Effects of xanthan gum on cooking qualities, texture and microstructures of fresh potato instant noodles

Effects of Moisture Migration and Changes in Gluten Network Structure during Hot Air Drying on Quality Characteristics of Instant Dough Sheets

The impact of hot air drying temperature on instant dough sheets' qualities was investigated based on water migration and gluten network structure changes. The results revealed that the drying process redistributed the hydrogen proton, with deeply bound water accounting for more than 90%. The T2 value decreased as the drying temperature increased, effectively restricting moisture mobility. Meanwhile, microstructural analysis indicated that instant dough sheets presented porous structures, which significantly reduced the rehydration time of instant dough sheets (p < 0.05). In addition, elevated drying temperatures contributed to the cross-linking of proteins, as evidenced by increased GMP and disulfide bond content (reaching a maximum at 80 °C), which improved the texture and cooking properties. Hence, the water mobility was effectively reduced by controlling the drying temperature. The temperature had a facilitating impact on promoting the aggregation of the gluten network structure, which improved the quality of the instant dough sheets.

Effect of Maltodextrin on the Physicochemical Properties and Cooking Performance of Sweet Potato Starch Noodles

Maltodextrin (MD), the hydrolyzed starch product, is a promising alternative ingredient to improve the quality of starch-based foods. The effects of MD on the physicochemical, microstructural, and cooking properties of sweet potato starch (SPS) noodles, as well as the mechanism of SPS-MD interactions, are discussed. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) results indicated that MD at a suitable concentration can improve the ordered structure of SPS-MD gels. The cooking loss showed lower values of 1.47−2.16% at 0.5−2.0 wt% MD. For the texture properties, an increase in hardness and chewiness occurred at first with the addition of MD, followed by a decreasing trend, showing a maximum value at 2.0 wt% of MD. The pasting and thermal results verified the increased stability of the starch granules with MD < 3 wt%. Additionally, SPS formed a solid-like gel with MD, and the main interaction forces between SPS and MD were hydrogen bonding. The scanning electron microscopy results revealed that the higher concentrations of MD (>3 wt%) loosened the gel structure and markedly increased the pore size. These results help us to better understand the interaction mechanism of the SPS-MD complex and facilitate the development of SPS-based gel products.

The modulatory roles and regulatory strategy of starch in the textural and rehydration attributes of dried noodle products

Noodles are popular staple foods globally, and dried noodle products (DNPs) have gained increasing attention due to recent changes in consumer diet behavior. Rapid rehydration and excellent texture quality are the two major demands consumers make of dried noodle products. Unfortunately, these two qualities conflict with each other: the rapid rehydration of DNPs generally requires a loose structure, which is disadvantageous for good texture qualities. This contradiction limits further development of the noodle industry, and overcoming this limitation remains challenging. Starch is the major component of noodles, and it has two main roles in DNPs. It serves as a skeleton for the noodle in gel networks form or acts as a noodle network filler in granule form. In this review, we comprehensively investigate the different roles of starch in DNPs, and propose strategies for balancing the conflicts between texture and rehydration qualities of DNPs by regulating the gel network and granule structure of starch. Current strategies in regulating the gel network mainly focused on the hydrogen bond strength, the orientation degree, and the porosity; while regulating granule structure was generally performed by adjusting the integrity and the gelatinization degree of starch. This review assists in the production of instant dried noodle products with desired qualities, and provides insights into promising enhancements in the quality of starch-based products by manipulating starch structure.

Potato Processing Industry in China: Current Scenario, Future Trends and Global Impact

Potatoes play an important role in ensuring food security. During the COVID-19 epidemic, consumption of processed potato products decreased, and consumption of fresh potatoes increased. China is the world's largest potato producer with more than 4.81 million hectares of area under potato production and 90.32 million metric tonnes of potatoes produced in 2018. This accounts for 27.36% of the world's planting area and 24.53% of the world's potato production. The proportion of potatoes processed in China was about 12% in 2017, mostly dominated by starch production. However, the recent policy of the Chinese government to popularise potato as a staple food has created new markets for processed potato products other than starch. A very few reports have analysed these future trends of the rapidly growing Chinese potato processing industry and its impact within and outside China. This paper provides an overview of the latest developments with a focus on processed potato products such as potato chips, French fries and dehydrated potatoes, and also, due to the unique Chinese diet culture, it highlights the need for more scientific research dedicated towards the development of novel potato-based healthy foods.

