Exploring the egg-mediated-enhancement mechanism against the autoclaving-induced textural deterioration of instant wet noodles

To improve the eating quality of instant wet noodles sterilized via autoclaving, liquid whole egg (LWE) was used as a reinforcer in the noodle recipe and its enhancement mechanism was evaluated. The results revealed that autoclaving significantly decreased the tensile distances of noodles ( p < 0.05). The extent of textural deterioration increased with increasing autoclaving temperature. However, the addition of LWE compensated this deterioration. Moreover, LWE inhibited protein unfolding during autoclaving by crosslinking egg proteins with gliadin. The chemical interaction results revealed that the concentration of disulfide bonds increased from 48.95 to 94.96 μmol/g when 20 g/100 g LWE was added to the noodle recipe accompanied by a high proportion of stable conformations (gauche−gauche−gauche), which were transformed to a less stable conformation with increasing autoclaving temperature. A higher concentration of disulfide bonds and stable conformations in instant wet noodles made with LWE inhibited the unfolding of the gluten structure upon autoclaving, stabilizing the secondary structure and contributing to a more compact network upon autoclaving. • Egg addition increased the tensile distance of instant wet noodles. • Disulfide bond was a main interaction in instant wet noodles upon autoclaving. • Egg protein polymerized with gliadin through disulfide bond. • Stable S-S bridge conformation induced high tensile distance upon autoclaving. • Egg addition induced a more compact honeycomb protein network upon autoclaving.