Cereals processing technology

the final product. A two-stage process is normally used to remove the water. In
the first stage, low temperatures, less than 20ºC, are used to remove surface
moisture. To remove the internal water from the noodle a slow (3–5 h) drying at
40ºC and 70–75 percent humidity is used for 3–5h. 5
Drying is a critical step in dried noodle manufacturing as improper methods
result in cracking, deformation, or elongation resulting in a lack of uniformity
throughout the noodle. In many countries fresh noodles are draped on rods and
are dried outside of the plant. In some operations the noodles are suspended
from rods attached to moving belts in a high air exchange enclosure, as shown in
Fig. 7.6. Dried noodles require considerably longer cooking time as they are
quite dense delaying water penetration and subsequent starch gelatinization. The
longer cooking time often results in a stickier noodle than the corresponding
fresh noodle.
7.4 Alkaline noodles
Asian noodle processing 143
Fig. 7.6 Commercial noodle manufacturer’s continuous removal of white salted noodles
from temperature and humidity controlled drying areas.
Alkaline noodles are distinctive from white salted as the presence of alkaline
compounds, sodium and potassium carbonates or sodium hydroxide causes a