Method for producing frozen noodles for non-heating and thawing

Abstract

To provide frozen noodles for non-heating and thawing difficult to degrade quality even after non-heating and thawing.SOLUTION: A method for producing frozen noodles for non-heating and thawing of the present invention includes a dough preparation step of preparing dough using dough raw materials containing flour and alginic acids, a noodle-making step using the dough, a cooking step, and a freezing step. The dough preparation step includes: 1) a pre-step of preparing a dough using a dough raw material containing a portion of the flour and a liquid material having an amount of 0.6 times or more the mass of the portion of the flour; and 2) a post-step of preparing the main dough using the pre-dough and the dough raw material containing the remainder of the flour. An amount of the flour used in the pre-step is 15 to 60 mass% of a total amount of the flour used in the dough preparation step. The total amount of alginic acids used in the dough preparation step is 0.05 to 3 mass% of the total amount of flour used in the dough preparation step.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to frozen noodles that are eaten after thawing without heating. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes that frozen noodles, which do not require heating for thawing and can be eaten simply by loosening them under running water, have a problem in that their quality, such as texture, deteriorates over time during production, distribution, or sales. Patent Document 1 also describes that, in order to solve this problem, modified starch having retrogradation resistance is contained in the dough, and describes sodium alginate as an example of the modified starch.

[0003] Patent Document 2 describes a method for producing cold noodles which have a shelf life of about 3 days when refrigerated, do not require cooking at the time of consumption and can be eaten as is or simply by loosening with cold water etc., which comprises the steps of producing fresh noodle strings using a specific raw material flour containing etherified starch and gluten powder mixed with alginic acids, drying the fresh noodle strings, boiling them and adhering them with water or a viscous aqueous solution such as a thickener aqueous solution. The technology described in Patent Document 2 relates to refrigerated noodles which are stored in the refrigerator, and does not disclose any technology relating to frozen noodles.

[0004] Patent Document 3 describes a method for producing noodles that can efficiently produce noodles with good viscoelasticity and excellent texture, in which part of the raw material flour to be used is mixed with a relatively large amount of water to make a fluid dough, and this dough is added to the remaining raw material flour and other noodle ingredients to make noodles, during which the protein content of the raw material flour of the fluid dough is relatively high.Patent Document 3 does not mention frozen noodles, and naturally does not mention the issues surrounding frozen noodles. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-68498 [Patent Document 2] JP 2006-158342 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2019-115273 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] So-called chilled noodles such as the cold noodles described in Patent Document 2 have the advantage that they can be eaten as is or after a simple cooking process of heating them in a microwave oven, but because the noodles are cooled to a degree that does not freeze them, they have insufficient microbial control and inferior storage stability compared to frozen noodles, which are in a frozen state. Therefore, chilled noodles have a relatively short period after production that they can be sold compared to frozen noodles, making them unsuitable for wide distribution.

[0007] In contrast, frozen noodles have excellent preservation properties, allowing for wide-area distribution and cost reductions through mass production. For example, if chilled noodles mass-produced in a factory could be frozen and stored, turned into frozen noodles, distributed, and then naturally thawed before being displayed in stores so that the noodles would be in a chilled noodle state when sold, then efficient production with fewer production sites would be possible while improving the preservation properties that have been an issue with conventional chilled noodles. However, conventional frozen noodles have the problem that, when thawed without heating, such as naturally thawing, problems such as a decrease in viscoelasticity, a noticeable aging of starch (a gritty texture), and a loss of transparency in the noodles are likely to occur, making them prone to quality degradation.

