Dried short pasta and cooking method therefor

Abstract

To provide dried short pasta that suppresses short pasta pieces from sticking together and facilitates preparation of an optimal texture even with a relatively small amount of water, when during cooking using a microwave oven.SOLUTION: The present invention provides dried short pasta to be housed in a heat-resistant container with an open top and subjected to microwave heating with added water. The short pasta has a length of 15-50 mm, a width of 4-9 mm, and a thickness of 0.5-1.4 mm. The short pasta has gluten vitality of 18%-35%. The present invention also provides a cooking method for dried short pasta that involves housing the dried short pasta in a heat-resistant container with an open top and adding water at 2-35°C, followed by microwave heating.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to dried short pasta suitable for microwave heating, and a method for cooking dried short pasta using microwaves. [Background technology]

[0002] Compared with stringy pasta such as spaghetti, short pasta such as macaroni and penne are popular as ingredients in gratins and salads because they mix well with sauces and are thick and elastic. Short pasta is generally purchased commercially and used after cooking, but most of the commercially available products are dried to improve storage life. However, dried short pasta does not absorb water easily, and it often takes several tens of minutes to boil dried short pasta in water.

[0003] In recent years, dried short pasta has also been cooked using cooking appliances with timers, such as microwave ovens. However, when cooking using a microwave oven, due to the size of the device and energy efficiency, it is often necessary to cook with a significantly smaller amount of water than when cooking by boiling using a gas heater, etc. In this case, the short pasta may come close to each other during heating, stick together and form lumps, resulting in insufficient cooking and a poor texture.

[0004] Methods for cooking pasta in a microwave oven have been proposed. Patent Document 1 describes a method of heating semi-dried or dried pasta in a heat-resistant container with an amount of water necessary to hydrate the pasta and give it an appropriate texture, followed by microwave heating. Patent Document 2 describes a method of heating stick-shaped pasta, the boiling time of which is specified in advance at a certain wattage, and boiling water in an amount that satisfies a specific formula in a microwave oven. It is said that this method can reduce the amount of boiling water required after cooking to 15 ml or less. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 1-257439 [Patent Document 2] JP 2019-97797 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, in the method described in Patent Document 1, pasta pieces tend to stick together during heating. In addition, in the method described in Patent Document 2, it is necessary to prepare boiling water and measure out the pasta and boiling water. Furthermore, although these conventional techniques are thought to be applicable to short pasta, these problems remain even when applied to short pasta.

[0007] To provide dried short pasta that is less likely to stick to other pieces of short pasta and can be cooked with a good texture even when a relatively small amount of water is used in cooking the dried short pasta using a microwave oven. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] As a result of extensive research, the present inventors have found that the above object can be achieved by adjusting the size of dried short pasta to a specific range and the gluten vitality of the short pasta to a specific range.

[0009] That is, the present invention relates to dried short pasta to be contained in a heat-resistant container having an opening at the top, to which water is added, and to be heated in a microwave, the short pasta having a length of 15 to 50 mm, a width of 4 to 9 mm, and a wall thickness of 0.5 to 1.4 mm, and a gluten vitality of the short pasta being 18 to 35%. The present invention also provides a method for cooking dried short pasta, which comprises placing the dried short pasta in a heat-resistant container having an opening at the top, adding water at 2 to 35° C., and heating the pasta with microwaves. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide dried short pasta that is less likely to stick to other pieces of short pasta and can be cooked with a good texture even when cooked using a relatively small amount of water through microwave heating in a microwave oven. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a specific example of dried short pasta of the present invention, where FIG. 1(a) is a cross-sectional view along the minor axis direction of an example of dried macaroni, FIG. 1(b) is a perspective view of an example of dried fusilli, and FIG. 1(c) is a cross-sectional view along the minor axis direction of the dried fusilli. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] The present invention will be described in detail below. In the present invention, the dried short pasta may be of various shapes that are generally distributed on the market as short pasta, as long as the moisture content is preferably 14% by mass or less and the size is within the range specified in the present invention. The shape of the short pasta is not particularly limited, and typical examples include short pasta having a long axis direction, such as macaroni, penne, penne rigate, rigatoni, and fusilli. Examples of short pasta having a long axis direction include hollow tubular short pasta (macaroni, penne, penne rigate, rigatoni, etc.) having a hollow part with both ends in the long axis direction open, and spiral short pasta (fusilli, etc.) along the long axis direction. The hollow tubular short pasta is composed of the hollow part and a solid part surrounding it, and its "long axis" coincides with the central axis of the cylindrical hollow part. On the other hand, in the spiral short pasta, its "long axis" coincides with the spiral axis. In this specification, the "long axis" refers to an imaginary straight line that is the center of rotation of the short pasta. There are many other known shapes of short pasta, including conchiglie, farfalle, ravioli, and tortelli.

