Rheological, thermal conductivity, and microscopic studies on porous-structured noodles for shortened cooking time

Effects of ball milling treated wheat flour and maltodextrin on the texture and oil absorption properties of fried batter-coated cashews and almonds

In this study, the effects of wheat flour treated with ball milling (BM) and maltodextrin on the oil absorption and textural characteristics of fried batter-coated cashews and almonds (BCAs) were investigated. The result showed that the crystallinity of the starch granules in wheat flour decreased after the BM treatment. Furthermore, the ΔH of the batter decreased as the BM time was elongated, but the addition of maltodextrin had no significant impact on ΔH. Both BM-treated wheat flour and maltodextrin increased the fracturability and decreased the oil content of the fried BCAs' batter. The addition of BM-treated wheat flour and maltodextrin decreased the oil content of the batter from 28.93% to 18.75% for batter-coated cashews and from 30.92% to 18.61% for batter-coated almonds. Overall, the addition of BM-treated wheat flour and maltodextrin in batter is an effective approach to decrease oil content and improve the textural quality of fried BCAs.

Explaining the improving effect of dough crumb-sheet composite rolling on fresh noodle quality: From microstructure and moisture distribution perspective

A new technique known as dough crumb-sheet composite rolling (DC-SCR) was used to improve the quality of fresh noodles. However, there is a dearth of theoretical investigations into the optimal selection of specific parameters for this technology, and the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Therefore, the effects of dough crumb addition times in DC-SCR on the texture, cooking, and eating quality of fresh noodles were first studied. Then, the underlying regulation mechanism of DC-SCR technology on fresh noodles was analyzed in terms of moisture distribution and microstructure. The study demonstrated that the most significant enhancement in the quality of fresh noodles was achieved by adding dough crumbs six times. Compared with fresh noodles made without the addition of dough crumbs, the initial hardness and chewiness of fresh noodles made by adding six times of dough crumbs increased by 25.32% and 46.82%, respectively. In contrast, the cooking time and cooking loss were reduced by 28.45% and 29.69%, respectively. This quality improvement in fresh noodles made by DC-SCR came from the microstructural differences of the gluten network between the inner and outer layers of the dough sheet. A dense structure on the outside and a loose structure on the inside could endow the fresh noodles made by DC-SCR with higher hardness, a shortened cooking time, and less cooking loss. This study would provide a theoretical and experimental basis for creating high-quality fresh noodles.

Acceleration mechanism of the rehydration process of dried rice noodles by the porous structure

Rehydration of dried rice noodles (DRNs) is a time-consuming process, which is dominated by the compactness of noodle structure. Therefore, DRNs with differentiated porous structures were prepared, and their effect on the rehydration process was investigated. Porous structure can shorten rehydration time by reducing the time needed for water to migrate into the noodle core, or the water amount required for rehydration. Magnetic resonance imaging showed that although larger pores facilitate absorbing more water, the time for water to migrate into the noodle center is longer than that of medium size pores, as water needs to fill the periphery large hole before inward migration. SAXS analysis demonstrated that the presence of flexible starch molecular chains reduce the water required to achieve the maximum tensile strain of samples, thus shortening the rehydration time. Understanding the acceleration mechanism of porous structure on rehydration contributes to designing improved process of instant noodle products.

Effects of Incorporation of Porous Tapioca Starch on the Quality of White Salted (Udon) Noodles