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide frozen noodles for thawing without heating, which are unlikely to lose quality even when thawed without heating. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention relates to a dough preparation process for preparing dough using a dough ingredient containing cereal flour and alginic acid, a noodle-making process for obtaining raw noodles using the dough; a cooking step of heating and cooking the raw noodles or dried noodles obtained by drying the raw noodles to obtain cooked noodles; and a freezing step of freezing the cooked noodles. The dough preparation step includes: A first step of preparing a pre-dough using a dough ingredient containing a portion of the cereal flour and a liquid ingredient having a mass that is 0.6 times or more of the portion of the cereal flour; The method includes a subsequent step of preparing the dough using the pre-dough and a dough ingredient containing the remaining cereal flour, The amount of the cereal flour used in the previous step is 15 to 60% by mass of the total amount of the cereal flour used in the dough preparation step; This is a method for producing frozen noodles to be thawed without heating, wherein the total amount of the alginic acids used in the dough preparation step is 0.05 to 3 mass % of the total amount of the cereal flours used in the dough preparation step. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, frozen noodles for thawing without heating are provided, the quality of which is unlikely to deteriorate even when thawed without heating. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] The method for producing frozen noodles of the present invention includes at least the following steps 1) to 4). 1) A dough preparation process in which dough is prepared using dough ingredients containing grain flour and alginic acids. 2) A noodle-making process in which raw noodles are obtained using the dough prepared in the dough preparation process. 3) A cooking process in which the raw noodles obtained in the noodle-making process or dried noodles obtained by drying the raw noodles are cooked with heat to obtain cooked noodles. 4) A freezing step of freezing the cooked noodles obtained in the cooking step.

[0012] In the present invention, "flours" refers to substances derived from grains that are in the form of powder at normal temperature and pressure, and is a concept that includes flour and starch. "Starch" as used here refers to "pure starch" isolated from plants such as wheat, and is distinguished from starch that is inherently present in flour or whole grain flour. As for flours, any flour that can be used for the production of noodles can be used without particular limitation, and one type may be used alone, or two or more types may be used in combination.

[0013] Examples of flour include flours mainly made up of endosperm, such as wheat flour, rice flour, barley flour, waxy barley flour, buckwheat flour, soy flour, corn flour, and oat flour. Wheat flour includes strong flour, semi-strong flour, medium-strength flour, weak flour, and durum flour (including durum semolina and durum wheat flour). Other specific examples of flour include flours containing at least the outer skin and / or germ, such as "bran" mainly made up of the outer skin, and "whole wheat flour" containing the three main components of the endosperm, outer skin, and germ. Specific examples of bran and whole wheat flour include wheat bran and whole wheat flour, which are derived from wheat. Examples of starches include unmodified starches such as potato starch, tapioca starch, wheat starch, corn starch, waxy corn starch, and rice starch; and modified starches obtained by subjecting unmodified starches to one or more processing treatments (e.g., cross-linking, phosphorylation, acetylation, etherification, oxidation, and gelatinization).

[0014] A preferred example of the flour used in the present invention is a flour containing wheat flour and processed tapioca starch (hereinafter, also referred to as "flour X"). As the wheat flour contained in flour X, for example, one or more of the above-mentioned strong flours can be used. The processed tapioca starch is tapioca starch that has been subjected to one or more processing treatments, and the processing treatments include one or more selected from acetylation and etherification. In the cereal flour X, the wheat flour content is preferably 20 to 75% by mass, more preferably 50 to 75% by mass, based on the total mass of the cereal flour X. In addition, in the cereal flour X, the processed tapioca starch content is preferably 25 to 80% by mass, more preferably 25 to 50% by mass, based on the total mass of the cereal flour X. In addition, in the cereal flour X, the total content of the wheat flour and the processed tapioca starch is preferably 80 to 100% by mass, and may be 100% by mass, based on the total mass of the cereal flour X.

[0015] One of the main features of the method for producing frozen noodles of the present invention is that the dough is prepared in the dough preparation step using a dough ingredient containing alginic acids. Alginic acids are essential components for obtaining frozen noodles for non-heating thawing that are unlikely to deteriorate in quality even when thawed without heating. Examples of alginic acids include alginic acid, alginate salts, and alginic acid esters, and these can be used alone or in combination of two or more. Examples of the alginate salts include monovalent salts such as sodium alginate and potassium alginate; divalent salts such as calcium alginate; and basic salts such as ammonium alginate. Examples of the alginate salts include propylene glycol alginate. The total amount of alginic acids used in the dough preparation step is 0.05 to 3 mass% of the total amount of cereal flour used in the dough preparation step, preferably 0.1 to 2 mass%, more preferably 0.1 to 1 mass%. If the total amount of alginic acids used in the dough preparation step is less than 0.05 mass% of the total amount of cereal flour used, there is little point in using alginic acids, and if it exceeds 3 mass%, there is a risk of excessively affecting the texture. The "total amount used" referred to here refers to the sum of the amounts of the raw materials (e.g., alginic acids) used in each of the two steps (pre-step and post-step) of the dough preparation process described below, and is the same hereinafter unless otherwise specified.

