332 Effect of flour swelling and paste viscosity characteristics on the texture of Japanese alkaline noodles (ramen).

G. B. Crosbie (1), A. S. Ross (2), T. Moro (3), and P. C. Chiu (1). (1) Agriculture Western Australia, South Perth, WA 6151, Australia; (2) BRI Australia Ltd., North Ryde, NSW, Australia; (3) Nippon Flour Mills Co. Ltd., Atsugi, 243 Japan.

Studies on samples of 20 hard-grained wheat cultivars and a commercial flour showed that flour swelling volume (FSV), and Rapid Visco Analyzer (RVA) flour pasting characters, peak viscosity and breakdown, assessed independently of alpha-amylase effects, were negatively correlated with total texture score. RVA pasting characters were substantially affected by small levels of alpha-amylase, and inactivation by means of 1 mM AgNO(3) was shown to be a critical requirement in characterizing the quality of the starch component of flour.