Use of ultrasound to determine the effects of sheeting work input and barley β-glucan addition on mechanical properties of Asian wheat noodles

• Main Author: Salimi Khorshidi, Ali
• Other Authors: Hatcher, David W. (Food Science) Scanlon, Martin G. (Food Science)
• Published: Journal of Texture Studies 2016
• Subjects: Ultrasound; Mechanical properties; Asian wheat noodles; Sheeting work input; Barley β-glucan
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1993/31962

Empirical tests developed for an objective evaluation of noodle texture as well as sensory methods provide no information about the rheological parameters responsible for differences in the texture of Asian noodles. Therefore, there is a need for a technique to evaluate the rheological properties of Asian noodles that is fast, easy and inexpensive. Promising results from ultrasonic assessments of the rheological properties of wheat flour doughs and preliminary noodle studies were an encouragement to use ultrasound to address such need in this thesis. Using ultrasound at a relatively high frequency (1.4 MHz), the rheological properties of raw noodles made with three Canadian wheat varieties at various barley β-glucan (BBG) contents, sheeting work input levels and salt to kansui ratios (formulas) were evaluated. Conventional rheological, i.e., stress relaxation (SR) and uniaxial extension (Kieffer), measurements were employed for comparison purposes. The capability of ultrasound for evaluating the effects of BBG addition and sheeting work input on the rheological properties of raw wheat noodles of this study was confirmed. A greater sensitivity of ultrasound to microscopic changes in noodle dough structure, compared to SR and Kieffer tests, was reflected in differences between the results of ultrasound and those of the SR and Kieffer tests with respect to the influences of flour variety and formula on noodle rheology. Investigations of the density of raw noodles showed that air bubbles were present in the noodle dough matrix. A simple, fast and low-cost method, based on the measurement of noodle dough dimensions during the sheeting process, was proposed for a quick evaluation of noodle dough rheology. The results of the proposed method were in agreement with those of conventional rheological measurements on the effects of flour variety and sheeting work input on noodle texture. The time-dependent effect of kansui on noodle dough structure was confirmed by comparing the results of this new method with those of SR and Kieffer tests with respect to the effect of formula on noodle rheology. Further investigations are proposed to establish this method for quick assessment of Asian wheat noodle rheology. === February 2017