[0016] The dough raw material used in the dough preparation step may further contain gluten in addition to the essential components (flours, alginic acids). By using gluten in the preparation of the dough, it is possible to more reliably obtain frozen noodles for non-heating thawing that are less likely to deteriorate in quality even when thawed without heating. As gluten, any gluten that can be used in food can be used without any particular restriction. A specific example of gluten is active gluten. Active gluten is also called vital gluten, and many products are available on the market, and these products can be used without any particular restriction in the present invention. A preferred example of an active gluten product on the market is "A-Glu GB" manufactured by Glico Nutrition Foods Co., Ltd. Active gluten is a wheat protein concentrate, mainly composed of glutenin and gliadin, and is basically made by kneading wheat flour and water to form a dough in which gluten has developed, and then removing water-soluble components such as starch from the dough to increase the wheat protein content. The total amount of gluten used in the dough preparation step is preferably 0.5 to 10% by mass, more preferably 1 to 8% by mass, based on the total amount of cereal flour used in the dough preparation step. If too little gluten is used, there is little point in using it, and if too much gluten is used, there is a risk of excessively affecting the texture.

[0017] A preferred example of the dough raw material used in the dough preparation step is one that contains the above-mentioned cereal flour X as the cereal flour, and also contains alginic acids and gluten (hereinafter, also referred to as "dough raw material X"). The mass ratio of the modified tapioca starch to gluten in dough raw material X, as the former:latter, is preferably 10:1 to 3:1, more preferably 8:1 to 4:1.

[0018] The dough ingredients used in the dough preparation step may contain ingredients other than the above ingredients (grain flours, alginic acids, and gluten). The grain flours, alginic acids, and gluten are typically in powder form at room temperature and normal pressure, and a mixture of these is also called "raw material flour." The other ingredients can be any ingredient that can be used in the production of noodles, without any particular limitation, and examples include protein materials other than gluten, such as soy protein, soy polysaccharides, egg yolk powder, egg white powder, whole egg powder, egg protein enzymatic hydrolysates, and skim milk powder; fats and oils such as animal and vegetable oils and oil powders; thickeners such as thickening polysaccharides; kansui, calcined calcium, dietary fiber, leavening agents, salt, sweeteners, spices, seasonings, vitamins, minerals, colorants, fragrances, dextrin, alcohol, preservatives, pH adjusters, enzymes, malt, and the like. Depending on the type of noodles to be produced, etc., one of these can be used alone, or two or more can be used in combination.

[0019] For example, when the noodles to be produced are Chinese noodles, the dough ingredients used in the dough preparation step contain kansui. The total amount of kansui used in the dough preparation step is preferably 0.1 to 2.5 mass %, more preferably 0.5 to 2.0 mass %, based on the total amount of cereal flour used in the dough preparation step.

[0020] Another main feature of the method for producing frozen noodles of the present invention is that the dough preparation step comprises the following two steps, a pre-step and a post-step. In order to obtain frozen noodles for thawing without heating that are resistant to deterioration in quality even when thawed without heating, in addition to using an alginic acid in the dough preparation, it is necessary to further carry out the dough preparation in the following two steps. - Pre-dough process: A process of preparing a pre-dough using "a dough ingredient containing a portion of the cereal flour used in the dough preparation process" (hereinafter also referred to as "the dough ingredient for the pre-dough process") and a liquid ingredient having a mass that is 0.6 times or more the mass of the portion of the cereal flour. Post-process: A process for preparing the main dough using the pre-dough and "dough ingredients containing the remaining grain flour used in the dough preparation process" (hereinafter also referred to as "dough ingredients for the post-process").

