The role of inorganic salts in dough properties and noodle quality—A review

Noodles are usually made with flour, salt, and water. Developments in the noodle industry have led to the use of some inorganic salts such as NaCl, alkaline, and phosphate salts to improve the quality of noodle products. However, the physicochemical properties of dough and noodle characteristics may show different rheological and technological properties after salt addition depending on the salt content, type, and mixture. Therefore, understanding the role and mechanism of different salts in flour dough and the resulting noodles would be helpful in improving the quality of the final products. This review covers recent advances in the application of inorganic salts to noodle dough and the effects of such an addition on the final product. Addition of inorganic salts improves the elasticity and extensibility of gluten, improves the texture of noodles and gelatinization of starch, and enhances the processing performance of the dough and quality of the final product. However, the addition of excessive amounts of these salts leads to the deterioration of gluten and a decrease in the elasticity and extensibility of the resulting dough. Most alkaline salts and NaCl can increase the cooking loss of noodles, but phosphates can decrease this parameter. Addition of alkaline or NaCl decreases the nutritional quality of cooked noodles due to lysine losses and reduces protein digestibility. Overall, inorganic salts can enhance dough characteristics and noodle quality, but health of the consumer should not be overlooked, which should be added within the allowable range of production.