Effects of konjac glucomannan on the long‐term retrogradation and shelf life of boiled wheat noodles

BACKGROUND Starch retrogradation and moisture migration of boiled wheat noodles (BWNs) result in quality deterioration and short shelf life. The objective of this research was to investigate whether konjac glucomannan (KGM) could improve the quality of BWNs and further establish the shelf‐life prediction model. RESULTS The moisture distribution, recrystallization, and thermal properties of BWNs during refrigerated or ambient temperature storage were determined. Low‐field nuclear magnetic resonance data showed that KGM addition induced left‐shifts of T21 and T22 values, indicating that KGM limited the mobility of bound and immobile water among noodle matrices. X‐ray diffraction spectra revealed that KGM did not change the crystal patterns of BWNs but could inhibit the starch recrystallization after refrigerated storage. The Tp and ΔH values of retrograded samples notably (P