Study of wheat flour-cassava starch composite mix and the function of cassava mucilage in Chinese noodles

Starch and mucilage extracts of sweet cassava tubers were incorporated into wheat flour-cassava starch (WF-CS) composite mix to make Chinese noodle. CS was extracted from fresh 1- and 2-yr-old sweet cassava tubers and was mixed at an optimized ratio of 70:30 into patent hard red Spring wheat (HRSW) flour. Noodles of proportional substitution of cassava mucilage in WF-CS blends were also manufactured to investigate the hydrocolloidal properties of both extracts. Wheat noodles containing CS (WF-CS) showed improved textural attributes, cutting and biting forces especially tensile strengths than the control noodles. Cooking tests indicated improved cooking, texture properties with addition of 30% CS. The incremental addition of cassava mucilage demonstrated improved desirable color development in the WF-CS composite noodles and was proposed to inhibit or reduce intramolecular interaction among the amylopectin and amylose molecules, creating softer gel structures in the noodle food system. The diverse noodle textural developments were attributed to both molecular and hydrocolloidal properties of the extracts studied. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.