[0013] Dried short pasta can typically be produced by preparing dough using durum wheat as a raw material, forming the dough into a predetermined shape, and then drying the dough until the moisture content is preferably 14% by mass or less. Forming can be done according to a conventional method, and for example, in the case of hollow tubular short pasta, it can be continuously extruded from a die with annular extrusion holes and cut to a predetermined length.

[0014] The dried short pasta of the present invention is characterized by having specific sizes: the length is 15 to 50 mm, preferably 30 to 45 mm, the width is 4 to 9 mm, preferably 6 to 8 mm, and the wall thickness is 0.5 to 1.4 mm, preferably 0.6 to 0.9 mm.

[0015] By making the size satisfy these ranges, the time for heating with microwaves can be shortened without deteriorating the texture, and therefore adhesion between short pasta pieces can be reduced. Short pasta of such sizes can be produced by appropriately adjusting the size of the extrusion hole in the die and the intervals at which the continuous short pasta is cut after extrusion. In the present invention, the size of the dried short pasta may be determined, for example, by measuring the length, width and wall thickness of 20 or more randomly selected dried short pasta pieces, and the average values ​​for each may be within the above-mentioned ranges.

[0016] In the present invention, the "length" of the dried short pasta is the dimension in the longitudinal direction (longitudinal length) when the dried short pasta is viewed in a plan view. Therefore, in the case of the short pasta having the aforementioned long axis direction, the "length" is typically the dimension measured along the long axis direction, and can also be called the long axis length. Note that the short pasta having the long axis direction may be curved, for example, like the letter "C" due to drying during the manufacturing process described below, and the "long axis length = longitudinal length" may not be the same. In such a case, the length measured along the curve, in other words, the long axis length in a state where the curve is extended so that the "long axis length = longitudinal length", is defined as the "length". As a method for bringing the curved short pasta into a "extended curved state", for example, the dried short pasta is softened by absorbing water until the moisture content is 25 to 30% by mass, deformed to a "extended curved state", and then dried again until the moisture content is 14% by mass or less, and the "length" can be measured after drying.

[0017] In the present invention, the "width" of dried short pasta is the maximum dimension among the dimensions along a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (the direction corresponding to the above-mentioned "length") of the dried short pasta in a plan view. Therefore, in the case of short pasta having the above-mentioned long axis direction, it can also be said to be the so-called short axis length perpendicular to the long axis direction. In other words, the short axis length is the maximum across length of the outermost contour of the dried short pasta visually recognized in a cross-sectional view along the direction perpendicular to the long axis direction (short axis direction), and in the case of hollow cylindrical short pasta, it corresponds to the outer diameter, and in the case of spiral short pasta, it corresponds to the spiral diameter.

[0018] In the present invention, the "wall thickness" of dried short pasta refers to the thickness of a "portion having a certain thickness" in the pasta dough (which can also be said to be the substantial portion). The "region having a constant thickness" refers to a region where the thickness of the pasta dough does not change substantially in the extending direction of the pasta dough when viewed in a cross section along a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the dried short pasta (or the short axis direction). The "extending direction of the pasta dough" here refers to the direction in which the pasta dough continues when viewed in the cross section, and for example, in the case of hollow tubular dried short pasta, it is the circumferential direction of the solid part surrounding the hollow part. The "region having a constant thickness" is, in other words, a region in which, when viewed in a cross-sectional view along a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the dried short pasta (or the short axis direction), the distance between a contour line corresponding to one end (one side of the pasta dough) in the thickness direction of the pasta dough and a contour line corresponding to the other end (the other side of the pasta dough) does not substantially change. The "part having a constant thickness" does not include a part where the thickness of the pasta dough decreases or increases from one side to the other in the extension direction of the pasta dough. Specifically, for example, in the case of short spiral pasta such as fusilli, the tip of the pasta dough in the extension direction may be tapered in a cross-sectional view along the short axis direction, gradually decreasing from one side to the other in the extension direction, but such a tapered end is not the "part having a constant thickness". On the other hand, the "part having a constant thickness" includes a part in which, in a cross-sectional view of the dried short pasta in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (or in the short axis direction), relatively thick parts and relatively thin parts are alternately arranged in the extending direction of the pasta dough. The thickness of such a "part in which the thickness changes regularly", i.e., the wall thickness of the dried short pasta having such a part, is the thickness of the thick part. In other words, the "constant thickness" in the "part in which the thickness changes regularly" is the thickness of the thick part of the part. In simple terms, the dried short pasta having the "part in which the thickness changes regularly" is a pasta dough having streaks formed on the surface thereof, and a specific example thereof is penne rigate. Penne rigate typically has a plurality of ridges (thick parts) extending in the longitudinal direction and grooves (thin parts) extending in the same direction on the surface of the solid part surrounding the hollow part, and the plurality of ridges and grooves are alternately arranged in the circumferential direction of the solid part. The thickness of the penne rigate is the thickness of the thick portion corresponding to the ridge portion. When there are multiple sections with a constant thickness in a cross-sectional view of the dried short pasta along a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (or along the short axis), i.e., when there are multiple "constant thicknesses," the maximum of those multiple thicknesses is defined as the wall thickness of the dried short pasta. In addition, since the wall thickness of dried short pasta corresponds to the slit width of the extrusion hole of the die used for molding it, when measuring the wall thickness of dried short pasta, the slit width can be used as the measurement target.

