Instant noodles making process

There are many varieties of instant noodles. In terms of packaging, noodles are divided into bagged noodles and cup noodles; in terms of taste, they are divided into soy sauce, salt, spicy, flavored and Japanese noodles; in terms of manufacturing methods, they are divided into fried and non-fried noodles. The making process of instant noodles is: first, add 33% water to the flour, mix the noodles with a dough mixer, then put the noodles into a calender and press them into dough sheets, and then cut them into noodles by a cutting machine. The cut noodles are sent to the cooking machine via a conveyor belt, cooked for 1-2 minutes, and then flavored. There are generally two types of odor treatments: one is the soaking method, and the other is the spray method. The flavored noodles are cut into sections using a noodle cutting machine and divided into portions. Non-fried instant noodles can be dried directly with hot air at 95°C. Fried instant noodles also need to be fried in boiling oil at 130 to 150°C. The fried instant noodles have a porous structure and taste better than hot air dried instant noodles.

Momofuku Ando, ??the inventor of instant noodles

Momofuku Ando invented the world's first package of instant noodles - "Chicken Ramen" in 1958, when he was 48 years old. The inspiration for developing instant noodles originated as early as 1945.

After World War II, Japan was severely short of food. Most people were so hungry that they even ate potato vines. Momofuku Ando happened to pass by a ramen stall and saw a crowd of people wearing simple clothes standing in line for twenty or thirty meters despite the cold wind. He couldn't help but become very interested in ramen. It feels like this is a huge need among the public. But he did not embark on development. Instead, he knitted, raised silkworms, managed warehouses, sold slide projectors, made salt, fished, ran schools, developed nutritious food, and even served in prison. It wasn't until the credit portfolio he served as chairman went bankrupt and he lost almost all his property in an instant that he decided to shift the focus of his business to "food". Later, he coined his own word "Eat enough to bring peace to the world" - the world will be peaceful only after eating enough. As the corporate philosophy of Nissin Food Company, it also originated from the experience during this period.

In the spring of 1958, Momofuku Ando began to study the inspiration he gained during the poor era when he was penniless. He built a simple 10-square-meter cabin in the backyard of his residence in Ikeda City, Osaka Prefecture, to serve as a research laboratory. I found an old noodle machine, then bought a 1-meter-diameter Chinese wok, an 18-kilogram bag of flour, cooking oil, etc. I put the things on the back seat of my bicycle and carried them home. Focus on the development of instant noodles.

Principles learned through repeated development

The instant noodles envisioned by Momofuku Ando are instant noodles that can be eaten immediately by adding hot water. It is very easy to eat. He set five goals. First, the taste is not only delicious but you won’t get tired of eating it. Second, it can become a household kitchen staple and has high shelf life. Third, it’s easy and requires no cooking. Fourth, the price is cheap. Fifth, since it is food, it must be safe and hygienic.

Although the goal was set, development progress was very slow. When I started researching, I was completely in the exploratory stage. I got up at 5 o'clock in the morning and immediately got into the hut. I continued researching until one or two o'clock in the night, with an average sleep time of less than 4 hours. Such days lasted for a whole year without a day off.

In the noodle business, he is a complete layman. The combination of raw materials for noodles is very subtle and requires a lot of knowledge. He tried everything he could think of, but nothing worked. When put on the noodle making machine for processing, some noodles are loose and some are sticky. Throw it away, throw it away and do it again. The entire development has become a repetitive process without a glimmer of hope. Later, I finally realized an experience: food is about balance. Food development is the process of pursuing and discovering this unique and wonderful balance.

Inspired by the family

After a lot of efforts, although the preservation problem was solved, the dried noodles could not be quickly restored into a bowl of lunch.

Later, Mrs. Ando’s fried dishes inspired him. There are countless holes in the coating of fried food, just like a sponge. This is because the coating is mixed with water, and the moisture in it will dissipate during the frying process, forming "holes". When boiling water is added, it will easily It will become soft soon. In this way, the problems of preservation and cooking can be solved at the same time by soaking the noodles in soup to flavor them and then frying them to dry them.

He was so excited that he called this production method "instantaneous hot oil drying method" and obtained a patent for the instant noodles production method.

1. Processing method of corn instant noodles

The processing method of corn instant noodles uses a fermentation process to make it taste good, easy to digest, not irritating to the stomach, and convenient to eat.

It is characterized by: putting the corn in a water soaking tank, adding 1-3% yeast powder, the temperature is 30-50℃, fermenting for 3-7 days, and then sent to the refiner Crush it into corn syrup, then pass the corn syrup through a vibrating screen to remove the skin and navel on the upper part of the screen, dehydrate it, and then put the wet noodles with a moisture content of about 30% into a noodle extruder for extrusion. The noodle extruder head temperature is 50 --70℃, finally extruded into strips, the temperature inside the strip making machine is 100--140℃.

The extruded corn noodles are cooled, weighed, and packaged to prepare the product of this method. When eating, soak it in boiling water for 6 minutes.

The corn instant noodles made by this processing method not only retain and strengthen the unique nutrients of corn, but also are convenient to eat. Due to the fermentation process, the starch in the corn ingredients is fully expanded. The advantage of fully expanded starch is that the corn syrup obtained by grinding has smaller particle size than dry grinding, which reduces the roughness of the noodles. The slippery and fully expanded starch has good gluten properties after being squeezed several times, so the noodles taste chewy and bubbly. After 40 minutes, the soup will not be muddy or strands will stick, and it has good flexibility.

2. Processing method of buckwheat instant noodles

Buckwheat instant noodles use ordinary instant noodle production lines to produce multigrain instant noodles with nutritional and health care functions, which solves the problems of molding and strip breakage during the noodle making process. , and it is rich in nutrients, the ratio is reasonable, and the bite is strong after rehydration. Buckwheat flour is generally added in an amount of 40-60% and is rich in the health factor rutin. It is an ideal health staple food for ordinary people and diabetics. This technology has gone through pilot trials and has carried out production technology cooperation with some manufacturers, and products are available for tasting.

Conditions for production: You need to have ordinary instant noodles and flat equipment, adjust the production process conditions, and produce according to the formula.

Unit: School of Food Science, China Agricultural University

Address: No. 294, East District, China Agricultural University, No. 17, Qinghua East Road, Haidian District, Beijing Postcode: 100083

Telephone: 010-62337331, 62336437

Email: Zhgjiang@bjaav.edu.cn

Contact: Jiang Zhengqiang