JPS581894B2 - A method and apparatus for producing dried noodles having a structure in which the center of the cross section of the noodles is hollow or porous and the outer periphery is dense. - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is characterized in that the tomographic plane of the dried noodles has a special composition, that is, the center is hollow or porous and the outer periphery is dense. The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing dried noodles, the purpose of which is to obtain dried noodles characterized by good properties.

The origin of machine noodle making, which is now widely practiced in Japan, is
It was developed in the Meiji era, and has since been improved upon, mainly by combining a rolling roll and a cutting blade.

By the way, if you classify the commonly popular noodles based on their product shape, they can be classified into udon, somen, flat noodles, round noodles, hiyamugi, etc. Also, based on the raw materials, they can be classified into regular noodles, Chinese noodles, soba, macaroni, etc. Ru.

Depending on the manufacturing method, there are dried noodles, fresh noodles, boiled noodles, packaged noodles, steamed noodles, instant noodles, macaroni, spaghetti, etc.

Among these noodles, the higher the moisture content of the noodles, the better the heat conduction of the boiling water, resulting in the so-called quick boiling.

However, even in the case of raw noodles, the more moisture is added to the noodles, i.e., the more water is added during noodle making, the faster the boiling time will be, but the noodle strings will tend to stick to each other. Efforts are needed to do this.

As a solution to this problem, the present inventors previously invented five-layer noodles with different noodle texture structures. , disclosed technical ideas for obtaining effects such as adding a large amount of water to speed up the boiling of the center, and roughening the texture of the center layer to include an air layer to speed up hot water conduction. The company has filed an application for ``Method and device for manufacturing three-layer noodles with different noodle texture structures'' and has registered it as Patent No. 947736.

Now, the present inventor is a person who is immersed in various improvement studies of noodles, and the purpose of the present invention is particularly related to quick boiling of dried noodles and improvement of taste.

Dried noodles, typically typified by somen and hiyamugi, are said to have a better flavor than hand-made noodles or fresh noodles.

However, thick, thick dried noodles generally require more time to boil than fresh noodles, and inevitably have a chewy texture with no viscoelasticity.

Possible causes include the amount of water added, the quality of the noodles, etc.

The present inventor used wheat flour of the same quality, and by a known method,
Prototypes of hand-made udon, machine-made udon, and machine-made dried noodles were made.
As a result of measuring the amount of water added, the hardness of the noodle quality, the boiling time, etc., the values shown in Table 1 below were obtained.

Next, I will try to explain this number: 1) Regarding the amount of water added.

Hand-made udon has a relatively high water content (around 45%) because the noodle dough is stretched by hand, but machine-made udon has a relatively high water content (around 45%).
% to 38%, and 30% to 35% for dried noodles (revised version, wheat flour).

Published by Japan Wheat Research Society. 690 pages. A. (See section on amount of water added)
.

2) Regarding the surface hardness of noodles.

Hand-made udon has the highest amount of water added, so the hardness of raw noodles is lower than machine-made udon, and dry noodles are dried due to the nature of the product, so they have the highest hardness value. Of course.

3) Boil time.

The boiling time varies greatly depending on the amount of water added, the water content of the noodles, and the surface hardness of the noodles. Hand-made udon noodles take 8 minutes, machine-made udon takes 11 minutes, and dried noodles take 20 minutes depending on their noodle body composition and water content.
It took many minutes.

Therefore, since the moisture content of dried noodles must be kept below 14% for storage purposes, the inventors changed the structure of the dried noodles to achieve a boiling time similar to that of fresh udon (target).

The present invention was obtained as a result of various research and experiments on a method for producing dried noodles that can be cooked in half the time of dried noodles (about 10 minutes).

They succeeded in changing the cross-sectional texture of the noodles, in other words, making the outer periphery of the noodles denser while the center was hollow or rough.

As a result, hot water penetrates quickly into the center of the noodles, allowing them to be cooked in about 1/2 the time compared to conventional dry noodles. He achieved a great economical invention that allowed him to enjoy delicious ``udon noodles'' with the shape of a drum.

Next, to explain this manufacturing method in detail, first, the noodles are made by adding 40% to 52% water to wheat flour, which is more than 40% more than the conventional dry noodle manufacturing method (the amount of water added is usually 32%). The noodle strings cut out with a cutting blade by a known method are stacked with Shino bamboo, etc., and then during the initial drying process, the noodle strings are exposed to strong wind power.
By applying mechanical vibration, which is used in combination as necessary, to the hanging noodle strings, they are given a pendulum-like circular motion in the circumferential direction and a twiddling motion (a motion similar to shaking by hand) at high speed.
Due to the centrifugal force, the center of the noodle tissue is pushed toward the outer periphery of the noodle body, much like a passenger in a car making a sharp turn is swung outwards (due to the principle of centrifugal force), and the noodle tissue becomes in close contact with the center of the noodle body. On the other hand, if the movement to form a slight hollow in the center was performed during the drying process, we obtained an experiment in which the center of the noodle strings became rough and the outer periphery became dense. be.

