 
placed into 40×40 cm plastic trays with two sheets of 
filter paper (KA 1) saturated with sterile water and incu-
bated in the thermostat at 25±1°C under dark conditions 
for 96 hours. The seedlings were sprayed with water dai-
ly. The plant material was dried in a ventilated oven at 
45±1°C for 48 h. 
Microgreens preparation
For microgreens, the achenes were directly placed 
into a double-bottomed container. A hemp non-woven 
fabric was placed on the upper, perforated bottom of the 
container with 1x1 cm holes, and buckwheat achenes 
were placed on the fabric. The container was closed with 
an opaque lid for five days. Then the lid was removed. 
Plants were incubated in the thermostat at 25±1°C under 
dark conditions. Eleven days after the start of the exper-
iments, sprouts were cut 10 mm above the surface for 
microgreens. The plant material was weighed and dried 
in a ventilated oven at 45±1°C for 48 h. 
Preparation of pasta 
At first, sprouts or microgreens were ground into 
flour. Mixtures of flour were prepared containing 0, 10, 
15, and 20% of buckwheat flour from sprouts or 10% of 
buckwheat flour from microgreens, the remainder up to 
100% by weight being durum wheat flour (semolina). 
Semolina flour was purchased from the firm Granoro It-
aly (Bari, Italy). 
This was followed by kneading the dough of 100 g of a 
flour mixture with 48 ml of distilled water, warm at 47±1° 
C and kneaded for 20 minutes. Pasta with the width of 1 
cm and the thickness of 2 mm was produced. These were 
then dried for 6 hours in a hot air oven with a maximum 
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Pexová Kalinová, Mayowa Nojeem (2023): The quality of pasta with buckwheat sprouts
of 90° C (at 30°C for 30 min, at 50°C for 60 min, at 90°C 
for 120 min, and at 60°C for 120 min).
Individual dry pasta samples (100g) were boiled for 
10 minutes in 1 liter of water at 100° C, adding 10 g of 
salt.
Evaluated parameters
Optimal cooking time - the time when the white cores 
of the strands disappeared, according to Approved Meth-
od 66-50 of AACC International.
Cooking water absorption - the determination of 
water content in percentage by weight the pasta was per-
formed during cooking. The drained pasta was left in the 
sieve for 2 minutes and weighed. Water absorption (WA) 
was obtained by the following formula:  WA (%) = (a – b) 
/b * 100
Where:  a – the weight of the cooked pasta (g), b – the 
weight of the dry pasta (g).
Cooking yield – the percentage of increased weight 
of pasta during cooking.
Swelling index - the ratio volume of pasta before 
(100g) and after cooking, expressed as a multiple of the 
original volume of solution. The pasta was placed in a 
graduated cylinder with 700 ml of water, and the water 
level in ml was read.
Cooking losses - solids (g) from the cooking water 
were determined by concentrating the cooking water to 
dryness in an oven at 100 °C.
Stickness - how cooked the pasta sticks to the fork 
compared to the semolina pasta. Scale: 1 - does not stick 
to the fork at all; 2 - easily sticks to the fork; 3 - medium 
glues to the fork, 4 - a lot of sticks to the fork, 5 - strongly 
sticks to the fork.
Sensory evaluation of pasta was performed by a 
group of 10 people (5 women and 5 men). The evaluators 
were not in contact with each other and were not familiar 
with the composition of the pasta. The evaluation took 
place on a scale 1 to 5, with a rating of 1 corresponding 
to the best and a rating of 5 to the worst impression 
(1-great, 2- excellent, 3- less excellent, 4- good, 5- unsat-
isfactory). The overall rating was determined by the arith-
metic mean. For raw pasta, the color, overall look (shape, 
edges), surface properties (1-smooth, 2-less smooth, 
3-coarse, 4- slightly rough, 5- rough), elasticity (1-puts 
up resistance before it breaks, 2- puts up slight resistance 
before breaking, 3- it breaks easily, 4- it breaks almost 
immediately, 5-fragile, cannot be bent, breaks immedi-
ately), translucency (1-like semolina, 2-almost like semo-
lina, 3-only along the edges, 4-almost none, 5-none). Af-
ter cooking, it was evaluated: color, look of pasta, flavour, 
taste, and overall impression.
Statistical analysis
The influence of buckwheat flour portion in cookies 
and pasta on selected parameters was evaluated by anal-
ysis of variance with the post hoc Tukey HSD test in pro-
gram Statistica 12.0.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Table 1 and 2 summarizes the sensory evaluation of 
pasta. Most parameters differed significantly (p < 0.05) 
among samples. Higher scores of sensory characteristics 
of raw pasta were recorded for color and translucency that 
had pasta with 10% of microgreens and 20% of sprouts. 
There was no difference among pasta variants with the 
different proportions of sprouts in elasticity. Similarly, 
De Marco et al. (2014) found that the elasticity of pasta 
with different percentages of spirulina also showed no 
change. The translucency, overall look, and surface prop-
Table 1. Sensory evaluation  of raw pasta (mean ± standard deviation)
Different small letters (a–b) indicate significant differences.
