alt Hacker NewsNeutron scattering explains why gluten-free pasta falls apart (2025)
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OK, fun article. But holy smokes, when I first read the title, I thought it was saying, "GF pasta falls apart because of neutron scattering." Whew!
HA! I thought this headline meant that neutron scattering was the underlying cause of gluten-free pasta falling apart, rather than the tool used to understand the issue.
"Gluten free pasta" is not an adequate description. It's defining a food product by what it is not made out of. I assume they mean chickpea, or one of the kinds that's a blend with quinoa, because corn or brown rice pasta is actually much more resilient than gluten pasta. You can cook the rice pasta far overtime and it does not fall apart. Chickpea pasta disintegrates, though. Anyway, not to distract from the real topic.
Reminds me a bit of the research dept of the company I'm working for.
If they have too much free time they put much weirdo stuff into their devices just to see what.. happens.
They have a spectacular collection of crystals scanned.
This might be the most Italian thing I have ever read.
"Materials
Two types of spaghetti (regular No. 5 and gluten-free) produced by the Barilla company (Italy) were purchased in a supermarket."
Are you kidding me? You did a study and tested /one/ kind of gluten-free pasta?
There are so many different kinds from different companies. One type from Barilla is nowhere near representative to draw a useful conclusion.
Especially as unlike many other gluten-free pasta products it lacks an important binding agent.[1]
As someone with a gluten-allergic partner I regularly make pancakes and bake bread with (Italian!) rice-based flour.
And they are difficult to distinguish from the flour based ones, in taste, texture, fluffiness and and structural integrity.
The secret to this is xantham gum. It acts as a binding agent in gluten-free baking, providing the elasticity and stickiness that gluten typically offers. It helps to hold ingredients together and improve the texture.
I learned this when eating excellent gluten-free pinza, in a small place in Catania, Sicily, whose owner has celiac disease.
Ah yes, as far as pasta goes there is also research about this ofc[2]
[1] https://www.barilla.com/en-us/products/pasta/gluten-free/glu...
[2] "Incorporation of xanthan gum to gluten-free pasta with cassava starch. Physical, textural and sensory attributes"
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00236...
> Greg Smith from ISIS as well as collaborators
Didn't know ISIS gave a hoot about gluten free.
The headline is ambiguous and misleading. The reason that different types of pasta have different structural integrity is not that they scatter neutrons differently.
Neutron scattering was merely the tool with which they investigated the different molecular structures, which ultimately explain the differences in stability.
> cooked in D20
Of all the options for heavy water, deuterium oxide, 2H2O, D2O… the latter is my least favorite because every time my inclination is to try and think of what element D is on the periodic table.
There's a reason it's called gluten.
From Middle French gluten, borrowed from Latin glūten (“glue”).
Gluten free pasta is the same kind of oxymoron as lactose free cow milk. Might look the same at first glance but absolutely fails at replicating the most important property: taste. And here we have scientists proving it‘s worse in other aspects as well.
There are some corn/rice pastas that are pretty close to the real deal. Sure a seasoned pasta officianado could tell the difference, but we have gluten intolerant in the house so predominantly eat gluten free pastas. Never had a visitor or kids friends complaining (and kids will complain about anything). Happily chow down. There are also some pretty good grain free varieties made from tapioca and egg, we get lasagne sheets that are approved of by the only real Italian I known, they maintain the chewy/rubbery texture of lasagne well.