Utilization of rice starch with gums in Asian starch noodle preparation as substitute for sweet potato starch

Starch noodles were produced using a medium grain rice starch in the presence of various gums, and physical properties of the noodles were compared with sweet potato starch noodle. Pasting viscosity of the rice starch was lower than that of sweet potato starch (830 vs. 1,618 cp as peak viscosity). The peak viscosity, however, was increased by the addition of gums (0.1% based on dispersion), and especially xanthan was the most effective in increasing the peak viscosity (1,478 cp). The cooking loss for the rice starch noodles (1.5 mg/mL), greater than that for the sweet potato starch noodle (0.2 mg/mL), was effectively reduced to 0.8 and 0.9 mg/mL, respectively, by the addition of locust bean gum (LBG) and curdlan. The addition of LBG or gellen gum also increased the hardness of the rice noodles. Aging (extended retrogradation) the noodles was effective in reducing the cooking loss and improving the textural properties of the rice starch noodles. The combination of the gum addition (like LBG) and aging of the rice starch noodle might be useful for utilizing rice starch as a substitute for sweet potato starch in Asian noodle preparation.