[0019] FIG. 1 shows dried macaroni and dried fusilli as examples of the dried short pasta of the present invention. FIG. 1(a) shows dried macaroni (hollow cylindrical short pasta), and FIG. 1(b) and (c) show dried fusilli (spiral short pasta), all of which are short pastas with a long axis direction. In FIG. 1, the symbol "L" indicates the "length" of the short pasta (longitudinal length in a plan view), the symbol "W" indicates the "width" of the short pasta (the maximum dimension among the dimensions along the direction perpendicular to the long axis), and the symbol "T" indicates the thickness of the short pasta, that is, the thickness of the "part having a certain thickness" in the pasta dough (substantial part) constituting the short pasta. As described above, the width W of the dried short pasta is the outer diameter (short axis length) of the macaroni in the case of dried macaroni, as shown in FIG. 1(a), and is the spiral diameter of the fusilli in the case of dried fusilli, as shown in FIG. 1(c). In addition, with regard to the wall thickness T of dried short pasta, the dried macaroni shown in Fig. 1(a) has the entire substantial part (the shaded part) as the "part having a constant thickness", so the thickness of any part of the substantial part is the wall thickness T of the macaroni. In addition, the dried fusilli shown in Fig. 1(b) and (c) has, in a cross-sectional view along the short axis direction as shown in Fig. 1(c), both ends in the extension direction of the substantial part (the shaded part) are tapered ends, and the whole part other than these ends is the "part having a constant thickness", so the thickness of any part other than these ends (tapered ends) is the wall thickness T of the fusilli.

[0020] Furthermore, the dried short pasta of the present invention has a gluten vitality (hereinafter also referred to as "GV"; the definition of GV will be described later) of 18 to 35%. When the GV is 18% or more, boiled short pasta with excellent texture can be obtained. On the other hand, when the GV is 35% or less, dissolution of starch caused by denaturation of protein in the short pasta is unlikely to occur, and the short pasta pieces are unlikely to adhere to each other. From the viewpoint of achieving the effects of the present invention more effectively, the GV of the dried short pasta of the present invention is preferably 20% or more, more preferably 22% or more, and is preferably 33% or less, more preferably 31% or less.

[0021] In this specification, the GV of dried short pasta is a value measured as follows using a sample obtained by pulverizing dried short pasta (hereinafter also referred to as "pulverized flour").

[0022] [Method of measuring GV] (1) Determination of soluble crude protein content of ground flour: (a) Accurately weigh out 2 g of crushed powder into a 100 mL beaker. (b) Add 40 mL of 0.05 N acetic acid to the above beaker and stir at room temperature for 60 minutes to prepare a suspension. (c) The suspension obtained in (b) above is transferred to a centrifuge tube and centrifuged at 5,000 rpm for 5 minutes, and then filtered using filter paper to recover the filtrate. (d) Wash the beaker used above with 40 mL of 0.05 N acetic acid, transfer the washings to a centrifuge tube, centrifuge at 5,000 rpm for 5 minutes, then filter using filter paper to recover the filtrate. (e) Combine the filtrates collected in (c) and (d) above and dilute to 100 mL. (f) 25 mL of the liquid obtained in (e) above is placed in a Kjeldahl tube of a Kjeldahl Autosystem manufactured by Tickator (Sweden) using a volumetric pipette, and one tablet of a decomposition accelerator ("Keltab C" manufactured by Nippon General Co., Ltd.; potassium sulfate:copper sulfate = 9:1 (weight ratio)) and 15 mL of concentrated sulfuric acid are added. (g) Using the Keltec decomposition furnace (DIGESTION SYSTEM 20 1015 type) incorporated in the above-mentioned Keltec auto system, decomposition treatment is performed for 1 hour at dial 4, and then decomposition treatment is automatically performed for another hour at dial 9 or 10. Then, following this decomposition treatment, the liquid from the decomposition treatment is continuously and automatically distilled and titrated (using 0.1 N sulfuric acid for titration) using the Keltec distillation and titration system (KJELTEC AUTO 1030 type) incorporated in the same Keltec auto system to determine the soluble crude protein content of the pulverized powder using the following formula.

