Understanding the influence of pullulan on the quality changes, water mobility, structural properties and thermal properties of frozen cooked noodles

•Pullulan addition resulted in better texture and minor chrominance differences.•Freezable water content and water mobility is decreased in presence of pullulan.•Pullulan hampered the depolymerization of gluten during frozen storage.•CLSM analysis showed a compact structure in FCN with added pullulan. Pullulan is widely applied in the food industry due to its unique physicochemical properties, but little information is known about its effects on the quality of frozen cooked noodles (FCNs), nor the underlying mechanism. In this study, the addition of 0.3% and 0.5% pullulan resulted in better texture and cooking properties, and minor chrominance differences, and it significantly (P