Texture Analysis in Action 2: The Asian Noodle Rig

Extensive work has been carried out at the Wheat Marketing Center in Oregon, USA, by Gary Hou and his team.  

They use a particular type of perspex blade on their TA.XTplus Texture Analyser to measure noodle firmness; this has now become internationally popular and therefore has been included in the Stable Micro Systems probe and fixture range.

The rig can be seen in use here in a video of Noodle firmness testing...

It presents the method for noodle sample preparation of dry and cooked noodles and its testing using the TA.XT2/TA.XTplus Texture Analyser. This method is currently under consideration by the Asian Product Technical Committee of AACC International.  

 

Typical force-time curve obtained from the
measurement of large Udon noodles
using the Wheat Marketing Center method

This 3-strand approach is suitable for straight noodle forms of uniform width and thickness that are able to lie flat to be tested – it is not suited to thin noodles, due to sample fragility on handling.

 

The Wheat Marketing Center also have another method for the testing of cooked straight noodles which uses the TPA approach.       

 

This is a 2-bite compression test using the same Asian Noodle blade to test a sample of 5 strands. Although the above firmness method may be the most popular texture analysis test for QC purposes, the TPA method can give a wider texture assessment that may be necessary when targeting varieties to certain countries and their specific desired mouthfeel attributes.

 

According to the Wheat Marketing Center:

• Hardness indicates noodle bite and is expressed as hard bite or soft bite
• Springiness indicates the degree of recovery after the first bite
• Cohesiveness is a measure of noodle structure
• Chewiness is a single parameter that incorporates firmness, cohesiveness, and springiness
• A typical Chinese raw noodle has the following measurements: springiness 0.96, hardness 1200g, cohesiveness 0.66, and chewiness 750g. 

There are few people in the world who know as much about noodles as Gary Hou of the Wheat Marketing Center.

  In addition to the hands-on short courses that he offers through the Wheat Marketing Center, he is also editor of 'Asian Noodles: Science, Technology and Processing'. 

 

Contact Stable Micro Systems today for more information on test methods for noodles.

 

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For more information on how to measure texture, please visit the Texture Analysis Properties section on our website.

The TA.XTplus texture analyser is part of a family of texture analysis instruments and equipment from Stable Micro Systems. An extensive portfolio of specialist attachments is available to measure and analyse the textural properties of a huge range of food products. Our technical experts can also custom design instrument fixtures according to individual specifications.

No-one understands texture analysis like we do!

To discuss your specific test requirements, click here...