METHOD OF MAKING LUMPS OF FRIED CHINESE VERMICELLI

Abstract: A method and system of making lumps of Chinese vermicelli characterized in that strips of steamed Chinese vermicelli obtained through the ordinary process are each cut into a fixed quantity and strips of cut vermicelli are packed in boxes having liquid-permeable small holes, fry-retainers are each closed with a lid, and oil and fat contained in fried vermicelli are forcedly sucked and extracted to be removed in a short period of time after completion of frying process through the bottom of said fry-retainer lifted above oil level. Simple and efficient oil extraction from fried vermicelli is possible and applicable to continuous processing, whereby a method of effectively reducing oil and fat content is ensured without impairing lumps of vermicelli.

Description: The present invention relates to a method for producing a brick of the fried noodles, and more particularly to a method for reducing the oil and fat content at the time of packing the noodles obtained by frying such a brick of noodles in a fry retainer in oil. Conventionally, there has been used a method of producing fried noodles, which is the mainstream of the quick-cookable noodles, comprising kneading the flour, the water, the kansui, and the other seasonings or the like to make a noodle dough, pressing, cutting and steaming the noodle dough, seasoning, the noodle obtained if necessary, packing a fixed quantity of the noodles in a fry retainer, frying the packed noodles in the oil to dry them, and cooling, see Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 48-8951. Since alpha treatment of the starch contained in the noodles is accelerated when the noodles are fried, and the noodles are made porous, thereby the noodles have a good taste and texture and can easily be rehydrated in a short time just by pouring hot water over the noodles. In the meantime, the brick of fried noodles generally contains oil and fat in a quantity of about 20%. In view of the various European and American type adult-diseases caused by intake of oil and fat, consumers have recently begun to take care with their intake thereof. Therefore the attention is beginning to be paid for the reduction of the oil and the fat content in food. Since the content of oil and fat in these bricks of fried noodles is high, there are problems of oxidization thereof at the stage of the conveyance and preservation and of the deterioration of the fried noodles due to the oxidization. Methods which have been employed for removing the oil include centrifugation, and draining by gravity. (See Japanese Utility Model Provisional Publication No. 62-202180). However, satisfactory results cannot be obtained therefrom. For example, although the method for removing the oil by the centrifugation would remove the oil contained in a brick of the noodles, it is not suitable for continuous manufacture because the fried noodles are often damaged, a device of complicated structure and large-scale may be required, the processing time is long, and the batch-typed system is required. Where the oil drains by gravity as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Provisional Publication No. 62-202180, the oil is only removed by gravity during the sliding of the brick of fried noodles on an oil throwing chute. There is, therefore a limit to the volume of oil and fat which can be removed from the brick of noodles and this method is therefore not satisfactory with respect to the reduction of the residual oil and fat. In a rather similar manner there may be some oil and fat reduction when the brick of noodles drops from a frying retainer onto a receiving chute as described in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 60196160. Japanese Patent Publication No 1-56771 describes a method of reducing the oil content of a fried food by suction where the pieces of food are transported on a net conveyor. There is no suggestion, however, in this Publication that suction can be used to treat fried noodles when in a fry retainer. Therefore a method for effectively reducing the oil and fat content of a fried brick of noodles is required which can easily and efficiently remove the oil, be applied to continuous manufacture and without damaging the brick of the fried noodles. According to the invention there is provided a method for producing a brick of fried noodles comprising cutting noodles into a fixed quantity, packing that quantity of noodles into a fry retainer permeable to oil, closing the fry retainer with a lid, and frying the noodles to produce the brick of fried noodles characterised in that, after