Frying of rice flour dough strands containing gum Arabic: texture, sensory attributes and microstructure of products

The effects of rice flour (50-56%, w/w) and gum Arabic (0-5%, w/w) on the physical, sensory and structural features of the fried dough strands were investigated. Up to 25.8% reduction in oil was possible by the incorporation of gum Arabic. The wide variations in failure force (13.8-25.3 N) and failure strain (11.0-28.6%) indicated the formation of snacks varying in texture from a soft-to-bite brittle product to a hard-to-eat less brittle sample. The snacks possessed a porous microstructure with air cells, pores and vacuoles; the cell walls were more than 100 μm in thickness. The textural parameters like failure force, failure energy and failure stress behaved in a similar manner in the principal component analysis biplot. High moisture content in the dough decreased the sensory acceptance of the fried snacks. The high desirability index of 0.9 could be achieved with a high level of rice flour (56%, w/w) while gum Arabic content was between 3.50 and 3.75% (w/w).