Effect of wheat gluten addition on the texture, surface tackiness, protein structure, and sensory properties of frozen cooked noodles

Abstract

Frozen cooked noodles (FCNs) were prepared with different levels (0, 1%, 3% and 5%) of gluten addition, and the effect of gluten on quality of FCNs was investigated. Cooking properties analysis showed that water absorption ratio and cooking loss of FCNs decreased at first and then increased with the increase of gluten addition. Compared to FCNs with 1% and 5% gluten additions, recooked FCNs with 3% gluten addition had a similar texture property to control sample, and they had the highest tensile force and distance, and the lowest surface tackiness. Meanwhile, the recooked FCNs (3% gluten addition) had smaller pores, denser and more complex gluten network, and their force and elasticity during chewing were the best in sensory evaluation. Low-field 1H nuclear magnetic resonance showed that the lowest T21 (0.11 ms) and T23 (51.11 ms) were found in the recooked FCNs (3% gluten addition). Furthermore, the α-helix of samples increased while the β-sheet and random coil decreased, the glutenin macropolymer content of recooked FCNs increased at first and then decreased with adding gluten. These results indicated that the recooked FCNs (3% gluten addition) had a lower surface tackiness, higher sensory scores, and better quality.