JP5864947B2 - Frozen noodle mass with little heating unevenness by microwave oven - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a frozen noodle mass. More specifically, the present invention relates to the shape of a frozen noodle mass suitable for thawing cooking by a microwave oven. The present invention is useful in the field of food production.

  The freezing of food is performed for the purpose of maintaining freshness and deliciousness, preventing spoilage, and allowing storage for a long period of time. The most popular product of frozen udon noodle strips is to cook in a pot in a pan when eating, but if it can be thawed with a microwave oven, it will be easier and shorter to eat It is preferable at the point which can be made.

  Examples of examining the shape of the frozen noodle mass from the viewpoint of thawing and restoring properties include the following. Patent Document 1 relates to frozen strawberry noodles suitable for performing thawing and restoration in a microwave oven, and provides frozen strawberry noodles having a concave cavity in a noodle mass. In a preferred embodiment here, the frozen potato noodles have a concave cavity with a cavity ratio of 10 to 50%. In the examples, it is described that restoration unevenness was observed at a cavity ratio of 5%. Further, Patent Document 2 proposes a frozen rice cake noodle mass characterized by being a shaped body having grooves on the upper surface and / or the lower surface, with the object of providing frozen rice cake noodles excellent in thawing and restoring properties. This shaped frozen frozen noodle mass is described as being suitable for thawing and restoring by natural thawing.

JP 61-124349 JP 7-203887

  When thawing frozen noodle mass in a microwave oven, from the viewpoint of killing bacteria that cause general food poisoning, the noodle mass should be processed until the center temperature of the noodle mass reaches 75 ° C. , There are places where it is difficult to raise the temperature depending on microwave cooking (cold spot), but the temperature rises relatively quickly, resulting in overheating, and the noodle mass as a whole may have uneven heating. .

  In addition, the conventional methods for examining the shape of the noodle mass from the viewpoint of thawing and restoring properties all provide relatively large indentations in the noodle mass, so that the noodle mass becomes bulky as a whole and is not compact as a product. There's a problem.

  According to the study by the present inventors, it was found that the cold spot always occurs at substantially the same position due to the shape of the frozen noodle mass. The present inventors specify the position of the cold spot that can occur in the frozen noodle mass that is a rectangular parallelepiped, and by making a depression in the noodle mass aiming at the position, heating without greatly changing the volume of the whole noodle mass The inventors have found that unevenness can be suppressed and completed the present invention.

The present invention provides the following.
[1] A frozen noodle mass having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape formed by freezing a noodle mass composed of a certain amount of cooked noodles,
Having two indentations on either the top or bottom surface of the noodle mass;
The ratio of the sum of the volume of the two depressions to the noodle mass volume (spatial ratio) is 2% or more and less than 30%; the ratio of the depth of the cut hollow to the thickness of the noodle mass (depth ratio) is 30 to 100 %, Frozen noodle mass.
[2] The frozen noodle mass according to [1], wherein each indentation exists in the center when the surface is divided into two equal parts by a line parallel to the short side.
[3] The frozen noodle mass according to [1] or [2], wherein the space ratio is 3% or more and less than 10%.
[4] The frozen noodle mass according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the depth ratio is 30 to 65%.
[5] The ratio according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the ratio of the sum of the areas of the entrance cross sections of the two indentations to the area of the top surface or the bottom surface (indentation area occupation ratio) is 5% or more Frozen noodle chunks.
[6] A method for reducing temperature unevenness of a frozen noodle mass obtained by freezing a noodle mass composed of a certain amount of cooked noodles upon thawing a microwave oven, wherein the shape of the frozen noodle mass is ,
A substantially rectangular parallelepiped,
Provide two indentations on either the top or bottom surface;
A method wherein the porosity is 2% or more and less than 30%; and the depth ratio is 30 to 100%.

