Noodles are made from a mixture of dough, salt and water that is cut intro strands. These strands are then dried to form the noodles. We all love a good bowl of noodles, whether it's the quick fix of instant noodles or a delightful noodle bowl at a restaurant. The comforting flavor of noodles warms our hearts and brings joy to our taste buds. But have you ever wondered about the fascinating journey of noodle-making? Let's dive into the world of noodles and uncover the answer to the question: How are noodles made?
Noodles start their journey long before they reach your favorite restaurant or find their place in instant noodle packets. It all starts in a factory, where precision and quality control play a crucial role in crafting the perfect noodle.
The proces begins when flour is delivered to the factory and is thrown into the system where it is mixed with water and salt. These ratios should be really precise, because with too little water your noodles will break and to much they won't dry. Protein is also added to the noodles at this state. Did you know that japanese noodles consist of 8.5 to 12.5% proteins.
When the flour is mixed with the water and salt, a dough is created. Now it's time to roll the dough into thin sheets that can later be cut into noodles. In the factory this is done by big roller machines that roll the dough from different sides until the right thickness is achieved. When the dough is thin enough it is cut into thin strings, creating the noodles. These strands are all just long and are not cut into the right size yet. If you're making noodles at home you can use a pasta machine to get the dough as thin as you want. Then you can cut it yourself using a knife.
When the noodles are thin and are cut into strings it's time for them to dry. Drying the noodles is a very important step of the noodle making proces. In the factory the noodles are hanging from machines and are moving through 8 different drying chambers to ensure that they're dried correctly. When the noodles in the factory have become dry enough and have been through all the chambers the are cut into the right size for consumption.
When the factory's noodles are adequately dried and have passed through all the chambers, they are finally cut into the perfect size for consumption. Traditional Japanese noodles are typically cut to a length of 20cm. In recent years, new sizes like 15cm and 10cm have gained popularity, and there are even tiny 2.5cm noodles for babies. The noodles can also differ in thickness, Udon noodles are much thicker than regular noodles for example.
After the noodles are ready and cut to the right size to be consumed, they are packeged and shipped of.
During the noodle making fase the noodles are rigoroursly tested. On of the things they are tested for is sodium. There is a limit to the amount of sodium that can be inside of the noodles. The test make sure that the noodles don't override this maximum. There's alos noodles that entirely sodium free, they also need to be tested. One of the nice things in Japanese factories is that is and open taste testing. Where people can sign up for free to test the products that are made in the factory to ensure they fit the consumers needs.
This is how the basic noodles are made, whatever happens to them after can influence the taste alot. But this is the basic of the how the noodles are made. We hope that you learned something for this post and you think about it when you're eating your noodles.
