Method for producing cooked Chinese noodles

Abstract

To provide a production method of noodles which have texture which is less likely to be degraded even when they are left for a long time or reheated.SOLUTION: A production method of a cooked Chinese noodle comprises boiling a raw Chinese noodle of a pH of 9.0 or more with a boiling liquid of a pH of 3.5 to 4.9.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for producing cooked Chinese noodles.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, cooked noodles that have been pre-cooked and can be eaten as they are or after reheating have been widely sold in supermarkets, convenience stores, etc. Also, the demand for takeout and delivery of cooked noodles is increasing. These cooked noodles are often eaten after being reheated (mainly by microwave heating) or held warm for several tens of minutes after being refrigerated or stored at room temperature. However, cooked noodles exposed to such conditions have a degraded texture due to boiling elongation, aging, etc.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes that by using a boiling solution containing malic acid and calcium malate in the production or treatment process of boiled noodles, the pH of the obtained boiled noodles can be adjusted and bitterness can be suppressed. Patent Document 2 describes a method for producing noodles including a step of preparing noodle dough, boiling noodle threads made of the noodle dough, and immersing them in a solution, and by using an organic acid and / or its salt having a pH of 4.0 to 5.5 in a 1 mass% aqueous solution in the preparation of the noodle dough and the boiling step of the noodle threads, noodles excellent in preservability, texture, and looseness can be obtained. Patent Document 3 describes a pH adjuster composition for noodle boiling water containing a pH adjuster selected from an organic acid or its salt, at least one of seaweed extract or its powder, and alginic acid or its salt, and adding the composition to noodle boiling water to adjust the pH of the noodle boiling water to 3.5 to 6.5, whereby the noodle quality and texture of the boiled noodles can be improved.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

[0005] There is a demand for noodles that can be deliciously eaten even in food scenes such as takeout and delivery, and whose texture is not easily degraded even after long-term storage or reheating. [Means for Solving the Problems]

[0006] The inventors have found that by boiling raw Chinese noodles having an alkaline pH in a boiling solution of a predetermined acidic pH, cooked Chinese noodles having a viscoelastic texture can be produced even after a lapse of time or after reheating.

[0007] Accordingly, the present invention provides a method for producing cooked Chinese noodles, which includes boiling raw Chinese noodles having a pH of 9.0 or higher in a boiling solution having a pH of 3.5 to 4.9. [Advantages of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, cooked Chinese noodles having a viscoelastic texture can be produced even after a lapse of time or after reheating. The cooked Chinese noodles of the present invention are suitable as noodles for reheating and eating after purchase at a store, or as noodles for takeout or delivery. [Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention]

[0009] The method for producing cooked Chinese noodles according to the present invention includes boiling raw Chinese noodles having an alkaline pH in an acidic boiling solution.

[0010] The fresh Chinese noodles used in the method of the present invention are prepared from a raw material powder containing cereal flours as the main raw material. Examples of the cereal flours contained in the raw material powder include wheat flour, rice flour, barley flour, glutinous barley flour, buckwheat flour, soybean flour, corn flour, oatmeal, rye flour, bran flour, and the like. These cereal flours can be used either alone or in combination of two or more. The cereal flours may include heat-treated flours such as gelatinized flours, but are preferably non-heat-treated flours. The raw material powder contains the cereal flours, preferably 50% by mass or more, more preferably 70% by mass or more, and still more preferably 80% by mass or more in its total amount.

[0011] Preferably, the raw material powder contains wheat flour. Preferably, the raw material powder contains wheat flour in an amount of 50% by mass or more, more preferably 70% by mass or more, and still more preferably 80% by mass or more in its total amount. Also preferably, 80% by mass or more, more preferably 90% by mass or more, and still more preferably 100% by mass of the cereal flours used in the raw material powder is wheat flour. The wheat flour may be any one generally used for the production of noodles, and examples thereof include strong flour, semi-strong flour, medium flour, weak flour, durum flour, whole grain flour, etc., but preferably strong flour, semi-strong flour, medium flour, and durum flour. These wheat flours can be used either alone or in combination of two or more. The particle size of the wheat flour is not particularly limited, and it may be, for example, semolina.

[0012] The raw material powder may contain starches as necessary. Examples of the starches are not particularly limited, and include unprocessed starches such as potato starch, tapioca starch, wheat starch, corn starch, waxy corn starch, rice starch, and processed starches obtained by processing them (for example, cross-linking, phosphorylation, acetylation, etherification, oxidation, gelatinization, etc.). In the present invention, these unprocessed starches and processed starches can be used either alone or in combination of two or more. When the raw material powder contains starches, the content of the starches is preferably 50% by mass or less, more preferably 20% by mass or less, and still more preferably 10% by mass or less in the total amount of the raw material powder.