Therefore, to explain in relation to the drawings, Fig. 1a shows an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of the noodle strings immediately after being cut out from the noodle making machine, and Fig. 1b shows the noodle strings suspended on bamboo or the like. Figure c shows a stage in which the noodle strips M start from rest and move in a circular motion, and when the circular motion in b is applied to the noodle strings M, the center becomes hollow and porous as shown in the direction of the arrow. That's what happens.

Figure 2a is a micrograph of a cross section of the noodles with the center hollow or porous by implementing the present invention, and Figure 2b is a micrograph of a cross section of dried noodles produced by the conventional method. It shows.

In this case, it is particularly important to note that if the amount of water added is less than 35%, as is the case with ordinary dried noodles, the center will not become hollow, but if the amount of water added is 40% or more, centrifugal It was discovered that the energy was increased and the center of the noodles was properly hollowed out.

Therefore, adding 50% water naturally makes the mass heavier than adding 40% water, resulting in more cavities or porosity, resulting in dry noodles that are boiled faster.

On the other hand, it was found through experiments that if the amount of water added is less than 40%, the effect is not so great, and if the amount of water added is less than 35%, which is the amount of water added to known dried noodles, no effect can be exerted at all (see the micrograph in Figure 3). .

Figure a shows the case where the amount of water added is 35%, and figure b shows the same 47%.
In this case, figure c also shows the case of 50%).

Now, as mentioned earlier, the reason why the center of the noodles becomes hollow is due to centrifugal force and sagging, but there is also another reason why the cross section of the noodles becomes porous: 4
In the process of drying raw noodles into dry noodles, moisture particles evaporate and their traces are left behind, leading to minute porosity. observed in various experiments.

FIG. 4 shows an animation of the process in which the water particles W1 and W2 evaporate and minute cavities P1 and P2 are generated in their wake.

(Figure 4 a represents the case where the amount of water added is 30%, and figure b represents the case where the amount of water added is 50%. In the figure,
Dotted arrow indicates drying D).

In this way, the present invention brings about the phenomenon of faster boiling due to the synergistic effect of the cavitation caused by the centrifugal force and the sagging effect, and the porosity caused by the addition of a large amount of water.

Therefore, in carrying out the present invention, it is preferable that the amount of water added is approximately 40% to 52% based on the weight of wheat flour.

However, when using highly hydrated noodles with a normal salt concentration and an amount of water added of 40% or more, the noodles tend to sag, and there is a risk that the noodles will fall while being hung vertically to dry.

Therefore, as a result of experiments with various salt concentrations in the kneading water, we found that the salinity was 5.5% or more, which is higher than the salt concentration in general practice (2 to 4%) (see Table 5.3.14 on page 691 of the above-mentioned book "Wheat Flour"). (In other words, when water is added to 46%, the salt concentration used is 12%.

) If you use kneading water with a high salt content, the astringent action of the salt will stop the elongation of the noodles, and even if the noodles are made with a lot of water, they will stop falling and elongating, so around 15% is most suitable. I found out that there is.

In addition, the above-mentioned book (“Wheat Flour”, 2 lines from the bottom of page 690 to 69
As shown in page 1, line 15), if the amount is excessive, it will reduce the binding strength of the dough and make the noodles brittle, but the water content is 40%.
When making noodles using the above method, the amount of gluten formed increases, the dough has high fluidity, and excessive force is not applied to the dough during the rolling operation, so mechanical destruction of the network structure is avoided, resulting in quality of noodle dough. had a positive impact.

However, if you increase the amount of water added, the dough will become more sticky, and if you mix the dough with a regular mixer, it will form a large lump.
The third invention of the present invention solves this problem since it becomes extremely difficult to form noodle sheets in the next step.

This will be explained in detail later. Therefore, in carrying out the present invention, it is essential to mix wheat flour with a salt solution with a high concentration of 12% or more when adding a large amount of water.