  According to the present invention, since the uneven heating of the frozen noodle mass by the microwave oven is suppressed, the frozen noodle mass is heated at a central temperature of 75 ° C., which is said to be effective against common food poisoning bacteria, for 1 minute or more. In this case, the taste as noodles is not impaired.

  According to the present invention, in order to provide a hollow in the frozen noodle mass where the temperature rise by the microwave oven is slow, the volume of the hollow can be relatively small, without increasing the volume of the whole noodle mass more than necessary, It can be made compact.

  The shape of the frozen noodle mass of the present invention can be achieved by providing a necessary convex portion on the bottom surface of an existing tray, and can be implemented without greatly changing the current manufacturing process.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the frozen noodle mass according to the present invention (in which a cylindrical recess is provided on the top surface of the noodle mass). A line that bisects the bottom with a line parallel to the short side, two circles represent the indentation. FIG. 2 is a plan view of an embodiment of the frozen noodle mass according to the present invention (in which a prismatic depression is provided on the top surface of the noodle mass).

[shape]
The shape of the frozen noodle mass of the present invention has the following characteristics.
(1) It is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped.
(2) It has two indentations on either the top or bottom surface. Each indentation is preferably present at the center when the surface is divided into two equal parts by a line parallel to the short side.
(3) The ratio (spatial ratio) of the sum of the volumes of the two indentations to the noodle mass volume is 2% or more and less than 30%.
(4) The ratio of the depth of the depression to the thickness of the noodle mass (depth ratio) is 30 to 100%.
(5) The shape of the recess may be a quadrangular column, a cylinder, or an elliptical column.

Rectangular:
Regarding the shape of the noodle mass in the present invention, when referred to as a rectangular parallelepiped, it refers to the case where the shape of the whole noodle mass is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped, without considering the hollow portion, as described below, unless otherwise specified. This is intended to exclude the case where the shape is a square pillar or a cylinder. The tray for freezing the noodle mass may have a slight taper so that the noodle mass can be easily put in and out, but the approximate rectangular parallelepiped here has a difference in the length of the top and bottom sides. Is within a few percent (eg within 5%).

  In the present invention, the term “noodle mass composed of noodles” refers to a mass of noodles (sometimes referred to as noodle strings), unless otherwise specified. The noodle mass may be frozen and molded. The noodle mass usually has a certain amount of voids between the noodles and the noodle so that it can be compressed to some extent if it is not frozen.

When referring to the volume (volume) of the noodle mass in the present invention, it means the volume including the gap between the noodles and the noodles, and is different from the volume of the noodles themselves. Specifically, the noodle mass volume is defined as the volume of the rectangular parallelepiped assuming the smallest rectangular solid including the entire noodle mass. For example, the noodle mass volume when the noodle mass is just included in 100 mm × 100 mm × 20 mm is calculated as 200 cm ³ .

  In the present invention, “heat-cooked” means that the raw noodles are cooked until they can be eaten, unless otherwise specified. As an example of cooking, boil and steam can be listed. Those skilled in the art can appropriately determine the cooking conditions according to the type of noodles with reference to the normal cooking conditions. After cooking, if necessary, hot water draining, washing with water, cooling and the like can be performed.

  The size of the rectangular parallelepiped as the shape of the frozen noodle mass of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is a size that can be thawed with a microwave oven. Frozen noodles are generally cooked by boiling with boiling water, and as a tool at that time, a pot is used at home, and a cooking facility in the restaurant industry is called “tebo” for business use. Is often used. Therefore, the existing frozen noodle mass may be designed as a size that can be directly put into these cooking utensils. However, in the case of the present invention, there is no such limitation.

  The overall size of the rectangular parallelepiped in the present invention can be expressed as the amount of cooked noodles constituting the noodle mass. The lower limit of the amount of noodles is not particularly limited, but can be, for example, 30 g, 50 g, or 80 g. The upper limit can also be varied, for example, 1000 g, 500 g, and 300 g. An example of the noodle amount range is 100 g to 300 g in terms of weight. Typically, it is about 200 g.

