Characteristics of Noodles Made from Rice Flours of Major Non-glutinous Rice Cultivars of Japan

Rice flours from five species of major non-glutinous rice cultivars in Japan were used to produce noodles in this study, and these properties of noodles were evaluated and compared to those made from medium wheat flour. There was a large difference on moisture and apparent amylose contents of rice flours between the varieties, but there was almost no difference on damaged starch contents. Lower breaking strength was observed on rice noodles as compared to that made from medium wheat flour. On the other hand, rice noodles exhibited significant high adhesiveness (p=.05). By sensory analysis, rice noodles showed high adhesiveness and low smoothness. Akitakomachi flour was most appropriate for production of noodles using these flours. Commercially available grain vinegar (0-0.5%) was used instead of brackish water (kansui) to improve rice noodle quality. Noodle made with 0.5% grain vinegar particularly resulted in good quality in terms of breaking strength, adhesiveness, cohesiveness, and sensory evaluation. The results revealed that addition of grain vinegar significantly improved the texture to produce rice noodle with acceptable quality.