Method for manufacturing frozen noodles and frozen noodles

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for manufacturing noodles using a starting grain flour material, wherein the starting grain flour material comprises, per 100 parts by mass thereof, 10-50 parts by mass of heat-treated common wheat-derived bran, 30-80 parts by mass of ground durum wheat, and 10-40 parts by mass of wheat flour derived from common wheat, and the ratio by mass of the ground durum wheat and the wheat flour derived from common wheat is 85:15-40:60. Preferably, the bran derived from common wheat is bran derived from white wheat.

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, due to the increasing awareness of health, the demand for wheat bran rich in nutrients such as dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals has been increasing, and foods containing this, such as noodles, have been desired. Examples of using wheat bran in noodles include Patent Documents 1 to 3.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a method for producing pasta using a pasta dough containing wheat grains prepared so that the moisture content is 37% by mass or more and 50% by mass or less in the dough. The document states that the pasta produced by this production method can provide delicious and good-looking pasta.

[0004] Patent Document 2 describes a pasta containing 70 to 99 parts by mass of durum wheat semolina and / or durum wheat flour and 1 to 30 parts by mass of durum bran that has been heat-treated by dry heat and finely pulverized, out of 100 parts by mass of the flour in the raw material. The document states that it is possible to provide pasta with a reduced cereal odor peculiar to bran, a smooth texture, and less graininess.

[0005] Patent Document 3 describes noodles produced by noodle-making using a noodle raw material containing 10 to 60% by mass of durum wheat flour and 1 to 30% by mass of bran of the flour, out of 100% by mass of the flour in the noodle raw material. The document states that it is possible to provide noodles with good looseness, good texture, and excellent rehydration properties when made into instant noodles.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

[0007] From the perspective of appealing to the health and nutritional functions of wheat bran, it is desirable to include a high content of wheat bran in noodles. However, when wheat bran is included in noodles at a high content, for example, when it is included in 10 parts by mass or more per 100 parts by mass of flour ingredients, the processability of the noodle dough (hereinafter also referred to as "dough") tends to deteriorate, and the resulting noodles tend to have a soft texture. The texture is particularly prone to deterioration in frozen noodles. Patent documents 1 to 3 do not address this issue at all. In particular, the applicant has found that when the flour ingredients consist only of durum wheat flour and bran, as in the example in Patent Document 2, it is not possible to improve the processability of the dough or the soft texture.

[0008] The object of the present invention is to provide noodles that contain nutrient-rich wheat bran, have good dough processability, and have a firm texture.

[0009] The present invention relates to a method for producing noodles using cereal flour as a raw material, As a raw material for cereal flours, in 100 parts by mass, 10 to 50 parts by mass of heat-treated wheat bran, 30 to 80 parts by mass of durum wheat flour, and Contains 10 to 40 parts by mass of wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat. The present invention provides a method for producing noodles using flour raw materials in which the mass ratio of durum wheat flour to wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat is 85:15 to 40:60.

[0010] Furthermore, the present invention relates to noodles prepared using cereal flour as raw material, As a raw material for cereal flours, in 100 parts by mass, 10 to 50 parts by mass of heat-treated wheat bran, 30 to 80 parts by mass of durum wheat flour, and Contains 10 to 40 parts by mass of wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat. We provide noodles in which the mass ratio of durum wheat flour to wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat is 85:15 to 40:60. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] The present invention will now describe the method for producing noodles and the noodles themselves based on preferred embodiments. The present invention is a method for producing noodles using cereal flour raw materials, wherein the cereal flour raw materials consist of 10 to 50 parts by mass of heat-treated wheat bran in 100 parts by mass. 30 to 80 parts by mass of durum wheat flour, and Contains 10 to 40 parts by mass of wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat. The raw materials used are flours in which the mass ratio of durum wheat flour to wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat is 85:15 to 40:60. The following descriptions of noodle manufacturing methods all apply to the descriptions of the noodles of the present invention unless otherwise specified.

[0012] Flour raw materials refer to flours and starches. Flours include heat-treated wheat bran, durum wheat flour, and wheat flour, as well as rice flour, rye flour, corn flour, barley flour, glutinous barley flour, soy flour, oat flour, and other flours (including heat-treated ones), unheat-treated wheat bran, and heat-treated durum wheat bran. Starches include unprocessed starches derived from flours such as waxy corn starch, corn starch, tapioca starch, potato starch, wheat starch, and rice starch, and processed starches that have undergone at least one of the following processes: cross-linking, phosphorylation, acetylation, etherification, oxidation, and alpha-gelatinization. Flour raw materials are usually in powder form.

