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Gluten Enhances Cooking, Textural, and Sensory Properties of Oat Noodles

¹Farming Products Integrated Utilization Institute, Shanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China. ²School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China. ³Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72704. ⁴Corresponding author. E-mail: fzhu5@yahoo.com

Whole grain oats are widely regarded as conferring significant health benefits. Composite flour of whole grain oat flour, wheat flour, and tapioca starch in the ratio 1:1:0.16 was formulated to make oat noodles with the addition of gluten at various levels. The influence of gluten on pasting and gelling properties of composite flour, and on cooking, textural, and sensory properties of salted oat noodles was evaluated. Addition of gluten decreased the paste viscosity, reduced hardness and springiness of gel, reduced cooking yield, cooking loss, and broken ratio during cooking, and increased the tensile strength and firmness of cooked noodles. Scanning electron microscopy showed that gluten tightened the network of protein in the noodles by forming oriented fibrils. Addition of gluten had little effect on the color of raw and cooked oat noodles, which were somewhat yellow. Sensory evaluation indicated that addition of gluten could enhance the overall acceptability of cooked oat noodles. This study may stimulate further interest in using functional whole grain cereal ingredients in developing healthy staple foods.