Relationship between physicochemical properties of starches and white salted noodle quality in Japanese wheat flours

This study describes the effect of starch properties of Japanese wheat flours on the quality of white salted noodles (WSN). Starch was isolated from 24 flours of 17 Japanese cultivars and amylose content was determined along with pasting properties by Rapid Visco Analyser (RVA), thermal properties by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and the distribution of amylopectin chain length by high-performance anion exchange chromatography (HPAEC). Twenty flours were used to prepare WSN. As expected, 5-6% lower amylose content was associated with good WSN quality (higher scores in softness, elasticity, and smoothness). RVA analysis indicated that the pasting temperature had the greatest influence on WSN quality, while breakdown and setback showed slight effects on WSN quality. DSC results showed that lower endothermal enthalpy (DeltaH) in the amylose-lipid complex was associated with good WSN quality. Chain-length distribution of amylopectin by HPAEC was not an important factor in relation to WSN quality.