Processing and evaluation of heat moisture treated (HMT) amaranth starch noodles; An inclusive comparison with corn starch noodles Narender K. Chandla, D.C. Saxena, Sukhcharn Singh * Department of Food Engineering and Technology, S. L. Institute of Engineering & Technology, (SLIET), (Deemed - University), Longowal, Sangrur, Punjab, India article info Article history: Received 31 August 2016 Received in revised form 1 May 2017 Accepted 1 May 2017 Available online 3 May 2017 Keywords: Noodles Amaranth starch Corn starch Functional properties Scanning electron microscopy abstract AS, HMT-AS and CS starches were studied for amylose content, swelling power, water absorption ca- pacity, color, particle size (PSA), pasting profile (RVA) and thermal (DSC) properties. Based on the lab- oratory scale experiments, noodles with good expansion, minimum cooking time and firm texture were prepared. Noodles were successfully prepared from AS, HMT-AS and CS starches. Noodles prepared from native amaranth starch (AS) and heat moisture treated (HMT) were tested for different functional properties and compared to cornstarch noodles. Standardized noodles were evaluated for cooking loss, texture profile (TPA), sensory and micro-structural analysis by SEM. HMT-AS noodles had experience less cooking loss of 20.15 g/100 g in comparison to AS noodles (22.20 g/100 g). The HMT-AS based starch noodles shown firmer texture, along with augmented taste and distinct flavor in comparison to AS and CS noodles. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Grain amaranth is one of the non-conventional crops with high protein (15% db) and starch (40e50%) than other cereal grains. It belongs to class dicotyledoneae, sub-class caryophyllidae, family Amaranthaceae and genus Amaranthus. There are about 75 species of genus ’Amaranthus’but few of them are safe for consumption. Among various species, Amaranthus hypochondriacus (L.), A. cruentus, A. caudatus and A. edulis are the main grain species. Amaranth hypochondriacus seeds are most utilized and explored till date and are creamy and white in color. The grain pop well and mills well and have a pleasant taste and smell-sweet after pro- cessing (Rana et al., 2007). Amaranth crop environmental adapta- tion and high proximate composition in term of starch, protein, fat, soluble fiber and minerals make this future crop of world. Starch plays an important role in producing instant quality noodles. Demand of the noodles is due to fact that these could be prepared quickly, effortlessly, palatable and gives stomach a satiety feeling. There is also an increasing trend of producing clear and transparent noodles. Clear and transparent noodles could only be made from specific starches and could be derived by captivating different sources of starches (Purwani et al., 2006). Amaranth starch is well known due to its uniqueness (in term of paste clarity) and could be utilized for the development of functional noodles and its granules are smallest in diameter in comparison to other starch granules which further suggest that this starch has good functional characteristics. Thus, Amaranth starch could be utilized for the development of starch noodles (Singh et al., 2014; Rana et al., 2007; Myriam et al., 2012; Wilhelm et al., 1998). As the world market is expanding, studies for the development and improvement in noodles is also increasing. Gluten free prod- ucts are gaining large markets and there is a growing need for the development of starch noodles. For better functional characteristics, starch modifications are often done to improve the texture and cooking quality of starch noodles. The esterification of tapioca starch partly promotes the softening of noodles (Hou, 2001, 2010; Satomi et al., 2014). Noodles prepared from HMT-Sago starch showed higher firmness and elasticity as compared to those made up of native starch. This suggest us that treatment of this Amaranth starch would lead to improvement of properties and subsequently the quality of product made thereof. Purwani et al., 2006 and others has also reported less cooking loss and increased cooking time. All these characteristics lead us to modify, develop and investigate the noodles made from Amaranth starch. On comparison to Amaranth starch, the corn starch is a * Corresponding author. E-mail address: suckcharns@yahoo.com (S. Singh). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Cereal Science journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jcs http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcs.2017.05.003 0733-5210/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Journal of Cereal Science 75 (2017) 306e313