Magnetic resonance imaging and microscopic evaluation of the effect of flow on water migration during noodle cooking

Mika Fukuoka, Mariko Oono and Noboru Sakai

 

Full Length Research Paper  I Published August,2018

 

Journal of Agricultural Science and Food Technology  Vol. 4 (6), pp.120-129.

 

ABSTRACT

 

To clarify the effect of flow on water migration during the noodle cooking process, two types of cooking experiment were conducted using a stainless stockpot and a professional gas stove, in conditions that may be described as “with flow” and “without flow” of the cooking water. The quality of the cooked noodles was evaluated using a combination of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and microscopic observation. The MRI results showed clear differences between the water distributions obtained with and without water flow. In the case of the “without flow” condition, there was a dramatic increase in the water content of the noodle surface, although in the interior region, the initial water content value was maintained. In the presence of water flow, the water reached the core of the noodle due to a suppression of this significant increase in the water content of the surface region. Microscopic observations combined with computer vision system (CVS) showed that the size of the region in which the starch granule gelatinized completely and dispersed in the noodle was reduced in the case for which flow was allowed.

Key Words: CVS, flow, macro-molecular dispersion, MRI, noodle cooking, starch gelatinization.

 

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