[0023] (Number 1) Soluble crude protein content (%)=0.14×(TB)×F×N×(100 / S)×(1 / 25) During the ceremony, T = amount of 0.1 N sulfuric acid required for titration (mL) B = the amount of 0.1 N sulfuric acid required to titrate the blank (mL) F = titer of 0.1 N sulfuric acid used in titration (measure when used or use a commercially available product with a titer indicated) N = nitrogen protein conversion factor (5.70) S = weight of ground powder (g)

[0024] (2) Determination of total crude protein content of milled flour: (a) 0.5 g of the ground powder is weighed out and placed in a Kjeldahl tube of the same Ticator Keltec Autosystem used in (1) above, and one tablet of the same decomposition accelerator used in (1)(f) above and 5 mL of concentrated sulfuric acid are added to it. (b) Using the same Keltec decomposition furnace of the Keltec auto system used in (1) above, decomposition treatment is carried out for 1 hour at dial 9 or 10, and then, following this decomposition treatment, the liquid from the decomposition treatment above is continuously and automatically distilled and titrated (using 0.1 N sulfuric acid for titration) using the same Keltec distillation and titration system used in (1) above, which is incorporated into the same Keltec auto system, to determine the total crude protein content of the pulverized powder using the following formula.

[0025] (Number 2) Total crude protein content (%)=(0.14×T×F×N) / S During the ceremony, T = amount of 0.1 N sulfuric acid required for titration (mL) F = titer of 0.1 N sulfuric acid used in titration (measured at the time of use) N = nitrogen protein conversion factor (5.70) S = weight of ground powder (g)

[0026] (3) Calculation of GV: The GV of the pulverized powder is calculated from the soluble crude protein content of the pulverized powder calculated in (1) above and the total crude protein content of the pulverized powder calculated in (2) above using the following formula.

[0027] (Number 3) GV(%)=(Soluble crude protein content / total crude protein content)×100

[0028] GV is an index that represents the properties of the protein contained in a sample (here, the ground powder), and is different from the protein content contained in the sample. When GV is measured using wheat flour as a sample instead of pulverized flour (i.e., a sample obtained by pulverizing dried short pasta), the GV is generally 50 to 60%. Furthermore, the GV of typical dried pasta (e.g., dried spaghetti and dried short pasta) is about 40 to 46%, meaning that the dried pasta of the present invention has a lower GV than typical dried spaghetti.

[0029] The dried short pasta of the present invention contains wheat flour as a raw material flour. As the wheat flour, one or more types selected from durum semolina, durum wheat flour, and mixtures thereof, which are derived from durum wheat suitable for pasta, are preferred, and in addition to or instead of this, one or more types selected from strong flour, medium flour, and weak flour, which are derived from ordinary wheat, may be used alone or in combination. Furthermore, in addition to these, other raw materials that can be blended into the raw material flour of short pasta, such as cereal flours other than wheat flour, starches, proteins, sugars, thickeners, etc., may also be used.

[0030] The wheat flour content in the raw material flour is not particularly limited, but is generally preferably 99% by mass or more, more preferably 99.5% by mass or more, and even more preferably 99.8% by mass or more, based on the total mass of the raw material flour. Even more preferably, the raw material flour for the dried short pasta of the present invention is made up of wheat flour alone. Here, "wheat flour alone" means that the raw material flour is essentially made up of wheat flour, and "substantially" means that unintentional mixing of materials other than wheat flour is permitted during the process of producing wheat flour from wheat and / or during distribution of the wheat flour.

[0031] The method for producing the dried short pasta of the present invention will be described. The method for producing the dried short pasta of the present invention can include, for example, a step of adding water to raw material flour (as described above, wheat flour usually has a GV of 50 to 60%) to prepare dough, and extruding the dough to obtain fresh short pasta (fresh short pasta production step), and a step of heating the fresh short pasta to adjust the GV (GV adjustment step).

[0032] The fresh short pasta production process can be carried out by a conventional method using the raw material flour explained above. For example, first, mixing water is added to the raw material flour and kneaded to form dough, and then the dough is extruded using a pasta production machine or the like so that the final dried short pasta has the above-mentioned size.