Now, next, to explain the second invention in detail, as mentioned above, if only salt is used, as is conventionally known, in order to increase the soaking rate to 12% or more, the noodles will have a high salt concentration.
In the case of cold zaru udon, which is soaked in a large amount of cold water after boiling, it has a very faint salty taste and a very good texture.
As seen in many panels, stewed udon has been highly evaluated for its taste, which is superior to conventional dried noodles, but as shown in Table 2 below, in the case of stewed udon, Salt is eluted into the broth, making it salty and reducing the taste of the noodle soup.

Therefore, the present inventors have investigated the salinity of not only conventionally known table salt, but also, for example, by mixing sodium glutamate and liponucleic acid seasoning in salt water, and by mixing colorless soy sauce such as honjozo white soy sauce. As a result of using the same ingredients and replacing them, the salinity concentration is the same as that of the first invention described above, so it is possible to prevent the noodles from falling and elongating during the drying process, and the seasoning can be added to the boiling water. Since the liquid is eluted, for example, in the case of stewed udon noodles, the second invention allows the noodles to be boiled and served as a meal without adding any seasoning sauce.

Adding an explanation to Table 2 above, (A) is produced by a known method for producing dried noodles, and is produced in Example 1 described below, and (B) is produced by a known method for producing dried noodles, and (B) is produced in Example 2, which is described later. ) The dry noodles of the second invention are described in detail in Example 3 below.

The finished dimensions of all three noodles are 2.5mm wide x 1.6mm thick.
However, the boiling time for the conventional method (a) was the longest at 20 minutes, and the boiling time for both methods (b) and (c) according to the present invention was reduced to less than half that of the conventional method.

To evaluate the texture, wash the boiled noodles with water and place them in a colander.
When eaten with so-called cold zaru udon, all the panelists gave (B) and (C) the best taste, but all the panelists gave the conventional method dried noodles (B) a low C rating.

Next, for the stewed udon, (B) was salty and had the same score as (B), but the dried noodles of the second invention (C) had a mellow flavor made from the fermented white soy sauce added to the noodles. The flavor matched well with the dipping sauce, and all the panelists gave it a perfect score of A.

As for the kettle-cooked udon, the dried noodles of the second invention achieved the best results.

Next, the third invention, a dry noodle manufacturing apparatus, will be described in detail.

Generally known mixers for noodle making are horizontal type (horizontal shaft).
There are currently three types of mixers on the market: , vertical type (vertical shaft type), and kneading type mixer.

However, such a mixer usually has a limit of adding 35% water, and if the amount of water added is 40% or more as in the method of the present invention, the power load becomes excessive and the noodle dough becomes large dumpling-shaped. This prevents the dough from being fed to the noodle rolls.

The inventor of the present invention solved this problem by developing a special high-speed beater mixer having a structure as shown in FIG.

First, the mechanism will be explained with reference to Fig. 5. 1 is an electric motor, 2 is a cylindrical outer cylinder, 3 is a rotating beater with twisted wings, 4 is a rotating shaft, 5 is a bearing, 6 is a flour inlet, and 7 is a water mixing inlet. , 8 is an outlet of the kneaded dough, and 9 is a coupling (shaft joint).

The rotating shaft 4 is connected to one electric motor through a coupling 9, and is given rotation of 1460 R/M, which is the same speed as the electric motor.

A rotary beater with torsion blades that can be fed and set on the rotating shaft 4 has a diameter of 1 mm on the inner diameter of the cylindrical outer cylinder 2.
They are close to each other with a slight gap.

On the other hand, a flour inlet 6 and a water-mixing inlet 7 are installed on the inlet side of this high-speed beater mixer, and an outlet 8 for the minced dough produced by this mixer is installed on the outlet side.

Now, flour that has passed through an auto feeder (continuous quantitative feeder) is supplied to the flour inlet 6 of this machine at a flow rate of 625 kg/H as in Example 2, which will be described later.

At the same time, 15% salt water with a water addition rate of 50%, that is, 312.5 l/H, is supplied to the machine from the water mixing inlet 7 via a quantitative feed pump.

3 is a stirring blade having a twist angle with respect to the rotating shaft of 4, and the flour and soaked water supplied from 6 and 7 are stirred at a high speed by this beater, and a small amount of the flour and water flowing in the direction of the exit 8 is stirred at a high speed by this beater. Over time, the atomized water is attached to each tiny grain of flour (dusted flour), and unlike traditional mixers, the noodle dough does not form into lumps, but each grain of flour. A state in which each noodle is well-watered (the most ideal state for producing noodle dough).

), and it becomes like a minute crumb-like dough, which is discharged from the outlet 8 and supplied to the next noodle sheet compound machine.

Now, the noodle dough produced in this way can easily be
The noodle strips are supplied to the noodle strip composite machine 11 shown in the figure, and a noodle strip with a high amount of added water is generated.

