【発明の詳細な説明】[Detailed description of the invention]
本発明はヒビ割れがなくしかも膨化度合及び状
態の良好な即席乾燥麺の製造方法に関するもの
で、さらに詳しくはうどん等の麺線の径の大きい
ものに適用しても復元性の良好な乾燥麺を提供し
得る方法に関するものである。
従来過熱水蒸気を使用して様々の条件にて麺の
α化や乾燥を行なうことが知られており、熱風を
使用する場合に比して、乾燥効率が良好で、しか
も膨化程度の高いものが得られるといわれてい
る。
しかしながら過熱水蒸気処理の対象をうどん等
の麺線の径の大きいものとする時は、従来の公知
の処理条件では、膨化度の高いかつ膨化状態の良
い乾燥麺は得られず、そのため復元性も悪く調理
の際の即席性を第一義とする即席食品としては不
満足なものであつた。
本発明者等は上記課題の解決を目的とし、過熱
水蒸気処理における時間、流速等の各要件と、処
理後の乾燥麺の性状との関連性につき、種々の態
様にて実験を重ねて検討した結果、過熱水蒸気処
理の際の麺線内の水分の蒸散速度が、乾燥後の麺
線の膨化状態を決定する最大の因子となることを
知見するに至つた。
即ち、麺線内の水分が特定の範囲内の蒸散速度
で蒸散するように麺線を過熱水蒸気処理に付す時
は、麺線の表層から内部に亘り膨化度合が高い乾
燥麺が得られるという知見を得た。
過熱水蒸気処理に於ける被処理物の水分含量は
熱風処理の場合とは異なり、その処理当初は水蒸
気が被処理物の表面に凝縮付着するため一旦増加
の傾向を示し、然る後に急激に減少して乾燥が完
了するが、本発明でいう蒸散速度とは水分減少時
に於ける蒸散速度を指すものである。
しかしながら本発明者等が上記の知見に基づき
特定の範囲内の蒸散速度で麺の過熱水蒸気処理を
試みたところ、成程外観的には膨化度合が高い乾
燥麺が得られるが、その内部には層状に多くのヒ
ビが発生しており、その膨化状態は極めて不均一
なものであり、又該処理対象麺として蒸し麺等の
α化麺を使用する時は麺線表面の火膨れも顕著な
ものになることが更に判明した。
本発明者等はこのような問題点を解消せんもの
とさらに研究を重ねた結果、過熱水蒸気処理に際
しての麺線の態様として蒸熱処理や茹で処理が施
されていない生麺を採択し、さらにその水分含量
を従来の生麺よりも高めることによつて、前記課
題の全面的解決を可能とし、ヒビ割れや火膨れが
なく均一な膨化状態を呈する乾燥麺を得ることが
できた。
以上の研究の結論として得られた本発明の即席
乾燥麺の製造方法の要件は、処理の対象となるは
麺は生麺であり、しかも水分は35〜45％を有する
こと、過熱水蒸気処理を施すこと、過熱水蒸気処
理による乾燥速度は生麺100ｇ当り0.25〜1.00
ｇ／秒であること、製品乾燥麺の水分は３〜14％
であることの要件の結合である。従つてこれらの
要件の一つが欠けても本発明のような満足すべき
乾燥麺は得られない。例えば生麺を出発物質とし
ても通常の水分含有の生麺では、処理条件が本発
明の要件の通りであつても本発明の目的は達せら
れないし、又水分の多い生麺であつても過熱水蒸
気でない高温気流で処理するときはやはり本発明
の目的物である乾燥麺は得られないのである。
以下本発明方法につき順次詳細に説明する。先
ず本発明では小麦粉、食塩等の麺原料素材を常法
に従つて加水、混〓、製麺して生麺を得るが、但
しその水分含量を35〜45％とする。
従来の即席乾燥麺の製造工程途上の生麺、即ち
蒸熱α化処理を経て熱風処理や油揚処理により乾
燥を行うことを前提とした生麺の水分含量は製麺
時の機械適性や乾燥効率あるいは乾燥状態を考慮
して通常30〜33％に調整されている。
しかしながら本発明者等は生麺のα化や乾燥処
理に過熱水蒸気を使用する時は、このような水分
含量では乾燥後の麺線が不均一な膨化状態を呈
し、麺線内部に層状にヒビ割れが発生して、吸水
復元時に麺線が剥離する原因となることを見出
し、生麺の水分含量を35〜45％に高めることによ
つて前記課題を解決することができた。しかしな
がら水分含量が45％を超える時は圧延等の製麺工
程に支障を来たすと共に、乾燥処理に長時間を要
し工業生産には適さない。
本発明ではこの生麺に蒸熱処理や茹処理等のα
化処理を施すことなく、そのまま過熱水蒸気処理
に付す。本発明者等はα化処理時に形成された麺
線表面被膜や熱変性による内部組織の強化が、過
熱水蒸気処理時の火膨れや麺線内部のヒビ割れの
発生の原因となることをつきとめ、その結果過熱
水蒸気処理の対象として生麺を採択することに決
定した。
本発明に於いて過熱水蒸気処理を行うに当つて
は生麺中の水分蒸散速度を生麺100ｇあたり0.25
〜1.00ｇ／秒とすることが肝要である。本発明に
於ける水分蒸散速度は過熱水蒸気の麺の表面への
凝縮付着によつて麺の含有水分が上昇し、それが
ピークに達した時点を起点として過熱水蒸気処理
終了時点までの麺の水分蒸散量をその経過時間に
より除して得られるものであり、実質的には該ピ
ーク時より処理終了時点までの水分の平均蒸散速
度を示す。
又蒸散速度を決定する因子は、用いる過熱水蒸
気の温度、流速、麺線の水分含量、麺線の径、麺
線の集束状態（麺塊の粗密程度）、処理後の麺線
の水分含量等非常に多岐に亘るものがあるが、本
発明ではこれらの因子を総合的に勘案して麺線の
水分が前記水分蒸散速度で蒸散するように過熱水
蒸気処理を施す。
ここで蒸散速度が0.25ｇ／秒を下回る時は麺線
の膨化合が低く、そのため復元性が悪いものとな
る。特に処理対象麺がうどん等の麺線の径の太い
ものである場合は、吸水復元に長時間を要すると
共に復元後の食感も硬くてボソボソしており好ま
しくない。
又蒸散速度が1.00ｇ／秒を超える時は熱のかか
り方に於いて麺線の表面と内部との差が顕著にな
り、焦げが発生したり、麺線内部のヒビ割れが顕
著なものとなる。
以上の如く本発明に規定する水分の蒸散速度が
