Relationship between gelatinization and gel properties of different starch and their noodles

Abstract: Starch noodles have been a Chinese favorite food for at least 1400 years. Starch noodles are consumed as a staple food in dishes or in soups regularly in China. Starch is the main ingredient in the production of starch noodles. With the absence of gluten compared with wheat flour, the quality of starch noodles depend on the physical-chemical, thermal, and rheological properties of starch. The influence of starch on starch noodle quality is noticed as a result of the retrogradation step included in the manufacturing process. Furthermore, prerequisites for retrogradation depend on the starch properties of gelatinization and gel. The characteristics of starch noodles were mainly dependent on starch gelatinization and gel properties during the manufacturing process in the heat treatment process. After starch gelatinization forms certain flexibility and strength in the gel, the strength of the gel characteristics directly affect the processing qualities and performance of starch noodles. Many studies think starch gelatinization properties of RVA (rapid viscosity analyzer) parameters can predict the qualities of corresponding starch noodles. However, the relationship research reports on the properties of starch gelatinization and gel and the qualities of noodles are concentrated in different varieties of the same plant sources. Research in different plant sources of starch gelatinization and gel properties and starch noodles' qualities relationships remain uncertain. In order for starch properties of gelatinization and gel to predict starch noodle quality, this paper investigated the relationship between the gelatinization and gel properties of starch and the texture and cooking qualities of their starch noodles. This was conducted by studying the correlation of the gelatinization and gel properties of five original starches and their noodles' qualities and exploring the effect properties of starch have on the quality of starch noodles' parameters. The five starch materials are from mung bean, sweet potato, potato, rice, and corn. The results showed that these five starch noodles have different qualities. By evaluating the starch noodles cooking and texture qualities, the mung bean resulted as the best, followed by the potato and sweet potato, and rice and corn were the worst. The results also indicated that starch gelatinization properties and their noodles have a significant correlation. These influential parameters were related according to the p value: peak viscosity > valley viscosity value > attenuation value > setback viscosity, final viscosity. In addition, starch gel hardness, elasticity, viscosity, and chewiness have a bigger influence on the quality of starch noodles, according to the degree of significant size value (p) in turn is: hardness > viscosity > chewiness > elasticity. A significant correlation was seen between the quality of starch noodles and the parameters of valley viscosity, setback, resilience, chewiness, and sticky. This was considered an important way of predicting the qualities of starch noodles and can be regarded as the major indexes for starch noodle raw material selection. These research results can provide a sensitive method for monitoring the quality of starch for starch noodles production and explore a convenient method for evaluating the qualities of starch noodles. In doing so, this can provide the theory basis for starch noodles' qualities improvement.