Color Overal look Surfaceproperties Elasticity Translucency Total mark
0% of sprouts 1 ± 0.5a 1 ± 0.4a 1 ± 0.5a 2 ± 0.5a 1 ± 0.5a 1
10% of sprouts 2 ± 0.4ab 2 ± 0.4b 2 ± 0.0b 3 ± 0.0b 2 ± 0.7a 2
15% of sprouts 3 ± 0.8ab 3 ± 0.5c 3 ± 0.5c 3 ± 0.0b 4 ± 0.0b 3
20% of sprouts 4 ± 0.8b 5 ± 0.5d 3 ± 0.5c 3 ± 0.3b 5 ± 0.0c 4
10% of microgreens 4 ± 0.8b 3 ± 0.4c 3 ± 0.4c 3 ± 0.5b 5 ± 0.4c 4
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Fagopyrum 40 (2): 55-60 (2023)
erties of row pasta were found to be the best in control 
pasta without buckwheat sprouts and for pasta with 10% 
of buckwheat sprouts. 
During cooking, the starch granules swell and part-
ly solubilize, while the protein becomes insoluble and 
coagulate (Hager et al., 2012). The presence of gluten 
positively influences the texture of cooked pasta. Higher 
scores of sensory properties (color, overall appearance, 
flavour, taste, overall impression, and also overall mark-
er) for cooked pasta are related to 20% sprouts and 10% 
microgreens in pasta. Pasta with 15% sprouts was eval-
uated as less favourable in all characteristics. The higher 
level of buckwheat sprouts in pasta, the more bitterness 
was observed. This unpleasant taste was most noticeable 
in pasta with microgreens. Similarly, Bokić et al. (2022) 
found that the addition of broccoli sprouts significantly 
influenced odor and taste of cooked pasta. 
The optimal cooking time of pasta with microgreens 
was significantly higher (18 min) than in pasta from sem-
olina (0% buckwheat sprouts) and pasta with buckwheat 
sprouts (Table 3). While the lowest (10 min) cooking time 
was recorded in pasta with 20% of buckwheat sprouts. 
The increasing proportion of buckwheat sprout flour in 
the pasta reduced their cooking time. Bokić et al. (2022) 
observed that optimum cooking time also decreased with 
the addition of broccoli sprouts. On the other hand, De 
Marco et al. (2014) found that increasing amounts of 
spirulina in pasta decreased optimum cooking time. It 
was similar in our study when microgreens were added to 
pasta. According to Fardet et al. (1998), the protein net-
work limits water penetration into the center of the pasta 
during cooking, so a weaker protein network reduces the 
cooking time.
The highest swelling (40 ml) and also the highest 
swelling index (1.59) were observed in pasta with 0% 
portion of sprouts (the control variant). The lowest swell-
ing (30 and 32 ml) and the lowest swelling index (1.39) 
was recorded in pasta with 15% of sprouts and 10% of 
microgreens. There were no significant differences among 
pasta with different portions of sprouts or microgreens 
in swelling and swelling index (Table 3). 
The cooking water absorption is the amount of wa-
ter in weight percent that the pasta is taken by cooking. 
In case of insufficient binding, the cooked pasta is hard 
Table 2. Sensory evaluation of cooked pasta (mean ± standard deviation) 
Different small letters (a–b) indicate significant differences.
Fortification Color Overal look Flavour Taste Overalimpression
Total
mark
0% of sprouts 1 ± 0a 1 ± 0a 2 ± 0.7a 1 ± 0.5a 1 ± 1.1a 1
10% of sprouts 3 ± 0.5b 2 ± 0.5b 3 ± 0.5ab 3 ± 0.8b 3 ± 0b 3
15% of sprouts 3 ± 0.5b 3 ± 0.8b 3 ± 0.5ab 3 ± 0.6b 3 ± 0b 3
20% of sprouts 5 ± 0.3c 5 ± 0.5c 5 ± 0.5b 4 ± 0.5b 4 ± 0.5c 5
10% of microgreens 4 ± 0.7bc 4 ± 0.5bc 3 ± 0.7ab 4 ± 0.3b 4 ± 0.5c 4
Fortification Cook. time (min)
Swelling   
(ml)
Swelling  
index
Water 
absorbtion (%)
Cooking yield 
(%)
Cooking 
losses (g) Stickness
0% sprouts 12±1ab 40 ± 0.6b 1.58b 154±2.4b 254±2.6b 1.8±0.2a 1
10% sprouts 15±2ab 34 ± 0.5a 1.48a 118±2.7ab 218 ±2.8a 3.2±0.4c 1
15% sprouts 13±1ab 30 ± 4.6a 1.39a 120±4.7ab 216 ± 5.6a 3.4±0.6c 1
20% sprouts 10±1a 35 ± 0.8a 1.49a 126± 5.8ab 226 ± 7.9a 4.5±0.2d 1
10% microgreens 18±2b 32 ±2.7a 1.39a 108 ± 5.7a 208 ± 5.1a 2.3±0.1b 1
Table 3. Evaluation of cooked pasta (mean± standard deviation)
Different small letters (a–b) indicate significant differences.
