Effect of buckwheat inclusion fractions on the drying characteristics and quality attributes of instant noodle sheets

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of varying proportions of buckwheat flour mixed with wheat flour on the drying characteristics, physical properties, and nutritional quality of instant buckwheat noodle sheets (IBNS). The results indicated that incorporating buckwheat into pure wheat sheets reduced the drying time of IBNS by 10–16.7 min. With the increase in drying time, the amount of free water decreased significantly. The transverse relaxation times (T₂) range gradually decreased, and the overall peak shifted towards the left. During rehydration, sheets with 10% buckwheat content exhibited a rehydration ratio of 17%, which was higher than that of pure wheat sheets. Initially, pure wheat sheets displayed the highest levels of hardness and chewiness during rehydration. The inclusion of buckwheat flour greatly improved the nutritional content and antioxidant capacity of the IBNS. The addition of buckwheat modified the secondary structure of proteins and the ordered structure of starch. Raw sheets with a 10% buckwheat addition demonstrated the highest value of short-range ordered structure (DO) at 2.16. In contrast, noodles with a 30% buckwheat addition showed the highest lacunarity at 38.44 × 10⁻². The findings of this study will serve as a theoretical foundation and provide guidance for the production of mixed-grain composite products in the instant food industry.