Abstract: The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of addition of different levels of hydrocolloids (flaxseed gum or Artemisia sphaerocephala Krasch. gum) on the physicochemical properties of glutinous rice flour and the quality of the resultant sweet dumplings. The results showed that the addition of hydrocolloids except 0.1% of flaxseed gum could improve the peak viscosity, trough viscosity and final viscosity of glutinous rice flour in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, the elastic modulus and viscosity modulus of glutinous rice flour were increased, and the loss tangent was decreased, which was conducive to the formation of a highly stable gel structure. In addition, the addition of hydrocolloids significantly reduced the water loss rate and cracking rate of sweet dumplings and increased the transmittance of the soup (except 0.1% of flaxseed gum) and the hardness of sweet dumplings, indicating that hydrocolloids can improve the quality of sweet dumplings. Fuzzy mathematics was used to standardize the sensory evaluation data of sweet dumplings. It was shown that the sensory evaluation score increased with increasing addition level of hydrocolloids. According to the physicochemical properties of glutinous rice flour as well as using principal component analysis (PCA), a comprehensive evaluation model for the quality of sweet dumplings was established, which can provide a basis for the application of hydrocolloids in sweet dumpling.

Key words: sweet dumpling; hydrocolloids; principal component analysis; fuzzy mathematics; comprehensive quality evaluation