The cooking qualities of microwave oven cooked instant noodles

Deep‐fried instant noodles were cooked in a microwave oven at 557 W (medium power) and 657 W (full power). The microwave cooking times were determined based on textural parameters and the qualities of microwave oven cooked noodles at medium power and full power were compared with those of products cooked using a conventional gas stove for 9.1 min (CON). Heating in the microwave increased the temperature of the noodle block faster than the cooking water, led to an increased degree of gelatinisation of instant noodles, and reduced the cooking times to 8.5 min (medium power) and to 7.5 min (full power). Cooking in the medium power microwave resulted in high water absorption and weak hardness values. Cooking in the full power microwave resulted in higher hardness and tensile strength than the medium power microwave and sensory evaluated organoleptic scores were comparable to the CON, despite having a significantly higher rancidity.