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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Pullman, Washington » WHGQ » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #397525
Research Project: Characterization of Quality and Marketability of Western U.S. Wheat Genotypes and Phenotypes

Location: Wheat Health, Genetics, and Quality Research

Title: Quick-cooking laminated white salted noodle development

Author
item ALFARO, GABRIELY - Washington State University
item Kiszonas, Alecia
item MORRIS, CRAIG - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA)

Submitted to: Journal of Cereal Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/26/2022
Publication Date: 1/10/2023
Citation: Alfaro, G.M., Kiszonas, A., Morris, C. 2023. Quick-cooking laminated white salted noodle development. Journal of Cereal Science. 110. Article 103622. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcs.2022.103622.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcs.2022.103622

Interpretive Summary: Starch is one of the major components of wheat flour, formed by polysaccharides amylose and amylopectin and aggregated in granules. Amylose represents 25% of the starch in regular wheat, whereas amylopectin accounts for the remaining 75%. In wheat, amylose is synthesized by the Granule Bond Starch Synthase (GBSS) enzyme, the genetic loci for which are found in chromosomes 7A, 4A, and 7D, named Wx-A1, Wx-B1, and Wx-D1, respectively. When one or two of these loci have null alleles, the percentage of amylose in the starch decreases while the percentage of amylopectin increases, resulting in partial waxy wheat. The presence of three non-functional alleles results in full waxy wheat with almost no amylose and nearly 100% amylopectin in starch. White salted noodles, made from wheat flour, water, and salt, are a major type of Asian noodles. The most common types of white salted noodles are fresh, dried, and boiled noodles, which are further classified into very thin, thin, standard, and flat noodles based on the size of the noodle strands. The purpose of this study is to investigate the development of a quick-cooking fresh white salted noodle that combines full waxy, partial waxy, and regular wheat flour, including an extra step in noodle preparation that involves compounding three noodle layers. The moisture, protein, and ash content of flours tested were determined. Noodle properties such as cooking time, color, firmness, weight increase, and cooking loss were evaluated and compared to standards made with commercial noodle flour.

Technical Abstract: Normal wheat starch is composed of 75% amylopectin and 25% amylose. The granule bound starch synthase gene (GBSS) is responsible for amylose production in wheat, and the occurrence of three non-functional GBSS loci results in waxy wheat, with starch composed almost entirely of amylopectin. The composition and quality characteristics of waxy wheat have been studied for their suitability for various applications, including Japanese white salted noodles. Previous investigations linked the viscosity characteristics of partial waxy wheat to desirable texture attributes in white salted noodles, whereas the use of 100% full waxy wheat is not suitable due to increased undesirable noodle softness. This study was aimed at developing a quick cooking fresh white salted noodle combining full waxy wheat and wheat with normal starch profile in a three-layer laminated noodle. Quality characteristics of the developed laminated noodle were compared with the parameters of regular noodles to investigate the impact of the new formula and process on cooking time, firmness, color, weight increase, and cooking loss. Flour from wheat varieties Otto (normal starch), Ryan (partial waxy), and USDA Lori (full waxy) were used in this study, as well as commercial noodle flour from Japan. Laminated noodles with full waxy and normal starch flour cooked faster (8min 30s for Otto; P<0.0001) than regular and laminated noodles made with commercial flour (10min 30s). This study shows that the combination of normal-starch profile and full waxy wheat noodle layers can be used to produce a laminated noodle with lower cooking time, similar cooking loss, slightly firmer texture, and smaller water intake than noodles made with commercial flour. Noodles are a staple food in many Asian countries, and their consumption is increasing also in other regions of the world. The developed laminated noodle with shorter cooking time stands as a time-saving new application for waxy wheat.