[0021] The amount of cereal flour used in the preceding step is 15 to 60% by mass, preferably 20 to 50% by mass, and more preferably 30 to 45% by mass, of the total amount of cereal flour used in the dough preparation step. The amount of flour used in the subsequent process is calculated by subtracting the amount of flour used in the previous process from the total amount of flour used in the dough preparation process (100% by mass), and is 40 to 85% by mass of the total amount of flour used in the dough preparation process.

[0022] Alginic acids may be used in only one of the pre-process or post-process, or in both, but from the viewpoint of ensuring the desired effect of the present invention, it is preferable to use them only in the post-process (contain them only in the dough ingredients for the post-process).

[0023] When starch such as modified tapioca starch is contained in the dough ingredients used in the dough preparation step, the starch may be used in either the pre-step or post-step, or in both steps.

[0024] When gluten is contained in the dough ingredients used in the dough preparation step, gluten may be used in only one of the previous step and the subsequent step, or in both steps.

[0025] When seasonings such as kansui (water soy sauce), salt, etc. are contained in the dough ingredients used in the dough preparation step, these may be used in either the pre-step or post-step, or in both.

[0026] In the previous step, the previous dough is prepared using a previous step dough ingredient and a liquid ingredient that is 0.6 times or more the mass of the cereal flour contained in the previous step dough ingredient (a part of the cereal flour used in the previous dough preparation step). If the amount of liquid ingredient mixed with the previous step dough ingredient is less than 0.6 times the mass of the cereal flour contained therein, the desired effect of the present invention is not achieved. The amount of liquid ingredient mixed with the previous step dough ingredient is preferably 0.6 to 2.8 times, more preferably 0.6 to 1.3 times the mass of the cereal flour contained therein.

[0027] The preparation of the pre-dough carried out in the pre-step can basically be carried out in the same manner as the dough preparation method usually carried out when producing noodles. In the pre-step, the pre-dough is typically prepared by adding a liquid ingredient to the dough ingredients for the pre-step and kneading them using a mixer or the like. The liquid ingredient typically contains water as the main ingredient, but may further contain other water-soluble ingredients such as salt, kansui (water lye), eggs, etc., in addition to water.

[0028] It is preferable that the temperature of the pre-dough prepared in the pre-process does not become too high from the production stage until it is used in the post-process. Specifically, the product temperature of the mixture of the dough ingredients for the pre-process and the liquid ingredients, which is the intermediate product of the pre-dough, is preferably maintained at 45°C or lower, more preferably 5 to 45°C, and even more preferably 10 to 40°C, and the product temperature of the pre-dough is also preferably maintained at a similar temperature until it is used in the post-process. This suppresses gelatinization of starch contained in the dough ingredients such as cereal flour, making it possible to more reliably produce noodles with a texture excellent in viscoelasticity, especially elasticity. There are no particular limitations on the method for maintaining the product temperature of the pre-dough and its intermediate products within the above-mentioned preferred range, and the product temperature may be actively controlled by heating or cooling the object, or the object may simply be left in a predetermined environment without heating.

[0029] In the latter process, the main dough is prepared using the pre-dough prepared in the former process and the dough ingredients for the latter process. In the latter process, the main dough is typically prepared by adding the dough ingredients for the latter process to the pre-dough and kneading them using a mixer or the like.

[0030] In the noodle-making process carried out after the dough preparation process, raw noodles of a desired shape are obtained using the dough prepared in the dough preparation process, more specifically, the main dough prepared in the subsequent process. The raw noodles produced in the noodle-making process are typically raw noodle strands. The term "noodle strands" used here refers to noodles that are long and thin in shape. There are no particular limitations on the thickness of the noodle strands (the length in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the noodle strands) and the cross-sectional shape of the noodle strands in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and these can be set appropriately depending on the type of noodles to be produced.

