Abstract:Extruded flavouring noodles, also known as spicy strips, are widely recognized for their unique taste; however, the high salt content is considered a potential health risk. In this study, the deterioration in quality of reduced-salt spicy strip blanks during storage was addressed, and the product quality was optimized through the addition of improvers. The single factor combined with orthogonal test was used to analyze the texture and sensory indexes of spicy strip blanks, and the optimal formula of the compound improver was determined (10% glutinous rice flour, 1% yeast dietary fiber, 0.6% soybean lecithin, and 6% crystalline fructose). The optimization effect of the compound improver on salt-reduced spicy strip blank was evaluated under accelerated storage conditions at 37°C. It was observed that, during storage, although certain indices differed between the salt-reduced spicy strip blanks with the compound improver and the non-salt-reduced blanks, compared to the 40% salt-reduced blanks, an improvement of 39.56% in hardness change and an increase of 4.73% in water content were achieved. Through Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis, it was revealed that the peak intensity ratio of (1045/1022) cm?1 in the group with the compound improver was lower than that of the control group with 40% salt reduction. It was suggested that the starch molecular rearrangement in the salt-reduced spicy strip blanks during storage was effectively prevented by the compound improver, the ratio between ordered and disordered structures during aging was reduced, and the starch aging phenomenon was delayed. In conclusion, the hardening and aging of salt-reduced spicy strip blanks during storage were effectively slowed down by the compound improver, thereby providing a theoretical basis for the optimization of salt-reduced technology.
