Insight into the effect of potassium carbonate on the physicochemical and structural properties of starch isolated from hot-dry noodles.

The objective of this study was to investigate the changes in physicochemical and structural properties of starch isolated from hot-dry noodles (HDNS) treated with different contents of potassium carbonate (KCO). The results demonstrated that the existence of KCO increased the WHC and hardness of HDNS gel with an elevated storage modulus. Meanwhile, KCO promoted the gelatinization of HDNS, which displayed higher viscosity and swelling power. Moreover, the relative crystallinity of HDNS were improved. KCO facilitated the transformation of HDNS from an amorphous to a more ordered and crystalline structure. Simultaneously, the microscopic characteristics exhibited that KCO promoted the partial fusion of starch particles to form aggregates, and the particle size became larger. In conclusion, the physicochemical and structural properties of HDNS were improved effectively with the incorporation of KCO, and the research results provided new insights for the processing of high-quality hot-dry noodles.