White salted (udon) noodles are one of the major staple foods in Asian countries, particularly in Japan. Noodle manufacturers prefer the Australian noodle wheat (ANW) varieties to produce high-quality udon noodles. However, the production of this variety has reduced significantly in recent years, thus affecting the Japanese noodle market. Noodle manufacturers often add tapioca starch to compensate for the flour scarcity; however, the noodle-eating quality and texture are significantly reduced. This study, therefore, investigated the effect of the addition of porous tapioca starch on the cooking quality and texture of udon noodles. For this, tapioca starch was initially subjected to enzyme treatment, ultrasonication, and a combination of both to produce a porous starch where a combined enzyme (0.4% alpha amylase)-ultrasound treatment (20 kHz) yielded a porous starch with increased specific surface area and better absorbent properties which are ideal for udon noodle manufacturing, Later, udon noodles were prepared using three varieties of ANW, a hard Mace variety, and commercial wheat flour by incorporating the prepared porous tapioca starch at a concentration of 5% and 10% of dry ingredients. Adding this porous starch resulted in a lower cooking time with higher water absorption and desirable lower cooking loss compared to the control sample with 5% of the porous starch chosen as the optimum formulation. Increasing the level of the porous starch reduced the hardness of the noodles whilst maintaining the desired instrumental texture. Additionally, a multivariate analysis indicated a good correlation between responses' optimum cooking time and water absorption capacity as well as turbidity and cooking loss, and a cluster analysis grouped noodle samples prepared from different varieties into the same clusters based on the porous starch added, indicating the possibility of different market strategies to improve the quality of the udon noodles produced from different wheat varieties.

Starch-based noodles: Current technologies, properties, and challenges

Starch noodles are gaining interest due to the massive popularity of gluten-free foods. Modified starch is generally used for noodle production due to the functional limitations of native starches. Raw materials, methods, key processing steps, additives, cooking, and textural properties determine the quality of starch noodles. The introduction of traditional, novel, and natural chemical additives used in starch noodles and their potential effects also impacts noodle quality. This review summarizes the current knowledge of the native and modified starch as raw materials and key processing steps for the production of starch noodles. Further, this article aimed to comprehensively collate some of the vital information published on the thermal, pasting, cooking, and textural properties of starch noodles. Technological, nutritional, and sensory challenges during the development of starch noodles are well discussed. Due to the increasing demands of consumers for safe food items with a long shelf life, the development of starch noodles and other convenience food products has increased. Also, the incorporation of modified starches overcomes the shortcomings of native starches, such as lack of viscosity and thickening power, retrogradation characteristics, or hydrophobicity. Starch can improve the stability of the dough structure but reduces the strength and resistance to deformation of the dough. Some technological, sensory, and nutritional challenges also impact the production process.

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.

Effect of Palm Oil-Carnauba Wax Oleogel That Processed with Ultrasonication on the Physicochemical Properties of Salted Duck Egg White Fortified Instant Noodles

The present study permutes edible palm oil (PO) into oleogel by incorporating carnauba wax (CW) at two different concentrations (5 g/100 g and 10 g/100 g, w/w) and processing using ultrasonication. The prepared oleogels (OG1: PO-CW (5 g/100 g); OG2: PO-CW (10 g/100 g); and OGU1: PO-CW (5 g/100 g) with ultrasonication, and OGU2: PO-CW (10 g/100 g) with ultrasonication) were compared with PO (control) to deep fry salted duck egg white (SDEW) fortified instant noodles. The impact of different frying mediums on the physicochemical properties of SDEW noodles was investigated. SDEW instant noodles that were fried using OGU and OG samples had a higher L* and b* but lower a* values than those that were fried in PO (p < 0.05). Among the oleogel-fried samples, noodles that were fried in OGU2 and OG2 effectively lowered the oil uptake and showed better cooking properties than OGU1- and OG1-fried noodles, respectively (p < 0.05). Textural attributes such as higher hardness, firmness, chewiness, tensile strength and elasticity, and lower stickiness were noticed in the samples that were fried in OGU, followed by OG and PO (p < 0.05). Scanning electron microstructure revealed a uniform and smoother surface of noodles fried in OGU and OG, whereas the PO-fried sample showed an uneven and rough surface with more bulges. Noodles were tested for fatty acid compositions, and the results found that oleogel-fried noodles retained more unsaturated fatty acids than the control (p < 0.05). During storage of the frying medium after frying the noodles, OGU and OG had higher oxidative stability with lower TBARS, PV, p-AnV, and Totox values than PO at room temperature for 12 days. Overall, using oleogel as frying media improved the physicochemical and nutritional properties of SDEW noodles. This finding could be beneficial for food industries to produce healthy fried food products for consumers.

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.

