Hand-stretched, air-dried noodles and their manufacturing method

Abstract

To provide a hand-stretched style dried noodle that is salt-free or low-salt, exhibits excellent workability during the production process (dough binding, extensibility, and drying resistance), and has a favorable texture (elasticity and smoothness) when boiled.SOLUTION: A hand-stretched style dried noodle comprises an appropriate amount of potassium lactate as a raw material.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to hand-stretched dried noodles and a method for producing the same.

Background Art

[0002] Hand-stretched dried noodles such as hand-stretched somen have a unique texture excellent in smoothness (smoothness when passing through the throat) and elasticity (chewiness). Such hand-stretched dried noodles are generally produced by adding 4 to 7 parts by mass of salt and 40 to 50 parts by mass of water to 100 parts by mass of wheat flour, kneading the resulting dough to form a thick string-shaped dough, sequentially stretching the string-shaped dough into thin strips while twisting while applying vegetable oil, starch or wheat flour to the surface of the string-shaped dough, forming the dough into thin filaments, drying the filaments, and then cutting the filaments into a predetermined length. A characteristic of hand-stretched dried noodles is that each sequential stretching step is performed manually, and aging is performed between each step. Salt has an astringent effect on gluten (an effect of firmly forming the network structure of gluten), and also has an effect of preventing drying of the dough due to the water absorption property of salt. In hand-stretched dried noodles, the stretching step is repeated many times to gradually form thin noodle strips, so compared to noodles produced using a rolling device, formation of a tough gluten structure and drying resistance are required, and for this reason, a large amount of salt is generally used.

[0003] Since hand-stretched dried noodles are produced using a large amount of salt, when hand-stretched dried noodles are directly added to a hot pot dish or the like for cooking, the saltiness of broth such as soup or dashi becomes too strong, making the dish unsuitable for eating. Therefore, when eating, it was necessary to perform the labor of desalting by boiling in advance and optionally washing the noodles (so-called "boiling draining"). It has been desired to eliminate the trouble of boiling draining, but when the amount of salt used in producing hand-stretched dried noodles is reduced, gluten astringency and dough aging become insufficient, and the dough tends to dry during the production process, which causes problems such as being unable to stretch to the target thinness, damage such as fraying on the noodle surface, and furthermore, loss of smoothness and elasticity when boiled and cooked.

[0004] Various attempts have been proposed to solve the problems described above. Patent Document 1 discloses a method for producing low-salt somen noodles, which enables the production of delicious (low-salt) somen noodles in a very short time. This method involves mixing strong wheat flour and salt, aging the raw material mass, shaping it into a string-like form at a temperature of about 30-38°C while applying edible oil, then stretching it into a thin, tightly twisted shape at room temperature or below, and subsequently drying and cutting it at a low temperature. Patent Document 2 discloses hand-stretched noodles that do not require the discarding of the boiling water. These noodles contain wheat flour, lye water, and salt, and the amount of salt is less than 2.0% by weight relative to the wheat flour (lye water is less than 0.1% by weight relative to the wheat flour). Patent Document 3 discloses hand-stretched somen noodles suitable for instant noodles with low salt content that can be easily stretched, using raw materials containing 1.5 to 3 parts by weight of salt, 13 to 18 parts by weight of wheat protein, and 0.075 to 0.125 parts by weight of lye water per 100 parts by weight of wheat flour. However, neither invention was sufficient to compensate for the decrease in gluten astringency due to the reduction in salt, and the salt content was too high to eliminate the need for boiling and draining. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 01-300862 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-112721 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2007-189942 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] To provide hand-stretched style dried noodles that are salt-free or low-sodium, yet offer excellent workability during the manufacturing process (dough cohesiveness, extensibility, and drying resistance), and a good texture (elasticity and smoothness) when boiled. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The inventors of this invention have discovered that by incorporating an appropriate amount of potassium lactate as a raw material, it is possible to obtain hand-stretched style dried noodles that are easy to manufacture and have a good texture when boiled, even without using salt or with reduced salt content, thus completing the present invention.

