Impact of soy protein isolate on the aging and quality of rice cakes during storage

Abstract

Rice cakes are popular among consumers for their unique taste and flavor. However, rice cakes aged seriously during storage, which restricted the development of their industry. This study used the gelatinization and thermomechanical properties of rice flour (RF), and the water distribution and texture properties of rice dough as indicators to investigate the effects of different addition amounts (0–10%) of soy protein isolate (SPI) on the quality of rice flour/dough. Also, changes in moisture content, hardness, soluble starch content, thermodynamic properties, and crystal structure of rice cakes during the storage period were used as indicators to investigate their effects on the aging characteristics. The results showed that the addition of SPI increased the water absorption, decreased the paste viscosity of the dough. After 21 days of storage of rice cakes, the addition of 10% SPI increased the water content (20.25%) and soluble starch content (23.28%) of the rice cakes but decreased their hardness, relative crystallinity, and enthalpy of regrowth (ΔH), among them, the ΔH was reduced by 27.81%. This suggested that the addition of SPI inhibited the aging phenomenon of rice cakes during storage. Therefore, this study offered a valuable reference for the anti-aging properties of rice products and their potential applications within the rice food industry, thereby possessing notable practical significance.