[0013] In addition to cereal flours and starches, the raw material powder may further contain other components conventionally used in the production of noodles. Such other components include protein materials such as wheat protein (gluten), soy protein, milk protein, egg yolk powder, egg white powder, whole egg powder, skim milk powder, as well as oils and fats, potassium carbonate, calcined calcium, dietary fiber, salt, saccharides, sweeteners, spices, seasonings, vitamins, minerals, nutritional fortifiers, pigments, flavors, dextrin (including resistant dextrin), swelling agents, thickeners, emulsifiers, water retention agents, preservatives, enzyme agents, pH adjusters, redox agents, and the like. The total content of such other components in the raw material powder is preferably 10% by mass or less. The content of each of such other components in the raw material powder can be appropriately determined according to the type of target noodles.

[0014] The preparation of fresh Chinese noodles from the raw material powder can be carried out according to a conventional method. For example, according to a conventional method, kneading water is added to the raw material powder and kneaded to prepare noodle dough. Fresh noodles can be produced from the obtained noodle dough. For example, the noodle dough is rolled by ordinary means such as a roll, or if necessary, lamination and rolling are repeated to obtain a noodle sheet. Then, the obtained noodle sheet is formed by cutting or the like to obtain fresh noodles. Alternatively, the noodle dough can be extruded and formed by an extruder or the like to obtain fresh noodles.

[0015] The shape of the Chinese noodles produced in the present invention is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, noodle strands or noodle sheets, but is preferably noodle strands.

[0016] The fresh Chinese noodles used in the present invention have an alkaline pH in the state of non-boiled fresh noodles, preferably a pH of 9.0 or higher, preferably a pH of 9.5 to 11.0. If the pH of the fresh Chinese noodles is low, the deterioration of the texture after storage or reheating of the noodles after boiling cannot be sufficiently improved. Also, if the pH of the fresh Chinese noodles exceeds 11.0, it becomes easy to feel the deterioration of the taste due to the alkaline agent. The fresh Chinese noodles within the above pH range can be produced by preparing a noodle dough having the pH and making noodles from the noodle dough. For example, an alkaline agent such as kansui is added to the raw material powder, or added to the kneading water used for preparing the noodle dough, whereby a noodle dough having an alkaline pH can be obtained, and if this is formed by the above procedure, fresh Chinese noodles having an alkaline pH can be produced.

[0017] Preferably, the fresh Chinese noodles used in the present invention contain kansui. As the kansui, those usually used such as commercially available products can be used. The kansui may be contained in the raw material powder of the fresh Chinese noodles or in the kneading water, but is preferably contained in the kneading water. The content of kansui in the fresh Chinese noodles is preferably 0.5 to 2 parts by mass, more preferably 1.0 to 2.0 parts by mass, based on 100 parts by mass of the cereal flours.

[0018] In the present invention, the fresh Chinese noodles are boiled in an acidic boiling liquid to produce boiled noodles. The pH of the boiling liquid used for boiling is preferably pH 3.5 to 4.9, more preferably pH 3.9 to 4.5, and even more preferably 3.9 to 4.2. If the pH of the boiling liquid is too high, the effects of the present invention cannot be obtained. On the other hand, if it is too low, the flavor of the boiled noodles will deteriorate due to sourness and acid odor. The boiling liquid may be an aqueous solution containing an edible acid. Examples of the edible acid include vinegar, an organic acid or its salt, phosphoric acid or its salt, and an acidic seasoning. Among these, vinegar, an organic acid or its salt, and an acidic seasoning are preferred. Examples of vinegar include brewed vinegar such as cereal vinegar and fruit vinegar. Examples of organic acids include citric acid, malic acid, fumaric acid, succinic acid, lactic acid, acetic acid, and the like. Examples of phosphoric acid include monophosphate such as trisodium phosphate and monosodium hydrogen phosphate, and polymerized or condensed phosphates such as pyrophosphate, polyphosphate, and metaphosphate. As the salt of an organic acid or phosphoric acid, sodium salt and potassium salt are preferred. As the acidic seasoning, commercially available acidic seasonings such as grape skin fermentation extract (for example, the Carmax series of F.L.I. Co., Ltd.) can be used. These acids can be used alone or in combination of two or more. By adding the edible acid to water so as to have a predetermined pH, the acidic boiling liquid used in the present invention can be prepared. The content of the edible acid in the boiling liquid is preferably 0.001 to 10% by mass.

