Studies on noodle quality of potato and rice starches and their blends in relation to their physicochemical, pasting and gel textural properties

The physicochemical, pasting, and gel textural properties of potato and rice starches and their blends were studied in relation to their noodle making performance. Amylose content, swelling power and solubility values of potato starch were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher than for rice starch. Pasting properties showed higher peak, final and setback viscosity for potato starch as compared to rice starch. Texture profile analysis revealed that potato starch gel had higher hardness, cohesiveness and chewiness as compared to rice starch gel. Potato starch noodles showed higher cooked weight and cooking loss and were scored higher by sensory panellists especially with respect to transparency and slipperiness. On the other hand, rice starch noodles were more firm with lower cooking loss. Addition of potato starch to rice starch significantly (P ≤ 0.05) affected the noodle characteristics. Among the starch blends studied, blending of potato and rice starch in the ratio of 1:1 resulted in good quality noodles in terms of their lower cooking time, higher cooked weight, transparency and slipperiness. The results revealed the possibility of blending of potato starch with rice starch in equal proportions to produce noodles of acceptable quality.