前記の範囲を逸脱する時は膨化度合が高く、そし
て均一な乾燥麺は得られない。
又本発明では過熱水蒸気処理によつて最終的に
水分含量３〜14％に乾燥された乾燥麺を得る。こ
の水分含量の範囲は乾燥麺の生産効率と保存性を
考慮して決定されたものである。即ち焦げやヒビ
割れを発生させることなく麺の水分含量を３％以
下にするには乾燥に非常に長時間を要し、一方水
分含量が14％を超える時は即席製品としての保存
性に欠ける。
本発明方法により得られた即席乾燥麺は火膨れ
やヒビ割れが殆んど見られず、しかもその膨化度
合も高く、均一であり、復元性も良好で、食感に
於ても歯切れが良く、風味も優れたものである。
又本発明方法は従来良好な膨化品が得られなか
つたうどん等の麺線の径の大きいものに適用した
場合、とりわけその有効性を発揮し、復元性、食
感共に優れた即席うどん等を提供することができ
る。
以下に実施例を挙げて本発明をさらに具体的に
説明すると共に、対照品との性状の比較を行い、
本発明の効果を一層明らかにする。
実施例 １
小麦粉、食塩（対小麦粉３％重量比）に加水し
て混〓し、常法により圧延（麺厚1.8mm）した後、
角12番の切り刃ロールにて切断して水分含量39％
の生麺を得た。次いで200℃、流速5.8ｍ／秒の過
熱水蒸気により45秒間処理して水分含量９％のう
どんタイプの本発明の即席乾燥麺（サンプルＡ）
を得た。尚、本例に於ける水分の蒸散速度は0.84
ｇ／秒であつた。
対照例 １
温度130℃の過熱水蒸気により300秒間処理を行
ない、水分含量9.3％の即席乾燥麺を得る以外は
実施例１と同様にして即席乾燥麺（対照品サンプ
ルＢ）を得た。尚、本例に於ける水分の蒸散速度
は0.13ｇ／秒であつた。
対照例 ２
加水量を調整して生麺の水分含量を33％とする
こと及び過熱水蒸気処理時間を40秒とする以外は
実施例１と同様な方法により、水分含量９％の即
席乾燥麺（対照品サンプルＣ）を得た。尚、本例
に於ける水分の蒸散速度は0.78ｇ／秒であつた。
対照例 ３
実施例１と同様な方法により得られた生麺に
100℃の飽和蒸気にて60秒間蒸熱処理を施して水
分含量45％の蒸麺を得た。次いで実施例１と同様
に過熱水蒸気処理（但し処理時間48秒）に付し、
水分含量９％の即席乾燥麺（対照品サンプルＤ）
を得た。尚、本例に於ける水分の蒸散速度は0.82
ｇ／秒であつた。
対照例 ４
水分含量を32.5％とする以外は実施例１と同様
な方法により生麺を得、次いで該生麺を温度130
℃、流速5.8ｍ／秒の過熱水蒸気により５分間処
理して水分含量8.4％の即席乾燥麺（対照品サン
プルＥ）を得た。尚本例に於ける水分の蒸散速度
は0.11ｇ／秒であつた。
対照例 ５
水分含量を33.7％とする以外は実施例１と同様
な方法により生麺を得、次いで該生麺を温度200
℃、流速4.5ｍ／秒の熱風により80秒間処理し、
水分含量12.1％の即席乾燥麺（対照品サンプル
Ｆ）を得た。尚本例に於ける水分の蒸散速度は
0.31ｇ／秒であつた。
以上の各例により製造したサンプルにつき、そ
の膨化状態及び復元性の性状を比較した。その結
果を表―１に示す。表―１に示す如く本発明品
（第１図に示す）は他の対照品（第２図〜第６図
に示す）に比し格段の優れた特性を有している。
The present invention relates to a method for producing instant dried noodles that are free from cracks and have a good swelling degree and condition. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for producing instant dried noodles that are free from cracks and have a good swelling degree and condition. The present invention relates to a method that can provide the following information. Conventionally, it is known that superheated steam is used to gelatinize and dry noodles under various conditions, and compared to using hot air, the drying efficiency is better and the degree of puffing is higher. It is said that it can be obtained. However, when treating large-diameter noodle strings such as udon noodles with superheated steam, it is not possible to obtain dried noodles with a high degree of puffing and a good puffed state using conventional, well-known processing conditions. Unfortunately, it was unsatisfactory as a ready-to-eat food whose primary priority is instantaneousness during cooking. With the aim of solving the above problems, the present inventors conducted repeated experiments in various aspects to