[0019] In the method of the present invention, the boiling of the fresh Chinese noodles with the boiling liquid may be carried out according to a conventional method. For example, the fresh Chinese noodles may be put into a large amount of boiling boiling liquid and boiled for a predetermined time. The amount of the boiling liquid used for boiling is preferably 3 times or more the mass of the fresh Chinese noodles. The boiling time can be appropriately adjusted according to the type and shape of the noodles, etc., but for example, about 1 to 10 minutes is preferred. In the present invention, the pH of the Chinese noodles after boiling is preferably pH 8.5 or higher, more preferably pH 9.0 or higher, and even more preferably pH 9.5 to 11.0. If necessary, the noodles after boiling may be washed with water or cooled.

[0020] In this specification, the pH of the boiling liquid represents the pH value at a temperature of 25°C. Also, in this specification, the pH of fresh Chinese noodles or noodles after boiling refers to the pH (25°C) of a suspension obtained by suspending 1 g of noodles in 9 mL of water.

[0021] Cooked Chinese noodles can be produced by the above procedure. The produced cooked Chinese noodles may be provided for eating as they are, or may be stored, distributed, or sold at normal temperature, refrigerated (including chilled), or frozen. The cooked Chinese noodles produced according to the present invention can maintain a viscoelastic texture even after a lapse of time or after reheating. Therefore, the cooked Chinese noodles are suitable as noodles for eating after being reheated (for example, heated in a microwave oven) after being stored refrigerated or at normal temperature. Alternatively, the cooked Chinese noodles are suitable as noodles for eating after being held in a warm state for several minutes to several tens of minutes, for example, for takeout or delivery and then eaten.

Examples

[0022] In order to specifically describe the present invention, examples are described below, but the present invention is not limited by these examples. Examples are not limited by these examples.

[0023] 100 parts by mass of wheat flour (semi-strong flour) and kneading water (34 parts by mass of water, containing kansui ["Kansui Red" manufactured by Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd.] in the amount shown in Table 1) were mixed and kneaded (high speed for 5 minutes → low speed for 7 minutes) to prepare noodle dough. The noodle dough was rolled and laminated by a noodle-making roll to produce a noodle sheet, which was cut out with a cutting blade (#18 angle) to produce fresh Chinese noodles (noodle thickness 1.65 mm). The obtained fresh Chinese noodles were boiled in boiling water containing the acid shown in Table 1 for 2 minutes, drained or washed with water and cooled to produce cooked Chinese noodles. The amount of boiling water was 500 mL or 10 L (only for Production Example 10) per 130 g of noodles. The pH of the fresh Chinese noodles and the Chinese noodles after boiling was measured.

[0024] (i) Immediately after draining the noodles (right after boiling), (ii) after draining the noodles and storing them at room temperature (25°C) for 1 hour, then adding the soup and reheating them to approximately 70°C in a microwave oven (「1 hour after room temperature」), and (iii) after washing with water and cooling, refrigerating (4°C) for 12 hours or more, then adding the soup and reheating them to approximately 70°C in a microwave oven (「12 hours after refrigeration」), the texture of the noodles was evaluated. The evaluation was conducted by 10 trained panelists according to the following evaluation criteria, and the average score of the 10 evaluations was obtained. The results are shown in Table 1. The results of Production Examples 2 and 5 are reproduced at the bottom of Table 1. <Evaluation Criteria> Texture 5 points: Extremely superior in viscoelasticity compared to the control example 4 points: Superior in viscoelasticity compared to the control example 3 points: Slightly superior in viscoelasticity compared to the control example 2 points: Having the same viscoelasticity as the control example 1 point: Inferior in viscoelasticity compared to the control example

[0025]

Table 1

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing cooked Chinese noodles that are refrigerated or stored at room temperature and then reheated and eaten, which includes boiling fresh Chinese noodles with a pH of 9.0 to 11.0 in a boiling solution with a pH of 3.5 to 4.

9.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pH of the Chinese noodles after boiling is 8.5 or higher.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fresh Chinese noodles contain 0.5 to 2 parts by mass of kansui per 100 parts by mass of cereal flours.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the cereal flours are wheat flour.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the boiling solution contains at least one edible acid selected from the group consisting of vinegar, grape skin fermentation extract, and organic acid or its salt.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the mass of the boiling solution is 3 times or more the mass of the fresh Chinese noodles.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the cooked Chinese noodles are for takeout or delivery and then eaten.

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