INVESTIGATION OF EMPIRICAL AND FUNDAMENTAL SOBA NOODLE TEXTURE PARAMETERS PREPARED WITH TARTARY, GREEN TESTA AND COMMON BUCKWHEAT

Effect of sodium carbonate on the properties of seventy percent of Tartary buckwheat composite flour-based doughs and noodles and the underlying mechanism

The impact of Na2 CO3 on the properties of doughs and noodles containing 70% Tartary buckwheat flour was investigated. Low-field 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance showed the mobility of water in the doughs significantly declined with the addition content of alkali from 0% to 0.9%. Na2 CO3 promoted the transformation from free sulfhydryl groups to disulfide bonds in doughs because the sulfhydryl groups in cysteine preferred to form thiolate anion and then oxidate under alkaline conditions. As for non-covalent chemical interactions, a significant increase of hydrogen bonds and a decrease of hydrophobic interactions were observed after Na2 CO3 addition. Quantitative analysis of microstructure showed that more uniform and denser gluten networks with higher branching rate and shorter average protein length and width formed in the doughs with 0.3%-0.6% of Na2 CO3 . The aggregated glutenin macropolymer and enhanced protein structure led to significantly stronger tensile of Tartary buckwheat dough sheets, which could meet the demand of continuous processing in the factory. Dough with alkali had higher swelling power and pasting viscosities, contributing to higher water absorption, and improved textural attributes of cooked noodles. This study demonstrated the possibility of adding Na2 CO3 at a moderate level for promoting the sheeting, cooking, and eating properties of high Tartary buckwheat flour composite noodles.

Nutritional and bioactive characteristics of buckwheat, and its potential for developing gluten-free products: An updated overview

In the present era, food scientists are concerned about exploiting functional crops with nutraceutical properties. Buckwheat is one of the functional pseudocereals with nutraceutical components used in the treatment of health-related diseases, malnutrition, and celiac diseases. As a preferred diet as a gluten-free product for celiac diseases, buckwheat is a good source of nutrients, bioactive components, phytochemicals, and antioxidants. The general characteristics and better nutritional profile of buckwheat than other cereal family crops were highlighted by previous investigations. In buckwheats, bioactive components like peptides, flavonoids, phenolic acids, d-fagomine, fagopyritols, and fagopyrins are posing significant health benefits. This study highlights the current knowledge about buckwheat and its characteristics, nutritional constituents, bioactive components, and their potential for developing gluten-free products to target celiac people (1.4% of the world population) and other health-related diseases.

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.

Buckwheat noodles: processing and quality enhancement

In recent years, buckwheat noodles have gained increased importance because of their functional properties. These qualities are attributed to the abundance of bioactive compounds (e.g., rutin, quercetin) and nutraceuticals (e.g., B vitamins, unsaturated fatty acids). Buckwheat noodle consumption has been shown to be associated with improved metabolic health. Buckwheat flour exhibits properties similar to those of common cereal flours in food processing, but devoid of gluten. However, the maintenance of good textural properties and high sensory acceptability are key challenges in the development of gluten-free products, and these limitations prevented widespread application of buckwheat in the food industry. Nevertheless, continuous technological developments related to raw materials processing, noodle processing, and noodle quality enhancement have contributed to the growing popularity and acceptability of buckwheat noodles in recent times. These improvements could render buckwheat noodles a healthy gluten-free alternative to wheat noodles.

Evaluation of the processing quality of noodle dough containing a high Tartary buckwheat flour content through texture analysis

A texture analysis method for evaluating the processing quality of noodle dough with a high Tartary buckwheat flour (BF) content was established. And then the improvement of wheat flour (WF), wheat gluten (WG), and pre-gelatinized Tartary buckwheat flour (PBF) for the processing quality of buckwheat noodle dough was compared quantitatively, and the mechanism was explored through the observation of gluten network in dough sheets. Texture results showed that the coefficients of variation of tensile strength and adhesiveness of dough sheets among 16 groups were 17.76% and 40.72%, respectively, and the intragroup variation coefficients were only 4.17% and 7.07%, respectively. The tensile strength of dough sheets was significantly positively correlated with gluten index of WF and WG. In addition, with the increase of WG and PBF addition, the tensile strength and adhesiveness of dough sheets showed a linearly increase trend. Furthermore, the gluten network in the dough sheets containing WF or WG with high gluten index distributed more evenly and compactly than that with low gluten index. The dough sheet with 9% PBF showed more uniform gluten network, compared with that without added PBF. Overall, texture analysis of dough sheet can be used to evaluate the processing quality of noodle dough containing 70% BF, and the WF and WG with high gluten index had better improvement than PBF.

Proteins of Amaranth (Amaranthus spp.), Buckwheat (Fagopyrum spp.), and Quinoa (Chenopodium spp.): A Food Science and Technology Perspective

There is currently much interest in the use of pseudocereals for developing nutritious food products. Amaranth, buckwheat, and quinoa are the 3 major pseudocereals in terms of world production. They contain high levels of starch, proteins, dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins, and other bioactives. Their proteins have well-balanced amino acid compositions, are more sustainable than those from animal sources, and can be consumed by patients suffering from celiac disease. While pseudocereal proteins mainly consist of albumins and globulins, the predominant cereal proteins are prolamins and glutelins. We here discuss the structural properties, denaturation and aggregation behaviors, and solubility, as well as the foaming, emulsifying, and gelling properties of amaranth, buckwheat, and quinoa proteins. In addition, the technological impact of incorporating amaranth, buckwheat, and quinoa in bread, pasta, noodles, and cookies and strategies to affect the functionality of pseudocereal flour proteins are discussed. Literature concerning pseudocereal proteins is often inconsistent and contradictory, particularly in the methods used to obtain globulins and glutelins. Also, most studies on protein denaturation and techno-functional properties have focused on isolates obtained by alkaline extraction and subsequent isoelectric precipitation at acidic pH, even if the outcome of such studies is not necessarily relevant for understanding the role of the native proteins in food processing. Finally, even though establishing in-depth structure-function relationships seems challenging, it would undoubtedly be of major help in the design of tailor-made pseudocereal foods.