Effect of Frying Process on Nutritional Property, Physicochemical Quality, and in vitro Digestibility of Commercial Instant Noodles

Formation of pores and bubbles and their impacts on the quality attributes of processed foods: A review

Pores and bubbles significantly influence the physical attributes (like texture, density, and structural integrity), organoleptic properties, and shelf life of processed foods. Hence, the quality of foods and their acceptance by the consumers could be influenced by the properties and prevalence of pores and bubbles within the food structure. Considering the importance of pores, this review aimed to comprehensively discuss the factors and mechanisms involved in the generation of pores and bubbles during the processing of different food products. Moreover, the characteristics and effects of pores on the properties of chocolates, cheeses, cereal-based foods (like cake, puffed grains, and pasta), dried, and fried products were discussed. The impacts of bubbles on the quality of foam-based products, foam creamers, and beverages were also explored. This review concludes that intrinsic factors (like food compositions, initial moisture content, and porosity) and extrinsic factors (like applied technologies, processing, and storage conditions) affect various properties of the pores and bubbles including their number, size, orientation, and distribution. These factors collectively shape the overall structure and quality of processed food products such as density, texture (hardness, cohesiveness, chewiness), and water holding capacity. The desirability or undesirability of pores and their characteristics depends on the type of products; hence, some practical hints were provided to mitigate their adverse effects or to enhance their formation in foods. For example, pores could increase the nutrient digestion and reduce the shelf life of the products by enhancing the risk of fat oxidation and microbial growth. In conclusion, this study provides a valuable resource for food scientists and industry professionals by discussing the effects of pores on food preservation, heat, and mass transfer (including oxygen, moisture, flavors, and nutrients). Understanding the dynamic changes in porosity during processing will be effective in customization of final product quality with desired attributes, ensuring tailored outcomes for specific applications.

Recent advances in enzymatic modification techniques to improve the quality of flour-based fried foods

Flour-based fried foods are among the most commonly consumed foods worldwide. However, the sensory attributes and nutritional value of fried foods are inconsistent and unstable. Therefore, the creation of fried foods with desirable sensory attributes and good nutritional value remains a major challenge for the development of the fried food industry. The quality of flour-based fried foods can sometimes be improved by physical methods and the addition of chemical modifiers. However, enzyme modification is widely accepted by consumers due to its unique advantages of specificity, mild processing conditions and high safety. Therefore, it is important to elucidate the effects of enzyme treatments on the sensory attributes (color, flavor and texture), oil absorption and digestibility of flour-based fried foods. This paper reviews recent research progress in utilizing enzyme modification to improve the quality of flour-based fried foods. This paper begins with the effects of common enzymes on the physicochemical properties (rheological property, retrogradation property and specific volume) of dough. Based on the analysis of the mechanism of formation of sensory attributes and nutritional properties, it focuses on the application of amylase, protease, transglutaminase, and lipase in the regulation of sensory attributes and nutritional properties of flour-based fried foods.

Effect of sodium bicarbonate on the physicochemical properties of fermented rice flour and quality characteristics of fermented semi-dried rice noodles

Considering the effect that fermentation can improve the quality of rice noodles, and given that fermented rice noodles usually have a significantly acidic taste that is not generally acceptable to consumers, this study aimed to neutralize or eliminate the acidic taste of fermented rice noodles by adding sodium bicarbonate, and improve the quality of fermented rice noodles. The physicochemical properties of fermented rice flour and quality characteristics of fermented semi-dried rice noodles were investigated in this study in relation to the addition of sodium bicarbonate (0∼0.5%, w/w). With the increase of sodium bicarbonate addition, the pH value was increased, and lipid and protein content were decreased in rice flour. Meanwhile, thermal properties and farinograph properties showed that the pasting temperature, dough water absorption, dough development time and dough stability time of rice flour increased with the addition of sodium bicarbonate. Pasting properties and rheological properties results showed that a small amount of sodium bicarbonate (0∼0.1%) could increase the pasting viscosity, storage modulus (G'), and loss modulus (G″) of rice flour. Additionally, the hardness and chewiness of semi-dried rice noodles increased with the addition of sodium bicarbonate from 0 to 0.1%. With the addition of a small amount of sodium bicarbonate (0∼0.1%), x-ray diffraction showed that it could increase the crystallinity of semi-dried rice noodles. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance showed that A₂₁ increased, and A₂₂ and A₂₃ decreased in semi-dried rice noodles. Scanning electron microscope showed that it could enhance the starch-protein interaction and starch-protein formed an ordered and stable network structure. Finally, the principal component analysis showed that the chewiness, texture and eating quality of semi-dried rice noodles were the best with the addition of sodium bicarbonate at 0.1%. This study provides practical value for the application of alkali treatment in rice products and provides a reference for the improvement of related rice noodles products.

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.