Vermicelli noodles and their quality assessment

Vermicelli noodles are convenience products prepared mainly from wheat, as well as rice and from other sources. They have become major products of the cereal food industry and are popular on account of their sensory appeal, l ow cost, ease of preparation, storage stability and the increased consumer interest in ethnic foods. This review describes the origin and type of nood les, the variety of noodles as prepared from different source materials lik e wheat, and other cereals and millets, non-cereal grains, and roots and tu bers. Parameters used for quality assessment have been discussed. Various a nalytical methods (sensory, physico-chemical, chemical and instrumental) be ing used for predicting the noodles quality have been described. The lacuna e existing for the well defined terminology for sensory attributes and lack of its correlation with instrumental data have been pointed out. Packaging parameters for better shelf life of noodles have been discussed. In view o f the increasing popularity of pasta products and growing market for conven ience foods, the future scenario for vermicelli noodles is indicated.