Sensory Quality and Physico-chemical Properties of Three Types of Commercial Dried Chinese Noodles

Abstract

Sensory quality and physico-chemical properties of 60 samples of white salted noodles, 23 egg noodles and 16 buckwheat noodles, collected from large-scale noodle manufacturers, were measured. The differences in quality among the three types of commercial dried Chinese noodles and relationships between the various quality parameters were investigated. Color and flavor were the main aspects of quality that varied among the commercial dried noodles. In texture profile analysis of the noodles after cooking, buckwheat noodles showed significantly lower measurements of hardness, cohesiveness, chewiness and resilience and these differences were confirmed by sensory tests. The color score of white salted noodles was positively associated with L* and negatively with a* (p<0.01); but for buckwheat noodles, the associations were reversed. Hardness, chewiness of TPA and all sensory parameters for the 3 noodle types were negatively correlated with cooking loss. The association between water uptake, chewiness and noodle firmness score was described by means of a quadratic regression model. Compared with the winter wheat region in south China, dried white salted noodles originating from the winter wheat region in north China showed lower moisture, higher color b* and higher scores in stickiness, flavor and total scores.