examine the relationship between various requirements such as time and flow rate in superheated steam treatment and the properties of dried noodles after treatment. As a result, we have discovered that the rate of water evaporation within the noodle strings during superheated steam treatment is the biggest factor determining the state of swelling of the noodle strings after drying. That is, the knowledge that when the noodle strings are subjected to superheated steam treatment so that the water within the noodle strings evaporates at a transpiration rate within a specific range, dry noodles with a high degree of puffiness from the surface layer to the inside of the noodle strings can be obtained. I got it. The moisture content of the object to be treated in superheated steam treatment is different from that in hot air treatment.At the beginning of the treatment, the moisture content of the object increases as the steam condenses and adheres to the surface of the object, but then it rapidly decreases. The transpiration rate in the present invention refers to the transpiration rate when moisture decreases. However, when the present inventors tried superheated steam treatment of noodles at a transpiration rate within a specific range based on the above findings, dry noodles with a high degree of puffiness were obtained on the outside, but inside the Many cracks have occurred in the layers, and the state of swelling is extremely uneven. Also, when gelatinized noodles such as steamed noodles are used as the noodles to be treated, the surface of the noodle strings has significant blistering. It became clear that it would become a thing. As a result of further research to solve these problems, the present inventors adopted raw noodles that were not subjected to steaming or boiling as the form of noodle strings during superheated steam treatment, and further developed the method. By increasing the water content compared to conventional fresh noodles, it was possible to completely solve the above problems, and to obtain dried noodles that exhibit a uniform puffed state without cracking or blistering. The requirements for the instant dry noodle production method of the present invention, which were obtained as a conclusion of the above research, are that the noodles to be treated must be raw noodles, have a moisture content of 35 to 45%, and must be treated with superheated steam. The drying rate due to superheated steam treatment is 0.25 to 1.00 per 100g of raw noodles.
g/s, and the moisture content of the dried noodles is 3-14%.
