Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com

Food Research International 41 (2008) 888–902

www.elsevier.com/locate/foodres

Asian noodles: History, classification, raw materials, and processing

Bin Xiao Fu
Canadian International Grains Institute, 1000 – 303 Main Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3C 3G7

Received 4 September 2007; accepted 25 November 2007

Abstract

Noodles in various contents, formulations, and shapes have been the staple foods for many Asian countries since ancient time. They can
be made from wheat, rice, buckwheat, and starches derived from potato, sweet potato, and pulses. Noodles based on wheat are prepared
mainly from three basic ingredients; flour, water, and salt. There exist two distinct types of wheat flour noodles based on the presence and
absence of alkaline salts, regular salted noodles, and alkaline noodles. The basic process of dough mixing, sheet forming, compounding,
sheeting/reduction, and cutting are essentially constant for all machine-made noodles. Noodle strands coming out of cutting rolls can be
further processed to produce different types of noodles. This article analyzed all the major processes involved from raw material to finished
products in relation to noodle processing properties and cooked noodle texture. Different ingredients and their functionality in noodle pro-
cessing were discussed as well. Guidelines were provided to select the right ingredients to produce high quality noodle products. Processing
properties, appearance, and colour of noodles are the three key criteria used to judge a process and raw material quality. High quality noo-
dles should be bright in colour with very slow discoloration, have an adequate shelf life without visible microbiological deterioration or oxi-
dative rancidity, and have appropriate flavour and textural characteristics which will vary according to the noodle type and region. Flour
plays a key role in all aspects of noodle quality. Protein content is positively correlated with noodle firmness and sometimes negatively cor-
related with elasticity. Therefore, a correct range of protein content is important for textural characteristics. Adequate gluten strength and
extensibility is required in all noodle flours. Noodle dough must be strong enough to withstand sheeting, but not so strong as to cause tearing
or difficulty in sheet reduction. A good level of dough extensibility ensures that dough sheets do not shrink back during successive roll passes.
The importance of the pasting properties of starch to the texture of cooked noodles has been well-documented. The required soft, smooth,
and elastic textural properties of certain types of white salted noodles can be best obtained from wheats with high starch paste viscosity and
high swelling starch properties. Alkaline noodles do not have the same requirement for high starch swelling properties. Noodles made from
flour with high swelling starches have softer texture than those with low swelling starch. Noodles should be bright and slow in discoloration
with time after manufacturing. For white salted noodles, a white or creamy white colour is desirable. The level of natural yellow pigment
levels (xanthophylls) in flour is highly correlated with noodle colour, and this is wheat variety dependent. For yellow alkaline noodles, a
bright yellow colour is required, although the preference for the degree of colour development is regionally based. Noodle darkening
increases with the increases of flour extraction rate. This is due to the action of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) enzymes which are largely located
in the bran layer. Low flour extraction and ash levels are preferred for the manufacture of noodles with a clean and bright appearance. A
relatively fine flour particle size enables even hydration during mixing and optimum, uniform gluten development during sheeting. Increased
starch damage, however, is associated with poor noodle colour and undesirable high cooking loss and excessive surface swelling.
Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Noodles; Processing; Wheat flour

1. Introduction staple food, using chopsticks as a major serving tool. Asian

One of the most distinguished oriental cultures is the
consumption of rice, noodles, and steamed breads as daily
E-mail address: bfu@cigi.ca
noodles are not made exclusively of wheat, many are made
from rice, buckwheat, and starches derived from the mung
bean and potato for example. This paper will focus primar-
ily on noodles produced from wheat flour.
Noodles based on wheat are prepared mainly from three
basic ingredients; flour, water, and salt. Asian noodles and

0963-9969/$ - see front matter Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2007.11.007
 B.X. Fu / Food Research International 41 (2008) 888–902
Italian pasta differ in raw materials and processing meth-
ods. Noodle products are usually made from common
wheat fine flour by a process of sheeting and cutting as
opposed to pasta products, which are processed from
coarse semolina milled from durum wheat by extrusion.
Who invented the noodle is a hotly contested topic –
with the Chinese, Italians, and Arabs all staking a claim.
But the discovery by Lu et al. (2005) of a pot of thin noo-
dles preserved for 4000 years in Yellow river slit may have
tipped the bowl in China’s favour. It suggests that people
were eating noodles at least 1000 years earlier than previ-
ously thought, and many centuries before such dishes were
documented in Europe. The thin, yellow noodles were
about 50 cm long and resembled La-Mian, a type of tradi-
tional Chinese noodle made by grinding wheat to make
dough and then repeatedly pulling and stretching the
dough by hand.
Early Chinese literature suggests that Shui Bing (dough
sheet pieces in soup) was consumed more than 2000 years
ago in that country. Tang Bing (hot noodle soup) in winter
and Lian Mian (cold noodle soup) in summer were popular
at the beginning of the Tang dynasty (618–906 AD). Chi-
nese people started using chopsticks to serve long noodle
strands in the Song dynasty (960–1279 AD). Hand-made
noodle technology was already well developed in the Yuan
dynasty (1279–1368 AD). Noodle shops were able to pro-
duce many types of noodles of different shape, size, and
special local taste, including some very thin hand-stretched
noodles. Many noodles in today’s market have evolved
from the products developed at that time (Miskelly, 1993).
The Chinese hand-made noodle and its processing tech-
nology were introduced to Japan about 1200 years ago
(Nagao, 1996). The four major types of regular salted noo-
dles in Japan (So-men, Hiya-mugi, Udon, and Hira-men)
were developed based on the modified Chinese hand-made
noodle processing techniques to meet the tastes of local
people. The manufacture of noodles was revolutionized
by the Japanese with the development of power-driven
machinery in 1884. At the beginning of the 20th century,
the alkaline salt noodle was spread gradually throughout
Japan by the Chinese immigrants in Yokahama city. The
first instant noodle, called chicken ramen, was produced
by Nissin Foods of Japan in 1958. Instant noodles became
a mainstream food instantly and their consumers are not
only in Asia but worldwide.
