Instant noodles can be produced either by boiling and drying or by steaming and frying. Fried instant noodles have literally exploded in popularity since the mid 1970s. Instant noodles have become the most popular form of noodle in Japan. The product is popular because it is convenient and can be stored for several months. There are two common forms:
- Square or round noodles blocks, which are sold in bags or packet
- Cup noodles, which are sold in cups.
The noodles are accompanied by a soup base (in sachet), which is separately packaged.
The term instant is a little misleading because the product must be cooked or reheated prior to consumption. The noodle blocks sold in bags usually are cooked in boiling water for three to four minutes prior to serving.The cup noodles are marketed as a convenient snack food and are ready for eating one to three minutes after pouring hot water into the cup. The cup noodle strands usually are thinner and less densely packed than noodle block to facilitate rapid hydration.
The formulation of fried noodle includes salt (1.5 – 2%), and usually a small amount of alkaline salt (about 10% of salt), although some high quality products are produced without alkaline. After pressing through the cutter, the noodle dough is continually fed into traveling net conveyor that moves slowly than the cutting rolls above it.
The speed differential between the noodle strands and the net conveyor imparts a wave to the strands. The waving procedure improves strand separation and makes steaming more efficient. The wave noodle strands proceeds through a steam tunnel, where they are steamed at 150 – 250 kPa for varying lengths of time (100 – 240 seconds), depending on noodle quality.
Following steaming, starch gelatinization is about 80% complete. The steamed immediately cooled by fans and extended to separate the strands. The noodles are then cut to a predetermine length, folded back to form a double layer and placed in individually in square basket for noodle blocks or round baskets for cup noodles. The noodles baskets travel to a tunnels fryer where they are immerse in hot oil and deep fried at 140 – 150 degree C for about 1 – 1.5 minutes.
Palm oil is the most popular oil for instant noodles. In the frying process, excess water is removed, oil is incorporated into the noodles, and more starch gelatinization occurs. Then noodles come out of the fryer at over 140 degree C. The noodles are drained and cooled immediately to room temperature by passing through a cooling tunnel to prevent oil oxidation.
The final product has an average oil content of 20% (range about 18 – 26%) and a moisture content of less than 10%. In the final stage of processing, the cooled noodles and the accompanying soup base packet are automatically packaged into a bag or cup.
Processing of Instant Noodles