[0008] In other words, the present invention encompasses the following embodiments. [1] Hand-stretched air-dried noodles containing wheat flour and potassium lactate, wherein the amount of potassium lactate is 1.6 to 6.2 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of wheat flour. [2] The hand-stretched, air-dried noodles described in [1], wherein the salt content is 1.5 parts by mass or less per 100 parts by mass of wheat flour. [3] Hand-stretched style dried noodles as described in [2], without salt. [4] A mixed flour for hand-stretched air-dried noodles containing wheat flour and potassium lactate, wherein the amount of potassium lactate is 1.6 to 6.2 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of wheat flour. [5] The mixed flour for hand-stretched air-dried noodles described in [4], wherein the salt content is 1.5 parts by mass or less per 100 parts by mass of wheat flour. [6] A salt-free mixed flour for hand-stretched style dried noodles as described in [5]. [7] A method for producing hand-stretched air-dried noodles using wheat flour and potassium lactate, wherein the amount of potassium lactate is 1.6 to 6.2 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of wheat flour. [8] A method for producing hand-stretched air-dried noodles according to [7], comprising the steps of: mixing potassium lactate and water to prepare kneading water; and mixing the kneading water with wheat flour. [9] A method for producing hand-stretched air-dried noodles according to [7] or [8], wherein the amount of salt used is 1.5 parts by mass or less per 100 parts by mass of wheat flour.

[10] A method for producing the hand-stretched style dried noodles described in [9], without using salt. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain hand-stretched style dried noodles that do not require boiling and draining, while being salt-free or low-salt, having excellent workability in the manufacturing process, and having a good texture when boiled. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The present invention relates to hand-stretched, air-dried noodles containing wheat flour and potassium lactate, wherein the amount of potassium lactate is 1.6 to 6.2 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of wheat flour.

[0011] Potassium lactate In this invention, potassium lactate can be used in an amount of 1.6 to 6.2 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of wheat flour, preferably 2.5 to 5.7 parts by mass, and more preferably 3.5 to 4.5 parts by mass. Since potassium lactate has gluten astringency and water absorption properties similar to sodium chloride, it can be used in place of some or all of the sodium chloride in conventional hand-stretched dried noodles, and the workability of the manufacturing process and the texture of the boiled noodles can be maintained even if no sodium chloride is used or the sodium chloride is reduced. If the amount of potassium lactate is 1.6 parts by mass or more, sufficient gluten astringency and water absorption will occur, suppressing dough sagging, decreased noodle strand cohesion, and drying of the noodle strands during the noodle-making process. Furthermore, drying will not be too fast and will remain stable during the drying process. If the amount of potassium lactate is 6.2 parts by mass or less, extensibility will be maintained, noodle strands will not break easily, and yield and workability will be good. In addition, the taste will be good without the bitterness caused by potassium lactate. If no salt is used, it is even more preferable that the amount of potassium lactate be 1.9 parts by mass or more per 100 parts by mass of wheat flour.

[0012] flour The wheat flour used in this invention is not particularly limited as long as it is obtained by milling ordinary wheat by known methods. Examples of such wheat flours include extra-strong wheat flour, strong wheat flour, semi-strong wheat flour, medium-strength wheat flour, weak wheat flour, and wheat flours that are a mixture of two or more of these wheat flours. Preferably, wheat flour with a protein content of 8.5 to 13.0% by mass, more preferably 10 to 12% by mass, or wheat flour that has been mixed and prepared to have the above protein content is used. If the protein content of the wheat flour is 8.5% by mass or more, the noodles will have good cohesion, and if it is 13.0% by mass or less, the dough will maintain its extensibility.

[0013] salt In the hand-stretched, air-dried noodles of the present invention, the amount of salt can be reduced to the extent that boiling and draining is unnecessary, and it is also possible to use no salt at all. In the hand-stretched, air-dried noodles of the present invention, the salt content is preferably 1.5 parts by mass or less per 100 parts by mass of wheat flour, more preferably less than 1.5 parts by mass, even more preferably 1.0 part by mass or less, and even more preferably no salt at all.