Next, the noodles are rolled out to the required thickness using 12 noodle-making rolls, but due to the large amount of water added, gluten can be formed quickly, and the dough is rolled out (tamedori process) as in the conventional method. It is also a feature of the third invention that there is no need for a noodle pressure roll machine to have multiple stages as in the general case, and that the best noodle sheet can be obtained with only 2 to 3 stages of roll rolling pressure. .

Next, the noodle strings M cut to the required number through a cutting blade roll 13 are passed through a hanger 15, hung vertically on a Shinotake 16, and transferred to a drying chamber 18 by a chain-type transfer device 17. Migrate within.

The structure and drying method of the drying chamber are not directly related to the present invention, so a detailed description will be omitted, but the drying chamber is divided into three chambers.
The first drying room is equipped with hot air (
Dry air) is released from the top of the room through ducts at several locations, while air that has become humid due to the release of water from the raw noodles is discharged using an exhaust fan installed on the floor with the same capacity as the hot air discharge volume. In addition, in the second drying room, an air conditioner that can control air is used to maintain the temperature at 25-30℃ and humidity at 70-80%, and the air is heated, humidified, cooled, and dehumidified, and dried with controlled air. The same system as in the second drying room is used in the third drying room to maintain the final moisture content of 13.
The facility is designed to produce 0% dry noodles.

Now, the ceiling fan 19 is hung vertically on the Shinotake 16 and is blown downward from the ceiling by the chain-type transfer device 17 during the transfer of the drying room, as well as the side of the noodle strings attached as necessary. The noodle strings M are suspended vertically on Shinotake by a chain transfer device designed to be able to advance straight or intermittently while being blown by a cross-wind fan 20 blown from the side and a wind 21 optionally added from an oblique direction.
The central part of the noodle string becomes hollow due to the circular motion as shown in the animation of b in FIG. 1, and the circular motion and sagging motion of the noodle string shown at 22 in FIG.
The drying room is moved, and in the process the noodles begin to dry.
The desired dry noodles were successfully obtained by drying and solidifying the noodles with a hollow or porous center.

By using the method and apparatus for producing dried noodles as described above, the inventor has succeeded in solving the conventional drawbacks of dried noodles, such as the long boiling time and the chewy texture that is far from hand-made udon.

In addition, the continuous kneading device with a high-speed beater of the present invention makes it possible to supply noodle dough with 40% or more water added to the noodle machine. By feeding the noodles, the center of the noodles becomes hollow or porous, which allows them to be cooked in half the boiling time of conventional dry noodles, and the center of the noodles is quickly immersed in boiling water. Because the noodles are boiled, they do not have the chewy texture of traditional methods, but instead have a fluffy surface that does not fall apart during boiling, and we have succeeded in producing delicious dried noodles with sharp edges that resemble handmade udon in the shape of a drum. It is something.

In particular, the dried noodles obtained by the present invention can withstand permanent storage without requiring any additives such as synthetic preservatives, and are economical and have great hygienic effects as they can provide delicious noodles in a short time.

Example 1 An example of noodles made by a known manufacturing method.

First-class wheat flour for noodles made mainly from Uchimugi (“Hand-made Noren-in”)
Trademark)'', Applicant's product) 4 bags (100 kg) were mixed with 32 kg (32 kg) of water with a salt content of 7% using a super mixer manufactured by Suzuki Menko.
2% water added) for 20 minutes, and then the noodle dough was
The noodles were passed through a noodle-making roll and made into noodle strings using a cutter roll with a size of 10, hung vertically on Shinotake, and left in a drying room for 8 hours to obtain dried noodles (A) with a moisture content of 13.5%.

Example 2 Table-2.

Example of obtaining dried noodles with symbol (b). Referring to the process diagram in Figure 6, the same flour K as in Example 1 was prepared by Taisei Kogyo (
Co., Ltd., and fed it to a high-speed beater mixer 31 developed by the present inventor at a flow rate of 625 kg/H per hour, while the salinity concentration was 15.
The mixing tank 32 is filled with mixing water adjusted to Baume, and the mixing water is fed to the flour at a rate of 50
%, that is, a flow rate of 312.5 l/H, was continuously supplied to the high-speed beater mixer 31.

Since the high-speed beater mixer rotates at a high speed of 1460 R/M, the flour is turned into dust, while the water being mixed becomes a powder mist, and each minute grain of flour is covered with atomized water. As in Example 1, the noodle dough does not become lumpy, but when each grain of flour has been thoroughly watered, it becomes a very small, crumbly dough and the noodle sheet composite machine 11 could be easily supplied.