frying, oil contained in the brick of noodles is sucked and removed through the bottom of the fry retainer after it has been raised above the surface of the frying oil. Also according to the invention there is provided a system for producing a brick of fried noodles, comprising conveyor means for continuously carrying a plurality of fry retainers for holding the noodles and passing the fry retainers through an oil pan, and oil removing means for sucking and removing oil and fat from the brick of fried noodles through holes formed in the bottom of the fry retainers after raising a fry retainer from the oil pan. A method for producing a brick of the fried noodles of the present invention will be described in detail in the following by referring to the drawings, of which Figure 1 is a schematic view showing a method for producing a brick of fried noodles according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic view showing the movement of a conveyor and an oil removing head of an oil removing device shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a section view of a fry retainer and the oil removing head shown in Figure 2; Figure 4 is a view showing the oil and the fat content of a brick of the fried noodles held in a conventional vertical cup; Figure 5(a), (b) and (c) are schematic views showing a method for sucking and removing the oil according to a comparative example; and Figure 6 is a schematic view for explaining a method for spraying high pressure air over the upper portion of a brick of the noodles to scatter the oil and the fat. Fig. 1 is a schematic view showing a method for producing a brick of fried noodles according to an embodiment of the present invention; and, in Fig. 1, the numeral 1 denotes a frying container (an oil pan) for the heated oil. A plurality of fry retainers 3 are carried by a conveyor 2 through the oil pan 1 and, at the time of passing through the oil, the noodles in the fry retainers 3 are fried. The noodles are prepared, in a previous step (not shown), by cutting the noodles prepared by a ordinary method into a fixed quantity and packing that quantity of noodles in the fry retainer 3. The fry retainer 3 is shaped like a cup, is of metal and is permeable because of a plurality of small holes (not shown) on the bottom thereof. Thereby the frying oil is able to enter the fry retainer 3 through the small holes to fry the noodles. A plurality of upper lids 5 are provided above the fry retainers 3 and are carried by another conveyer to open/close the fry retainers 3 at the appropriate positions, thereby the upper lid 5 is closed during the frying step to hold the noodles in the fry retainer 3. After completing the frying of the noodles, the fry retainer 3 is carried and raised from the oil pan 1 and is subjected to an oil removing treatment by means of an oil removing device 6 located in a predetermined position. More specifically, the oil removing heads 7,7 of the oil removing device 6 are connected from the downside of the fry retainer 3 to the bottom of the fry retainers 3 raised by the conveyer 2 (See, Fig. 3). By the suction force of a suction device 8, the oil contained in a brick of the fried noodles 4 is removed and the sucked oil is passed through a separator (e.g. cyclone 9) to collect and use it again. The oil removing head 7 of the oil removing device 6 is driven by an appropriate drive mechanism (not shown) to follow the conveyer 2 moving continuously. Specifically, in a position A shown by a solid line in Fig. 2 as in Example 2 which follows, to reach this position within 30 seconds, at longest 40 seconds, after frying is preferrable), the oil removing head 7 moves in the direction of the conveyer 2 to connect the head to the bottom of the fry retainer 3. In this state, the oil contained in the brick of the fried noodles 4 is removed by the suction force of the suction device 8 as mentioned above. Along with the movement of the conveyer 2, the oil removing head 7 is connected to the bottom of the fry retainer 3 (i.e., with sucking and removing the oil). Finally, at the time of reaching a position B shown by a dashed line in Fig. 2, the oil removing head 7 moves in the direction of separating from the conveyer 2, thereby the oil removing head 7 is detached from the bottom of the fry retainer 3 (as shown by a dashed line C in Fig. 2). The position B is determined according to the extent of the removed oil and the moving speed of the conveyer and, for example, to set to reach this position within 0.5 to 4 seconds after starting of the suction as mentioned in Examples 1 and 2 is preferred. In this case, the number of