[0014] If salt is included, it is preferable that the total amount of salt and potassium lactate is 1.9 parts by mass or more per 100 parts by mass of wheat flour. Furthermore, it is preferable that the amount of potassium lactate is 1 part by mass or more per 1 part by mass of salt.

[0015] Other ingredients (optional ingredients) In addition to the above ingredients, any ingredients commonly used as noodle-making raw materials can be used without particular limitations, including: grain flours other than wheat flour such as barley flour, rye flour, rice flour, and corn flour; starches such as tapioca starch, potato starch, wheat starch, and corn starch; modified starches obtained by chemical modification such as etherification, physical modification such as gelatinization, or enzymatic modification such as amylase treatment; fibrous materials such as indigestible starch, indigestible dextrin, and wheat bran powder; eggs and egg products such as whole eggs, egg white powder, and egg yolk powder; proteins such as soy protein and milk protein; sugars; inorganic salts; emulsifiers; preservatives; colorings; flavorings; vitamins; and nutritional fortifiers.

[0016] "Hand-stretched dried noodles" are defined in the Japanese Agricultural Standards for hand-stretched dried noodles as dried noodles obtained by adding saline water to wheat flour, kneading the mixture, then sequentially stretching the mixture into noodles while applying edible vegetable oil or starch and twisting, and drying the resulting noodles, which are produced by a method satisfying the standards specified for the blending ratio of saline water to wheat flour, manual processes and aging period. As a standard for manual processes, it is specified that all acts of stretching noodle strands from the secondary stretching process to the outdoor drying process are performed manually.

[0017] The hand-stretched style dried noodles of the present invention may be salt-free, and include not only those obtained by stretching noodle strands manually, but also those obtained by stretching with an apparatus. That is, as long as wheat flour and potassium lactate are used, the hand-stretched style dried noodles of the present invention may be produced according to the conventional standard method for hand-stretched dried noodles, and the stretching of noodle strands may be performed using, for example, the mechanical stretching method exemplified in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-68792. The production method of the present invention preferably includes a step of mixing potassium lactate and water to prepare kneading water, and a step of mixing the kneading water with wheat flour. Further, in the production method of the present invention, it is preferable not to use common salt.

[0018] The conventional standard method for producing hand-stretched dried noodles includes a board cutting step, an oil reprocessing step, a fine dividing step, a kneading step, a rolling step, a secondary stretching step, a subdividing step, an outdoor drying-drying step, a cutting step, and an aging step. Hereinafter, each step will be described with an example of producing hand-stretched thin noodles.

[0019] In the sheet cutting step, dough obtained by kneading raw materials and allowing the same to mature is cut into noodle sheets having a width of about 10 cm and a thickness of about 5 cm. A plurality of the noodle sheets are combined and passed through a roller to form one noodle sheet, and the operation of combining a plurality of such one noodle sheets to form one noodle sheet is repeated. In the oil-returning step, the obtained noodle sheet is passed through a roller, and twisted while being twisted to form a noodle cord having a diameter of about 20 mm. After the noodle cord is left to rest and matured for about 2 hours, in the thinning step, the noodle cord is twisted and thinned to a diameter of about 12 mm with a roller. After the thinned noodle cord is left to rest and matured for about 1 hour, in the kneading step, the noodle cord is further twisted and elongated to a diameter of about 6 mm.

[0020] After the elongated noodle cord is left to rest and matured for about 4 hours, in the drawing and wrapping step, using a drawing and wrapping machine, the noodle cord is twisted and hung on two tubes in a figure-8 pattern. After the noodle cord is placed in a box and matured for about 3 hours, in the secondary drawing step, the noodle cord is drawn to a length of about 50 cm while taking into consideration the degree of maturation progress, weather conditions, and the like. After the drawn noodle cord is placed in a box and matured for about 15 hours, in the dividing step, the noodle cord is taken out from the box and drawn to about 1.3 m.

[0021] In the hanging and drying step, the divided noodle cords (tubes) are attached to a drying rack (pre-attachment operation), the noodles attached to the drying rack are drawn to about 1.6 m (base drawing operation), and further gradually drawn from 1.6 m to 2 m (upper rack lifting operation), chopsticks are inserted into the noodles attached to the drying rack to separate the noodles evenly (manual separating operation), the drying rack is placed into a drying chamber to dry the noodles (drying rack guarding operation), and while the entire rack is dried uniformly, it is checked whether there are any abnormalities such as hanging noodles (drying operation).