Most noodles today are produced by machine. While the
actual process for manufacturing a particular type of noo-
dle may differ from country to country to meet local needs,
the basic principles involved are practically the same. Many
of these principles stem from the ones used in the making
of ancient hand-made noodles. Despite low productivity
based on today’s standards, hand-made noodles continue
to survive and are still very popular in China and Japan.
Hand-made noodles are highly valued for their superior
eating quality, presumably due to the mode of gluten for-
mation. Developments in noodle processing technology
during the 1990s, such as vacuum mixing, waved rollers,
889
and multi-layer sheeting, were based on the principles of
gluten development in hand-made noodles.
2. Classification of noodles
The invention of many noodle formulations and pro-
cessing techniques by the Chinese, coupled with the
advanced technology developed by the Japanese, have
made Asian noodles an international food product.
Despite their ancient origins, noodles have undergone con-
siderable evolution and migration, as the products become
increasingly globalized (Hatcher, 2001; Hou, 2001). The
modification of formulation and processing is necessary
due to regional eating habits, taste preference, and
advances in technology. The local uniqueness of formula-
tion and processing has created many country-specific sys-
tems for noodle classification. There exist wide differences
in the nomenclature for noodles among countries. These
differences often cause confusion. For example, Ramen
refers primarily to fresh yellow alkaline noodles in Japan,
but mainly instant noodles in Korea.
There is a need to standardize noodle nomenclature based
on raw material used, salt composition, processing method,
and sometimes size of noodle strands. Noodles made from
non-wheat grains are easily distinguished by including the
raw material as part of their names, such as rice noodles,
bean thread, and buckwheat noodles. Because of the wide
variation in formulation and method of manufacture, the
classification of wheat flour noodles requires at least the salt
composition in the formulation and basic processing
method to fully describe the nature of each noodle type.
2.1. Classification by salt composition
Wheat flour noodles exist in two distinct categories
based on the presence or absence of alkaline salt or salts
(mainly Na2CO3 and/or K2CO3). The alkaline salt has a
great impact on the colour, flavour, and texture of noodles
(Miskelly, 1996). Noodles based on flour, water, and regu-
lar salt (NaCl) were developed in the north of China, and
the addition of alkaline salt appears to have originated in
the very south of China (Canton and Hokkien provinces).
Alkaline noodles represent less than 10% of total noodle
production in China, the rest being mainly regular salted
noodles. Although alkaline noodles were introduced to
Japan from China much later than regular salted noodles,
alkaline noodles today have slightly higher market share
than regular salted noodles in Japan (Nagao, 1991). It
often creates confusion to name regular salted noodles
‘Japanese-type’ and the ones with alkaline salt, ‘Chinese
type’.
2.1.1. Regular salted noodles
Regular salted noodles are made from a simple flour and
water dough with 2–8% salt based on flour weight. The
actual amount of salt depends on the noodle type and its
processing. Regular salted noodles are widely consumed
890 B.X. Fu / Food Research International 41 (2008) 888–902
in China, Japan, and Korea, but represent only a very
small proportion of the total noodles produced in South-
east Asia. There are three major forms of regular salted
noodles – fresh, dried, and boiled. Newer types, including
frozen boiled and long-life noodles, are getting popular in
Japan. The regular salted noodles are further classified into
four types based on the size of noodle strands. They are,
very thin (So-men), thin (Hiya-mugi), standard (Udon),
and flat (Hira-men), with noodle strand widths of 1.0–1.2,
1.3–1.7, 2.0–3.9, and 5.0–7.5 mm, respectively.
The very thin and thin noodles are usually marketed in
dry form produced by controlled drying of fresh noodle
strands. Standard Udon noodles are mostly produced in
boiled form. Although most noodles are made by machine,
hand-made regular salted noodles are still very popular in
Japan. Regular salted noodles are dominant in China other
than Hong Kong, Canton, and Hokkien provinces (Huang,
1996). The most popular forms are machine-made Gua
Mian (dried noodles), hand-cut or hand-swung fresh noo-
dles, and hand-stretched very thin dried noodles. Regular
salted noodles are second in popularity after instant noo-
dles in Korea. They are marketed in dried, semi-dried,
and fresh forms. Both China and Korea have only very
small production of boiled regular salted noodles.
The appearance of regular salted noodles should be
bright, with clean colour ranging from white to creamy
white, and with a smooth, glossy surface after boiling
(Nagao, 1991). For most Japanese and Koreans, the pre-
ferred textural properties of boiled regular salted noodles
are soft and elastic with a smooth surface (Crosbie & Ross,
2004). Most Chinese, however, prefer noodles with firm,
elastic, and chewy texture (Huang, 1996).
2.1.2. Alkaline noodles
The application of alkaline salt in noodle making origi-
nated in the Canton and Hokkien provinces of very south-
ern China. The weather in that region is hot and humid
most of the year. It is believed that the original purpose
of the inclusion of alkaline salts in noodle formula was to
extend noodle shelf life by inhibiting mould growth. In
ancient times, Kan Sui (lye water) was extracted by boiling
lye stone or plant ash in water. The most common alkaline
salts used today are sodium carbonate or potassium car-
bonate, or a mixture of the two. Other alkaline salts, such
as polyphosphates, are often used in the manufacturing of
instant noodles. It is not uncommon to find the application
of sodium hydroxide in the partially boiled noodles in
Southeast Asian.
