Improving hydration properties of baked ramen noodles

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Instant noodles are a popular product that is easy to prepare and with a significant market share in the retail business. These instant noodles are widely consumed throughout the world and are a fast growing sector of the noodle industry. However, a key attribute of this class of products is that they are fried prior to packaging and thus have higher fat content. The use of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils which are rich in trans-fatty acids present potent health issues related to obesity and heart related diseases. Due to consumer demands for healthier products, food companies are striving to meet these demands. One such company is Campbells Soup. Recently the flow process for making their Ramen noodles shifted from including a frying step to a baking step. The baking step made the health attributes of instant products more favorable in comparison to frying. However, the consumer acceptance of these baked Ramen noodles is quite low. This is attributed to poor hydration during instant reconstitution. This problem is likely to be due to altered starch structure following baking such that the kinetics of hydration is altered and/or due to altered protein-starch interactions that exist in the baked product. To improve the rehydration quality and hence consumer acceptability of Ramen noodles, it is imperative to understand the major component interactions in the process of making Ramen noodles from raw ingredients, through processing to the final product. Improving the cooking qualities of baked Ramen noodles will increase consumer acceptance of the baked noodles and ultimately benefit the well being of consumers by reducing the health issues related to the consumption of Ramen noodles.