B. X. Fu, E. Assefaw, and L. Malcolmson
Canadian International Grains Institute,
1000-303 Main Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba,
Canada R3C 3G7
Evaluation of Canada Hard White Wheats
for Fresh Alkaline Noodle Processing
Fig 1. Noodle Processing and Quality Evaluation Process
INTRODUCTION
Alkaline noodles are important wheat flour based
products in Asia. High quality alkaline noodles should
have a bright, clear appearance with few specks, and
have a firm and smooth texture. White wheats have
an advantage over red wheats in terms of end
product appearance especially when they are
processed into noodles.The development of hard
white wheat in Canada was undertaken to meet
market needs, primarily for noodle processing in Asia.
In this study, two Canada hard white spring wheat
varieties (Kanata and Snowbird) were compared with
a composite Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS)
wheat for noodle quality in terms of processing
properties, dough sheet colour and colour retention
properties, and cooked noodle texture.
MATERIALS & METHODS
Milling
A No. 1 CWRS (13.9% protein) composite sample and
samples of Canada hard white wheat Kanata (14.5%
protein) and Snowbird (14.2% protein) were milled in
the CIGI pilot mill to generate straight grade flours
and short patent flours of 40% extraction.
Noodle Processing
The noodle processing and quality evaluation
process is shown in Fig. 1.
The flours were processed into fresh alkaline noodles
using an Ohtake laboratory noodle machine. Salt
(NaCl) and alkaline salts (K2CO3:Na2CO3 = 6:4, w/w)
dissolved in water were added to flour, with an
amount of 1% and 1.3% (based on flour weight),
respectively. Constant water absorption of 34% (14%
Table 1a:
Flour
Flour Results
Kanata
1 CWRS
Protein (%)
straight grade
40% extraction
Ash content (%) straight grade
40% extraction
Grade colour
straight grade
40% extraction
Snowbird
13.45
12.42
0.450
0.331
-1.2
-3.3
14.12
13.23
0.448
0.334
-0.4
-2.6
13.83
12.65
0.450
0.346
-0.3
-3.1
mb, mass balanced) was used for all flours. Mixing
was carried out at 100 rpm for 10 min followed by 15
min of dough resting.The mixture was sheeted with
an initial gap setting of 3.5 mm.The resulting dough
sheet was folded and sheeted again with the same
gap setting. After resting for 30 min, the dough sheet
was subjected to four reduction passes (2.5, 1.8, 1.3,
and 1.0 mm). A 100 cm long section was cut from the
noodle sheet for colour and speck evaluation.The
remaining dough was sheeted one more time before
cutting.The final gap setting was adjusted for each
sample to ensure the resulting noodle strands had a
thickness of 1.4 mm. Noodle strands were cut using a
No. 10 or No. 20 cutter to produce noodles with a
width of 3.0 or 1.5 mm, respectively.
Noodle Processing Properties, Appearance and
Textural Analysis
The size and hand-feel properties of the dough
crumb were evaluated after mixing. During the
sheeting process, uniformity of hydration, surface
smoothness and stickiness of the dough sheet were
assessed.
A Minolta Chroma Meter CR-310 equipped with a C
illuminant using the L*, a*, and b* colour scale was
used to measure the colour of the noodle dough
sheet.The dough sheet was folded into six layers and
stored in a covered container at room temperature
(22±1oC) over a 48-hr examination period.
Measurements were made at five spots on the dough
sheet surface at 3, 24, and 48 hr after mixing was
started. The dough sheet was also assessed for
brightness and clearness of the background using
sensory evaluation. Specks were counted under a
magnifier lamp.The size and darkness of the specks
were visually evaluated.
Noodle strands prepared with the No. 10 cutter were
assessed for maximum cutting stress using TA-XT2
Table 2a: Minolta Dough Sheet Colour (lightness)
Straight Grade Flour
1 CWRS
L* (3h)
Table 1b: Farinograph Results*
Parameters
Absorption (%)
Development time
(min)
Mixing tolerance (B.U.)
Stability (min)
* Based on straight grade flour
1 CWRS
Kanata
(24h)
68.0
67.2
6.0
7.5
7.0
9.4
30
13.3
Snowbird
30
11.5
RESULTS
Flour Properties
Similar protein and ash contents were found among
the three wheat samples (Table 1a). Dough strength
was also similar, although the flours from the two
white wheat cultivars were slightly stronger
(Table 1b).These results indicate that this set of
samples was comparable for evaluating their noodle
processing properties.
Noodle Processing Properties
Flours milled from 1CWRS, Kanata, and Snowbird all
produced a dough crumb with the desired size and
hand-feel properties. All noodle sheets had a smooth
surface, and showed uniform hydration with little
stickiness. However the dough crumbs from the 40%
extraction flours were smaller and more uniform in
size than from the straight grade flours.