The effect of raw dehydrated potato flour on the rheological properties of dough and nutritional quality of chiffon cakes

In this study, chiffon cakes were fortified with potato flakes and raw dehydrated potato flour (RDPF) prepared by freeze-drying and hot air drying. The dough’s rheological properties demonstrate that potato flakes are unsuitable for making chiffon cakes, especially at percentages of 30 and 50%. Adding RDPFs decreased the dough height and adhesiveness but increased the hardness slightly compared with the control. Supplementing with potato flakes has the most influence on cake textural properties, especially at percentages of 30 and 50%, which correspondingly reduces the sensory evaluation score. All the RDPF cake formulations exhibited higher comprehensive nutritional value in terms of protein, fat, dietary fiber, minerals, and amino acids. The cake formulations containing RDPF obtained by hot air drying contained the lowest carbohydrate contents.

Ohmic cooking of instant rice cake soup: energy efficiency and textural qualities

The potential of ohmic heating was investigated to cook instant rice cakes according to electric field strengths (9, 12, 15, 18 V/cm) and cooking times (60, 80, 100, 120 s). Customized ohmic heating system was equipped with ohmic cell, electrodes, thermocouple, proportional-integral-differential controller and data acquisition system. Heating rate significantly increased when electric field strengths increased. Heating rate was 12.1 °C/min at 9 V/cm, and was increased to 38.8 °C/min at 18 V/cm. The energy efficiency was evaluated in terms of system performance coefficient (SPC) energy efficiency. The best SPC energy efficiency was 0.65 at an electrical field strength of 18 V/cm. An electric field strength of 15 V/cm and an 80 s cooking time resulted in the most preferable hardness (7.73 N). Ohmic heating would be applicable to cook instant rice cakes, resulting in good energy efficiency and textural qualities.

Effect of Thermostable α-Amylase Addition on Producing the Porous-Structured Noodles Using Extrusion Treatment

Problems with rehydration and palatability are considered as unacceptable quality characteristics for the noodles produced using high-strength extrusion technique. Thus, the aim of this study was to solve these problems by designing a novel method to create a porous structure for the high-strength extruded noodles (HENs). The quality indices of HENs were significantly improved after adding to them thermostable α-amylase (TαA) at 0.05% to 0.10%. The microstructure graphs showed that a well-developed porous structures was successfully created throughout noodle strands. This indicated that the TαA has effectively worked on starch granules in spite of the high-strength performance of the extrusion process. MALLS-GFC, X-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimeter investigations showed that the appearance of a porous structure was mainly attributed to the internal collapse of α-1,4-glycosidic bonds and the dissolution of water-soluble degradation products, such as dextrin and oligosaccharides. Moreover, the slight inhibited effect of excess TαA on the starch gelatinization was because of the fact that the high enzyme concentration might cause TαA to adhere or overlay on it.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

The rehydration and palatability properties of HENs were greatly improved by creating a well-developed or honeycomb-like porous structure using TαA at low concentration. The findings of this study could be applied to enhance the quality characteristics of HENs and to encourage the research and development in the noodle industry.

Effects of Bamboo Shoot Dietary Fiber on Mechanical Properties, Moisture Distribution, and Microstructure of Frozen Dough

In this paper, the effects of Bamboo shoot dietary fiber (BSDF) on the mechanical properties, moisture distribution, and microstructure of frozen dough were investigated. The state and distribution of water in frozen dough was determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LNMR) spectroscopy. The microstructure of frozen dough was studied. The structure of the gluten protein network found in wheat flour dough was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The result showed that the BSDF could significantly improve the viscoelasticity and extensibility of frozen dough after thawing in a dose-dependent manner. It was significantly improved with the increase in the addition amount of BSDF (P<0.05). DSC analysis showed that the freezable water content and thermal stability of frozen dough were increased after the addition of BSDF. LNMR analysis showed that the appropriate (<0.1%) addition amount of BSDF could significantly (P<0.05) decline the contents of bound water. Meanwhile, the loose bound water and free water were raised significantly (P<0.05) after the addition of BSDF. Moreover, the addition of BSDF induces arrangement of starch granule and gluten network in frozen dough. BSDF can be used as a novel quality improver of frozen dough.