Effects of water addition and noodle thickness on the surface tackiness of frozen cooked noodles

Abstract

The effects of water addition and noodle thickness on the surface tackiness of frozen cooked noodles (FCNs) were investigated. The results showed that the FCNs with water addition of 34% had high disulfide group content and small ice crystal in the freezing process, which was a benefit for forming a stable gluten network. The texture characteristics (hardness, chewiness, and tensile strength) were at the best level and the surface tackiness exhibited the lowest level. Besides, the low moisture area in the recooked FCNs increased with the ascent of noodle thickness and the hardness of thick FCNs was high for forming reliable spatial support. The texture characteristics of recooked FCNs (thickness 2 mm) were better. Combined with the sensory evaluation, when the water addition was 34% and the thickness was 2 mm, the surface tackiness of recooked FCNs was lower, and the FCNs had a good quality and taste. Practical applications In this study, the effects of water addition and noodle thickness on the surface tackiness of frozen cooked noodles (FCNs) were investigated. When the water addition (34%) and noodle thickness (2 mm) were at the appropriate level, the surface tackiness of recooked FCNs was low, and the FCNs had a good taste and appearance. The texture properties and sensory evaluation of the FCNs were the best. The study provides a reference for processing the FCNs with low surface tackiness in the fast‐food industry. At present, the FCNs made according to this research results are widely used in the Chinese mainland market. The water addition of FCNs is 34%~36%, and the shape of FCNs is basically 20 cm length, 3 mm width, and 2 mm thickness.

Effects of wheat flour with different farinograph and pasting characteristics on the surface tackiness of frozen cooked noodles

“…Sensory evaluation is an intuitive method to reflect the quality of FCNs and indicate consumer acceptance (Y.‐H. Wang, Zhang, Xu, Li, 2020). The sensory score is shown in Table 4.…”

“…The reason may be that the starch of the six wheat flour samples was tightly packed in the gluten network to form a dense structure (Y.‐H. Wang, Zhang, Xu, Li, 2020).…”

“…Cooked noodles containing starch with a small granule size had high swelling power, low setback, and final viscosities while exhibiting high surface stickiness (N. Wang et al, 2014). The optimal water addition and shape could make recooked FCNs have low surface tackiness, good quality, and a pleasant taste (Y.-H. Wang, Zhang, Xu, Li, 2020). Flour mixed by a horizontal mixer with angled, large surface-area blades and adjustablespeed mixing, showed lower stickiness with higher hardness and chewiness (R. Liu et al, 2016).…”

“…The optimal water addition and shape could make recooked FCNs have low surface tackiness, good quality, and a pleasant taste (Y.‐H. Wang, Zhang, Xu, Li, 2020). Flour mixed by a horizontal mixer with angled, large surface‐area blades and adjustable‐speed mixing, showed lower stickiness with higher hardness and chewiness (R. Liu et al, 2016).…”

Moisture Distribution and Structural Properties of Frozen Cooked Noodles with NaCl and Kansui

“…As revealed in Figure 2 , many voids were observed for the control, which might be related to the sublimation of the ice crystals forming voids in the noodles, while a looser gluten network also caused starch granules to fall off, thus creating voids [ 25 , 26 ]. With the addition of NaCl and kansui, more starch granules were embedded well in the cross-section and the gluten network was more continuous, suggesting that the strengthened gluten network could capture the starch firmly.…”