the oil removing heads can be increased according to the time to be set. Finally, this cycle is repeated by returning to the position A shown by the solid line in Fig. 2. Although the oil removing head 7 follows the continuous movement of the conveyer 2, the oil removing head 7 may perpendicularly reciprocate against the direction of the movement of the conveyer 2 and may have the structure for interlockingly and intermittently moving the conveyer 2 to correspond thereto. Further, the structure for removing the oil contained in the brick of the fried noodles 4, by closely or adjacently passing the fry retainer 3 above the top surface of a fixed oil removing head 7, may also be acceptable (See, Fig. 5(c)). Comparative Example 1: Distribution of Oil and Fat Contained in Brick of Fried Noodles and Experiment on Removal of Oil and Fat according to the Prior Art 105 g of the noodle, prepared by kneading 90 parts by weight of the flour, 10 parts by weight of the starch, 32 parts by weight of the water, 1.5 parts by weight of the salt and 0.2 part by weight of a powder of the kansui, pressing it to become a thickness of 0.75 mm, cutting with a square cutter No. 20 and seasoning by steaming for 2 minutes at 200 kg/hr (steam flow) with a liquid seasonings, are packed in a mold having a dimension of 82 x 65 x height 57 mm and fried the packed noodles in an oil (palm oil) for 2 minutes and 10 seconds at a temperature of 147 to 150 °C, thereby 65g of a brick of the noodles to be put in a vertical cup is obtained. Fig. 4 shows an amounts of the oil contained in the upper, the middle and the lower layer portions of the brick of the noodles. As shown in Fig. 4, although the oil and the fat content of the lower layer portion is increased, the reason thereof would seems to be transferred the oil from the lower layer portion to the upper layer portion of the brick of the noodle at the time of frying, and to be gradually transferred, after frying, the oil of the surface of the noodle to the lower layer portion. As shown in Fig. 6, although the high pressure air is sprayed over the upper portion of the brick of the noodle at an air flow of 6.7 m³/min (for 1 second) to scatter the oil and the fat, a remarkable oil removing effects was not obtained due to the closed upper portion of the brick of the noodle and the poor ventilation (See, Column A in Table 1). As shown in Table 1, the brick of the noodles once cooled (by a ventilation for 5 minutes at a room temperature) have no remarkable oil removing effects even if the brick of the noodle is heated and sucked again (by heating up to 150 °C with a hot air and sucking the oil and the fat at an air flow of 6.7 m³/min) due to a penetration of the oil and the fat into the noodle (See, Column B in Table 1). As a results of the experiments above, it had been proved that the oil and the fat would efficiently be removed by the suction through the bottom of the fry retainer in a short time after frying. Result of Experiment on Removal of Oil and Fat Oil and Fat Content (%) Oil and Fat Content (%) Control 17.3 Control 17.0 A 16.4 B 16.8 Example 1: Relation between Leaving Time/Sucking Time of a Brick of Fried Noodles and Volume of Removed Oil Each 105 g of the noodle, prepared by kneading the same materials of the Comparative Example according to the ordinary method, pressing it to become a thickness of 0.75 mm, cutting (a square cutter No. 20) and seasoning by steaming for 2 minutes at 200 kg/hr (steam flow) with a liquid seasonings, are packed in a mold (inner dimension of 82 x 65 x height 57 mm) and fried the packed noodles in an oil (palm oil) for 2 minutes and 10 seconds at a temperature of 147 to 150 °C thereby 65g of the brick of the noodle are produced. Selecting an appropriate condition of the sucking time of 0.5 to 4 seconds from the leaving time of the brick of the noodle of 15 to 60 seconds, and conducting, as shown in Fig. 3, the suction from the downside of the retainer, in the state of connecting (contacting) the oil removing head to the bottom of the retainer and closing the upper lid, with "Fuji Ring Blow ™" manufactured by Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. at an air flow of 6.7 m³/min. The results of this experiment are shown in Table 2. Relation between Leaving Time/Sucing Time of a Brick of Fried Noodles and Volume of Removed Oil Time for Sucking Oil (second) 0 0.5 1 2 4 Time for Leaving a Brick of Fried Noodles (Second) 15 Water(%) 1.8 2.4 2.6 2.7 2.8 Oil and Fat(%) 17.0 12.7 12.6 12.5 11.9 Brick of Noodles - X X X X 30 Water(%) 1.8 2.5 2.6 2.6 2.5 Oil and Fat(%) 17.3 12.8 12.7 12.3 12.4 Brick of Noodles - X X