Research On The Influence Of Raw Materials And Production Process On The Quality Of Fried "Cat’s Ear"

"Cat’s ear" is a traditional deep-fried flour snack in China,loved by consumers for its golden color,crispy texture,and delicious taste.At present,the production of "cat’s ear" relies heavily on experience,lacking scientific and systematic guidance for quality control,which to some extent hinders its standardization and scale.This article analyzes the influence of raw materials(wheat flour)and production processes(dough pre-treatment and ingredient addition)on the color,texture,and sensory evaluation of "cat’s ear".Based on this,it delves into the changes in protein cross-linking and starch structure during the processing of "cat’s ear",and explores the quality control mechanism of "cat’s ear".The effect of wheat flour quality on the quality of "cat’s ear" was investigated,and the changes of protein cross-linking and starch structure before and after frying were analyzed.The results showed that the moisture content of the "cat’s ear" made from the three wheat flours was similar after 180 s of frying,and the oil content of the high-gluten wheat flour product was the lowest at 28.15%.After frying,the typical A-type starch structure of wheat flour was transformed into V-type starch-lipid complex structure.During the frying process,the protein of wheat flour polymerized into protein macromers due to high temperature,and the unextractable protein content of SDS increased by 1.76%,3.10% and 3.10% for low,medium and high gluten wheat flour,respectively.There was no significant difference in the sensory quality of the "cat’s ear" made from the three wheat flours.The doughs were fermented,frozen or added with bulking agents to make "cat’s ear".The effects of different treatments on the quality of "cat’s ear" were compared,and the effects of the three treatments on the degree of protein cross-linking and starch structure were investigated.The results showed that the water content of "cat’s ear" from the frozen2 h treatment was significantly higher than the other two treatments at 2.00% after 180 s of frying,but the oil content was lower than the other two treatments at 29.95%.The fermentation treatment reduced the degree of cross-linking of the gluten network,deepened the color of the product and reduced the fracture force.The chilling treatment resulted in a significant decrease in the diffraction intensity in the XRD pattern of the starch.All three treatments improved the sensory quality of cat ears to some extent."Cat’s ear" were made by adding whole egg powder or milk powder to the dough and the effect of the two ingredients on the quality of the "cat’s ear" was investigated.The results showed that with the addition of both ingredients(10%,15% and 20%),the water absorption of wheat flour decreased,the stabilization time increased,and the peak viscosity,minimum viscosity and final viscosity increased.Compared with the control group,the oil content of "cat’s ear" increased by 0.04%-2.69% and the breaking force decreased with the addition of both ingredients.The addition of both ingredients greatly improved the sensory quality of "cat’s ear".