Effect of carrageenan on quality of low-sodium noodles

To study the effect of seaweed polysaccharide carrageenan on the sensory properties and overall quality of low-sodium noodles, we designed the noodles containing low-sodium salts with different formulas and carried out a sensory evaluation experiment, so as to analyzed the color, cooking time, texture and microstructure of the noodles. The results show that the addition of carrageenan covered the metallic bitterness caused by potassium chloride in noodles effectively. Carrageenan showed no significant influence on the optimal cooking time of noodles (P>0.05), but changed the color of noodles after the noodles having been cooked to a certain extent and improved the hardness, springiness and chewiness of noodles. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis demonstrates that carrageenan made the microstructure of noodles more compacted after the cooking but did not show obvious influence on the microstructure of noodles before the cooking. The results suggest that carrageenan can reduce the bitterness caused by potassium chloride salt substitute but maintain the quality of noodles, achieving a high-efficiency salt reduction (up to 50%) in noodles, which proposes a new idea for the potassium chloride-based salt substitutes in food industry.