[0031] The noodle-making process can be carried out according to a conventional method, and can be selected from known noodle-making methods such as mechanical manufacturing, hand-stretching, hand-making, and extrusion, depending on the type of noodles to be produced, the shape of the noodles, and the like. One example of a noodle-making method that can be used in the present invention is a method in which pressure is applied to the dough to stretch it to obtain a noodle band by various noodle-making methods such as rolling and roll-making, and the noodle band is cut out to obtain noodle strands. Another example of a noodle-making method that can be used in the present invention is a method in which pressure is applied to the dough to make extrusion noodles. Extrusion noodle making can be carried out according to a conventional method using a single-screw extrusion noodle making machine or a twin-screw extrusion noodle making machine for producing pasta, and in this case, a die having a desired shape of hole is placed in the noodle strand extrusion section of the extrusion noodle making machine, and noodle strands having a shape corresponding to the hole are obtained by extruding the noodle strands. There is no particular limitation on the cross-sectional shape of the noodle strands, and they may be any shape such as circular, rectangular, elliptical, or triangular.

[0032] In the cooking process carried out after the noodle-making process, the raw noodles obtained in the noodle-making process or the dried noodles obtained by drying the raw noodles are cooked to obtain cooked noodles. By such cooking, the starch contained in the raw noodles or the dried noodles is gelatinized, and cooked noodles that can be eaten are obtained. Such cooking can also be called a gelatinization process of the raw noodles or the dried noodles. The choice of whether to use fresh noodles or dried noodles as the noodles to be subjected to the cooking step can be appropriately determined depending on factors such as the type of noodles to be produced. Generally, the moisture content of fresh noodles when measured by an oven-drying method is about 25 to 50% by mass, and the moisture content of dried noodles when measured by an oven-drying method is about 15% by mass or less. There are no particular limitations on the method of drying the fresh noodles to obtain dried noodles, and the method can be selected appropriately depending on factors such as the type of product to be produced, and can be, for example, a non-frying drying method in which the noodles are dried without being fried, such as natural drying, temperature and humidity controlled drying, or hot air drying, or a frying drying method in which the noodles are dried after being fried. In the cooking step, the method for cooking the fresh noodles or dried noodles is not particularly limited, and any conventionally known method can be used. Examples of such methods include boiling in water at 80 to 100°C and steaming in saturated water vapor.

[0033] When alginic acid or a salt thereof is used as the alginic acid, it is preferable to carry out boiling cooking of the raw noodles or dried noodles in a calcium ion-containing aqueous liquid as heat cooking in the cooking step. Alternatively, it is preferable to carry out a treatment of applying a calcium ion-containing aqueous liquid to the cooked noodles obtained in the cooking step after the cooking step and before the subsequent freezing step. By such calcium treatment of the noodles, alginic acid or a salt thereof reacts with calcium ions on the surface of the noodles to form a gel, which further improves the elasticity of the noodles and more reliably achieves the desired effects of the present invention. When an alginic acid ester is used as the alginic acid, the above-mentioned calcium treatment is not necessary. According to the findings of the present inventors, when alginic acid or a salt thereof is used as the alginic acid and the above-mentioned calcium treatment is carried out, frozen noodles of higher quality can be obtained than when an alginic acid ester is used as the alginic acid. The calcium ion-containing aqueous liquid can be obtained by dissolving a calcium preparation such as calcium lactate or calcium chloride in water. The concentration of the calcium preparation in the calcium ion-containing aqueous liquid is preferably 0.1 to 2 mass%. Examples of the "treatment of applying a calcium ion-containing aqueous liquid to cooked noodles" include a treatment of immersing cooked noodles in the calcium ion-containing aqueous liquid and a treatment of spraying the calcium ion-containing aqueous liquid onto cooked noodles to adhere it thereto.

[0034] In the freezing step carried out after the cooking step, the cooked noodles obtained in the cooking step are frozen. The desired frozen noodles are obtained by this freezing treatment of the cooked noodles. There are no particular limitations on the method for freezing the cooked noodles, and any freezing method that is typically used when freezing noodles can be used, such as quick freezing or slow freezing.