The incorporation of alkaline salts gives noodles pH val-
ues ranging from about 9 to 11 depending on the salts used
and their ionic strengths (Miskelly, 1996). Alkaline noodles
have a characteristic aroma and flavour, a yellow colour
and a firm, elastic texture. The addition rate of carbonates
is normally at the level of 1.0–1.5% for fresh alkaline noo-
dles and 0.3–0.5% for steamed alkaline noodles. The level
of sodium hydroxide is usually 0.3–1.0% for partially
boiled alkaline noodles. Today, alkaline salts are widely
used in the noodle industry as a dough conditioner or qual-
ity improver at a much lower level, for example, 0.1–0.3%
carbonates for instant noodles. At such low levels, the alka-
line flavour is very light but the noodle texture can be sig-
nificantly modified.
Alkaline noodles were introduced to Southeast Asia by
the immigrants from Canton and Hokkien provinces,
which were the original homes of almost all Chinese
migrants to Southeast Asia. Alkaline noodles were widely
adopted into the local cuisine of Malaysia, Singapore,
Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan (closely related culturally to
Hokkien province), and Hong Kong (was part of Canton
province).
There are many different types of alkaline noodles in
Southeast Asia. The most popular types are fresh (Canton-
ese style), partially boiled (Hokkien style), and fresh or
steamed with egg as an ingredient (Wonton noodles).
Instant noodles, which can be steamed and deep-fried or
steamed and hot-air dried, are also very popular in South-
east Asia. Alkaline salts are usually included in the formula
of instant noodles. They are added at either low level (0.1–
0.3% carbonates) as a quality improver or at a high level
(0.5–1.0% carbonates) to introduce the characteristic alka-
line flavour to the final product. Instant noodles with a low
level of alkaline salts should not be classified as alkaline
noodles which usually refer to those noodles with strong
alkaline aroma, flavour and high pH-induced colour
change. There are also some dried alkaline noodles in
Southeast Asia.
Although alkaline noodles originated from the very
southern part of China, there is little production and con-
sumption in the rest of China. Alkaline noodles are virtu-
ally unknown in Korea, however, alkaline salts are
widely used as quality improvers in instant noodle produc-
tion. Alkaline noodles originated in Yokohama where most
Chinese immigrants lived at the beginning of 20th century.
They were spread throughout Japan by noodle manufac-
turers. Today, alkaline noodles are widely available and
consumed in Japan. The most popular types of alkaline
noodles in Japan are fresh and high moisture steamed noo-
dles. The latter is often called Yakisoba (for stir-frying), or
Kata-Yakisoba (for deep-frying) in Japanese.
2.2. Classification by processing method
Wheat flour based Asian noodles are produced by a rel-
atively simple process (Wu, Kuo, & Cheng, 1998). Flour,
water (about half the amount for bread making), salt, or
alkaline salts are mixed together to evenly distribute the
ingredients and hydrate the flour particles. Other ingredi-
ents can include starch, gums, liquid egg, food colours,
and preservatives. The dough crumble is sheeted between
rollers a few millimeters apart to form a dough sheet. After
the first pass, the dough sheet is not uniform and the sur-
face is rough. Therefore, two dough sheets are usually com-
bined before the second pass. The combined dough sheet is
often rested to relax the gluten structure before continuing
 B.X. Fu / Food Research International 41 (2008) 888–902
with a further sequence of three to five passes through the
sheeting rollers. These sheeting stages serve to develop the
gluten–starch network and reduce the dough sheet to the
desired thickness. Sheets are cut into strands using slotted
cutting rolls to produce noodles of required width which
are then cut to desired lengths. The basic process of dough
mixing, sheet forming, compounding, sheeting/reduction,
and cutting are essentially constant for all machine-made
noodles. Noodle strands coming out of cutting rolls can
be further processed to produce different types of noodles.
Classification based on this further treatment is very effec-
tive to describe the nature of each noodle type.
2.2.1. Fresh noodles
Fresh noodles are raw, wet noodles. No further process-
ing is applied in the factory after sheeted dough is cut into
noodle strands of desired length and width. Noodle strands
are usually dusted with starch or fine flour right after the
cutting process to prevent them from sticking to each other
during handling and transportation. A measured quantity
of noodles is cut and segregated for automatic packaging
or placed into trays in bulk for retail outlets. The moisture
content of fresh noodles ranges from 32% to 40%. The
main disadvantage of fresh noodles is their relatively short
shelf life, ranging from one day to several days, depending
on the packaging and storage conditions.
Fresh alkaline noodles, known as Cantonese noodles, are
very popular in many parts of Southeast Asia including the
very southern part of China. They are known as Ramen and
Chukamen in Japan, and are widely sold in retail shops and
restaurants. Fresh alkaline noodles should be firm, elastic
and smooth in texture, and able to be cut cleanly by the
teeth. Consumers prefer noodles which are bright and clean
in appearance, but the degree of yellowness preferred varies
according to the region. Fresh regular salted noodles are
very popular in most parts of China, with the preferred tex-
ture of firm, elastic, and chewy. After instant noodles and
dried regular salted noodles, fresh regular salted noodles
are also popular in Korea. Regular salted noodles marketed
in fresh raw form have limited popularity in Japan.
2.2.2. Dried noodles
Dried noodles are raw noodles produced by controlled
drying of uncooked wet noodle strands. The final moisture
content of dried noodles is usually less than 14%. Semi-
dried noodles, with moisture content of about 18–25%
are also produced in small quantities. After noodle strands
are formed, they are cut to 2–4 m in length and hung on
rods to dry. In large automated plants, noodles are dried
in a large room where the drying process is controlled
through a three-stage process. Noodles can also be dried
in a chamber where temperature, relative humidity, and
ventilation can be regulated. Where the climate permits,
some noodles, especially hand-stretched noodles, are still
dried in the sun.
