Fried Instant Noodle Production Line: The Secrets Behind Perfect Texture and Taste

Instant food products like fried instant noodles with its special crisping taste and convenient consumption style are enjoyed by more and more people. Nevertheless, to supply instant noodles which have good flavor and taste at fried instant noodles, people should control each join of production line cautiously, drawing on experience and optimizing. The paper will focus on the main factors affecting the quality of instant noodles in the production line of fried noodles, and analyze the process principle of fried noodles, in order to help the industry.

How to do it: Short the founfation of the taste

1.1 Flour type and its ratio: The flour is a main raw material for the production of instant noodles. The quality of flour directly affects the property of dough, thus affecting the quality of final product. Generally, according to the actual needs of the ratio, select the medium gluten high gluten flour. The high gluten flour has a very high protein content, which is conducive to producing viscous high gluten, making the noodles body elasticity a little better, and chewability; Medium flour noodles more soft. Moreover, strict control of flour freshness and ash content is also required because they are key factors for maintaining the stable quality of the dough.

1.2 Control of the amount of water added and mixing process of dough: The amount of water added is one of the key parameters for controlling the physical characteristics of dough. Water added too small, gluten can not be fully absorbed expansion, dough will be hard, elasticity is not enough; Too much water is added, it is easy to form dough too sticky and difficult to handle. The absolute value of added water should be amended based on flour water absorption rate, environment temperature and humidity. The formation of gluten network is directly influenced by mixing speed, time and method. Generally, we employ segmented mixing. Low speed mixing can encourage the quick combination of flour and water in the early stage, while high speed mixing in the later stage can encourage the full expansion of gluten protein to finally form a uniform delicate dough with good elasticity. Vacuum and dough technology can fully remove the air bubbles in the dough, and enhance the density and stability of the dough.

Calender and cut: Cutting and shaping the structure of the noodles

2.1 Optimization of calendering process: The function of calendering is to successively press good dough into thin sheets and form a uniform gluten network. If necessary, multi-channel calendering can be used to gradually reduce the roll gap and gradually reduce the thickness of the sheet to improve the orientation and strength of gluten. The quality of the surface is directly affected by the surface finish, parallelism and pressure control of the calender roll.

2.2 Control of strip cutting process: The strip cutting is mainly to cut the rolled sheet into a certain specification of noodle strip. Cutters, their sharpness and the speed with which they operate are essential. The sharp knife makes slicing through the noodle easy and avoids the rough edges and breakage. When the noodles are cut into strips, they should be relax to release the internal stress of the noodles and make the noodles more stable in the follow-up process.

Braising and frying: This is where the actual flavor is developed

3.1 Controlling cooking conditions: Cooking serves the purpose of fully gelatinizing the starch in the noodles, allowing the noodles to be soft, glutinous and certain elongation. The three parameters are cooking time, temperature and humidity. If cooking time is too short, the inside of the noodles will fail to reach the appropriate expansion state and taste, If cooking time is too long, it is easy to cause excessive expansion and lose elasticity. The rapid cooling of noodles is crucial to avoid over-gelatinization and adhesion.

3.2 Constraints of Frying Temperature and Time: Frying is the biggest process in the production of fried instant noodles, which gives noodles unique crispy taste and golden color. If the frying temperature is too high, it is easy to cause the surface of the noodles to be burnt, and the inside is dry; If the frying temperature is too low, it is easy to cause the noodles to absorb too much oil, and the taste is greasy. Guide the best frying temperature is affected by the water content of the noodles, the different oil type and the equipment performance. Short frying time, the noodles can not be crisp; Long frying time, easy to cause the noodles too dry, dry and hard. The quality of the frying oil is also very important. Edible oil with high temperature resistance and good oxidation resistance should be selected, and the frying oil should be replaced frequently, so that the product can be guaranteed in terms of quality and safety.

Cooling and packaging: ensure the quality of products

4.1.9 PCM use in pancake frying process: High temperatures of pancake after frying and necessity of cooling pancake by food-grade PCM. Prevent/reduce microbial growth and oil oxidation. It is typically air cooled or vacuum cooled. Cooling time should be moderate as too rapid cooling can cause excessive dryness of the pastry.

4.2 Packaging materials selection and sealing: The selection of packaging materials plays an important role in the shelf life of the fried instant noodles. The oil packaging material should have good resistance to oxygen, water and light, which should be selected to avoid oxidative rancidity, moisture absorption and spoilage of the oil. The packaging process must be enclosed, so that outside air and microorganisms cannot enter the package, which can improve the shelf life of the product. Further oxygen depletion with vacuum packaging or nitrogen-filled packaging can inhibit oxidation deterioration in the package and prolong useful shelf life.

Introduction: The production process of fried instant noodles contains a lot of links, every link has a significant influence on the quality and taste of the product. By conducting detailed research and optimizing every link, the quality and taste of products can be effectively improved to meet the growing needs of consumers. We also look forward the research development of new deep-frying technologies, the development of nutritional enhancement and functional instant noodles and green production processes.