ABSTRACT Background and Objectives Developing instant noodles with a reduced starch digestibility has become a rapidly expanding market trend. This study aimed to understand effects of thermal‐processing on the digestibility and texture of high‐amylose corn starch (HACS) instant noodles. Findings HACS incorporation reduced oil content in fried noodles by 22.9%–40.3%. Fried noodles had lower cooking yields and higher cooking losses than hot‐air‐dried ones, with resteaming causing minor variations. Resteaming and drying method had a limited impact on the texture. HACS incorporation led to a heterogeneous distribution of large pores, which was intensified by resteaming. Fried noodles exhibited starch digestibility (47.4% and 43.7%) comparable to the hot‐air‐dried noodles (48.0% and 43.0%) at 30% and 40% HACS levels, respectively. Resteaming caused a smaller reduction in starch digestibility in fried noodles (1.4%–2.5%) than in hot‐air‐dried ones (3.7%–3.8%). Polarized‐light micrographs showed starch granules with birefringence, indicating high thermal‐stability of HACS. Conclusion Frying caused more disruption of starch crystallites and yielded lower enzymatic resistance than hot‐air drying, and that the effect of resteaming was more pronounced in the hot‐air‐dried noodles. Significance and Novelty This study provides foundational insights for developing HACS‐enriched instant noodles with acceptable palatability and potentially reduced starch digestibility.
Cui et al. (Mon,) studied this question.