Because of their low moisture content, dried noodles
have a long shelf life of 1–2 years. There is a wide variation
891
of sizes and shapes of dried noodles, from flat, thick noo-
dles to round, hair-thin noodles. Unfortunately, dried noo-
dles require longer cooking time and great care during
cooking than other types of noodles. The drying process
reduces the size of the air cells in the noodles, slowing water
penetration and absorption. Prolonged cooking in vigor-
ously boiling water results in a mushy and sticky noodle
surface. The production of flat, thick dried noodles has sig-
nificantly decreased in modern times, however, the med-
ium-thin and thin dried noodles are still very popular in
China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Most dried noodles
are the regular salted type. There are few dried alkaline
noodles.
2.2.3. Steamed noodles
Steamed noodles are partially cooked by treating fresh
noodles with either saturated or unsaturated steam before
they are marketed. In small cottage industries, steamed
noodles are prepared using a bamboo steamer. In modern
industries, the steaming process has been fully automated
by stacking fresh noodles on a net conveyor passing
through a tunnel steamer. The moisture content of the final
product usually varies from 28% to 65%. Steamed noodles
with moisture content less than 32% are partially dried
after steaming. These low moisture steamed noodles are
easier to handle because of their low surface stickiness
and they have a longer shelf life. High moisture steamed
noodles contain approximately 60% moisture. Noodles
are sprayed with hot water at intervals, and steamed simul-
taneously while passing through a tunnel steamer, to accel-
erate gelatinization of the starch. High moisture steamed
noodles have a sticky surface and must be oil-coated before
packaging for distribution.
Low moisture steamed noodles require short cooking in
boiling water before the final preparation for serving. After
draining, the noodles are either placed in hot broth or stir-
fried with vegetables or meats. High moisture steamed noo-
dles are directly stir-fried without cooking in boiling water.
Steamed noodles are mostly alkaline noodles, although
the level of alkaline salt is usually 0.3–0.5%, much lower
than for fresh alkaline noodles. The most popular form
of steamed noodles is steamed Wonton noodles, which
are widely consumed in most parts of Southeast Asia and
the very southern part of China. High moisture steamed
noodles, known as Yakisoba, are very popular in Japan.
They can be conveniently stir-fried, combining noodles,
vegetables, and meats into one dish which is consumed as
a regular meal. Regular salted noodles can also be steamed
to produce steamed noodles, but their production is lim-
ited. Steamed hand-stretched noodles are a premium prod-
uct in China, known as steamed Xian Mian. They are often
consumed at birthday parties to convey a message of good
will for long-life.
2.2.4. Boiled noodles
Boiled noodles are precooked in boiling water. These
noodles are generally divided into two groups; partially
892 B.X. Fu / Food Research International 41 (2008) 888–902
boiled noodles and fully boiled noodles. In traditional
manual transfer operations, fresh noodles are cut to desired
length before feeding into a large kettle for batch boiling.
In automated plants, uncut noodles pass through a boiling
water bath. Noodles which are cut and segregated into pre-
determined weights can also be fed into basket on a travel-
ing belt passing through a boiling bath. After boiling, the
noodles must be steeped immediately in cold water. Excess
water is drained from the noodle surface. The noodles are
then coated with oil to keep them from sticking together.
Noodles are sent in bulk to retail outlets or packed prior
to sale.
Partially boiled alkaline noodles, known as Hokkien
noodles, are very popular in Southeast Asia. They are pro-
cessed by cooking fresh noodles (1.6–2.0 mm in thickness)
for a short period of time (0.5–1.5 min) in boiling water,
resulting in a fine ungelatinized core in the centre, sur-
rounded by cooked dough. Hokkien noodles are quickly
re-cooked by boiling or stir-frying prior to consumption.
Fully boiled Udon noodles are very popular in Japan.
The time of immersion in boiling water for fully cooked
Udon varies from 10 to 20 min, depending on the noodle
thickness. Fully boiled noodles, packed with soup or sauce
sachet, are considered the most convenient noodle products
in the marketplace. Their preparation for serving is very
simple, either dropping them directly in hot soup or reboil-
ing them for 1 or 2 min before eating.
2.2.5. Frozen boiled noodles and sterilized boiled noodles
The texture of boiled noodles deteriorates very fast after
cooking. By applying chilling and quick-freeze technology,
the fresh quality of boiled noodles can be extended for a
reasonable period of time. Most frozen noodles are sold
to restaurants equipped with a specially designed boiling
pot. It takes less than 1 min to thaw a piece of frozen noo-
dle, which can be easily mixed with sauce or soup and be
ready to serve. Frozen boiled noodles allow restaurants
to serve tasty noodles conveniently and efficiently without
the need to provide employees with special training in noo-
dle preparation. Although frozen noodles are getting pop-
ular, they only account for 4–5% of total noodle
production, even in Japan. High water absorption and
addition of modified starch can improve the texture of fro-
zen boiled noodles.
Boiled noodles can also be acidified and pasteurized
with thermal treatment before packaging. This sterilized
and well-packed boiled noodle usually has a shelf life of
three months, and is often referred to as a long-life (LL)
noodle. The general process for LL noodles includes boil-
ing, cooling, acidifying, packaging, low temperature ther-
mal processing, and cooling. After washing with cold
water boiled noodles are immersed in a diluted solution
of organic acid, such as lactic acid, acetic acid, malic acid
or citric acid. The type and concentration of acid used,
the temperature of the acid solution, and steeping time
have a very significant effect on the acid taste of the noodle
products. The use of glycine together with organic acid will
enhance the preservative effect. The sterilized noodle
strands are then cut, packed, and pasteurized by steaming
for more than 40 min at a temperature of 90–98 °C.