The noodle strips m produced by the noodle strip composite machine 11 are passed through the noodle strip supply conveyor 14, passed through the two-stage noodle-making roll 12, and then delivered to the cutting blade roll 13 with a width of 2.6 mm and a thickness of 1.7 mm. Raw noodles M were obtained.

Next, it was hung vertically on the Shinotake 16 of the hanger 15 and transferred into the drying chamber 18 using the chain type transfer device 17.

The drying method is divided into three chambers under the conditions described above.

In addition, the chain-type transition device 17 advances while repeating straight forward movement, stopping, and straight forward movement via intermittent cams as necessary.
Due to this intermittent progress, the vertical wind 19 from above the noodle strings, and the vortex air flow 20 from the side, the noodle strings move circularly as shown in 22 in a ring coil shape, and the noodle strings M The drying process progresses while continuing the sagging motion caused by vibration.
Dry noodles of the first invention with a moisture content of 13.5% (Table 2).

The one with symbol (b)) was obtained.

Example 3 Table-2.

Example of obtaining dried noodles with symbol (c). Referring to the process diagram in FIG. 6, flour K similar to that in Example 1 was put into an auto feeder 30 and fed to a high-speed beater mixer 31 at a flow rate of 625 kg/H per hour. A water mixing tank 32 is filled with water made by diluting Honjozo white soy sauce manufactured by Co., Ltd. to a salt concentration of 15%. .5l/H flow rate, high speed beater mixer 3
1 was continuously supplied.

Since the high-speed beater mixer rotates at a high speed of 1460 R/M as in Example 2, the flour is turned into dust, while the water being mixed becomes a powder mist, and the flour is broken down into minute grains of flour. The mist-like water adhering to the noodles did not form lump-like noodle dough as in Example 1, but as in Example 2, each grain of flour was thoroughly watered, as if it were minute.
The dough became crumbly and could be easily fed to 11 noodle sheet multifunction machines.

The noodle sheet m produced in step 11 passes through a noodle sheet supply conveyor 14 and a noodle-making roll 12 to a cutting blade roll 13 with a size of 10.
Thus, raw noodles M having a width of 2.6 mm and a thickness of 1.7 mm were obtained.

Next, it passed through a hanging machine 15, was hung vertically on a Shinotake 16, and was transferred into a drying room 18 using a chain-type transfer device 17.

The drying method and the circular force applied to the noodles are the same as in Example 2 described above.

The system for giving circular motion and sagging motion to the noodle strings in the drying room is omitted as it is described in detail in Example 2 and in the text, but since the salt concentration is the same as in Example 2, a large amount of water was added Despite the noodle production, the noodles do not elongate, the center of the noodle is hollow, and the moisture content of the porous structure is 13.5% (Table 2).

The one with symbol (c) was obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1 Noodles made by adding 12% or more of highly concentrated salt water to wheat flour at a ratio of 40% or more to the weight of the flour, and then hanging vertically on Shinotake etc. During the initial drying process,
A method for producing dried noodles having a tissue structure in which the center of the cross section of the noodle is hollow or porous and the outer periphery is dense, characterized in that the noodle strings perform circular motion and sagging motion by applying wind force and vibration. . 2. Manufactured by adding honjozo white soy sauce or macerated water containing seasoning base materials such as monosodium glutamate and liponucleic acid with a salt concentration of 12% or more to wheat flour at a ratio of 40% or more to the weight of the flour. The central part of the cross-section of noodles, characterized in that the noodle strings suspended vertically on Shino bamboo, etc., undergo circular motion and sagging motion by applying wind force and vibration during the initial drying process. A method for producing dry noodles that have a hollow or porous structure and a dense outer periphery. 3 Equipped with a high-speed beater mixer in which a large number of twisted blades are arranged in parallel in a horizontal cylinder, and connected to a continuous quantitative feeder for flour to a water mixing tank with a quantitative feed pump attached to the inlet side of the high-speed beater mixer. At the same time, on the exit side of the high-speed beater mixer, a noodle sheet compound machine, a roll rolling machine, and a cutting blade roll for forming the noodle dough obtained by the noodle sheet compound machine into a large number of noodle strings are installed. , a drying chamber, and the drying chamber includes a transfer device for vertically transferring the noodle strings, and a vortex airflow generator capable of imparting circular motion and sagging motion to the noodle strings at the beginning of the drying process. The center of the cross section of the noodle is hollow or porous,
A dry noodle manufacturing device having a tissue structure with a dense outer periphery.