Anti-swelling performance enhancement and underlying mechanism of noodles by gliadin coating constructed via local phase separation.

This study developed a protein-based edible coating by depositing food-grade gliadin (GLA) from aqueous ethanol onto cooked noodles through moisture-triggered local phase separation. Effects of GLA concentration and contact time on swelling, texture, water distribution, microstructure, and sensory quality were evaluated. Treatment with 5% GLA for 30 s reduced swelling after 30 min in naturally cooling cooking liquor. The swelling ratio decreased from 41.78 ± 2.23% in untreated controls to 27.98 ± 0.93%, while hardness and springiness increased. MRI indicated altered spatial distributions of water-related proton signals. SEM and CLSM revealed a more continuous protein-related surface structure after coating. A 30 s water rinse reduced perceived alcoholic odor without impairing anti-swelling performance. The mean sensory score of rinsed 1% GLA noodles (8.44 ± 0.41) did not differ significantly from the control (8.24 ± 0.28). These findings support GLA coating for improving the holding quality of cooked noodles.