[0013] This invention uses wheat bran as an ingredient to be included in the flour raw materials for noodles. As wheat bran, the residue obtained by removing the endosperm from wheat grains during the general wheat flour manufacturing process, or the residue from which the germ has been further removed, can be used. In this invention, there are no particular restrictions on the manufacturing method of wheat bran, its composition, or the type of wheat used as the source of wheat bran. A typical manufacturing method of wheat bran includes the step of grinding selected wheat grains after adding water and conditioning as necessary, and then separating the ground material with a sifter, purifier, etc., to remove the endosperm and germ. The grinding method of wheat grains is not particularly limited, and examples include roller grinding and impact grinding, and multiple grinding methods may be combined. As for the grinder used in the impact grinding method, there are no particular limitations as long as it grinds by mechanical impact between an impact plate and a rotating rotor, and examples include turbo mills and blade mills, with turbo mills being particularly preferred.

[0014] In this invention, wheat bran derived from ordinary wheat (hereinafter also referred to as "ordinary wheat bran") is used as wheat bran. Ordinary wheat refers to wheat that belongs to the ordinary wheat type in botanical classification, which is different from the durum wheat mentioned above. Specifically, ordinary wheat other than durum wheat is hexaploid and is called "ordinary wheat type." In contrast, durum wheat is tetraploid and is called "two-grain wheat type." Thus, durum wheat is botanically different in type from ordinary wheat used for strong flour, medium flour, and weak flour. In this invention, using ordinary wheat bran as wheat bran has the advantage of being able to produce noodles with excellent secondary processing properties and texture. Another advantage of ordinary wheat bran is that it is easier to process, especially grind, than durum wheat bran.

[0015] Common wheat is broadly classified into two types, red wheat and white wheat, depending on the color observed when the grain is visually inspected. Red wheat is wheat that contains red pigment in its outer layer, and when the wheat grain is visually inspected, it is observed as red, reddish-brown, or brown. On the other hand, white wheat is wheat that does not contain red pigment in its outer layer, and when the wheat grain is visually inspected, it is observed as white or pale yellow. In this invention, it is preferable to use white wheat bran as common wheat bran. By using white wheat bran, it is possible to produce noodles with excellent secondary processing properties and texture (chewiness). Furthermore, when using white wheat bran, it is possible to produce noodles with an effectively suppressed gritty texture when eaten. In particular, when producing frozen noodles obtained by gelatinizing fresh noodles and then freezing them, if bran is added to the raw flour, the surface of the noodles tends to be gritty more than when the noodles are not frozen (for example, when the noodles are gelatinized and eaten without freezing), which may have an adverse effect when eaten. In contrast, when wheat bran derived from white wheat is used in the present invention, the roughness of the noodle surface in the frozen noodles can be effectively reduced.

[0016] Specific examples of common white wheat include Australian Standard White (ASW, Australian origin; in this specification, ASW refers to Australian Standard White Noodle Blend (ASWN blend, ASWNB)); Prime Hard (PH, Australian origin); Soft White (SW, United States origin); Western White (WW, United States origin). These white wheat varieties can be appropriately selected based on, for example, genetic characteristics. Specific examples of common red wheat include Western Red Spring 1 (1CW, Canadian origin).

[0017] Common wheat is roughly classified into three types according to the hardness of wheat grains: hard wheat, soft wheat, and intermediate wheat with a hardness between hard and soft. Among these types, from the perspective of further improving the flavor and texture of the resulting noodles, it is preferable to use white wheat classified as intermediate wheat or soft wheat among white wheat, and it is more preferable to use white wheat classified as intermediate wheat. Taking the above-mentioned white wheat and common wheat as examples, examples of hard wheat include PH, etc., examples of intermediate wheat include ASW, etc., and specific examples of soft wheat include WW, etc.

[0018] For these reasons, among the common wheat bran used in the production of noodles, it is preferable to use wheat bran derived from white wheat (white wheat bran), more preferably to use at least one of ASW and WW, and even more preferably to use ASW. By using such common wheat bran as a raw material for noodles, as described above, in addition to the ease of handling due to improved connectivity during noodle dough processing, the firmness of the resulting noodles, and the smoothness of the noodle surface can be improved. In addition, it is particularly useful from the perspectives of expressing a good flavor characteristic of grains and promoting health. Also, it is less likely to produce egumi derived from wheat bran, and it is easy to make the taste good.