It is a combination of requirements to be. Therefore, even if one of these requirements is lacking, satisfactory dried noodles such as those of the present invention cannot be obtained. For example, even if raw noodles are used as a starting material, the purpose of the present invention cannot be achieved even if the processing conditions meet the requirements of the present invention with ordinary raw noodles containing water, and even with raw noodles with a high moisture content, they cannot be overheated. When processing with a high-temperature air stream other than steam, dry noodles, which is the object of the present invention, cannot be obtained. The method of the present invention will be explained in detail below. First, in the present invention, raw noodles such as wheat flour and salt are added with water, mixed, and made into noodles according to a conventional method to obtain raw noodles, provided that the water content thereof is 35 to 45%. The moisture content of raw noodles during the conventional instant dry noodle manufacturing process, that is, the raw noodles that are subjected to steam gelatinization and drying by hot air treatment or deep-frying, is determined by the mechanical suitability during noodle manufacturing, drying efficiency, and drying efficiency. It is usually adjusted to 30-33% considering dry conditions. However, when superheated steam is used for gelatinizing and drying raw noodles, the inventors found that with such a moisture content, the noodle strings after drying exhibit an uneven swelling state, and cracks occur in layers inside the noodle strings. It was discovered that cracking occurs and causes the noodle strings to separate during water absorption and restoration, and the problem was solved by increasing the moisture content of the raw noodles to 35-45%. However, when the water content exceeds 45%, it causes problems in noodle-making processes such as rolling, and requires a long time for drying, making it unsuitable for industrial production. In the present invention, this raw noodle is subjected to α treatment such as steaming treatment or boiling treatment.
The material is directly subjected to superheated steam treatment without any chemical treatment. The present inventors have found that the surface film of the noodle strings formed during gelatinization treatment and the strengthening of the internal structure due to thermal denaturation are the causes of blistering and cracking inside the noodle strings during superheated steam treatment. As a result, it was decided to adopt raw noodles as the target for superheated steam treatment. In the present invention, when performing superheated steam treatment, the water evaporation rate in raw noodles is set at 0.25 per 100g of raw noodles.
It is important to set the speed to ~1.00 g/sec. In the present invention, the water evaporation rate is defined as the water content of the noodles increases due to superheated steam condensing and adhering to the surface of the noodles, and the water content of the noodles rises from the point at which it reaches a peak until the end of the superheated steam treatment. It is obtained by dividing the amount of transpiration by the elapsed time, and essentially indicates the average transpiration rate of water from the peak time to the end of the treatment. The factors that determine the transpiration rate include the temperature and flow rate of the superheated steam used, the moisture content of the noodle strings, the diameter of the noodle strings, the convergence state of the noodle strings (the degree of density of the noodle mass), the water content of the noodle strings after processing, etc. Although there are a wide variety of methods, in the present invention, these factors are comprehensively taken into account and the superheated steam treatment is performed so that the water in the noodle strings evaporates at the above-mentioned water evaporation rate. When the transpiration rate is less than 0.25 g/sec, the swelling of the noodle strings is low, resulting in poor restorability. In particular, when the noodles to be treated have large diameter noodle strings, such as udon noodles, it takes a long time to absorb water and restore, and the texture after restoration is hard and crumbly, which is not preferable. In addition, when the transpiration rate exceeds 1.00 g/sec, the difference in the way heat is applied between the surface and the inside of the noodle strings becomes noticeable, resulting in scorching and noticeable cracking inside the noodle strings. Become. As described above, when the water evaporation rate specified in the present invention deviates from the above range, the degree of swelling is high and uniformly dried noodles cannot be obtained. Furthermore, in the present invention, dried noodles are obtained which are finally dried to a moisture content of 3 to 14% by superheated steam treatment. This range of water content was determined in consideration of production efficiency and storage stability of dried noodles. In other words, it takes a very long time to dry the noodles to reduce the moisture content to 3% or less without burning or cracking, while when the moisture content exceeds 14%, the noodles lack shelf life as an instant product. . The instant dried noodles obtained by the method of the present invention have almost no blistering or cracking, and have a high degree of swelling, are uniform, have good restorability, and have a crisp texture. , and the flavor is excellent. In addition, the method of the present invention is especially effective when applied to noodles with large diameter noodles such as udon noodles, for which good puffed products have not been obtained in the past, and it is possible to produce instant udon noodles with excellent restorability and texture. can be provided. The present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to Examples below, and the properties will be compared with a control product.
The effects of the present invention will be further clarified. Example 1 Wheat flour and salt (3% weight ratio to wheat flour) were mixed with water and rolled in a conventional manner (noodle thickness: 1.8 mm).
Moisture content is 39% when cut with a square No. 12 cutting blade roll.
I got some fresh noodles. Then, it was treated with superheated steam at 200°C and a flow rate of 5.8 m/sec for 45 seconds to produce udon-type instant dried noodles of the present invention (sample A) with a moisture content of 9%.