X X 60 Water(%) 1.7 2.3 2.5 2.6 2.4 Oil and Fat(%) 17.0 13.4 13.2 12.8 13.0 Brick of Noodles - Y Y Y Y X: No cracks occur onto a brick of fried noodles. Y: Cracks occur onto a brick of fried noodles. Apparently from Table 2, little change is observed on the volume of the removed oil according to the sucking time and there are no remarkable difference on the volume of the removed oil according to the leaving time. However, the brick of the fried noodle leaved for 60 seconds after completing the frying tends to slightly decrease the volume of the removed oil and to crack the brick of the noodle. As referred to above, this causes due to the penetration of the oil and the fat into the noodle as time passed and there is no crack by the suction force of the suction device at the time of suction because the brick of the noodle just fried have a high temperature and have a certain elasticity. In contrast thereto, the temperature of the brick of the noodle is lowered, the elasticity of the noodle is eliminated, thereby the brick of the noodle comes to easily crack by the suction force of the suction device. On the other hand, although the water content of the brick of the noodle is increased to some extent, this is owing to an adsorption of the water in the air to the brick of the noodle at the time of suction, it would not causes any adversely affect on a quality of the noodle. In order to examine in detail the relation between the leaving time after completing the frying of the brick of the noodles and an amounts of the removed oil, the present applicant had conducted the following experiment (Example 2). Example 2: Relation between Leaving Time After Frying and Amounts of Removed Oil After completing the frying according to the Example 1, selecting an appropriate condition on the leaving time after frying from 30 to 40 seconds and conducting the suction for 0.5 second with a same device of Example 1 at an air flow of 6.7 m³/min. The results of this experiment are shown in Table 3. Relation between Leaving Time of a Brick of Fried Noodles and Volume of Removed Oil Oil and Fat Content (%) Water Content(%) Control 16.9 1.7 Time for leaving a brick of fried noodles alone 30 (sec) 12.6 2.0 40 (sec) 12.7 2.4 50 (sec) 13.8 2.3 60 (sec) 13.7 2.3 Apparently from Table 3, as the leaving time after frying is longer, an amounts of the removed oil tends to decrease and the brick of the noodle tends also to crack. Therefore, from these results, it had been found that a preferrable condition, being variable according to the size of the brick of the noodle, for removing the oil and the fat is not exceed 30 seconds, at longest 40 seconds, after completing the frying. However, under the condition of not cooling the fried noodle, the appropriate time for removing the oil of the fried noodle can be extended. Example 3: Experiment on Effects of Oil and Fat Suction 30 seconds after the completion of the frying according to the Example 1, as shown in Fig. 5(a), conducting the suction for 1 or 2 second(s) by sliding the fry retainer having no upper lid above the wire-net (indicated at 10) of 5 m/m mesh with "Fuji Ring Blow ™" manufactured by Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. at an air flow of 6.7 m³/min. Further, 30 seconds after the completion of the frying, as shown in Fig. 5(b), conducting the suction for 1 or 2 second(s) from the bottom of the fry retainer having no upper lid by the oil removing head having the slit (indicated at 11) of 15 mm width and 70 mm length with "Fuji Ring Blow ™" manufactured by Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. at an air flow of 6.7 m³ /min. The results of these experiments are shown in Table 4. Effects on Oil and Fat Suction Oil and Fat Content (%) Water Content(%) Control 16.9 1.7 Method (a):Suction for 1 sec. 16.0 1.9 Method (a):Suction for 2 sec. 16.1 1.9 Method (b):Suction for 1 sec. 15.6 1.7 Method (b):Suction for 2 sec. 15.7 1.7 Apparently from Table 4, under the condition of the air flow of 6.7 m³/min, there is no difference between the method (a) and (b) on the effect of removing the oil and the fat, and it is proved that the method, as shown in the Examples 1 and 2, for removing the oil in the state of connecting (contacting) the oil removing head to the bottom of the fry retainer is effective. Example 4: Experiment on Effects of Oil and Fat Suction 30 ~ 40 seconds after the completion of the frying according to the Example 1, as shown in Fig. 5(c), conducting the suction (for removing the oil and the fat) by making a space between the top surface of the oil removing head and the bottom of the fry retainer at an air flow