2.2.6. Steamed and deep-fried instant noodles
Steamed and deep-fried noodles are partially cooked by
steaming and further cooked and dehydrated by a deep-
frying process (Kim, 1996). The cut noodle strands are con-
tinually fed into a traveling net conveyor moving slower
than the cutting rolls above it. The speed differential
between noodle feeding and net traveling creates a unique
wave in the noodle strands. The cut and wavy noodle
strands are then cooked with steam while passing through
a tunnel steamer. After steaming, noodles are extended to
separate the strands and cooled with a cooling fan. Noo-
dles are then cut into a predetermined length to make
one serving size. The noodle strands may be folded to form
a double layer of noodle blocks. The blocks are then dis-
tributed into baskets, which are mounted on the traveling
chain of a tunnel fryer. The noodle blocks and baskets
are immersed in hot oil for deep-frying. As noodles come
out of the fryer, their temperature may be as high as
160 °C. They require immediate cooling to avoid rapid
oil oxidation. At the same time, excess oil is drained away.
Fried noodles are cooled to room temperature in a travel-
ing cooling tunnel with fans on the top. The cooled noodles
and soup-base sachets are automatically packed.
There are two types of steamed and deep-fried instant
noodles available in the market based on packaging – poly-
ethylene bag-packed or Styrofoam bowl-packed. Bag-
packed noodles are usually cooked in constantly boiling
water for about 3–4 min before serving, and the bowl-
packed or ‘cup’ of noodles are ready to serve after pouring
hot water into the bowl and resting for 2–3 min. The noo-
dle strands of bowl-type noodles are usually thinner than
the bag-type to facilitate the rehydration rate. The basic
processing procedures for bag- and bowl- type noodles
are similar. There do exist, however, some differences in
the processing of these two types of noodles. For example,
up to 25% (based on flour weight) of potato starch is usu-
ally included in the formulation for bowl-type noodles and
they are fried longer in hot oil than bag-type noodles.
2.2.7. Steamed and hot-air dried noodles
Steamed and deep-fried noodles have an average oil
content of 15–22%. There is a big health concern about
the consumption of this type of noodles. This concern
has led to the production of steamed and air dried noodles
since the late 1960s. They are produced in a fully auto-
matic production line similar to the type used for steamed
and deep-fried noodles, except that a continuous drying
chamber replaces the deep fryer, using hot air as the drying
medium. The drying temperature is above 80 °C, much
higher than the temperature used for regular dried noodles.
The drying time, from 30 min to 1 h, is much shorter than
for regular dried noodles of the same size. The moisture
content of the finished product is less than 12%. This
 B.X. Fu / Food Research International 41 (2008) 888–902
partially cooked product has a shelf life of about one year
at this moisture level, if appropriate packaging material has
been used.
Steamed and hot-air dried noodles need a longer cook-
ing time than steamed and fried noodles. Furthermore,
their overall eating quality is quite different from the
steamed and fried noodles. They lack the distinctive flavour
introduced by deep-frying.
2.3. Noodles from non-wheat grains
Noodles prepared from starches or grains such as rice
and buckwheat, unlike wheat, do not contain gluten. They
require gelatinization of the starch during processing to
bind them together, or blending with wheat flour to take
advantage of the gluten present in the latter. Thus the
major manufacturing methods depend on the presence or
absence of gluten.
2.3.1. Starch noodles
Starch noodles, produced from purified starch from var-
ious plant sources, are a major category of Asian noodles.
They can be used as a major ingredient for making popular
Chinese hot pot, fondue, noodle and vegetable salad, and
many stir-fried dishes.
Starches derived from the mung bean, yellow peas and
potato are widely used in the production of these noodles
(Prabhavat, 1988). The mung bean starch is isolated by a
wet-milling process. Mung bean seeds are first soaked in
warm water (30–40 °C) for 6–9 h, followed by soaking in
cold water (5–10 °C) for 8–16 h. After draining, they are
wet-milled to free starch granules from the cells. Starches
are isolated from proteins and fibres by mechanical separa-
tion and often further purified with enzyme treatment.
Starches are then dried to a moisture content of about
20–25%. A small amount of starch (3–4% of the total) is
fully gelatinized by boiling water. The pregelatinized starch
is then mixed with the raw starch and water to form slurry,
which is extruded through a die with holes of 0.7–0.8 mm
in diameter. The formed noodles are directly fed into boil-
ing water to cook for a few seconds. They are immediately
cooled, and drained. The noodles are refrigerated (0–4 °C)
or frozen ( 10 °C) for 12–24 h to allow the starch to retro-
grade. They are defrosted and air- or sun-dried before
packaging.
In addition to a short cooking requirement, mung bean
noodles have a low loss of solids on prolonged cooking and
a distinctive chewy and elastic texture. These textural char-
acteristics are due to the unique properties of the starch,
which has great hot-paste stability. Mung bean starch has
very high amylose content and behaves like chemically
cross-linked starch that exhibits restricted swelling and sol-
ubilization. These properties contribute to a starch gel
which is both resilient and transparent.
Starch from potatoes has been used to make desirable
starch noodles although the physicochemical properties
of potato starch differ from those of mung bean starch.
893
Potato starch is preferable over cereal starches for manu-
facturing starch noodles because of its neutral taste, much
higher transparency and the elasticity of the noodles pro-
duced. Potato starch noodles are usually larger in size than
mung bean starch noodles because of their inferior cooking
properties and texture.
