Texture is the paramount concern to the consumers of macaroni
and good quality macaroni should have high degree of firmness. The firmness of cooked macaroni samples is listed in the Table 2. Results clearly indicated that addition of MPP increased the firmness of the macaroni. The firmness of macaroni increased from 44 to 73.46 gf. Dexter and Matsuo (1979) pointed out that starch is the major component of semolina, and firmness in cooked macaroni would be influenced by gelatinized starch properties. The present study indicated that higher content of dietary fiber in the flour by the incorporation ofMPPmay also have a role in the firmness ofmacaroni products. Earlier studies on addition of dietary fiber rich materials to semolina resulted in alterations in firmness of pasta. Brennan et al. (2004) reported that addition of inulin reduced the firmness of cooked pasta while Edwards et al. (1995) reported that addition of dietary fiber (water soluble arabinoxylans) did not give any changes in the textural properties of cooked pasta. On the other hand, Sozer et al. (2007) reported that the firmness of pasta (spaghetti) prepared from semolina enriched with wheat bran was higher than that of control. Statistical analysis indicated that firmness of cooked macaroni was positively correlated to cooking loss (r=0.91).