[0019] In the present invention, heat-treated bran is used as common wheat bran. By using heat-treated bran as common wheat bran, the processability such as the connectivity of the dough when producing noodles is improved. In addition, the resulting noodles have a prominent good flavor characteristic of grains, and the texture such as firmness and smoothness is good. In addition, by undergoing heat treatment, common wheat bran can be finely pulverized, which is advantageous in terms of highly productively obtaining wheat bran with a small particle size. Also, by undergoing heat treatment, the activities of various enzymes such as amylase and protease can be reduced or inactivated, which is particularly advantageous in terms of further improving the processability and texture of noodles. Whether or not ordinary wheat bran has been heat-treated can be determined, for example, by measuring enzyme activity or gluten vitality. Specifically, taking enzyme activity as an example, heat-treated ordinary wheat bran has less enzyme activity than unheated white wheat bran, or the enzyme activity is below the detection limit, so it can be distinguished in this respect.

[0020] In this invention, the heat treatment applied to wheat bran may be either moist heat treatment or dry heat treatment. Moist heat treatment is a process that heats the material to be treated (wheat bran) by maintaining its moisture content or by supplying moisture from an external source. Moisture can be supplied in moist heat treatment, such as water, saturated steam, or superheated steam. The heating method in moist heat treatment is not particularly limited, and examples include adding moisture to the material to be treated in a sealed environment and then directly contacting the material with a heat transfer medium such as hot air, heating the material by bringing high-temperature steam into contact with it and using the latent heat of condensation, or heating the material in a high-humidity atmosphere. Dry heat treatment is a process in which the material to be treated (wheat bran) is heated under conditions without the addition of moisture, and is a heat treatment carried out while actively evaporating the moisture in the material. Dry heat treatment can be carried out by, for example, heating in an oven, heating in a roasting kiln, heating using a constant temperature bath, heating by blowing hot air, or leaving it in a high-temperature, low-humidity environment. Note that drying wheat bran that has been moistened by applying hot air is not included in dry heat treatment because the heat is not sufficiently transferred to the material due to the latent heat of evaporation of the moisture.

[0021] Specific examples of heat treatments applied to wheat bran include: 1) a treatment in which the wheat bran to be treated is subjected to moist heat to raise its temperature to 80°C or higher (hereinafter also referred to as "moist heat treatment α"), and 2) a treatment in which the wheat bran to be treated is subjected to dry heat to raise its temperature to 80°C or higher (hereinafter also referred to as "dry heat treatment β").

[0022] An example of moist heat treatment α is that the temperature of the wheat bran to be treated is preferably 80 to 110°C, more preferably 85 to 95°C, and the treatment time (the time during which such a temperature is maintained) is preferably 1 to 60 seconds, more preferably 3 to 30 seconds. Moist heat treatment α can be performed, for example, by introducing wheat bran, which is the material to be treated, and saturated steam into a powder heating device described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2784505 to achieve the above temperature and time. This powder heating device includes a cylindrical pressure vessel that contains the material to be treated and has a saturated steam inlet, and a stirring means having a plurality of rod-shaped blades on a rotating shaft with dimensions close to the inner diameter of the cylinder, which are introduced into the container from an inlet located at one end of the container and move the powder towards an outlet located at the other end of the container while stirring it.

[0023] Dry heat treatment β can be exemplified by a method in which the temperature of the wheat bran to be treated is preferably 80 to 200°C, more preferably 90 to 150°C, and the treatment time (the time during which such a temperature is maintained) is preferably 1 to 120 minutes, more preferably 3 to 50 minutes. In dry heat treatment, for example, wheat bran can be introduced into a device having a configuration similar to that of the heat treatment stirring device described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-9022, and the treatment can be carried out to achieve the above temperature and time. This heat treatment stirring device comprises a cylindrical container for containing the material to be treated, a hollow rotating shaft provided inside the container, a hollow pipe screw formed in communication with the shaft, and a steam supply source for supplying steam into the rotating shaft and pipe screw. The heat generated by supplying steam into the rotating shaft and pipe screw is transmitted to the material to be treated via the rotating shaft and pipe screw, thereby enabling dry heat treatment.

[0024] In this invention, it is particularly preferable to perform a moist heat treatment as a heat treatment, as this can more effectively enhance the smoothness of the noodle surface, as well as improve the processability of the noodle dough, such as its ability to hold together, and its firmness.

