Abstract: To establish a quantifiable evaluation method for oat dough stickiness, this study utilized the Chen-Hoseney method. A texture analyzer equipped with an A/DSC probe was used to measure the textural properties. The influence of measurement conditions (including pre-test/test/post-test speed, applied/trigger force, return distance and contact time) on dough stickiness, cohesiveness/dough strength and work of adhesion. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method and the frequency analysis method were integrated to optimize the measurement parameters, and the universality and robustness of the established method were evaluated. The results indicated that post-test speed, applied force, return distance, and contact time had significant effects on the results of determination of oat dough stickiness. The optimal measurement parameters were determined as follows: pre-test and test speed 1.50 mm/s, post-test speed 8.00 mm/s, applied force 40 g, trigger force at 5.00 g, return distance 4.000 mm, and contact time 0.10 s. Furthermore, oat flours from 26 varieties were selected to validate the developed method. The coefficient of variation (CV) for the overall sample test exceeded 40%, and the CV for each individual sample was below 5%. These results indicated that the universality and reproducibility of this method were satisfactory. In conclusion, the proposed method can effectively reflect the stickiness characteristics of oat dough, thereby providing technical support for in-depth understanding of the formation mechanism of oat dough stickiness.

Key words: oat dough; stickiness; Chen-Hoseney method; method development; method verification