  In the frozen noodle mass of the present invention, when the noodle amount is 100 to 300 g, the top surface or the bottom surface of the noodle mass (the widest surface among the rectangular parallelepiped surfaces. Hereinafter, the bottom surface will be described with respect to the size of the noodle mass. Except where specifically noted, the description also applies to the top surface.) One side can be 50-210 mm.

  When the amount of noodles is large, it may be preferable that the noodle mass is not made high (thickness) but is formed into a plate shape. The height of the noodle mass is, for example, 35 mm or less, preferably 33 mm or less, more preferably 31 mm or less.

  Regardless of the amount of noodles, the shape of the frozen noodle mass of the present invention is such that, at the bottom, when the length of the short side is 1, the long side can be 1.10 or more, and 1.12 or more. It is preferable to set it to 1.14 or more. In any case, with respect to the length 1 of the short side, the long side can be 1.50 or less, preferably 1.46 or less, and more preferably 1.43 or less on the bottom surface.

Recess:
The frozen noodle mass of the present invention has two indentations on either the top surface or the bottom surface. Each indentation is preferably present at the center when the surface is divided into two equal parts by a line parallel to the short side.

  The term “indentation” in the present invention does not include a groove-like one penetrating the side surface (see the shape (5) of the embodiment of the present specification) unless otherwise specified.

  According to the study by the present inventors, when a cuboid frozen noodle mass is thawed and cooked in a microwave oven, a cold spot may appear in one of the two locations indicated by the ellipses in the figure below.

  Therefore, the number of indentations is optimally 2 according to the number of places that may be cold spots. According to the study by the present inventors, cold spots can occur in two places in a rectangular parallelepiped frozen noodle mass. Providing a recess at a position that covers these two cold spot positions can be effective in order not to cause a cold spot. Therefore, the optimal number of recesses to be provided is two.

  An attempt to cover two cold spots with one depression is not preferable because the volume of the depression must be made relatively large and the whole frozen noodle mass becomes large.

  Further, when three or more recesses are provided, the noodle density between the recesses tends to increase due to molding, and therefore, temperature unevenness tends to occur during cooking in the range thaw. Furthermore, the result is that a depression is provided at a position other than the cold spot, and uneven temperature rise may not be effectively improved.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the position of the two indentations be in the center of each when the bottom surface is divided into two equal parts by a line parallel to the short side. Specifically, the indentation should be placed in a position that includes the center of gravity of the bisected surface, preferably so that the center of gravity of the bisected surface coincides with the center of gravity of the cross section of the indentation (cross section parallel to the top or bottom surface). It is preferable to provide it. In the present invention, when each recess is located in the center of the surface when the surface is divided into two equal parts by a line parallel to the short side, it is described in this manner, unless otherwise specified. . FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment in which a recess having a circular cross section is provided. FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment in which a recess having a rectangular cross section is provided.

  As for the shape of the recess, a cylindrical shape, a rectangular parallelepiped shape, a hemispherical shape, a kamaboko shape, and the like are conceivable, but not particularly limited. It can be changed in a timely manner in consideration of mechanical characteristics. The shape of the two indentations can be the same.

  Some prior art mentions the space ratio of the depressions to be provided in the frozen noodle mass (see “Cavity ratio” in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1), but the positions where the depressions should be provided are specifically shown. There is nothing.

Space ratio:
In the present invention, the ratio of the sum of the volumes of the two depressions to the noodle mass volume (spatial ratio) can be less than 30%, preferably less than 20%, more preferably less than 10%. preferable. In any case, the space ratio is 2% or more, preferably 3% or more, and more preferably 4.5% or more.

  In the present invention, the volume of the depression can be suppressed by providing the depression at a position where a cold spot can be generated. A small hollow volume is preferable in that the whole noodle mass can be made compact.