[0035] The type of noodles to which the present invention can be applied is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include noodle strings such as udon, soba, somen, hiyamugi, Chinese noodles, and pasta (including short pasta, long pasta, flat pasta, etc.); and noodle skins such as gyoza, shumai, and wonton. The present invention is particularly useful for noodle strings.

[0036] The frozen noodles produced by the production method of the present invention are for thawing without heating. In the present invention, "thawing without heating" typically refers to thawing frozen noodles without heat treatment at a temperature at which starch regelatinization occurs (specifically, for example, a temperature exceeding 50°C). Specific examples of thawing without heating include running water thawing in which frozen noodles are thawed while being subjected to running water, room temperature thawing in which frozen noodles are left to stand in an environment with an ambient temperature of more than 10°C, and refrigerated thawing in which frozen noodles are left to stand in an environment with an ambient temperature of 0 to 10°C. Conventional frozen noodles were prone to quality deterioration when thawed without heating, but frozen noodles produced by the production method of the present invention are produced through the above-mentioned characteristic steps, and therefore are less likely to deteriorate in quality even when thawed without heating. Specifically, they have excellent viscoelasticity and inhibited starch aging, so they are less dry and have a high transparency. Since the frozen noodles produced by the production method of the present invention have such suitability for thawing without heating, they are suitable for use in distribution or sale in a refrigerated state after thawing without heating. EXAMPLES

[0037] The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

[0038] [Comparative Example 1, Control Example 1: Production of frozen Chinese noodles] First, the dough ingredients and liquid ingredients shown in Table 1 below were mixed and kneaded in a noodle mixer to prepare dough (dough preparation step). Next, the prepared dough was rolled and combined to form a noodle band, which was then cut into noodle strands using a cutting blade (#20 square) to obtain raw noodle strands with a thickness of 1.5 mm (noodle making step). Next, the obtained raw noodles were boiled and cooked to a yield of 170% by mass to obtain cooked noodles (cooking step). Next, for those noodles in the column "Whether or not calcium treatment of noodles was performed" in Table 1 below marked "Yes," the cooked noodles were immersed in a calcium ion-containing aqueous solution with a calcium lactate content of 0.5% by mass for 30 seconds (calcium treatment). Next, a loosening agent equivalent to 2% by mass of the total mass of the noodles was sprayed onto the cooked noodles with or without calcium treatment, and then 150 g of noodles (a serving size) was weighed out, packed into a container, and flash-frozen in a shock freezer with an internal temperature of -30°C (freezing step). In this way, frozen Chinese noodles, a type of frozen noodles, were produced. Details of the raw materials used are as follows. · Wheat flour: semi-strong flour Etherified tapioca starch: "Yuri 8" manufactured by Matsutani Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. Gluten: "A-Glu GB" manufactured by Glico Nutrition Foods Co., Ltd. Alginic acids: Sodium alginate, Kimika Algin manufactured by Kimika Co., Ltd. Kansui: "Powdered Kansui Red" manufactured by Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd.

[0039] [Examples 1 to 7 and Comparative Example 2: Production of frozen Chinese noodles] First, the dough ingredients and liquid ingredients shown in columns "A" of Tables 1 and 2 below were mixed and kneaded in a noodle mixer to prepare a pre-dough (pre-dough preparation process). Next, the dough ingredients shown in columns "B" of Tables 1 and 2 below were added to the prepared pre-dough, and the mixture was kneaded in a noodle mixer to prepare a main dough (post-dough preparation process). Next, the prepared main dough was rolled and compounded to form a noodle band, which was then cut into noodle strands with a cutting blade (#20 square) to obtain raw noodle strands with a thickness of 1.5 mm (noodle-making process). Thereafter, frozen Chinese noodles were produced in the same manner as in Control Example 1 and the like.

