Grain and flour characteristics of eastern U.S. soft winter wheat desirable for making soft-bite white salted noodles

Authors: MA, FENGYUN - The Ohio State University; Baik, Byung-Kee

Submitted to: Cereal Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/11/2022
Publication Date: 11/20/2022
Citation: Ma, F., Baik, B.V. 2022. Grain and flour characteristics of eastern U.S. soft winter wheat desirable for making soft-bite white salted noodles. Cereal Chemistry. 100(2):445-459. https://doi.org/10.1002/cche.10625.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cche.10625

Interpretive Summary: Soft-bite white salted noodles (WSN) are typically prepared from wheat flour of relatively low protein content, strong gluten protein and reduced amylose content to have soft but elastic texture. They are popularly consumed in east Asian countries and gaining popularity in the U.S. and south American countries. A bright white color, high cooking yield, low cooking loss, and short cooking time are preferred for WSN. Eastern U.S. soft winter (ESW) wheat is generally low in protein content and contains weak gluten protein, so suitable for making cookies, cakes, biscuits, and pastry. Some ESW wheat varieties, especially those bred for making crackers, however, carry strong gluten protein and thus could be also suitable for making noodles. We identified and cataloged ESW wheat characteristics required for making soft-bite white salted noodles. Protein content and gluten strength of ESW wheat largely determined WSN cooking and textural properties, while damaged starch (DS) content was the major determinant of WSN adhesiveness. Nine out of 25 ESW wheat flours showed protein characteristics, WSN color and textural properties that closely matched to those of noodles prepared commercial noodle flours obtained from Korea and Japan. It was identified that ESW wheat varieties relatively low in damaged starch content, high in protein content and high in protein strength produce WSN of acceptable quality and a slight reduction in starch amylose content would further improve flour functional quality. This research provides wheat breeders and noodle manufacturers with guidance for choosing ESW wheat breeding lines and varieties suitable for noodle production.

Technical Abstract: Background and objectives: The genetic backgrounds and growing conditions of eastern U.S. soft winter (ESW) wheat vary widely and thus produce grains of diverse quality characteristics, which encompass those required for making soft-bite white salted noodles (WSN). However, these characteristics have yet to be identified and cataloged. The characteristics and soft-bite WSN making quality of 25 ESW wheat varieties were analyzed to identify grain and flour characteristics desirable for making WSN in comparison to four commercial noodle flours (CNFs). Findings: Kernel hardness, protein content and gluten strength-related parameters of ESW wheat were significantly associated with WSN cooking and textural properties, while damaged starch (DS) content was the major determinant of WSN adhesiveness. Nine out of 25 ESW wheat flours exhibited protein characteristics, WSN color and textural properties that closely matched to those of CNFs. Conclusions: ESW wheat varieties with kernel hardness of 16.0-45.4, DS content of 1.9-4.4%, flour protein content of 8.6-10.2%, SDSS volume of 30.4-41.6 mL and lactic acid SRC of 115.6-142.7% were identified to produce WSN of comparable quality to those of CNFs. Significance and novelty: This research provides wheat breeders and noodle manufacturers with guidance for choosing ESW wheat breeding lines and varieties suitable for noodle production.