Depth rate:
In the present invention, the ratio (depth ratio) of the depth of each depression to the thickness of the noodle mass is not particularly limited. The depth of the indentation is almost the same as the height of the indentation when the indentation is formed by providing a projection at the bottom of the tray used for freezing molding. You may use the height value of a convex part as a height value. In addition, when the shape of a hollow is a hemispherical shape or a kamaboko type, the depth of a hollow is calculated based on the deepest part (the highest part as a convex part). According to the study by the present inventors, it has been found that when the depth ratio is 30%, it is effective in eliminating heating unevenness. The indent may be penetrated. That is, the depth ratio may be 100%. The upper limit of the depth ratio may be determined from the viewpoint of ease of molding and the volume of the whole noodle mass, or may be determined from the viewpoint of the difficulty of breaking the noodle mass and ease of uniform filling of the noodle mass. Good. In general, in the frozen noodle mass of the present invention, the depth ratio can be set to 30 to 100%, and can be set to 30 to 65%.

  In the present invention, when the numerical range is expressed as “A1 to A2”, the numerical range includes A1 and A2 at both ends unless otherwise specified.

Indentation area occupancy:
In the present invention, the ratio of the sum of the areas of the entrance cross sections of the two recesses to the area of the top surface or the bottom surface (indentation area occupation ratio) can be 5% or more, and more preferably 7% or more. . In addition, the area of the entrance cross section of the depression is almost the same as the area of the bottom of the projection when the depression is formed by providing a projection on the bottom of the tray used for freezing molding. In the calculation, the area value of the bottom surface of the convex portion may be used as the area value of the entrance cross section of the recess.

Other:
In the present invention, the shape of the indentation need not be a groove shape penetrating the side surface, but a prismatic shape, a right circular cylindrical shape, an elliptical columnar shape, a pedestal (the two planes when the sphere is cut in two parallel planes Sandwiched part), hemispherical, semi-cylindrical (part of a cylinder cut by a plane parallel to the axial direction), pyramid (two cuts of a pyramid by two parallel planes) A portion sandwiched between planes), a pyramid shape, a right cone shape, or the like can be used.

  The frozen noodle mass of the present invention may be compressed (pressed).

  When referred to as “compression” in the present invention, unless otherwise specified, the upper surface of the noodle mass is suppressed so as to reduce the gap between the noodles, the volume of the noodle mass is reduced, and the front surface of the noodle mass is made flatter. Say. A plate can be used for compression, and the bottom of another tray can be used if appropriate.

  The shape of the plate-like body is not particularly limited as long as it can be compressed as necessary while further smoothing the surface of the noodle mass, but has a substantially plate-like portion so that it can be easily attached and detached. A handle may be provided. In order to prevent the adhesion of food when removing the plate-like body, the shape may be such that the adhesion area with the food is reduced. For this purpose, for example, a corrugated plate can be used, or a slit can be provided in the plate-like portion.

  In the present invention, the compression of the noodle mass is performed by flattening and suppressing the upper surface or the opening surface of the cooked noodle mass filled in a frame or a container having an opening. . This prevents the occurrence of standing noodles (some noodles protrude 5 mm or more compared to the surroundings). When the protruding noodles are frozen and solidified, the packaging material may be damaged, and because the noodles are easily broken, they may cause scraps (noodle fragments), which is not preferable in production. Compression of the noodle mass is effective for suppressing noodle standing.

  The compression in the present invention is performed at least to an extent effective for suppressing noodle standing.

[Production of frozen noodle mass]
The method for producing a frozen noodle mass of the present invention is not limited as long as a noodle mass having a predetermined shape can be formed. For example, a certain amount of noodles cooked with boil is contained in a tray and frozen. Can be manufactured.

  In the present invention, the term “tray” refers to a container for freeze-molding noodle masses unless otherwise specified. The tray has an upper opening and a storage portion including a wall surface and a bottom surface for storing noodle chunks, and the tray bottom surface is rectangular. The storage portion is provided with one or more slits and holes for draining water as required. The storage part may be made of a net-like material.

