Quality Evaluation of Fried Noodles Prepared from Wheat, Sweet Potato and Soybean Flour Blends

The study evaluated the quality of wheat flour (WF) noodle supplemented with sweet potato flour (SPF) and soybean flour (SBF). The chemical composition and functional properties of WF, SPF and SBF were determined. The SPF was used to substitute 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50% WF in fried noodles in which 30% SPF and 70% WF blend produced the most acceptable noodle. The SBF was then used to substitute 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50% of the WF/SPF blend in fried noodles which were assessed for their chemical composition, physical, sensory and cooking characteristics. The results showed that SBF contained higher amounts of protein (11.81%) and fat (37.45%) but less carbohydrate (74.81%) than WF and SPF. The SPF had higher contents of carbohydrate and crude fiber and possessed higher water and oil absorption capacities than WF and SBF. However, SBF had higher emulsion and foaming properties than WF and SBF. The fried noodles containing 20% SBF were not significantly different (P > 0.05) from the 100% wheat flour noodle in the sensory attributes evaluated. The fried noodle containing 20% SBF was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than the wheat noodle in the protein, fat, ash and crude fibre contents but had higher cooking time (8.26 min) and cooking loss (11.12%). The cooking time and cooking loss of the 100% wheat flour noodle were 7.16 min and 8.61%, respectively.