Optimizing Wheat Gluten Levels to Improve Textural Integrity and Sensory Appeal in Pigeon Pea Enriched Noodles

Noodles made exclusively from pigeon pea flour often display undesirable textural characteristics, such as brittleness, poor mouthfeel and a lack of the chewiness typically associated with traditional wheat-based noodles. These shortcomings can significantly impact consumer acceptability and overall eating quality. Incorporating vital wheat gluten, a protein known for its viscoelastic properties, offers a promising strategy to improve the structural integrity, elasticity and sensory appeal of pigeon pea-based noodle formulations. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of varying levels of vital wheat gluten (VWG) on the textural and sensory qualities of pigeon pea-based noodles (PPBN). Two optimized experimental samples PPBN 718 and PPBN 193 designed to meet adult dietary protein and mineral requirements were prepared with three concentrations of VWG (2%, 4% and 6%). Texture Profile Analysis (TPA), Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA), Consumer Preference Analysis (n=75) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were conducted to assess product quality. Results indicated that formulation B193 consistently outperformed formulation A718 across all quality parameters, exhibiting significantly higher hardness, elasticity and overall consumer acceptability (P <0.05). Notably, PPBN193-2 achieved the highest overall acceptability score (7.41±0.59). In contrast, formulation PPBN 718-3 showed diminished performance. PCA results revealed that color was a dominant driver of sensory variation, while aroma, taste and mouthfeel clustered together, suggesting a potential trade-off between visual appeal and other sensory attributes. The superior performance of PPBN193-2 was attributed to the synergistic interaction between its unique flour composition including orange-fleshed sweet potato flour and VWG, which together, formed a more cohesive protein-starch matrix. These findings suggest that incorporating VWG at an optimal concentration of 4% can significantly enhance the textural integrity and sensory quality of legume-based noodles, particularly when used in well-optimized formulations like PPBN 193. This research supports the development of nutritionally enriched and consumer acceptable legume-based noodle products for broader market adoption.