  This tray may have a convex part on the bottom surface for providing a recess in the frozen noodles. The shape of the convex portion can be appropriately designed from the shape of the formed recess.

  The material of the tray is a deformable material such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polystyrene, etc. so that the frozen noodle mass can be easily detached from the tray after freezing molding, that is, bread removal is easy. May be. Noodle masses with indentations tend to break more easily than normal noodle masses in the bread removal step. In order to avoid such drawbacks, the frozen noodle mass is removed from the tray by applying deformation to the tray by applying a twist to the left and right instead of giving a shock using a hammer or the like. It may be preferable. In order to perform such depanning, the separation apparatus described in Patent Document 9 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-254375) can be applied.

  In the tray, slits are formed on the bottom and side surfaces of the inside, so that when noodles are filled, water drains well, and the contact area with frozen noodles can be reduced, so bread removal is easy. It becomes.

  In the production of the frozen noodle mass according to the present invention, conventional means can be used as means for freezing the tray-containing noodle mass.

[Evaluation]
The frozen noodle mass of the present invention has the same bottom area without ordinary depressions and low noodle mass heating unevenness during thawing cooking with a microwave oven. The heating unevenness can be evaluated by various methods well known to those skilled in the art. For example, various thermographic techniques can be applied.

  The frozen noodle mass of the present invention can be evaluated by the presence or absence and degree of range burning in addition to the evaluation of heating unevenness or instead of the evaluation of heating unevenness.

  In the present invention, the term “burning by range” refers to a phenomenon in which microwaves are concentrated on a part and are partially overheated (in some cases, they may be burned), unless otherwise specified. More specifically, the range burn can be evaluated by one or more skilled persons by appearance and / or palpation of noodles. For more specific methods, reference can be made to the examples section of this specification.

[Other]
In the production method of the present invention, the type of noodles constituting the noodle mass is not particularly limited, but udon (for example, Sanuki udon, Inaniwa udon), soba (for example, ten percent soba noodles, 28 oats), Chinese noodles (for example, Ramen) and pasta (for example, long pasta such as spaghetti, spaghettini, tagliatelle, linguine; short pasta such as macaroni; lasagna, gnocchi). The thickness of the noodles is not particularly limited as long as it is a thickness that is normally allowed for noodle foods. For example, the present invention can be applied to various noodle widths if the thickness is 6.0 mm or less. Examples of noodles that have been confirmed to be suitable for application are udon noodles with a width of 5.2 mm x thickness 4.0, soba noodles with a width of 2.0 mm x thickness 2.0, noodles with a width of 2.0 mm x thickness 2.0, and pasta with a width of 2.4 mm x thickness 2.4. is there. In addition, regarding the present invention, when referring to the size (width, thickness, length), weight, and specific gravity (density) of noodles, the size and weight of the noodles after cooking are indicated unless otherwise specified.

Udon is generally a mixture of wheat flour mixed with salt solution, stretched on a flat plate and cut into thin strips, or elongated into strips of noodles. Eaten with soup. In the present invention, “udon” is used in the usual sense. As frozen udon noodles, frozen noodle chunks of 200 to 250 g are in circulation. The size of conventional frozen udon noodles is typically 130-140 mm long, 90-100 mm wide, 25-32 mm high, and noodle mass density is 0.55-0.60 (g / cm ³ ), and the noodle mass surface area per weight is 1.8 to 2.0 (cm ² / g).

  Soba refers to noodles that contain a large amount of buckwheat in the raw powder. Soba is generally called soba cutting. In the present invention, “soba” is used in the usual sense. As frozen buckwheat noodles, 160g to 200g are in circulation. The size of a conventional frozen buckwheat lump is typically 130 to 140 mm in length, 90 to 100 mm in width, and 25 to 32 mm in height.