Noodle Sheet Appearance
Noodle sheets prepared from Snowbird were lighter
than the noodle sheets made from CWRS.The noodle
sheets made from Kanata were in between the two
other samples (Table 2a). Snowbird and CWRS
produced noodle sheets that had more yellow colour
than Kanata (Table 2b). Noodle dough sheets made
Table 3: Sensory Dough Sheet Appearance (background)
Straight Grade Flour
1 CWRS
Brightness (3h) s. dull
(24h) m. dull
1 CWRS
Kanata
Snowbird
70.17
72.94
74.13
78.76
78.85
79.93
62.21
64.56
67.81
73.89
74.35
76.52
Clearness (3h) s. cloudy
(24h) m. cloudy
b* (3h)
(24h)
40% Extraction Flour
1 CWRS
Kanata
Snowbird
1 CWRS
27.05
24.60
27.10
26.73
24.48
22.37
25.53
Kanata
Snowbird
1 CWRS
Kanata
Snowbird
s. bright
m. bright
m. bright
m. bright
v. bright
s. dull
s. bright
s. bright
s. bright
m. bright
26.46
Kanata
24.20
24.15
Snowbird
26.70
27.13
s. clear
m. clear
m. clear
m. clear
v. clear
s. cloudy
s. clear
s. clear
s. clear
m. clear
Table 4: Sensory Dough Sheet Appearance (specks)
40% Extraction Flour
Straight Grade Flour
Table 2b: Minolta Dough Sheet Colour (yellowness)
Straight Grade Flour
40% Extraction Flour
from Snowbird straight grade flour maintained their
brightness even after 24 hrs of storage at room
temperature, while those made from CWRS straight
grade flour were dull and cloudy (Table 3).The dough
sheets made from the white wheats had fewer,
lighter and smaller specks than those made from
CWRS (Table 4). As expected, dough sheets made
from the 40% extraction flours showed better noodle
sheet appearance than from the straight grade flours.
Cooked Noodle Texture
Noodles made from the two white wheat samples
were slightly firmer than noodles prepared from
CWRS (Table 5). Sensory results indicated that
noodles made from Snowbird were more elastic and
smoother than noodles made from CWRS and
Kanata, and all flour samples produced noodles with
a firmer texture than the commercial noodle flour
sample (Table 6).
CONCLUSIONS
Canada hard white wheat and CWRS samples
produced noodle sheets with very smooth surface,
uniform hydration, and little stickiness.
Noodles made from Snowbird were brighter and
clearer in appearance than noodles made with CWRS,
especially when straight grade flour was used.
Kanata, Snowbird, and CWRS all produced noodles
that were firm and chewy. Noodles made from
Snowbird were smoother and more elastic than
noodles made from Kanata and CWRS.
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the Canadian Wheat Board
for providing the wheat samples, the assistance of CIGI's
Milling Technology and Quality Control group for milling
of the wheat and analysis of flour samples.Thanks also to
CIGI's Communication group for poster preparation.
Table 5: Cooked Noodle Texture (TA - XT2)
Max. cutting stress (g/mm2)
40% Extraction Flour
Snowbird
68.7
40
Kanata
texture analyzer. Noodle samples were evaluated
after cooking for 3.5 and 7.0 min. Noodles prepared
with the No. 20 cutter were cooked for 2.5 min, and
assessed by sensory for firmness, springiness,
smoothness, and chewiness using 10 point intensity
scales. A commercial alkaline noodle flour from Japan
was used as a control sample.
1 CWRS
Kanata
Snowbird
1 CWRS
Kanata
Snowbird
(3h)
14
2
1
6
1
0
(24h)
44
35
23
19
14
5
(3h)
s. small
m. small
v. small
m. small
v. small
(24h) s. large
s. small
s. small
s. small
s. small
Darkness (3h) s. light
v. light
v. light
m. light
v. light
(24h) m. dark
s. light
s. light
s. light
s. light
Number
(cm2)
Size
m. small
m. light
Straight Grade Flour
40% Extraction Flour
1 CWRS
Kanata
Snowbird
1 CWRS
3.5 min
36.0
47.0
39.9
36.4
40.3
37.0
7.0 min
22.2
28.0
25.2
22.7
26.0
24.1
Kanata
Snowbird
Table 6: Sensory Evaluation of Cooked Noodles
Control
1CWRS
Kanata
Snowbird
Firmness
Springiness
Smoothness
7
9
9
8
7
6
6
7
7
6
6
7
Chewiness
7
8
9
8