[0033] In forming the dough, the kneading water may be any water that can be used in the production of normal short pasta, and clean water, acidic water, alkaline water, distilled water, etc. may be used as appropriate. The amount of kneading water may also be an amount that can be used in the production of normal short pasta, and is generally 20 to 30 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of raw material flour. In forming the dough, kneading may be performed by a conventional method, and for example, a normal mixer or a reduced pressure mixer may be used.

[0034] Extrusion molding of the dough may also be performed in the usual manner, for example, the dough can be extruded through a die at high pressure under reduced pressure conditions and cut into the desired length to form fresh short pasta. Note that when fresh short pasta is dried to form dried short pasta, it may shrink by several percent, so it is preferable to determine the size of the die and the intervals at which it is cut taking this into consideration.

[0035] Fresh short pasta produced as described above usually contains 22 to 30% moisture. This fresh short pasta is subjected to a GV adjustment process. In the GV adjustment process, the fresh short pasta is heated to obtain dried short pasta having a desired GV. Since the GV usually decreases more quickly as the heating conditions (temperature, time) increase, the heating conditions are appropriately adjusted according to the GV of the raw material flour so that the GV of the dried short pasta becomes the desired value, i.e., 18 to 35%.

[0036] Furthermore, by heating in the GV adjustment step, the GV can be adjusted and at the same time the moisture content of the short pasta can be adjusted, in other words, the short pasta can be dried. From the viewpoint of improving the storage stability, the moisture content of the obtained dried short pasta is preferably 14% by mass or less, more preferably 5 to 14% by mass, and even more preferably 8 to 14% by mass. Note that in the present invention, the moisture content is a value measured according to a general reduced pressure heating drying method.

[0037] The method for heating the fresh short pasta in the GV adjustment step is not particularly limited, and any known method can be used. For example, the fresh short pasta can be heated using an oven, autoclave, heater, or other device.

[0038] In order to adjust both the GV and moisture content of short pasta to their respective desired values ​​at the same time through the GV adjustment process, it is necessary to control the heating temperature and heating time, and in some cases, also the humidity, and control of such heating conditions can be complicated. Therefore, a step of adjusting the moisture content of the fresh short pasta (moisture content adjusting step) may be carried out before the GV adjustment step. The moisture content adjusting step is a step of reducing the moisture content of the fresh short pasta, i.e., a drying step. By adjusting the moisture content of the short pasta before the GV adjustment step, it is possible to efficiently prevent the moisture content of the dried short pasta from falling outside the above-mentioned preferable range due to heating in the GV adjustment step.

[0039] The method for adjusting the moisture content of fresh short pasta is not particularly limited, and a known method can be used. Typically, a general method for converting fresh short pasta into dried short pasta can be applied. For example, there is a method in which fresh short pasta is left to stand in an atmosphere with controlled temperature and humidity, a method in which dry air is blown onto the fresh short pasta, etc.

[0040] In the moisture content adjusting step, the moisture content of the fresh short pasta may be reduced to the aforementioned preferred range, i.e., 14% by mass or less, or the moisture content may be reduced to a certain extent in the moisture content adjusting step, and the moisture content may finally be adjusted to the aforementioned preferred range in the GV adjusting step. Also, when the GV adjusting step is performed after the moisture content adjusting step, heating may be performed in the GV adjusting step while controlling the humidity as necessary in addition to the heating temperature and time (humidity-controlled heating).

[0041] Therefore, in one example of a preferred method for producing dried short pasta of the present invention, the fresh short pasta obtained in the above-mentioned fresh short pasta production process is subjected to a moisture content adjustment process to obtain a dried short pasta intermediate having a moisture content of 14% by mass or less, and then the dried short pasta intermediate is subjected to a GV adjustment process to obtain dried short pasta having a GV of 18 to 35% and a moisture content of 14% by mass or less, and further having the specific size according to the present invention. Although this preferred production method involves three steps, it is easy to control the heating conditions in each of the moisture content adjustment process and GV adjustment process, and dried short pasta having the desired GV and moisture content can be reliably obtained.

[0042] The dried short pasta of the present invention has excellent preservability like ordinary dried short pasta and can be stored for a long period at room temperature. The dried short pasta of the present invention is cooked by microwave heating. Such cooking can be performed by placing the dried short pasta of the present invention in a heat-resistant container together with a small amount of water compared to boiling cooking, and heating it with microwaves in a microwave oven. The dried short pasta of the present invention has the above-mentioned characteristics, and is therefore advantageous because, even when a cooking method using microwave heating is used and there is little water convection, the short pasta particles are less likely to adhere to each other, and boiled short pasta with an excellent texture can be obtained by simple cooking.

