Comparison of Various Cooked Wheat Noodles from Four Countries in Terms of Texture and Sensory Characteristics

Abstract

This study compared the texture characteristics and consumer acceptance of cooked wheat noodles produced in four countries, which were Korea, Japan, China, and Italy. Noodle types were selected after FGI (focus group interview). Eleven noodles were studied, and they were categorized into four types: udon, fried udon, oriental noodles of various thickness, and pasta. Color was measured as L (lightness), a (redness), and b (yellowness) values using a colorimeter. Lightness decreased when noodles were cooked, whereas redness and yellowness of cooked noodles were unchanged. Texture properties of wheat noodles in terms of hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, and chewiness were measured using the Rheometer. Italian spaghetti (spgt_IL), Korean fried udon (yk_udng_KR) had highest values for hardness. Korean udon had the highest value for springiness, whereas Chinese medium noodle (mid_CN) had the lowest value (p<0.05). Chinese thick noodle (thick_CN) and fettuccine (fettc_IL) showed lower hardness but higher springiness. Cohesiveness was significantly higher for Japanese udon (udng_JP), Chinese medium noodle (mid_CN), and Chinese thick noodle (thick_CN), whereas values for Korean thin noodle (thin_KR) and Korean fried noodle (yk_udng_KR) were significantly low (p<0.05). Spaghetti (spgt_IL) showed significantly high values for chewiness (p<0.05). For overall acceptability, thick Korean noodle showed the highest score with a level of 'slightly like'. Taste and texture attributes were highest among all noodles, and its high scores for chewiness and smoothness might contribute to its overall acceptance. Korean thick noodle, Korean udon, and Japanese udon were not significantly different from Korean or Japanese thin noodles. Japanese fried noodle (yk_udng_JP) showed the lowest acceptance among noodles in terms of color, flavor, taste, and texture. Chinese thick and medium noodles showed lower scores for overall acceptability, whereas chewiness was not significantly different from other noodles. Spaghetti and fettuccine showed lower scores in terms of overall acceptability, taste, texture, springiness, and chewiness.

Multilevel Structure of Wheat Starch and Its Relationship to Noodle Eating Qualities

“…(Adapted from Friedman and others 1963. ) 1985b; Yun and others 1997;Tang and others 1999;Son and Kim 2014). For example, chewiness was found to be positively correlated with adhesiveness and springiness (p < 0.05) when measured by TPA (Ross 2006).…”

“…However, reconstituted flours with less than 12.4% amylose content are unsuitable for making instant noodles due to higher fat absorption, darker color, and undesirable surface appearance (Park and Baik 2004b). For YAN or Chinese-style hand-extended noodles, there is a requirement for a firm, smooth, and springy texture (Son and Kim 2014), thus the wheat flour requires having a high amylose content (Fu 2008). This would be of special interest to wheat breeders and geneticists (Graybosch 1998;Regina and others 2006).…”