[0025] When manufacturing noodles using heat-treated ordinary wheat bran, from the viewpoint of producing noodles with a smoother texture, the heat-treated ordinary wheat bran preferably has an average particle size of 10 to 2000 μm, more preferably 20 to 750 μm, even more preferably 30 to 300 μm, and even more preferably 50 to 120 μm. In this invention, the average particle size refers to the volume cumulative particle size D50 at 50% of the cumulative volume when measured dry using a laser diffraction scattering particle size distribution analyzer (for example, Nikkiso Co., Ltd.'s "Microtrac Particle Size Distribution Analyzer 9200FRA").

[0026] Heat-treated ordinary wheat bran having the above average particle size can be easily obtained by classification, for example, using a sieve or an air classifier. When classifying wheat bran using a sieve, the sieve opening is preferably 150-200 μm, more preferably 150-180 μm, and even more preferably 150 μm, and the fraction that passes through the sieve is collected. When classifying wheat bran using an air classifier, a classifier capable of accurately separating fractions with a particle size boundary of 150-200 μm is used, and a fraction with an average particle size of 200 μm or less, more preferably 150 μm or less, is collected. From the viewpoint of saving space, it is preferable to perform crushing and classification using an impact pulverizer built into the air classifier. An example of an impact pulverizer built into an air classifier is the ACM pulverizer (product name) manufactured by Hosokawa Micron Corporation.

[0027] The present invention provides a method for obtaining noodles containing 10 to 50 parts by mass of heat-treated ordinary wheat bran per 100 parts by mass of cereal flour ingredients. If the amount of heat-treated ordinary wheat bran is less than 10 parts by mass, it will not be a sufficient blend to appeal to health and nutritional functions, and if it exceeds 50 parts by mass, there is a risk that noodles with good workability in dough processing and noodle making, as well as good noodle quality, cannot be produced. From these viewpoints, it is preferable that the amount of heat-treated ordinary wheat bran be 10 to 40 parts by mass, and more preferably 15 to 35 parts by mass, per 100 parts by mass of cereal flour ingredients.

[0028] In this invention, in addition to heat-treated ordinary wheat bran, durum wheat flour pulverized material and wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat are essential components. Durum wheat flour pulverized material refers to the pulverized seeds of durum wheat, such as durum wheat semolina and durum wheat flour. Examples of wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat include strong flour, medium flour, and weak flour. As for wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat, it is preferable to use wheat flour with a crude protein content of 10% by mass or more on a dry weight basis, as this makes it easier to obtain dough with good workability and a firm texture, and from this viewpoint, it is preferable to use strong flour. The upper limit of the crude protein content of wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat is, for example, 15% by mass. Conventional methods can be used to measure the crude protein content, for example, the method described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-254052.

[0029] In this invention, the raw materials for making noodles contain 30 to 80 parts by mass of durum wheat flour and 10 to 40 parts by mass of wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat in 100 parts by mass of flour raw materials. By adjusting the amounts within these ranges, it is possible to produce noodles that have a good texture (chewiness) while also having excellent processability, such as dough cohesion. If the amount of durum wheat flour is less than 30 parts by mass or more than 80 parts by mass, and if the amount of wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat is less than 10 parts by mass or more than 40 parts by mass, this effect may not be fully achieved. In order to further improve the texture of the noodles and the processability of the dough, the amount of durum wheat flour in 100 parts by mass of flour raw materials is preferably 30 to 75 parts by mass, and more preferably 40 to 75 parts by mass. Also, the amount of wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat in 100 parts by mass of flour raw materials is preferably 10 to 35 parts by mass, and more preferably 10 to 30 parts by mass.

[0030] In this invention, the mass ratio of durum wheat flour to wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat is further 85:15 to 40:60. If the amount of durum wheat flour is more than 85 parts by mass or less than 15 parts by mass in a total of 100 parts by mass of durum wheat flour and wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat, the secondary processing properties such as dough cohesiveness will be poor, and the firmness of the resulting noodles will also decrease. More preferably, the mass ratio of durum wheat flour to wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat is 85:15 to 45:55.

[0031] Furthermore, whole wheat flour can be used as wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat, but in that case, the amount of whole wheat flour excluding the bran portion should fall within the range of the amount of wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat described above. The percentage of bran in typical whole wheat flour can be used to calculate the amount of excluding the bran portion. For example, the percentage of bran in typical whole wheat flour can be set to 15% by mass. Also, the heat-treated ordinary wheat bran used in this invention refers only to wheat that has been heat-treated after the endosperm portion has been removed. Therefore, if whole wheat flour has been heat-treated, the amount of bran portion in that whole wheat flour should not be included in the amount of heat-treated ordinary wheat bran. In this invention, using a heat-treated product obtained by heat-treating wheat bran from which the endosperm has been removed has the advantage that, compared to using a heat-treated product of whole wheat flour, the starches and proteins contained in the endosperm are less affected by the heat treatment, resulting in improved dough cohesion and noodle stickiness during noodle making.

