Alkaline agents improve the texture of the cooked product, making it more chewy with less of a tendency to soften and paste after cooking.
The desired textural characteristics are a bright, even light yellow appearance; free of any darkening or discoloration; a firm clean bite; a chewy and elastic texture with some degree of springiness; and a satisfactory al dente reaction on biting.
Alkaline noodles prepared with NaOH are sticker and less firm than alkaline noodles made with blends of sodium and potassium carbonate, possibly NaOH adversely affects gluten development.
In addition, the starch characteristics (amylose/amylopectin ratio) seemed to play an important role in altering the texture of noodles.
Texture characteristics of alkaline noodles