[0043] Next, a method for cooking the dried short pasta of the present invention will be described based on the cooking method of the present invention, which is a preferred embodiment thereof. The cooking method of the present invention is a method for cooking dried short pasta, which comprises placing the above-mentioned dried short pasta of the present invention in a heat-resistant container having an opening at the top, adding water at 2 to 35° C., and heating the dried short pasta in a microwave.

[0044] When performing microwave heating in a microwave oven, the dried short pasta of the present invention and water are placed in a non-metallic heat-resistant container, and the dried short pasta and water are in contact with each other. The container is not particularly limited as long as it can hold the dried short pasta and water and can heat the dried short pasta placed in the container by microwaves, and any known container can be used. For example, the containers described in JP-A-1-257439, JP-A-2011-162200, and JP-A-2019-97797 can be used as the container.

[0045] Typically, the container used in the cooking method of the present invention has a bottom, a wall portion standing continuously from the bottom, a storage portion capable of holding a certain amount of water, and an opening at the top. The upper opening may have a fitting lid, but if the container is sealed during heating, the container or lid may burst due to steam generated during heating, so it is preferable to use the container without a lid on the opening or to provide a steam exhaust hole in the lid.

[0046] The shape of the container is not particularly limited, and examples include containers with a circular, square, or polygonal bottom shape. Most containers for cooking noodles such as spaghetti by microwave heating have a rectangular bottom shape, but there is no such limitation for the container used for the dried short pasta of the present invention.

[0047] The size of the container can be changed appropriately taking into consideration the internal dimensions of the microwave oven. Typically, the maximum length of the bottom part is about 10 to 35 cm, and the minimum length is about 4 to 25 cm. If the bottom shape is rectangular, the long side and short side correspond to the above-mentioned maximum length and minimum length, respectively. If the bottom shape is a perfect circle, the diameter may be about 4 to 35 cm, and if the bottom shape is a square, the length of one side may be about 4 to 35 cm. The depth of the container, i.e., the distance from the bottom of the container to the opening (in other words, the distance from the bottom of the container to the highest possible water level in the container), is, for example, 4 to 15 cm, and preferably about 6 to 10 cm. The volume of the container (in other words, the maximum volume of water that can be filled) is, for example, about 0.5 to 9 liters, preferably about 0.7 to 6 liters, and more preferably about 0.8 to 4 liters.

[0048] When the dried short pasta of the present invention is cooked using such a container, the short pasta is filled and stored so that the height from the bottom of the container is preferably 14 to 52%, and more preferably 20 to 42%, of the depth of the container. If the height is less than 14%, the amount of short pasta that can be cooked at one time may be reduced, and if the height exceeds 52%, hot water may splash during cooking and soil the inside of the microwave oven. One serving of short pasta is about 10 to 150 g of dried short pasta, and it is preferable to select the amount of dried short pasta and the size of the container so that the amount of dried short pasta is 14 to 52% of the height from the bottom of the container.

[0049] Next, water is added to the container containing the dried short pasta. The water used may be water that can be used for cooking normal short pasta, and examples of such water include clean water, tap water, and well water. The temperature of the water is not particularly limited, but is preferably 2 to 35°C, and more preferably 8 to 32°C, in that boiled short pasta can be obtained more easily. When normal, general dried short pasta is used and microwave cooking is performed in water at about 20°C, the time that the short pasta is in contact with the water becomes longer, and as a result, the short pasta tends to adhere to each other. The dried short pasta of the present invention has a property of being less likely to adhere to each other, and is advantageous because it is less likely to adhere to each other even when microwave cooking is performed in water at about 20°C.

[0050] The amount of water added is preferably an amount that completely submerges the dried short pasta, more preferably until the water level is 1 to 30 mm above the dried short pasta, and even more preferably until the water level is 5 to 20 mm above the dried short pasta. If the dried short pasta is above the water level, some of the dried short pasta will not come into contact with the water during heating, which may result in uncooked portions. Also, if water is added above 30 mm, it will take time for the water to heat and the short pasta to circulate, which may cause the short pasta to stick together.

[0051] After the dried short pasta and water are placed in the heat-resistant container in this manner, the container is placed in a microwave oven and the dried short pasta is cooked by microwave heating. Since the dried short pasta of the present invention has the size and GV specified above, it can be cooked in a short time compared to the cooking time of 12 to 18 minutes for general dried short pasta, and even when cooked by microwave heating, the short pasta does not easily stick to each other during cooking, making it possible to easily obtain boiled short pasta with a good texture.