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Pexová Kalinová, Mayowa Nojeem (2023): The quality of pasta with buckwheat sprouts
and rough. On the contrary, with high binding, the pasta 
is too soft and sticky. The highest cooking water absorp-
tion of pasta (154%) was observed in the control variant 
(0% sprouts), and the lowest cooking water absorption 
(108%) was recorded in pasta with buckwheat micro-
greens. The higher cooking water absorption increase 
was noticed in the pasta with sprouts than in the pasta 
with microgreens. There was no statistically significant 
difference between pasta varieties with a different pro-
portion of sprouts in the cooking water absorption (Table 
3). Water absorption should be at least 100% of the mass 
of dry pasta (MSZ 20500/1–1985). All samples met this 
requirement. Bokić et al. (2022) found that fortification 
of pasta with broccoli sprouts reduced swelling index but 
volume (swelling) increased. 
The highest cooking yield of pasta (245%) was ob-
served in the control variant (0% of sprouts), and the 
lowest cooking yield (208%) was recorded in pasta with 
buckwheat microgreens. The higher cooking yield was 
noted in the pasta with sprouts than that pasta with mi-
crogreens. There was no statistically significant difference 
between pasta variants with the different proportions of 
sprouts in the cooking yield.
Cooking losses are defined as the weight of the total 
solids lost in the cooking water. When pasta is fortified, 
gluten is diluted by replacing wheat flour with buckwheat 
sprouts or microgreens, and the protein network is weak-
ened, which facilitates the leakage of amylose into the 
cooking water (De Marco et al., 2014). The higher por-
tion of the solids lost is, the cooking losses are higher. 
Replacement of wheat flour by buckwheat sprouts or 
microgreens significantly (p < 0.05) increased the cook-
ing losses. There was a statistically significant differ-
ence between pasta variants with different proportions 
of sprouts. The pasta prepared from flour with 10% of 
buckwheat microgreens had the most similar cooking 
losses of the control sample. The highest cooking loss-
es were observed when the pasta was prepared with 20 
% of buckwheat sprouts (Table 3). Similarly, Bokić et al. 
(2022) established that cooking losses increased with the 
level of broccoli sprouts in pasta. Pasta should exhibit low 
cooking losses. All pasta samples had acceptable quality 
because good pasta has cooking losses <8 g/100 g (Dick 
and Youngs, 1988). 
Stickiness (adhesiveness) is another essential proper-
ty of pasta. Pasta should exhibit an absence of stickiness. 
If the pasta sticks, it worsens their consumption. The 
stickiness of the pasta was tested as adhesion to a fork. 
Although according to Marchylo et al. (2004), the higher 
strength and lower.
CONCLUSION
Evaluation of pasta prepared with the addition of 
buckwheat sprouts flour to wheat flour confirmed that 
the pasta cooking time, the binding of water during pasta 
cooking, and the proportion of cooking losses confirmed 
satisfactory values of these parameters. However, the 
10% addition of buckwheat sprouts is acceptable to con-
sumers in terms of look and taste. At the same time, it 
will positively affect the nutritional quality of the pas-
ta. Based on the obtained results, common buckwheat 
sprouts can be recommended as an ingredient in pasta. 
The application of buckwheat to pasta can have an essen-
tial role in human nutrition because the consumption of 
pasta has a long-term upward trend in the population. 
As a result of the sensory evaluation, the addition of 
20% buckwheat sprouts may adversely affect color and 
sensory properties. The addition of sprouts than micro-
greens can be recommended for the fortification of pasta. 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The results of this work are part of the diploma the-
sis and this work was financially supported by GAJU 
080/2022/Z.
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IZVLEČEK
Kakovost testenin z dodatkom ajdovih kalic in mikrozelenja
Kalice in mikrozelenje so pomembna funkcionalna živila, ki jih uporabljajo za prehranska dopolnila. Namen dela je 
bil preizkusiti možnost izdelave testenin z različnimi deleži ajdovih kalic in ovrednotiti njihove izbrane kvalitativne last-
nosti. Pripravljene so bile testenine iz zdroba semoline (durum pšenice) z različnimi deleži moke iz ajdovih kalic (10-20 
%) in ajdovega mikrozelenja (10 %). Ocenjevali so optimalen čas kuhanja, vpijanje vode pri kuhanju, nabrekanje, izgubo 
pri kuhanju, oprijemljivost, barvo, splošni videz, površino, prožnost, prosojnost, aromo, okus in splošni vtis. Za izdelavo 
testenin se priporoča moka iz ajdovih kalic v deležu do 10 %.
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Pexová Kalinová, Mayowa Nojeem (2023): The quality of pasta with buckwheat sprouts