2013 Meeting Abstract - Improving nutritional value of instant noodles using Great Northern bean

Poster Presentation
Engineering & Processing

174-P

Improving nutritional value of instant noodles using Great Northern bean
H. WANG (1), W. S. Ratnayake (1), E. Chiang (2)
(1) University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, U.S.A.; (2) Brookfield Engineering Laboratories., Inc., Middleboro, MA, U.S.A.

Traditional instant noodles, made out of wheat flour, are generally inferior in nutritional value. The objective of this study was to improve the nutritional value of instant noodles by incorporating Great Northern bean powder. Instant noodles were prepared using a pilot-scale noodle processing machine, using hard red winter wheat flour, in combination with different levels (0, 10, 20, 25, 30, and 60% of flour replacement) of Great Northern bean powder. Noodles formulations were tested by RVA, and products were tested for color, texture, and cooking properties. Instant noodle prepared with 60% of bean flour failed to make an acceptable product. Bean flour fortification at 30% flour weight resulted in short noodle strands. Acceptable products were obtained from 10, 20, and 25% flour replacement with bean powder. Color analysis showed significant differences (p<0.05) among tested formulations which resulted in acceptable products. Increasing bean flour levels increased the yellow color (higher b values) and darkness (lower L values) of fried noodles. Cooking loss increased slightly with increasing levels of bean flour. Texture profile analysis on cooked (ready to serve) noodles showed an increase in springiness with increasing bean flour (p<0.05). No apparent trends were observed in hardness of cooked noodles. Weight gain of instant noodle, after cooking, seems to decrease with increasing bean flour proportion. Replacing a portion of wheat flour with Great Northern bean powder significantly increases protein and fiber contents in instant noodles. This study showed wheat flour could be replaced up to 25% (w/w) with Great Northern bean flour, in traditional formulations and under normal, pilot-scale processing conditions, to obtain acceptable instant noodles with improved nutritional value.