Incorporation of quinoa seeds accessions in instant noodles improves their textural and quality characteristics

The instant noodles were prepared with incorporation of two Egyptian quinoa seeds accessions to assess the impact of adding quinoa on cooking quality, texture properties, and organoleptic characteristics of instant noodles. Two groups of instant noodles were formulated with substituting wheat flour (72% extract) by quinoa seeds flour from red-colored SHAMS 17-2 and non-colored SHAMS 16 accessions at 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50% (w/w). The physicochemical and functional properties were determined as well as FTIR analysis was carried out. The results showed that incorporation of 10-30% quinoa seeds flour (w/w) in wheat-flour increased total polyphenol content, antioxidant activity, textural parameters, and cooking qualities without influencing the overall acceptability and instrumental color of noodles. The addition of quinoa flour donated to rapid rehydration, advanced cooking loss, water absorption, and amplified porosity. Besides, noodles with 50% of SHAMS 17-2 or SHAMS 16 shifted the FTIR spectrum of each amid in a noodle model, confirming that the phyto-complexes of quinoa seeds interacted with glutenins and/or gliadins amides of wheat flour, thus altering noodles properties. In conclusion, this work provided evidence that the red-colored quinoa seeds might be expended as a partial-ingredient for wheat-flour during instant noodles manufacturing.

Effect of Pretreatments and Drying Methods on Physical and Microstructural Properties of Potato Flour

This study evaluated the effects of pretreatments (blanching (60 and 95 °C) and boiling) and drying methods (freeze-drying and oven drying) on the quality characteristics of potato flour derived from three potato varieties, namely, Shangi, Unica, and Dutch Robjin. The percentage flour yield, color, particle size distribution, flow characteristics, microstructural and functional properties of the potato flour were determined. Unica recorded the least peeling loss, while the Dutch Robjin variety had the highest. Color parameters were significantly affected (p < 0.05) by the pretreatments and drying methods. Freeze drying produced lighter potato flour (L* = 92.86) compared to the other methods. Boiling and blanching at 95 °C followed by oven drying recorded a low angle of repose and compressibility index, indicating better flow characteristics. The smallest particle size (56.5 µm) was recorded for the freeze-drying treatment, while boiling followed by oven drying had the largest particle size (307.5 µm). Microstructural results indicate that boiling and blanching at 95 °C, followed by oven drying resulted in damaged starch granules, while freeze-drying and low-temperature blanching (60 °C) maintained the native starch granule. Particle size and the solubility index of potato flour showed strong positive correlation. This study revealed that the pretreatments and drying methods affected potato flour’s physical and microstructural parameters differently, resulting in changes in their functionality.

Hydration and plasticization effects of maltodextrin on the structure and cooking quality of extruded whole buckwheat noodles

In order to improve the structure and cooking quality of extruded whole buckwheat noodles (EWBN), maltodextrin (MD), the homologous substances of starch, was added to buckwheat flour to prepare the EWBN. Hydrogen bonds formed between MD and buckwheat starch molecules and the crystallinity of EWBN decreased as determined by FT-IR and X-ray diffraction, which indicated plasticization effects of MD on buckwheat starch. The content of tightly bound water first increased and then decreased with the increasing amount of MD and the cooking time of EWBM decreased from 5.4 to 3.1 min due to the hydration effects of MD. The cooking loss first decreased and then increased, and showed a minimum value of 9.22% when adding 1 wt% of MD. For texture properties, the hardness, stickiness, chewiness and elongation at break of EWBN first increased and then decreased with the addition of MD, and all reached the maximum value at 3 wt% of MD. These findings showed the potential of adding MD, especially at the appropriate concentration, for improving structure and cooking quality of EWBN.

Sandwich-type sheeting improved the processing and eating qualities of potato noodles

A technology called sandwich-type sheeting was used to produce noodles with potato flakes. The technical parameters of sheeting were first optimized. Then the processing and eating qualities of potato noodles made with sandwich-type sheeting and conventional sheeting were compared. Results showed that the optimal moisture of inner-layer dough and outer-layer dough was 41 and 37%, respectively. The suitable ratio of the thickness of inner layer to that of outer layer was 3:1. The tensile strength of the sandwich-type dough sheet was 1.285 times higher than that of conventional dough sheet. The cooking loss of the sandwich-type noodles was 37.0% lower than that of conventional noodles, and the adhesiveness decreased by 51.0%. In the sandwich-type noodles, the compact gluten network structure of outer wheat layer prevented the leaching of soluble substances in the inner layer added with potato flakes, improving the cooking and eating qualities of potato noodles.

The impact of hydrophilic emulsifiers on the physico-chemical properties, microstructure, water distribution and in vitro digestibility of proteins in fried snacks based on fish meat

Hydrophillic emulsifiers strengthened the starch–protein interaction which resulted in improved physio-chemical properties of friend snacks based on fish meat.