Effect of cooking characteristics, amino acid consistency, and functional properties of composite noodles made from foxtail millet

The research endeavors to address the exigent demand for augmented nutritional efficacy in food commodities, alongside the escalating preference for expedient, superior, and health-conscious alternatives. As a result, the ongoing investigation aims to formulate instant noodles utilizing a composite blend of flours, including foxtail millet (FMF), wheat (WF), mushroom (MF), and rice bran flour (RBF), followed by a subsequent evaluation of the functional properties, cooking attributes, and amino acid composition of the noodles. The investigation considered distinct proportions of composite flour, specifically 0:100:0:0, 60:30:5:5, 50:40:5:5, and 40:50:5:5 (FMF: WF: MF: RBF), designated as treatment T1 (control), T2, T3, and T4, respectively. The results indicate that composite noodles (T2 to T4) demonstrate significantly higher water absorption indexes (ranging from 189.41 % to 197.28 %) compared to the control noodles (T1) composed solely of wheat flour (100 %), signifying an elevated capacity for water retention. Conversely, the oil absorption index of treatment T1 (214.45 %) surpassed that of treatments T2 (210.14 %), T3 (207.47 %), and T4 (200.64 %), respectively. Similarly, treatment T1 exhibited a higher swelling index (16.57 %), whereas T4 demonstrated a significantly lower swelling index with the highest water solubility (4.51 %). Additionally, the inclusion of foxtail millet flour led to a notable reduction in the optimal cooking time, with T4 requiring the shortest duration (3.45 min). Conversely, the cooking yield varied among treatments, with T4 displaying the lowest yield (42.30 %), while T1 exhibited the highest (48.72 %). Furthermore, in the comparison between control and composite noodles, treatment T4 manifested the highest levels of basic, aromatic, aliphatic, and essential amino acids. It also contained a substantial amount of lysine (11 g/100 g), nearly twice as much as treatment T1 (5 g/100 g). Organoleptic assessment indicated a preference for composite noodles (T2 to T4) in terms of taste and flavor. Therefore, fortifying foxtail millet, wheat, mushroom, and rice bran flour in a ratio of (50:40:5:5) for functional food formulations has the potential to enhance the quality of noodles.