[0032] In this invention, the cereal flour raw material may contain starches. By incorporating starches, the processability of the noodle dough can be further improved. When the cereal flour raw material contains starches, it is preferable to incorporate 3 to 20 parts by mass of starches, and more preferably 3 to 15 parts by mass, per 100 parts by mass of the cereal flour raw material. Tapioca-derived starches are preferred as the starches, and processed tapioca starch is more preferable. Starches that have been acetylated or etherified are even more preferable. Alpha-gelatinized starches may also be used.

[0033] In this invention, gluten may be included in the noodle dough. By incorporating gluten, the processability of the dough and the texture, such as its firmness, can be further improved. Preferably, the noodle dough and the powder raw materials for preparing the noodle dough contain 2 to 10 parts by mass of gluten, and more preferably 2 to 6 parts by mass, per 100 parts by mass of the grain flour raw materials used in the production of noodles.

[0034] The present invention includes a method for producing noodles, comprising a dough preparation step of preparing dough using the above-mentioned grain flour raw materials, and a noodle making step of making noodles from the obtained dough. In the dough preparation step, dough is prepared from powder raw materials including grain flour raw materials. Examples of powder raw materials include the above-mentioned grain flour raw materials as well as gluten, etc. In addition, other raw materials other than grain flour raw materials and gluten can be used as powder raw materials in the preparation of noodle dough. The powdered raw materials can be any material suitable for noodle production without particular limitations, and examples include protein materials such as soy protein, egg yolk powder, egg white powder, whole egg powder, and skim milk powder; fats and oils such as animal and vegetable oils and powdered oils; lye water, calcined calcium, leavening agents, emulsifiers, salt, sugars, sweeteners, spices, seasonings, vitamins, minerals, pigments, flavorings, alcohol, preservatives, enzymes, dietary fiber, dextrin (including indigestible dextrin), thickeners, water-retaining agents, pH adjusters, and oxidation-reduction agents. One of these can be used alone or in combination of two or more. Among these raw materials, those that are in powder form at room temperature and pressure can constitute the raw material powder. The proportion of components other than cereal flours and gluten in the raw material powder is preferably 20% by mass or less, and more preferably 5% by mass or less.

[0035] In the dough preparation process described above, the dough using powdered raw materials and other raw materials can be prepared according to conventional methods. Typically, the dough is prepared by adding liquid to the raw materials, including powdered raw materials, and kneading them using a mixer or the like. The liquid added to the raw materials is usually water, but is not particularly limited; for example, a seasoning liquid obtained by dissolving or dispersing seasonings such as salt in water, egg liquid, etc., can be used. The amount of liquid added to the raw materials, including powdered raw materials, can be adjusted as appropriate depending on the type of noodles to be manufactured, but it is generally preferable that the amount of added water be in the range of 10 to 45 parts by mass, and more preferably 15 to 40 parts by mass, per 100 parts by mass of cereal flour raw materials.

[0036] In the noodle-making process, pre-gelatinized noodle strands (sometimes called "raw noodle strands") are obtained by making noodles according to conventional methods. The noodle-making method is not particularly limited; for example, various noodle-making methods such as rolling, roller, and extrusion methods can be used to apply pressure to the noodle dough to stretch it and obtain a noodle sheet, which can then be cut to obtain pre-gelatinized noodle strands. One example of a noodle-making method that can be used in the present invention is the method of extruding noodles by applying pressure to the dough. Extrusion noodle making can be performed according to conventional methods using a single-screw or twin-screw extrusion machine for dry pasta production, and in this case, a die with a hole of a desired shape is installed in the extrusion section of the extrusion machine, and the noodle strands are extruded to obtain a noodle strand with a shape corresponding to that hole. The cross-sectional shape of the noodle strands is not particularly limited and may be any shape such as square, circular, elliptical, or triangular. The noodle strands obtained by making noodles from the noodle dough of the present invention can be cooked by boiling, steaming, or steaming, and the flours are gelatinized to obtain noodles that can be eaten as is.