2.3.2. Buckwheat noodles
Buckwheat belongs to the family of Polygonaceae, a dif-
ferent breed of plant than the normal cereal grains such as
wheat, rice and barley. Buckwheat is a sharp, three-sided
seed with dark brown colour. The seed has four basic com-
ponents: the outer hull, the seed coat, the endosperm tissue,
and the embryo. Under the hull of the whole buckwheat
grain lies a delicate light-green kernel. In order to have
superior taste and fragrance, it is especially important to
have cool temperatures during the period when the buck-
wheat flowers are being formed. Nature has wrapped buck-
wheat within a hard and tightly clinging hull for good
reason. Once removed, buckwheat’s treasured fragrance
and flavour dissipate within a matter of days. The taste,
texture, colour, and fragrance exhibited by buckwheat
flour are largely determined according to how the seed is
ground and sifted after the outer hull is removed. Since
heat easily affects the quality of buckwheat, it is important
not to allow the rollers to become too hot during milling.
The stone-ground method is considered the ideal way of
milling buckwheat. In Japan, flour from the centre of the
buckwheat kernel (No. 1 flour) makes up about 25% of
the buckwheat flour produced. Flour from the rest of the
endosperm (No. 2), from the seed coat (No. 3), and from
the part very close to the hull represent 35%, 30% and
10% of the buckwheat flour, respectively (Shiratori & Nag-
ata, 1986).
Noodles made from buckwheat flour are found mainly
in Japan, Korea, and northeast China. Generally the buck-
wheat flour is mixed with some wheat flour to take advan-
tage of its gluten to help the flour bind together.
Buckwheat noodles are made by hand or machine in a
fashion similar to flour noodles. In Korea, buckwheat flour
is often mixed with wheat flour or potato starch to make
Lian Mian by an extrusion process. Buckwheat noodles
are commonly called Soba in Japan. These brown or
grey-coloured noodles are usually served cold in summer
and warm in winter. There are three major forms of soba
available in the market: dried soba, boiled soba, and fresh
soba. They accounted for 8.5% of total noodle production
in Japan in 2000. Hand-made noodles, made from a blend
of 2–3 parts wheat flour to 7–8 parts of buckwheat flour are
often sold in small specialty soba restaurants. Machine-
made soba require a higher percentage of wheat flour
(40–80%) to increase the binding power of the mixture.
To maximize the special flavour and taste of buckwheat,
fresh milled flour from newly harvested grains should be
used for making soba.
Buckwheat noodles have a firm and elastic eating tex-
ture, attributed to the high paste viscosity of the buckwheat
894 B.X. Fu / Food Research International 41 (2008) 888–902
endosperm (Udesky, 1988). The maximum viscosity of
buckwheat flour can be as high as 1800 BU, while it ranges
from 450 to 950 BU for wheat flour depending on its waxy
status. In addition to their unique taste, buckwheat noodles
have a superior protein makeup (very high lysine), contain
an abundance of vitamins B1, B2, minerals, and dietary
fibre. In China and Japan, it has been known for hundreds
of years that buckwheat is an effective preventive measure
against high blood pressure and is beneficial for blood cir-
culation in the human body. These benefits are due to the
valuable flavonoid rutin present in buckwheat but absent
in cereals.
2.3.3. Rice noodles
After cooked rice grains, rice noodles (mi-fun) are the
second principal form of rice product widely consumed in
Asia (Juliano & Sakurai, 1985). They may either be stir-
fried by mixing with meats and vegetables, or boiled in a
broth and served as a soup noodle. Rice proteins lack the
functionality of wheat gluten in forming continuous visco-
elastic dough. It is common to subject part of the rice flour
to pregelatinization to create a binder for the remaining
flour. There are two main methods used for the production
of rice noodles: extrusion, which is used to produce vermi-
celli types; and sheeting of a batter, which is used to pro-
duce sheets and flat noodles.
Rice vermicelli noodles are made from high amylose rice
which is wet-milled after steeping in water for several
hours. The milled rice is filtered, pulverized, and moulded
into balls. The balls are pre-cooked in boiling water for
about 20 min or steamed to enable surface gelatinization.
The partially cooked balls are then kneaded to uniformly
distribute the gelatinized rice throughout the dough to
act as a binder. The kneaded dough is extruded through
a die. The extruded noodles drop into boiling water and
are removed when sufficiently cooked and float on the sur-
face of the boiling water. The cooked noodles are immedi-
ately transferred into a tank of cold water for cooling. The
noodles are then positioned in racks for drying. Alterna-
tively, the extruded noodles are placed directly in racks
and subjected to steaming for 10–15 min, followed by
washing in running water, and finally, dried in trays. In
Japan, dry-milled rice flours have been used in place of
wet-milled rice flours. The dry flour is mixed with water,
heated about 1 min at 100 °C to allow partial starch gelati-
nization, and then kneaded in a screw kneader before
extrusion. Uniform and straight strands, white and translu-
cent colouring, and absence of broken strands are charac-
teristics of high quality rice noodles. After soaking in hot
water, high quality noodles hydrate with minimum turbid-
ity and surface stickiness.
Sheeted or flat fresh rice noodles are popular in most
parts of Southeast Asia, southern China, and Japan. A
wet-milled rice batter is coated onto a rotating heated drum
and the formed sheet is stripped off and conveyed to a
steaming tunnel where gelatinization occurs. The noodles
can be sold as sheets (about 1 mm thick) or cut into strips
1 cm wide to make fresh rice ribbon noodles. Flat rice noo-
dles can also be dried before sale. The Japanese sheeted rice
noodle process consists of washing milled rice, pulverizing,
steaming, and kneading. The kneaded dough is then
sheeted with conventional noodle machinery. The final
thickness of the sheet is about 1–2 mm before cutting.
The degree of pre-gelatinization of rice flour plays a very
important role in imparting desirable noodle texture.
Although some level of gelatinization is required to pro-
duce the binding power during extrusion, excessive gelatini-
zation may cause problems. Traditionally, rice noodles are
made from long-grain rice with medium to high amylose
content (>22% amylose). Swelling capacity of starch and
amylose–amylopectine ratio are the two major factors
affecting rice noodle quality. Rice varieties with high amy-
lose and hard gel consistency are best suited for making
rice noodles (Juliano & Sakurai, 1985). High amylose rice
gives bright coloured noodles with low bulk density due
to low swelling capacity.