  “Ramen” is a kind of Chinese noodles, and Chinese noodles are generally sometimes referred to as Chinese soba. Chinese noodles are characterized by the use of strong flour or semi-strong flour with high protein content and the addition of kansui. In the present invention, “ramen” and “Chinese noodles” are used in the usual sense. In the examples of the present specification, ramen cooked with boil is studied, but it is considered that the present invention can be similarly applied to Chinese noodles for steaming used in fried noodles and hot-boiled cooking. As frozen ramen, those with 160 to 200 g are in circulation. The size of a conventional frozen ramen lump is typically 130 to 140 mm in length, 90 to 100 mm in width, and 25 to 32 mm in height.

  The relatively thin noodles such as buckwheat noodles and ramen tend to have a higher height (thickness) in the frozen noodle mass than in the case of thick noodle udon. Therefore, in the conventional product, the product bulk is generally suppressed by reducing the product weight.

  Pasta is generally a durum wheat semolina powder made by extruding a kneaded dough with water added, and many dried products (dry noodles) are also available. In the present invention, “pasta” is used in the usual sense. The conventional frozen pasta is mainly for microwave oven cooking with ingredients. For business use, frozen noodles that can be cooked with boil are in circulation.

  In a particularly preferred embodiment, the noodle constituting the noodle mass used in the present invention is made of udon, particularly Sanuki udon, Inaniwa udon.

  In the examples of the present specification, a compressed frozen noodle mass is prepared from the prepared raw noodles, but the raw material noodles used in the present invention have properties (whether raw noodles, dry noodles, etc.) There are no particular limitations on the production method (whether it is mechanical rolling, extrusion molding, manual stretching, etc.). In particular, not only raw noodles but also dry noodles can be similarly prepared.

  In the present invention, the amount of cooked noodles constituting the noodle mass can be appropriately set. The lower limit of the amount of noodles is not particularly limited, but can be, for example, 30 g, 50 g, or 80 g. The upper limit can also be varied, for example, 1000 g, 500 g, and 300 g. The range of the noodle amount is, for example, 100 g to 300 g. Since it compresses, the weight per noodle mass can be increased from the conventional frozen noodle mass. Typically, it is about 200 g.

  The present invention also relates to a method for reducing temperature unevenness in thawing a frozen noodle mass obtained by freezing a noodle mass composed of a certain amount of cooked noodles, and thawing the frozen noodle mass. The shape is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped, and two depressions are provided on either the top surface or the bottom surface; the space ratio is 2% or more and less than 30%; and the depth ratio is 30 to 100% A method is also provided to make it. Also in this method, it is preferable that each indentation exists at the center when the surface is divided into two equal parts by a line parallel to the short side, and the two indentations can have the same shape.

[Example 1: Examination of noodle mass shape]
One serving (200g) of boiled udon noodles (width approx. 5.2mm x thickness approx. 3.5mm x length approx. 300mm), bottom tray 135mm x 95mm small tray or 173mm x 150mm medium tray (each with slits) When forming using, frozen noodle masses having depressions were prepared and evaluated by providing convex portions of various shapes at the bottom of the tray.

Manufacture of udon 1000g of flour with starch, 423g of water and 47g of salt dissolved in advance, mixed with a horizontal vacuum mixer for noodles for 10 minutes to obtain a dough, rolled, compounded, thick The mixture was aged at 25 ° C. for 2 hours at about 10 mm. After aging, it was rolled by a conventional method to obtain raw udon with a thickness of 3.0 mm, similar to No. 9 noodle strings. Thereafter, in a sufficient amount of boiling hot water, it was immediately washed with water for about 12 minutes and cooled in cold water to obtain boiled udon. Boiled udon into 200g portions.