[0037] In the case of extruded noodles, the dough is preferably 30 kgf / cm². 2 ~200 kgf / cm² 2 Preferably 80 kgf / cm² 2 ~160 kgf / cm² 2 The noodles are extruded under pressure. When extruding the noodle dough, it is preferable to extrude it under reduced pressure because this improves the durability of the produced noodles. The degree of reduced pressure can be -200 mmHg to vacuum, preferably -600 mmHg to vacuum. The shape of the noodles after extrusion is not particularly limited. For example, after extruding the noodle dough into a noodle sheet, it may be rolled, cut, etc. by conventional methods to form a desired shape such as noodle strands, or noodles such as pasta in a desired shape may be extruded from a die having holes of a suitable shape.

[0038] The manufacturing method of the present invention can produce various types of noodles (e.g., udon, Chinese noodles, pasta, etc.) by blending the above-mentioned grain flours, but pasta is preferred. Examples of pasta include long pasta such as spaghetti, short pasta such as macaroni, and flat pasta such as lasagna, and the type is not particularly limited. Furthermore, noodles refer to both raw noodles before gelatinization and cooked noodles after gelatinization. In addition, both raw noodles and cooked noodles may be subjected to appropriate treatments such as drying, freezing, and heat-pressure sterilization.

[0039] In particular, in this invention, it is preferable to produce noodles that do not undergo a drying process before cooking (sometimes called "fresh noodles"). Noodles that do not undergo a drying process before cooking have a unique elastic texture. In this invention, by using specific amounts of specific wheat bran, durum wheat flour, and ordinary wheat flour, it is possible to obtain fresh noodles that have sufficient firmness even with a high wheat bran content, thus achieving both texture and health benefits. In particular, in this invention, it is preferable that the fresh noodles are fresh pasta, from the viewpoint of easily utilizing the unique texture of noodles made with durum wheat flour. Fresh pasta is pasta that does not undergo a drying process from noodle making to cooking (for example, boiling or steaming). In particular, in this invention, it is preferable that the noodles are made by extrusion. This is because noodles made by extrusion are less likely to have irregularities on the noodle surface, reducing the roughness of the noodles when eaten.

[0040] Furthermore, in the present invention, when using bran derived from white wheat, it is also preferable to produce frozen noodles by freezing them after heating, that is, after gelatinization. As mentioned above, when the resulting noodles are gelatinized and then frozen, if bran is added to the flour raw materials, the surface of the noodles tends to become rougher compared to when they are not frozen, which may have an adverse effect when eaten. In contrast, in the present invention, this roughness can be effectively reduced by using heat-treated bran. When freezing gelatinized noodles, a freezing temperature of -80°C to -10°C is preferable. The gelatinization treatment of noodles refers to the heating process mentioned above, which includes boiling and steaming. After gelatinization, the noodles may undergo other processes (for example, cooling, mixing with sauce, etc.) before freezing. [Examples]

[0041] 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. For the examples and comparative examples in Tables 1 to 7, the comparative examples listed in each table were used as reference examples. The units of composition in Tables 1 to 7 are parts by mass.

[0042] [Examples 1-10, Comparative Examples 1-7] (Preparation of moist heat-treated wheat bran) White wheat (ASW) was used as the raw material. This was carefully selected and ground in a roller mill. The ground material was then classified using a sieve with a mesh size of 200 μm, and wheat bran was collected as the residue remaining after sieving. Next, the collected wheat bran was impact-pulverized using a turbo mill (manufactured by Tokyo Flour Milling Machinery Co., Ltd.). This pulverized material was then subjected to moist heat treatment at a temperature of 90°C for 5 seconds while introducing saturated steam using a powder heating device described in Patent No. 2784505. Subsequently, the pulverized material after moist heat treatment was finely pulverized using an impact pulverizer (ACM pulverizer, manufactured by Hosokawa Micron Corporation). After that, it was classified using a sieve with a mesh size of 150 μm, and the fraction with a particle size of less than 150 μm that passed through the sieve was separated to obtain moist heat-treated wheat bran pulverized material. The average particle size of the obtained pulverized material was approximately 90 μm.

[0043] Using the moist heat-treated wheat bran pulverized material obtained above, powdered raw materials were prepared with the compositions shown in Tables 1 to 4. The powdered raw materials refer to the mixture of cereal flours and gluten shown in Tables 1 to 4. Details of the other components in Tables 1 to 4 are as follows. Durum wheat flour: Manufactured by Nisshin Flour Milling Co., Ltd. Durum semolina: Manufactured by Nisshin Flour Milling Co., Ltd. Strong flour: Manufactured by Nisshin Flour Milling Co., Ltd. Crude protein content: 12.2% by mass Medium-strength flour: Manufactured by Nisshin Flour Milling Co., Ltd. Crude protein content: 9.0% by mass Modified starch: Acetylated tapioca starch, manufactured by Matsutani Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., "Matsutani Sakura 2" Gluten: "SuperGlu 85H" manufactured by Nippon Colloid Co., Ltd.