[0052] The microwave oven used for microwave heating can have an output of, for example, 300 to 2000 W. The microwave heating time varies depending on the amount of dried short pasta to be cooked and water used, as well as the wattage of the microwave oven, but for example, under the above-mentioned preferable conditions (size of the container, filling height of the dried short pasta in the container, and temperature and amount of water (water surface height)), a standard heating time of 4 to 9 minutes at 400 to 700 W can be used.

[0053] Microwave heating is performed for preferably 5 to 120 seconds, more preferably 15 to 90 seconds, after the water is heated by microwaves to a water temperature of 96° C. or higher. If the water does not reach 96° C. or is heated for less than 5 seconds after reaching 96° C., the texture of the resulting boiled short pasta may be too hard. If the water is heated for more than 120 seconds after reaching 96° C., the texture of the resulting boiled short pasta may be too soft.

[0054] The boiled short pasta obtained by cooking with microwave heating is usually drained and then eaten together with seasonings and other ingredients. Alternatively, the boiled short pasta cooked by microwave heating may be cooled and stored in a refrigerator or freezer, and then reheated as necessary before eating. EXAMPLES

[0055] Examples and the like are shown below, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples and the like. Examples 1 to 20 are examples of dried short pasta of the present invention. Comparative Examples 1 to 8 are examples of dried short pasta that do not satisfy the ranges specified in the present invention in terms of any of GV, length, width, or wall thickness. Test Example 1 includes an embodiment of the cooking method of the present invention, and in Test Example 1, the dried short pastas of Examples 1 to 20 were cooked, and also the dried short pastas of Comparative Examples 1 to 8 were cooked under the same cooking conditions. Test Example 2 is another embodiment of the cooking method of the present invention, and in Test Example 2, the dried short pasta of Example 4 was cooked at various filling heights in the container different from those in Test Example 1. Test Example 3 is yet another embodiment of the cooking method of the present invention. In Test Example 3, the heating duration time after the water temperature reached 96°C was variously changed from Test Example 1, and the dried short pasta of Example 4 was cooked.

[0056] [Examples 1 to 8, Comparative Examples 1 to 2] Examination of GV of dried short pasta 100 parts by mass of durum semolina was mixed with 26 parts by mass of water and kneaded to form dough. Next, a die with a tubular opening was attached to a pasta making machine, and the dough was extruded from the opening and cut into pieces of a fixed length to obtain fresh macaroni, which is short pasta (fresh short pasta making process). This raw macaroni was dried in a conventional manner to obtain a dried macaroni intermediate with a length of 40 mm, a width of 7 mm, a thickness of 0.7 mm, and a moisture content of 13% by mass (moisture content adjustment step). The length, width, and thickness are the average values ​​of 20 dried macaroni intermediates. The GV of this dried macaroni intermediate was measured by the above-mentioned [GV measurement method] and was found to be 46%. Next, the above-mentioned dried macaroni intermediate was heated and humidified in a thermostatic chamber adjusted to 90°C to obtain the desired dried macaroni (GV adjustment step). The heating time was adjusted within the range of 2 to 5 hours so that the GV of the dried macaroni was the value shown in Table 1 and the moisture content was 10% by mass. The length, width and thickness of the obtained dried macaroni did not change from those of the dried macaroni intermediate.

[0057] (Test Example 1) A commercially available microwave oven spaghetti cooking container (manufactured by Daiso Industries; long side of bottom 28 cm, short side 6 cm, depth 7 cm, with drainage groove on lid) was prepared, and each dried macaroni was filled and stored so that it was 20 mm high from the bottom (29% of the container depth). Note that the height of the macaroni from the bottom was measured by placing a 0.5 mm thick stainless steel plate on top of the dried macaroni in a state where the dried macaroni in the container was evenly distributed, so that it was parallel to the bottom of the container, and measuring the distance from the bottom of the container to the lower surface of the stainless steel plate. Next, 20°C fresh water was gradually added while the stainless steel plate was still placed on the plate to prevent the dried macaroni from floating up. Water was added until the water level was 2.5 mm above the lower surface of the stainless steel plate (excluding the thickness of the stainless steel plate, the water level was 2 mm above the dried macaroni). The stainless steel plate was removed, the cooking container was covered, and microwave cooking was performed in a microwave oven at 500 W for 6 minutes. During this microwave heating, the temperature of the water was measured using a fluorescent optical fiber thermometer (FL-2000; manufactured by Adachi Keiki). As described above, the microwave heating treatment in the microwave oven was performed for 6 minutes, and in all examples and comparative examples, the heating was completed 31 to 67 seconds after the water temperature reached 96°C or higher. After the heating was completed, the hot water was removed from the drain in the lid of the cooking container to obtain boiled macaroni. The degree of adhesion between the boiled macaroni pieces was evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria. Furthermore, the boiled macaroni was eaten and evaluated for texture according to the following evaluation criteria. For each example, these operations were performed 10 times, and each time was evaluated by a panel of 10 experts, and the results are shown in Table 1 as the average of the 10 experts.