Put 200g of noodles from a height of about 10cm into a tray with convex parts of various shapes on the bottom of the noodle lump molding , level the noodle lump top by hand, and then use a flat plate to force about 500g The upper surface was pressed with. The noodle mass was then placed in a freezer set at −40 ° C. and frozen for about 20 minutes. After freezing, the tray was removed to obtain a molded frozen noodle mass.

The frozen noodle mass obtained by microwave cooking is a flat type without a turntable as a microwave oven (Toshiba, manufactured by ER-V9 2002). Wrapped in a wrap, one serving at 600W, 3 minutes 30 seconds And thawed.

Evaluation Method After cooking, the wrap was removed, and the noodle mass was photographed by thermography (device name: testo875, manufactured by testo) to observe the temperature distribution. Using the measurement software of the device, a measurement range was selected by drawing the largest rectangle inside the noodle mass, and the temperature within the range was measured (see the figure below). The measurement points are 3000 to 5000 points, depending on the size of the captured image and the size of the measurement range. Two or three temperature distributions were performed for each indentation shape.

  In the range-burning, one expert trained the appearance and the noodles one by one, counted the number of noodles with cured parts, and divided by the total number of noodles to obtain the ratio of baking. In addition, the sensory evaluation is actually a three-stage (○; suitable for udon. △; has a slightly hard part. ×: has a hard part and has problems in eating. ).

The results are shown below.

  In the case of the conventional shape with no depression ((1) and (9)), cold spots were observed at two positions shifted to the left and right in the long side direction, not the center of the noodle mass.

  (2), (3), and (4) are indented at two places where cold spots are likely to occur, and the effect appears, and the space ratio is almost the same as (5) and (3) with a groove to the end. (6) with a circular indentation had no effect. That is, it was thought that it was important that the hollow covered the cold spot and that the hollow did not reach the end of the noodle mass. (7) and (8) were thought to be effective because the noodle mass was thin (increased surface area) due to the large depression and the depression covered the cold spot. .

  The same effect is also obtained when the shape of the indentation is changed from a cylinder or a rectangular parallelepiped to a semicircle ((10), (13)), a kamaboko type (11), (12), (14), (15)). Was confirmed. It has become clear that the shape of the recess is not particularly limited.

[Example 2: Confirmation of reproducibility]
Each noodle mass under the same conditions except that a turntable type microwave oven (SANYO EMO-C16A (SB) 2008 made) is used, which is characterized by a slow overall temperature rise compared to the flat type range. The shape was evaluated. As in the case of the flat type, cold spots appeared not at the center of the noodle mass but at two positions shifted left and right in the long side direction. Moreover, it turned out that the shape of (2)-(4) in Example 1 which provided the hollow in two places is similarly effective from a viewpoint of preventing range burning and concrete-ization.

Claims (5)

A frozen noodle mass in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, which is formed by freezing a noodle mass composed of a certain amount of cooked noodles,
Have two indentations on either the top or bottom surface;
The ratio of the total volume of the two indentations to the noodle mass volume (spatial ratio) is 2% or more and less than 30% ;
The ratio of the depth of the depression to the thickness of the noodle mass (depth ratio) is 30 to 100% , and
Each indentation exists at the center of each when the surface is bisected by a line parallel to the short side,
The frozen noodle mass. 2. The frozen noodle mass according to claim 1 , having a space ratio of 3% or more and less than 10%. The frozen noodle mass according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the depth ratio is 30 to 65%. The frozen noodle mass according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein a ratio of the sum of the areas of the inlet cross sections of the two recesses to the area of the top surface or the bottom surface (indentation area occupation ratio) is 5% or more. A method of reducing temperature unevenness in thawing a frozen noodle mass obtained by freezing a noodle mass composed of a certain amount of cooked noodles, wherein the shape of the frozen noodle mass is
A substantially rectangular parallelepiped,
Provide two indentations on either the top or bottom surface;
The porosity is 2% or more and less than 30% ;
The depth rate is 30-100% , and
Each indentation exists at the center of each when the surface is bisected by a line parallel to the short side,
Said method .