[0044] (Noodle manufacturing) To 100 parts by mass of the powdered raw material prepared above, 15 to 35 parts by mass of 25°C water was added as kneading water and mixed to prepare the noodle dough. The amount of water was adjusted to achieve roughly the same dough properties. The prepared noodle dough was extruded using a pasta extruder under reduced pressure of -600 mmHg at a pressure of 100 kgf / cm². 2 The mixture was then extruded into noodle strands, yielding fresh noodles (fresh pasta) with a thickness of 1.8 mm. Fresh noodles (fresh pasta) were boiled in boiling water for 5-7 minutes, then removed from the water and rinsed in water at approximately 15°C for 30 seconds before being drained. The resulting cooked noodle mass was then rapidly frozen at -40°C to obtain cooked frozen noodles (cooked frozen pasta), which were stored in a freezer at -20°C for two weeks. The secondary processing capabilities of the extruded pasta during the manufacturing process described above were evaluated by 10 trained panelists using the following criteria. Furthermore, the texture of 200g of the frozen pasta obtained above, after being defrosted in a microwave (600W, 4 minutes), was also evaluated by 10 trained panelists using the following criteria. The scores for each evaluation item represent the average score of the 10 panelists.

[0045] (Secondary processability) 5 points: The noodle dough holds together much better compared to the control example. 4 points: The noodle dough has better cohesion compared to the control example. 3 points: The noodle dough holds together slightly better compared to the control example. Points 2: It has the same secondary processing properties as the control example. 1 point: The noodle dough does not hold together as well as the control example.

[0046] (Texture: Chewy) 5 points: It has significantly better texture compared to the control example. 4 points: Superior firmness compared to the control example. 3 points: Slightly better in firmness compared to the control example. Points 2: It has the same firmness as the control example. 1 point: It is less firm than the control example.

[0047] [Table 1]

[0048] [Table 2]

[0049] [Table 3]

[0050] [Table 4]

[0051] As shown in Tables 1 to 4, when heat-treated ordinary wheat bran is present in amounts of 10 to 50 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of cereal flour raw materials, it can be seen that by keeping the ratio of durum wheat flour to ordinary wheat flour within a specific range, suitable secondary processing properties and a firm texture can be obtained.

[0052] (Examples 11, 12, Comparative Examples 8, 9) [Preparation of dry-heat treated wheat bran] Red wheat (1CW) or white wheat (ASW) was used as the raw material. This was carefully selected and ground in a roll mill. The ground material was then classified using a sieve with a mesh size of 200 μm, and wheat bran was collected as the residue on the sieve. This was then subjected to dry heat treatment by heating the material to a temperature of 120°C for 25 minutes using an apparatus with a configuration similar to the heat treatment stirring apparatus described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-9022, thereby obtaining dry heat treated wheat bran pulverized material. The average particle size of the obtained pulverized material was 250 μm. (Noodle manufacturing) Instead of using moist heat-treated wheat bran, dry heat-treated wheat bran pulverized as described above was used. Otherwise, Examples 11 and 12 were conducted in the same manner as Example 2, and Comparative Examples 8 and 9 were conducted in the same manner as Comparative Example 1 to obtain frozen pasta, which was then evaluated in the same manner as the Examples and Comparative Examples in Tables 1 to 4. The results are shown in Tables 5 and 6.

[0053] [Table 5]

[0054] [Table 6]

[0055] The results in Tables 5 and 6 show that, similar to the case where dry-heat-treated ordinary wheat bran is used, by keeping the ratio of durum wheat flour to ordinary wheat flour within a specific range, suitable secondary processing properties and a firm texture can be obtained.

[0056] (Comparative Example 10) [Preparation of unheated wheat bran] Red wheat (1CW) was used as the raw material. This was carefully selected and ground in a roller mill. The ground material was then classified using a sieve with a mesh size of 200 μm. Wheat bran was collected as the residue on the sieve, and without heat treatment, a wheat bran powder with an average particle size of 250 μm was obtained.