[0058] (Evaluation criteria for adhesion between boiled macaroni pieces) 5 points: Boiled macaroni pieces are not stuck together at all 4 points: Less than 5% of the boiled macaroni pieces are glued together 3 points: 5% to 10% of the boiled macaroni pieces are glued together 2 points: 10% to less than 20% of the boiled macaroni pieces are glued together 1 point: 20% or more of the boiled macaroni pieces are glued together

[0059] (Evaluation criteria for the texture of boiled macaroni) 5 points: Almost the entire macaroni is very elastic, with a very good texture equivalent to that of regular dried macaroni boiled in a large amount of water. 4 points: Almost the entire macaroni is elastic and has a good texture similar to that of regular dried macaroni boiled in a large amount of water. 3 points: Some macaroni is not chewy enough, but the texture is fine for eating. 2 points: Some macaroni lacks elasticity and has a slightly soft or hard texture, resulting in a poor texture. 1 point: Some of the macaroni had no elasticity, was too soft, and was too hard, resulting in a very poor texture.

[0060] [Table 1]

[0061] As a reference example, commercially available dried macaroni (length 50 mm, width 9 mm, thickness 1.5 mm) was cooked in microwaves for a specified time and evaluated in the same manner as in Test Example 1. The adhesion rating was 1.5 points and the texture rating was 2.0 points. When the commercially available dried macaroni was cooked in microwaves, there was a lot of adhesion, and the texture of the non-adhered areas was good, but the adhered areas were undercooked and had a poor texture.

[0062] [Examples 9 to 20, Comparative Examples 3 to 8] Study on the size of dried macaroni Dried macaroni of GV25 was produced in the same manner as in Example 4, except that the size of the macaroni was changed as shown in Tables 2 to 4 by changing the size of the opening of the die and the cutting length. The obtained dried macaroni was heated in a microwave in accordance with Test Example 1 to make boiled macaroni, and the adhesion and texture were evaluated. The results are shown in Tables 2 to 4. Note that Table 2 examines the length, Table 3 examines the width, and Table 4 examines the wall thickness.

[0063] [Table 2]

[0064] [Table 3]

[0065] [Table 4]

[0066] (Test Example 2) Boiled macaroni was obtained and evaluated in the same manner as in Test Example 1, except that the dried macaroni of Example 4 was placed in a cooking vessel so that the filling height from the bottom of the cooking vessel was the value shown in Table 5 (in all Examples, the water height after removing the stainless steel plate was 2 mm above the dried macaroni). However, heating was stopped 50 seconds after the water temperature reached 96°C. The evaluation results are shown in Table 5.

[0067] [Table 5]

[0068] (Test Example 3) The dried macaroni of Example 4 was microwave-heated to obtain boiled macaroni, which was then evaluated, in the same manner as in Test Example 1, except that, after the water temperature reached 96°C or higher during microwave heating, heating was stopped when the heating duration time shown in Table 6 had elapsed. The results are shown in Table 6. For reference, the results of Test Examples 1-5 are also shown in Table 6.

[0069] [Table 6] [Explanation of symbols]

[0070] L length of dried short pasta W Width of dried short pasta T Thickness of dried short pasta

Claims

1. This dried short pasta is to be contained in a heat-resistant container having an opening at the top, added with water, and heated in a microwave, the short pasta having a length of 15 to 50 mm, a width of 4 to 9 mm, and a wall thickness of 0.5 to 1.4 mm, and a gluten vitality of 18 to 35%.

2. 2. The dried short pasta according to claim 1, wherein wheat flour alone is used as the raw material flour.

3. A method for cooking dried short pasta, comprising placing the dried short pasta according to claim 1 or 2 in a heat-resistant container having an opening at the top, adding water at 2 to 35°C, and heating the dried short pasta in a microwave.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the dried short pasta is placed in the heat-resistant container so that the height from the bottom is 14 to 52% of the depth from the bottom to an opening of the container, and the water is added until the water level is 1 to 30 mm above the dried short pasta.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the microwave heating is performed for an additional 5 to 120 seconds after the water is heated by microwaves to a water temperature of 96° C. or higher.

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