Physicochemical and microstructural properties of frozen cooked noodles during frozen storage affected by enzymatically interesterified soybean oil-based plastic fat

Abstract

The quality deterioration of frozen cooked noodles (FCNs) during frozen storage remains a challenging problem, primarily characterized by a decline in textural performance. The objective of this study was to investigate the underlying mechanism responsible for the improvement in FCNs quality by utilizing enzymatically interesterified soybean oil-based plastic fat (EIPF). During the 12-week frozen storage, an improvement in hardness, from 3421.44 g to 3981.91 g, and a decrease in adhesiveness, water absorption rate, and cooking loss, from 177.49 g.s to 153.54 g.s, 80.46 % to 70.43 %, and 2.86 % to 2.16 %, respectively, were observed after adding 1 % of EIPF. The results demonstrated that 1 % EIPF significantly (P < 0.05) mitigated the decline in the quality of FCNs. Additionally, EIPF effectively restrained the transformation and migration of water and resulted in decrease in SDS-soluble gluten content and SH/S-S ratio in FCNs during frozen storage. The addition of 1 % EIPF increased α-helixes and decreased random coils, indicating greater network stability. Microscopic observation further confirmed that the addition of EIPF promoted the formation of dense gluten network. The current study positions EIPF as a promising additive for enhancing the quality of FCNs, thereby promoting its application in food industry.