[0022] In the cutting step, dried noodles obtained by drying the noodles to a moisture content of about 12% are cut into a length of 19 cm, and the cut noodles are checked. In the aging step, the cut dried noodles are packed into boxes and then stored in a warehouse.

[0023] Hand-stretched dried noodles, obtained by stretching the dough while twisting it in one direction, have a gluten network structure that is aligned along the length of the noodle, forming dense bundles. This results in a strong elasticity and a chewy texture. Furthermore, the surface is extremely smooth, making them easy to swallow. In contrast, noodles produced by applying pressure to the dough using a rolling machine have a more irregular gluten network structure and tiny voids on the surface, resulting in inferior elasticity and smoothness compared to hand-stretched dried noodles.

[0024] The present invention also relates to a mixed flour for hand-stretched air-dried noodles, comprising wheat flour and potassium lactate. The potassium lactate is present in an amount of 1.6 to 6.2 parts by mass, preferably 2.5 to 5.7 parts by mass, and more preferably 3.5 to 4.5 parts by mass, per 100 parts by mass of wheat flour. The salt content in the mixed flour is preferably 1.5 parts by mass or less, more preferably less than 1.5 parts by mass, even more preferably 1.0 part by mass or less, and even more preferably no salt at all, per 100 parts by mass of wheat flour. [Examples]

[0025] The present invention will be described in more detail below based on examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

[0026] Example 1: Manufacturing of hand-stretched dried noodles 100 parts by mass of wheat flour (manufactured by Nippon Flour Mills: Maru S, protein content 11% by mass) and 54.5 parts by mass of kneading water (6.5 parts by mass of salt dissolved in 48 parts by mass of water) were placed in a mixer and kneaded at atmospheric pressure at 10 rpm for 30 minutes to obtain dough. This dough was gathered together, shaped into a sheet, and hand-stretched somen noodles were obtained according to the standard method. The standard method includes the sheet cutting process, oiling process, finening process, kneading process, winding process, small-batch stretching process, small-batch division process, gate drying / drying process, cutting process, and resting process.

[0027] Example 2: Manufacturing of low-sodium, hand-stretched dried noodles The reduced-salt hand-stretched dried noodles of Reference Example 2 were manufactured in the same manner as Reference Example 1, except that the amount of salt used was reduced to 3.0 parts by mass and the amount of water was adjusted so that the dough hardness was similar to that of Reference Example 1.

[0028] Reference Example 3: Manufacturing of salt-free, hand-stretched somen noodles Except for not using salt and adjusting the amount of water so that the dough hardness was similar to that of Reference Example 1, Reference Example 3, a salt-free, hand-stretched dried noodle, was manufactured in the same manner as Reference Example 1. However, significant breakage of the noodle strands occurred during the dough stretching process, and it was not possible to obtain hand-stretched dried noodles.

[0029] Evaluation Example 1: Workability Evaluation Ten experienced panelists evaluated the following aspects of the dough according to the evaluation criteria in Table 1: dough cohesion during sheet formation, dough sagging throughout the manufacturing process, dough extensibility during the "hanging and rolling" and "small pulling" processes, and dough's drying resistance during the "hanging and drying" process. Reference Example 1 was scored 5 points, Reference Example 2 3 points, and Reference Example 3 (excluding "drying resistance") 1 point. Reference Example 3 had significantly poor workability and did not reach the hanging and drying process, so drying resistance could not be evaluated.

[0030] [Table 1]

[0031] Evaluation Example 2: Sensory Evaluation Hand-stretched dried noodles were placed in boiling water and boiled for 3 minutes, then rinsed with water and cooled for 30 seconds. Ten experienced panelists evaluated the noodles according to the evaluation criteria in Table 2. For "elasticity" and "smoothness," Reference Example 1 was scored 5 points, and Reference Example 2 was scored 3 points. For "bitterness," both Reference Examples 1 and 2, which did not use potassium lactate, were scored 5 points. Sensory evaluation could not be performed for Reference Example 3 because hand-stretched dried noodles could not be obtained.

