Innovative hybrid strategy for efficient production of high-quality freeze-dried instant noodles: Combination of laser with leavening agent

Abstract

The present study was carried out to improve the drying efficiency and quality of freeze-dried instant noodles by a novel hybrid pretreatment method that combines laser puncturing along with use of a leavening agent mixture. The influence of several variants of this combined treatment on drying time, energy consumption, rehydration behavior and pasting properties of dried noodles as well as the quality parameters of soaked noodles were examined. Results demonstrate that the intervention of laser puncturing treatment and the addition of leavening agent mixture are all positive on reducing drying time and energy consumption of noodles, but the drying enhancement effect of puncturing treatment is better. Combining laser puncturing treatment with leavening agent mixture can further reduce drying time of noodles by up to 34.15% and energy consumption by up to 33.17%. Although all single treatment methods can improve the quality of products including soaking time, rehydration rate and hardness, the effect is unsatisfactory. Hybrid strategies are found to have a synergistic effect on the production of high-quality freeze-dried instant noodles and according to the sensory evaluation results, the optimum conditions are as follows: 0.1 mm perforation diameter, 10 mm spacing between perforations, 2 mm depth and 3% leavening agent mixture (on flour basis). Industrial relevanceDifficult rehydration of products and high energy consumption of the production process are the key issues that limit the industrial production of freeze-dried instant noodles. Laser puncturing treatment and adding a leavening agent mixture can increase the contact area between freeze-dried noodles and water and enrich the internal porous structure of freeze-dried noodles, respectively, which promotes the mass production of high-quality freeze-dried instant noodles.