The gel properties and structural changes of sweet potato starch induced by heat-moisture treatment (HMT) were investigated, and its vermicelli textural properties were revealed. HMT increased the relative crystallinity, and the crystallinity reduced with increasing moisture content, which was consistent with the results of DSC. RVA results revealed that the HMT starches showed an increased setback viscosity and a reduced breakdown viscosity, indicating that the HMT starches gel lead a stronger retrogradation tendency. Rheometer results indicated that the HMT starches had a stronger elasticity behavior. The content of amylose of starch and the possible amylose fine molecular change during HMT at different water content were hypothesized, and this caused the gel properties of starch. Consequently, the HMT starch vermicelli exhibited higher hardness, springiness, and chewiness. These mechanistic relations among starch structure, gel properties, and vermicelli quality during HMT will provide useful information for the starch vermicelli industry.

The addition of oat at varying percentages (26%, 32%, 38%, 44% and 50%) was used to evaluate the structural, microstructural, and physicochemical changes in instant-extruded rice (IER). A mixture of broken rice and oat flour was extruded in a twin-screw extruder. It was found that when adding 44% oats, the gelatinization degree of the mixed powder was the lowest (89.086 ± 1.966%). The dietary fiber content increased correspondingly with the increase in oat addition. Analyses of texture properties revealed that the hardness, adhesive, and resilience values increased and then decreased with oat addition. Compared with other common instant rice (IR), the advantages of IER were evaluated in terms of microstructure, digestive performance, and flavor. IER with 44% oat addition obtained in this study had higher hardness, adhesiveness, rehydration time, and sensory score, and the content of resistant starch (RS) reached 6.06%. The electronic nose and electronic tongue analyses could distinguish the flavor of different IR efficiently. This study showed the feasibility of preparing fiber-enriched IER. The results demonstrated the potential for the development and utilization of broken rice, providing a reference for the development of IER.

This study aimed to elaborate on the role of salt concentration on pickled Brassica napus leaf and stem (BLS); it also contributed to the development of low-salt and healthy Brassica napus products in the harvest period. Five sets of pickled BLS samples were prepared, and the physicochemical parameters, free amino acids (FAAs), and the volatile flavor components (VFCs) were analyzed after fermentation. Results showed that some antioxidants, FAAs, and VFCs underwent dynamic changes during fermentation. Nitrite increased with an increase in the salt concentration used for fermentation. Pickled BLS contained a wide range of FAAs; a total of 23 were detected, which might be used as a source of amino acid supplementation. The VFCs were analyzed via headspace solid-phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) combined with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 51 VFCs were tentatively identified. The contribution to flavor could be expressed by the relative odor activity value (ROAV). Salt is one of the important factors affecting the quality of vegetable fermentation. Therefore, for large-scale pickled BLS production, a key issue is to balance the low salt concentration and high fermentation quality. Under the action of salt and microorganisms, the fresh BLS fermented via dry pickling, which not only improved its FAAs and VFCs, endowed the production with a unique flavor, but also prolonged the shelf life.

• The physicochemical quality changed greatly before and after fermentation. • The free amino acids in fermented rape stalks were very rich. • The detected various components formed the special flavor of fermented rape stalks. • The use of different salt concentration fermentation had a significant impact on the comprehensive quality of rape stalks.