[0032] [Table 2]

[0033] Table 3 shows the evaluation scores for the reference examples 1-3, which serve as the standard.

[0034] [Table 3]

[0035] Test Example 1: Examination of potassium lactate content Hand-stretched, air-dried noodles were manufactured according to Reference Example 1, except that the amount of sodium chloride and / or potassium lactate (Slack K: 50% potassium lactate solution, manufactured by Musashino Chemical Research Institute Co., Ltd.) listed in Table 4 was mixed with the kneading water, and evaluated according to Evaluation Examples 1 and 2. Since the potassium lactate used was an aqueous solution, the amount of water used to prepare the kneading water was adjusted (specifically, when 2 parts by mass of potassium lactate was indicated, the amount of water used in Reference Example 1 was reduced from 48 parts by mass to 46 parts by mass when preparing the kneading water by mixing 4 parts by mass of a 50% potassium lactate aqueous solution with water). The results are shown in Table 4 as the average scores of the 10 panelists.

[0036] [Table 4] The amounts of salt and potassium lactate are shown in parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of wheat flour. Since the concentration of Slack K is 50%, the amount of Slack K to add is twice the amount of potassium lactate shown in the table.

[0037] In Examples 1-6, which did not use salt, the scores for cohesiveness, dough sagging, and drying resistance improved with increasing potassium lactate content, and the extensibility was highest in Example 3, which contained 4.0 parts by mass of potassium lactate. On the other hand, the bitterness rating decreased with increasing potassium lactate content, but all were within acceptable limits. In Examples 7-9, which used a small amount of salt, the lower salt content was compensated for with an appropriate amount of potassium lactate, allowing each evaluation item to be brought within acceptable limits.

[0038] In Comparative Example 1, the low potassium lactate content resulted in unacceptable levels of cohesion, dough sagging, extensibility, and drying resistance. In Comparative Example 2, the high potassium lactate content led to poor extensibility, a tendency for frequent noodle breakage, and low yield and workability. Furthermore, sensory evaluation revealed a strong bitter taste, which was also unacceptable.

[0039] Test Example 2: Examination of whether or not boiling is necessary. The hand-stretched style dried noodles from Examples 1-9 and the hand-stretched style dried noodles from Reference Examples 1 and 2 were added to broth and boiled for 3 minutes. Ten experienced panelists evaluated the saltiness and bitterness (according to Evaluation Example 2). In Examples 1-9, there was no noticeable increase in saltiness or bitterness compared to the broth itself, or only a slight increase, which was within an acceptable range. In Reference Examples 1 and 2, the saltiness was too strong, making them unsuitable for consumption. From these results, it was found that boiling and draining the noodles is not necessarily required for the hand-stretched style dried noodles from Examples 1-9.

Claims

1. Hand-stretched dried noodles comprising wheat flour and potassium lactate, and possibly salt, wherein the amount of potassium lactate is 1.6 to 6.2 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of wheat flour, and the salt content is 1.5 parts by mass or less per 100 parts by mass of wheat flour.

2. The hand-stretched dried noodles according to claim 1, which do not contain salt.

3. A mixed flour for hand-stretched dried noodles, comprising wheat flour and potassium lactate, and possibly containing salt, wherein the amount of potassium lactate is 1.6 to 6.2 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of wheat flour, and the salt content is 1.5 parts by mass or less per 100 parts by mass of wheat flour.

4. A mixed flour for hand-stretched dried noodles according to claim 3, which does not contain salt.

5. A method for producing hand-stretched dried noodles using wheat flour and potassium lactate, and also using salt, wherein the amount of potassium lactate is 1.6 to 6.2 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of wheat flour, and the amount of salt used is 1.5 parts by mass or less per 100 parts by mass of wheat flour.

6. A method for producing hand-stretched dried noodles according to claim 5, comprising the steps of preparing kneading water by mixing potassium lactate and water, and mixing the kneading water with wheat flour.

7. A method for producing hand-stretched dried noodles according to claim 6, without using salt.

Images