[0057] (Noodle manufacturing) In Comparative Example 10, frozen pasta was obtained and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 2, except that unheated wheat bran was used instead of heated wheat bran. At the same time, Examples 2, 11, and 12 were also repeated, and Comparative Example 10 was used as a control case to evaluate them, including their grittiness. Specifically, the following was done. Powdered raw materials were prepared according to the formulations shown in Table 7 below. Fresh noodles (fresh pasta) were obtained from the obtained powdered raw materials using the same method as described above (for noodle production). The fresh noodles (fresh pasta) were boiled in boiling water for 5 to 7 minutes, removed from the water, rinsed in water at approximately 15°C for 30 seconds, and then drained. Next, the resulting cooked noodle mass was rapidly frozen at -40°C to obtain frozen pasta. The frozen pasta was stored in a freezer at an internal temperature of -20°C for 2 weeks from the start of freezing. The secondary processing capabilities at the extrusion noodle-making stage of the above manufacturing process were evaluated by 10 trained panelists using the same evaluation criteria as above. Furthermore, the texture (firmness) of 200g of frozen pasta obtained above, after being defrosted in a microwave (600W, 4 minutes), was evaluated by 10 trained panelists using the same evaluation criteria as above. Furthermore, the texture (roughness) of the fresh pasta immediately after boiling and after thawing in a microwave (600W, 4 minutes) following the above manufacturing process was evaluated by 10 trained panelists according to the following evaluation criteria. The results are shown in Table 7.

[0058] (roughness) 5 points: The texture is significantly less rough compared to the control example. 4 points: Less roughness compared to the control example. 3 points: Slightly less rough compared to the control example. Points 2: The roughness is comparable to that of the control example. 1 point: It is rougher compared to the control example.

[0059] [Table 7]

[0060] As shown in Table 7, using heated wheat bran improves the processability and texture compared to using unheated wheat bran, and effectively reduces the gritty texture after cooking and freezing. In particular, white wheat bran is rated higher than red wheat bran, and it is clear that using moist heat-treated white wheat bran is especially effective in improving the processability and texture. [Industrial applicability]

[0061] The present invention provides noodles that have good dough cohesion and a firm texture, even when wheat bran is included in the flour ingredients at a concentration of 10% by mass or more.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing noodles using grain flour as raw material, As a raw material for grain flours, in 100 parts by mass, 10 to 50 parts by mass of heat-treated wheat bran, 30 to 80 parts by mass of durum wheat flour, Contains 10 to 40 parts by mass of wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat. A method for producing frozen noodles, which involves gelatinizing fresh noodles and then freezing them, using cereal flour raw materials in which the mass ratio of durum wheat flour to wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat is 58:12 to 40:

30.

2. The method for producing frozen noodles according to claim 1, wherein the bran derived from ordinary wheat is bran derived from white wheat.

3. The method for producing frozen noodles according to claim 2, wherein the white wheat is at least one type of wheat selected from Australian Standard White and Western White.

4. A method for producing frozen noodles according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the bran derived from ordinary wheat has been subjected to moist heat treatment.

5. A method for producing frozen noodles according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the crude protein content of the wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat is 10% by mass or more on a dry weight basis.

6. As a raw material for grain flours, in 100 parts by mass thereof, 10 to 50 parts by mass of heat-treated wheat bran, 30 to 75 parts by mass of durum wheat flour, Contains 10 to 40 parts by mass of wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat. A method for producing frozen noodles according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a cereal flour raw material is used, wherein the cereal flour raw material contains 3 to 20 parts by mass of starch in 100 parts by mass thereof.

7. A method for producing frozen noodles according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein 2 to 10 parts by mass of gluten are used per 100 parts by mass of cereal flour raw materials.

8. A method for producing frozen noodles according to any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising the steps of: preparing dough using the aforementioned grain flour raw materials; making noodles from the obtained dough to obtain noodle strands; gelatinizing the obtained noodle strands; and freezing the gelatinized noodle strands.

9. A method for producing frozen noodles according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising the steps of preparing dough using the aforementioned grain flour raw materials, and subjecting the obtained dough to an extrusion noodle-making method to obtain noodle strands.

10. Frozen noodles prepared using cereal flour ingredients, As a raw material for grain flours, in 100 parts by mass, 10 to 50 parts by mass of heat-treated wheat bran, 30 to 80 parts by mass of durum wheat flour, Contains 10 to 40 parts by mass of wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat. Frozen noodles in which the mass ratio of durum wheat flour to wheat flour derived from ordinary wheat is 58:12 to 40:30.

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