I got it. In addition, the water transpiration rate in this example is 0.84
g/sec. Control Example 1 Instant dried noodles (control sample B) were obtained in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the noodles were treated with superheated steam at a temperature of 130° C. for 300 seconds to obtain instant dried noodles with a moisture content of 9.3%. Incidentally, the water evaporation rate in this example was 0.13 g/sec. Control Example 2 Instant dried noodles with a moisture content of 9% ( A control sample C) was obtained. Incidentally, the water evaporation rate in this example was 0.78 g/sec. Control example 3 Raw noodles obtained by the same method as Example 1
Steamed noodles with a moisture content of 45% were obtained by steaming with saturated steam at 100°C for 60 seconds. Then, it was subjected to superheated steam treatment (however, the treatment time was 48 seconds) in the same manner as in Example 1,
Instant dried noodles with a moisture content of 9% (control sample D)
I got it. In addition, the moisture transpiration rate in this example is 0.82
g/sec. Control Example 4 Raw noodles were obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the water content was 32.5%, and then the raw noodles were heated to a temperature of 130%.
The noodles were treated with superheated steam at a temperature of 5.8 m/sec at a flow rate of 5.8 m/sec for 5 minutes to obtain instant dried noodles (control sample E) with a water content of 8.4%. The water evaporation rate in this example was 0.11 g/sec. Control Example 5 Raw noodles were obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the water content was 33.7%, and then the raw noodles were heated to a temperature of 200%.
℃, treated with hot air at a flow rate of 4.5 m/s for 80 seconds,
Instant dried noodles (control sample F) with a moisture content of 12.1% were obtained. In addition, the transpiration rate of water in this example is
It was 0.31g/sec. The swelling state and restorability of the samples produced in each of the above examples were compared. The results are shown in Table-1. As shown in Table 1, the product of the present invention (shown in FIG. 1) has much superior properties compared to other control products (shown in FIGS. 2 to 6).
【表】【table】
【表】
実施例 ２
小麦粉、食塩（対小麦粉１％重量比）、〓水粉
（対小麦粉0.3％重量比）に加水して混〓し、常法
により圧延（麺厚1.1mm）した後、角20番の切り
刃ロールにて切断して水分含量36％の生麺を得
た。次いで生麺を温度170℃、流速2.0ｍ／秒の過
熱水蒸気により100秒間処理して、水分含量9.5％
の中華麺タイプの本発明の即席乾燥麺を得た。
尚本例に於ける水分の蒸散速度は0.37ｇ／秒で
あつた。得られた即席乾燥麺は麺表面に火膨れが
見られず、高度にしかも均一に膨化しており、約
２分30秒間の煮沸調理で充分に復元し食感、風味
共中華麺として優れたものであつた。[Table] Example 2 Wheat flour, salt (1% weight ratio to wheat flour), and water flour (0.3% weight ratio to wheat flour) were mixed with water and rolled in a conventional manner (noodle thickness 1.1 mm). Raw noodles with a moisture content of 36% were obtained by cutting with a No. 20 cutting blade roll. Next, the raw noodles were treated with superheated steam at a temperature of 170°C and a flow rate of 2.0 m/sec for 100 seconds to reduce the moisture content to 9.5%.
Instant dried noodles of the present invention of Chinese noodle type were obtained. The water evaporation rate in this example was 0.37 g/sec. The obtained instant dried noodles showed no blistering on the noodle surface, were highly and uniformly puffed, and were sufficiently restored by boiling for about 2 minutes and 30 seconds, giving them an excellent texture and flavor as Chinese noodles. It was hot.
【図面の簡単な説明】[Brief explanation of the drawing]
第１図は本発明方法により製造された膨化軽食
品サンプルＡの断面の電子顕微鏡写真（倍率32
倍）である。第２図は対照品サンプルＢ、第３図
は対照品サンプルＣ、第４図は対照品サンプル
Ｄ、第５図は対照品サンプルＥ、第６図は対照品
サンプルＦ以上の各サンプル断面の電子顕微鏡写
真（何れも倍率32倍）である。
Figure 1 is an electron micrograph (magnification: 32
times). Figure 2 shows the comparison sample B, Figure 3 shows the comparison sample C, Figure 4 shows the comparison sample D, Figure 5 shows the comparison sample E, and Figure 6 shows the cross section of each sample of the comparison sample F and above. These are electron micrographs (all magnification: 32x).