3. Raw materials for noodle processing
Noodle products that are nutritious, safe and conform
with the relevant food standards in the country of sale are
considered to have met the basic requirements for these
products. With the development of the Asia-Pacific econ-
omy, consumer expectation of noodle product quality is
getting higher. High quality noodles should be bright in col-
our with very slow discoloration, have an adequate shelf life
without visible microbiological deterioration or oxidative
rancidity, and have appropriate flavour and textural char-
acteristics which will vary according to the noodle type
and region. While the major raw material for wheat-based
noodles is flour, there are in fact many other ingredients
which contribute to the quality of the finished product.
Raw materials with appropriate characteristics are judged
from an understanding of their functionalities, the finished
product, and process involved (Miskelly, 1998). Noodle
manufacturers translate these functional and processing
properties into quantitative quality terms, such as flour pro-
tein and ash content. It is very important that raw materials
possess appropriate and adequate functional and process-
ing properties in order to produce a quality product.
3.1. Flour
There are many different types of noodle products in the
Asia-Pacific region. Each of these products has its own
characteristics. Therefore, it is difficult to discuss flour
quality or specifications in general, without specifying the
kind of product, regional preference, method of processing,
existing facility and production environment. Many
requirements, however, are considered basic quality factors
common to all noodle products.
The key to finished product quality is to select wheat
with the right qualities. It should be purchased from a
reliable wheat supplier with good production practices,
 B.X. Fu / Food Research International 41 (2008) 888–902
efficient identity preservation, and good storage and trans-
portation systems to ensure that contamination, hygiene,
and heavy metal and pesticide residue meet the require-
ments. Since noodles are very sensitive to the inclusion of
sprout or disease damaged kernels, wheats for noodles
should be sound, dry, and clean. The major quality criteria
for noodle wheat are bran colour, kernel hardness, protein
content, dough strength, and starch pasting properties
(Crosbie & Ross, 2004). Execution of correct milling proce-
dures is very critical to ensure the resulting noodle flour has
bright colour, low ash content, low level of damaged
starch, and fine particles. Some manufacturers of fresh
noodles, where hygiene is of critical importance, will have
requirements for microbiological limits for the flour. The
mode and degree of gluten development in noodle dough
are very different from those in bread dough. In the assess-
ment of flour quality for noodle manufacturing, many of
the traditional dough tests are of limited value once general
quality considerations have been met.
Each type of noodle has its own optimum protein range
and wheat grist will be blended prior to milling to achieve
flours which meet the appropriate specification criteria.
Protein content is positively correlated with noodle firmness
and sometimes negatively correlated with elasticity. There-
fore, a correct range of protein content is important for tex-
tural characteristics (Park & Baik, 2004; Ross, Quail, &
Crosbie, 1997; Zhao & Seib, 2005). White salted noodles
are generally made from flours in the range 8–11% protein,
yellow alkaline noodles from flours in the range 9–13% pro-
tein and instant noodles from flours in the range of 8.5–
12.5% protein. Dried noodles generally require higher pro-
tein content than that for fresh or boiled noodles, because
the noodles must be able to withstand the drying process
without breakage. Protein content is particularly important
for manufacturers of instant noodles, because fat uptake
during frying decreases as flour protein content increases.
Gluten development during the mixing of noodle dough
is incomplete and a uniform gluten matrix is only formed
during the sheeting process. Adequate gluten strength
and extensibility is required in all noodle flours. Noodle
dough must be strong enough to withstand sheeting, but
not so strong as to cause tearing or breakage of the sheet
or the noodles. A good level of dough extensibility ensures
that dough sheets do not shrink back during successive roll
passes. Flour with high protein and strong gluten requires
more roll compression (work input) to achieve the required
final sheet thickness.
The importance of the pasting properties of starch to the
texture of cooked noodles has been well-documented (Cros-
bie, 2005). The required soft, smooth, and elastic textural
properties of Japanese Udon and Korea dried salted noo-
dles can be best obtained from wheats with high starch
paste viscosity and high swelling starch properties. Varia-
tion in starch swelling properties is cultivar dependent. In
Japan and Korean, manufacturers of Udon and other white
salted noodles specify minimum flour peak viscosities of at
least of 700 BU. Starch properties also appear to have a role
895
in instant noodle quality and some manufacturers prefer
flours with low gelatinization temperatures for rapid hydra-
tion during cooking. Alkaline noodles do not have the same
requirement for high starch swelling properties. Noodles
made flour with high swelling starches have softer texture
than those with low swelling starch. Protein content appears
to be a more useful indicator of alkaline noodle texture.
Noodles should be bright and slow in discoloration with
time after manufacturing. For white salted noodles, a white
or creamy white colour is desirable. The level of natural yel-
low pigment levels (xanthophylls) in flour is highly corre-
lated with noodle colour, and this is wheat variety
dependent. For yellow alkaline noodles, a bright yellow col-
our is required, although the preference for the degree of col-
our development is regionally based. The primary
component of yellow colour development in alkaline noo-
dles is due to a pH dependent, chemically induced colour
shift in water-soluble flour flavonoids, with a secondary
effect due to flour xanthophylls (Asentorfer, Wang, &
Mares, 2006). Bleaching of flour largely destroys the natural
yellow pigments, and is not recommended for noodle flours.
Noodle darkening increases with the increases of flour
extraction rate. Higher levels of bran result in darker noodles
and the darkening is intensified around a nucleus of non-
endosperm material. This is due to the action of polyphenol
oxidase (PPO) enzymes which are largely located in the bran
layer (Fuerst, Anderson, & Morris, 2006; Hatcher & Kruger,
1993). Low flour extraction and ash levels are preferred for
the manufacture of noodles with a clean and bright appear-
ance. The milling strategies should be developed to ensure
clean separation of bran and endosperm, including two-
stage tempering and adjustment of break releases in the mill.
