Evaluation of cooking performance, structural properties, storage stability and shelf life prediction of high-moisture wet starch noodles

Cooking performance, micro- and molecular structure, storage stability and shelf-life prediction of high-moisture wet starch noodles (SN) were investigated. SEM images revealed that compared to dried SN, cooked wet SN had more evenly honeycomb-like network with smaller size of pores, indicating stronger interaction among molecules and causing favorable cooking performance. XRD and ATR-FTIR results evidenced that wet SN contained more complete crystallites and higher proportion of crystalline region. During storage, the quality decay of wet SN was mainly associated to the increment of total aerobic viable count (TAVC), titrable acidity and amylase, as well as the decreased textural hardness, overall acceptability and lightness. Based on TAVC, titrable acidity and overall acceptability, predicted shelf-life of vacuum-packed wet SN at 25 degrees C was 15.31, 21.54 and 16.65 weeks respectively, with relative error all within 20%, proving that the validated model could be an effective tool for monitoring the shelf-life of wet SN.

Automated summary

The study investigated the cooking performance, micro- and molecular structure, storage stability, and shelf-life prediction of high-moisture wet starch noodles (SN). It was found that wet SN had a more even honeycomb-like network and complete crystallites, contributing to better cooking performance. Quality decay during storage was mainly attributed to the increase in total aerobic viable count, titrable acidity, and amylase, as well as the decrease in textural hardness, overall acceptability, and lightness. Predicted shelf-life of vacuum-packed wet SN at 25 degrees C was within 20% relative error, indicating the effectiveness of the validated model for monitoring shelf-life.