of 16.6 m³/min. The results of this experiments are shown in Table 5. Effects on Oil and Fat Suction Oil and Fat Content (%) Water Content (%) Control 17.9 1.7 Suction for 1 sec:Space (2 mm) 14.0 2.3 Suction for 2 sec:Space (2 mm) 13.3 2.6 Suction for 2 sec:Space (4 mm) 14.7 2.4 Suction for 3 sec:Space (4 mm) 14.2 2.5 Suction for 4 sec:Space (4 mm) 14.1 2.4 Further, 30 ~ 40 seconds after the completion of the frying, as shown in Fig. 5(b), conducting the suction (for removing the oil and the fat) from the bottom of the fry retainer having no upper lid by passing the fry retainer for 2.4 seconds above the oil removing head having the slit (indicated at 11) of 20 mm width and 75 mm length at an air flow of 28m³/min. The results of this experiments are shown in Table 6. Effects on Oil and Fat Suction Oil and Fat Content (%) Water Content (%) Control 18.7 1.8 Space (2 mm) 14.2 2.5 Space (4 mm) 14.6 2.3 Apparently from Table 5 and 6, by increasing the air flow and the time for suction, an effect on the suction to be used practically would also be obtained in case of making the space between the oil removing head and the fry retainer. Considering the disclosures above, it is found that, in addition to a method of connecting the oil removing head to the bottom of the fry retainer, a method of bringing the oil removing head close to the fry retainer would also obtain the effects of suction and be suitable for a manufacturing process. According to the present invention, the oil and fat contained in the brick of the noodles cab forcibly be removed by suction in a short time after frying. Therefore, prior to the penetration of the oil adhered to the surface of the noodle into the noodle, the oil can effectively be removed. Further, there is no crack by the suction force for sucking the oil because the brick of the noodle just fried have a high temperature and have an elasticity, thereby a product having a reduced oil content and an excellent quality and shape can be obtained. Accordingly, it can cope with the problems to be solved by reducing the remaining amounts of the oil raised by the consumer's attention against the European and American type adult-diseases caused by the increase of the intake of the oil and the fat as the eating-habits are Europeanized, and can eliminate the problems of the oxidization of the oil and the fat at the stage of the conveyance and the preservation and of the deterioration of the fried noodles due to the oxidization. Further, in comparison with the conventional centrifugation method and the gravity method, the present invention can easily be incorporated into a continuous fried noodle producing line, can also be applied to the continuous operation, can remove the oil and the fat easily and effectively, and can remarkably reduce the oil remaining without cracking the brick of noodles.

Claims: A method for producing a brick of fried noodles comprising cutting noodles into a fixed quantity, packing that quantity of noodles into a fry retainer permeable to oil, closing the fry retainer with a lid, and frying the noodles to produce the brick of fried noodles characterised in that, after frying, oil contained in the brick of noodles is sucked and removed through the bottom of the fry retainer after it has been raised above the surface of the frying oil. A system for producing a brick of fried noodles, comprising conveyor means for continuously carrying a plurality of fry retainers for holding the noodles and passing the fry retainers through an oil pan , and oil removing means for sucking and removing oil and fat from the brick of fried noodles through holes formed in the bottom of the fry retainers after raising a fry retainer from the oil pan. A system as claimed in Claim 2 in which the oil removing means comprise an oil removing head to be connected to the bottom of the fry retainer having the holes. A system as claimed in Claim 2 in which the oil removing means comprise an oil removing head arranged to approach the bottom of the fry retainer having the holes. A system as claimed in Claim 3 or Claim 4, in which the oil removing means comprise a separator connected to the oil removing head, a suction device and an exhauster connected to the separator.

Inventors: HIRATA TOSHINARI - KUSATSU -CH, MORISHITA KENKICHI - - KAMIHOZ, YAMAYA TATSUO - IMAJUKUCHO, HIRATA, TOSHINARI, 14-40, KUSATSU 3-CHOME, MORISHITA, KENKICHI, 6-1-502, KAMIHOZUMI 4-CHOME, YAMAYA, TATSUO, 479-13, IMAJUKUCHO
Applicants: NISSIN FOOD PRODUCTS LTD, NISSIN SHOKUHIN KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1992
Main classification: A23L1
IPC codes: A47J37, A21B5, A23L1