Effect of Lentinus edodes β-Glucan-Enriched Materials on the Textural, Rheological, and Oil-Resisting Properties of Instant Fried Noodles

With the recent well-being trend, a great deal of effort has been made to develop instant fried noodles with beneficial health effects. Thus, beta-glucan-enriched materials (BGEMs) were obtained from Lentinus edodes mushroom and their effects on the quality attributes of instant fried noodles were characterized in terms of rheological, textural, and oil-resisting properties. When BGEMs were mixed with wheat flour, different thermomechanical profiles were observed by a Mixolab, enhancing dough stability and water absorption. The use of BGEMs raised the viscoelastic properties of noodle dough with a great increase in the elastic property. In addition, the dough samples prepared with more BGEMs exhibited greater elongational viscosity. In the case of fried noodle strands, the incorporation of BGEMs led to a significant increase in the breaking stress and produced a surface microstructure with smaller voids. Moreover, the oil uptake of fried noodles containing BGEMs was significantly reduced by 22%. Therefore, it showed that BGEMs had positive impacts on the quality attributes of instant fried noodles and could also be used as an oil barrier to produce fried noodles with a reduced content of oil and calories.