[0040] [Evaluation test] The frozen Chinese noodles produced in each Example, Comparative Example, and Control Example were stored in a shock freezer with an internal temperature of -30°C for 7 days immediately after production, and then left to stand in a refrigerator with an internal temperature of 4°C for 24 hours to thaw the frozen Chinese noodles, and the Chinese noodles that were ready to eat were used as the noodles to be evaluated. These noodles to be evaluated were visually observed and eaten by 10 trained panelists, and the viscoelasticity, aging sensation (texture), and transparency (appearance) were evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria. The following evaluation criteria are based on Control Example 1 as the "standard," and evaluation is performed by comparing the evaluation target with this standard. The average of the 10 evaluation points scored by the 10 panelists was used as the evaluation score for the bread. The results are shown in Tables 1 and 2 below.

[0041] <Evaluation criteria for viscoelasticity> 5 points: Very good viscoelasticity compared to the standard. 4 points: Superior viscoelasticity compared to the standard. 3 points: Slightly better viscoelasticity than the standard. 2 points: Viscoelasticity is equivalent to the standard. 1 point: Poor viscoelasticity compared to the standard. <Criteria for evaluating the appearance of aging> 5 points: The noise is very weak compared to the standard. 4 points: The noise is weaker than the standard. 3 points: The noise is slightly weaker than the standard. 2 points: The muttering is the same as the standard. 1 point: The sound is noticeably duller than the standard. <Transparency evaluation criteria> 5 points: Very high transparency compared to the standard. 4 points: High transparency compared to the standard. 3 points: Slightly more transparent than the standard. 2 points: Transparency equivalent to the standard. 1 point: Less transparent than the standard.

[0042] [Table 1]

[0043] As shown in Table 1, in each Example, 1) the dough preparation process consisted of a pre-process using the dough ingredients in column "A" in the table and a post-process using the dough ingredients in column "B" in the table, 2) the amount of flour used in the pre-process was in the range of 15 to 60 mass% of the total amount of flour used in the dough preparation process, and 3) the liquid ingredient added to the flour in the pre-process was 0.6 times or more the mass of the flour. Therefore, the texture and appearance of the frozen noodles after freezing and thawing (thawing without heating) were superior to those of the comparative examples and control examples that did not satisfy 1) to 3).

[0044] [Table 2]

Claims

1. A dough preparation step of preparing dough using dough ingredients containing cereal flours and alginic acids; a noodle-making process for obtaining raw noodles using the dough; a cooking step of heating and cooking the raw noodles or dried noodles obtained by drying the raw noodles to obtain cooked noodles; and a freezing step of freezing the cooked noodles. The dough preparation step includes: A first step of preparing a pre-dough using a dough ingredient containing a portion of the cereal flour and a liquid ingredient having a mass that is 0.6 times or more of the mass of the portion of the cereal flour; The method includes a subsequent step of preparing the dough using the pre-dough and a dough ingredient containing the remaining cereal flour, The amount of the cereal flour used in the previous step is 15 to 60% by mass of the total amount of the cereal flour used in the dough preparation step, A method for producing frozen noodles to be thawed without heating, wherein the total amount of the alginic acids used in the dough preparation step is 0.05 to 3 mass% of the total amount of the cereal flours used in the dough preparation step.

2. The method for producing frozen noodles that can be thawed without heating according to claim 1, wherein the cereal flour contains 20 to 75% by mass of wheat flour and 25 to 80% by mass of processed tapioca starch.

3. 3. The method for producing frozen noodles to be thawed without heating according to claim 2, wherein the dough raw material contains gluten, and the mass ratio of the processed tapioca starch to the gluten in the dough raw material, as the former:the latter, is 10:1 to 3:

1.

4. The method for producing frozen noodles to be thawed without heating according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the dough raw material contains kansui (water).

5. As the alginic acid, alginic acid or a salt thereof is used, In the cooking step, the heat cooking is performed by boiling the raw noodles or the dried noodles in a calcium ion-containing aqueous liquid, or The method for producing frozen noodles that can be thawed without heating according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a treatment of adding a calcium ion-containing aqueous liquid to the cooked noodles prior to the freezing step.

6. The method for producing frozen noodles for thawing without heating according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the thawing without heating is thawing by refrigeration.

7. The method for producing frozen noodles to be thawed without heating according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the frozen noodles are distributed or sold in a refrigerated state after being thawed without heating.