Quality Differences between Fresh and Dried Buckwheat Noodles Associated with Water Status and Inner Structure

Buckwheat noodles are mainly sold in the form of fresh and dried noodles in China. Among the noodles with varied proportions of extruded buckwheat flour (20% to 80%), the cooking or textural qualities of fresh and dried buckwheat noodles (FBN and DBN, respectively) were significantly different, and FBN showed a lower cooking loss and breakage ratio and were more elastic than DBN. FBN-20% showed the highest sensory score, followed by DBN-50%. The mechanisms causing the quality differences were investigated using water mobility and the internal structures of the noodles were investigated with low-field nuclear magnetic resonance and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. Compared with FBN, DBN showed a denser internal structure, which explained its higher hardness. The water within FBN and DBN was mainly in the form of softly bound water and tightly bound water, respectively. FBN with highly mobile softly bound water (longer T ₂₂) and a more uniform internal structure had a lower breakage ratio, whereas the trends of water relation with texture properties were different for FBN and DBN. The drying process and added extruded buckwheat flour together contributed to the varied cooking and textural properties.