Image analysis of Asian noodle appearance: Impact of hexaploid wheat with a red seed coat

Fresh alkaline (kansui) and white salted noodles (WSN) prepared from patent and straight-grade flour of the western Canadian wheat class Canadian Red Spring Wheat (CWRS) were visually characterized by image analysis (IA) over a 24-hr period. In both kansui noodles, the number of spots increased over time, while minimal change was detected in the WSN prepared from either flour. Maximum spot generation was observed in the straight-grade kansui noodles, increasing from 53.1 spots per image at 1 hr to 76.2 by 7 hr before declining to 55.9 at 24 hr. Significant differences were detected in the number of detectable spots among the kansui, patent, and straight-grade noodles over the initial 7 hr, but by 24 hr no discernible differences were observed. Fewest noodle spots were observed in the patent WSN (10.1 spots per image at 1 hr rising to 13.3 at 24 hr). Hence, straight-grade flours yielded more spots than the matching patent flours, while WSN had consistently fewer spots relative to the kansui noodles at all time intervals. Minimal differences were detected in the average size of the spots due to noodle type or flour refinement, unlike the situation observed in white wheats investigated previously. Although discolored spots on the patent flour noodles were lighter than the straight-grade counterparts, no difference was observed on the basis of noodle type.