This might also include a divide flour milling system, with the
patent flour yielding as low as 30–40%. Increased flour pro-
tein content also decreases noodle brightness.
A relatively fine flour particle size enables even hydra-
tion during mixing and optimum, uniform gluten develop-
ment during sheeting. A typical noodle flour will have less
than 15% retained on 100 l sieve. The particle size distribu-
tion should be uniform. The small flour particles hydrate
much faster than big ones, rendering non-uniform size dis-
tribution of dough crumbles. This will create stripes (wet or
dry) in dough sheet. Very fine particle size flour may be
indicative of high starch damage, which should be avoided,
due to its competition for water with gluten during mixing.
Increased starch damage is also associated with poor noo-
dle colour and undesirable high cooking loss and excessive
surface swelling (Hatcher, Anderson, Desjardins, Edwards,
& Dexter, 2002).
3.2. Water
Water is an essential ingredient for noodle processing.
Without water, the gluten proteins in the flour cannot exhi-
bit viscoelastic properties. Water provides the necessary
medium for all the physicochemical and biochemical reac-
tions that underlie the transformation of raw materials into
896 B.X. Fu / Food Research International 41 (2008) 888–902
finished products. Water-soluble ingredients are usually
dissolved in water before mixing. The amount of water
required for noodle processing is optimized to have enough
water to hydrate the flour and develop a uniform dough
sheet, yet not be so great that the formed dough causes
problems in handling and sheeting due to stickiness. The
water absorption level for noodle processing is about 30–
38% based on flour weight. Water is the second most
important raw material after flour for noodle manufactur-
ing. It has a significant effect on the finished product qual-
ity. Besides the basic fundamental sanitary requirements,
water used for noodle processing has to meet certain spec-
ifications in order to produce high quality products.
The origin of water has a major impact on its character.
Surface waters are usually prone to containing higher levels
of organic, chemical and microbial contaminants than
ground waters, whereas the latter tend to be relatively
richer in dissolved mineral substances. Depending upon
the amount and type of mineral salts present in natural
waters, they are referred to as either hard, soft, saline or
alkaline waters. Natural waters normally have a pH value
between 5.8 and 8.6.
Water varies in hardness, alkalinity, and pH value,
which in turn affects flour hydration, dough sheet proper-
ties, starch gelatinization, and texture of the finished prod-
ucts. Excessively hard waters are undesirable because they
retard the hydration of flour particles by tightening the glu-
ten proteins too much. The ions in water also have a very
significant impact on the gelatinization of starch during
steaming or boiling. Very soft waters are objectionable
since they lack the gluten–strengthening minerals and tend
to yield soft, sticky dough sheets. A water of medium to
low hardness is considered suitable for noodle processing.
High amounts of calcium and magnesium, in the form
of their bicarbonates, are responsible for the high alkalinity
found in some water. The pH value of alkaline water could
be as high as 9 after boiling because the bicarbonates
decompose upon heating to form the corresponding car-
bonates. Alkaline waters are not suitable for noodle pro-
cessing, especially for boiled noodles.
3.3. Salt
Salt is a very important ingredient in noodle processing.
The amount added is usually 1–3% of flour weight. For
boiled Udon and some hand-made noodles, up to 8% salt
could be added in the formulation. Salt performs three
principal functions in noodle processing. Foremost among
these is its strengthening and tightening effect on the gluten
of dough, which may be partly due to its inhibitory effect
on proteolytic enzymes, although other evidence indicates
a more direct interaction of the salt with flour proteins.
This can significantly improve sheeting properties of
dough, especially at high water absorption levels. A second
function of salt is its flavour enhancing and texture improv-
ing effects. In addition to contributing a pure salty taste
when present in sufficient concentration in a food, salt
has been shown to have further flavour enhancing effects
in various foods such as imparting greater fullness to their
‘‘mouth-feel”, masking possible off-taste and, most impor-
tant, improving the flavour balance. Noodles with salt
added have a shorter cooking time and a softer but more
elastic texture than those without salt. A third function
of salt is its inhibition of enzyme activities and the growth
of micro-organisms. Salt slows down the oxidative discol-
oration process and spoilage under high temperature and
humidity environments, therefore, extending the shelf life
of fresh noodles. When making dried noodles, the amount
of salt in the noodle can affect the rate of drying. Moisture
evaporates slower in noodles with higher amounts of salt.
3.4. Alkaline reagents
The unique colour, texture and flavour of alkaline noo-
dles are due to the inclusion of alkaline salt, a quantita-
tively minor but qualitatively very important ingredient
in noodle processing. Alkaline salt can be used alone or
in combination with different salts, depending on local
preference. The most commonly used alkaline salts are
sodium and potassium carbonates. Other alkaline reagents,
such as sodium hydroxide and bicarbonates are also used
in some countries. Addition rates of alkaline salts are
0.5–1.5% for noodles with strong alkaline flavour and,
0.1–0.3% as a quality improver for certain type of noodles.
The yellowish colour associated with alkaline noodles is
attributed to the presence of natural flavonoid pigments in
flour, which are colourless at acidic pH levels but turn to
yellow at alkaline pH levels. For given flour, the degree
of yellowness in alkaline noodles is related to the amount
of alkaline reagent added, as well as the type of alkali used.
Noodles made with potassium carbonate have a greenish-
yellow hue and have less reflectance than those made with
sodium carbonate. The addition of sodium hydroxide
yields noodles which are much more yellow, brighter, and
discolour less with time.
Noodle dough become tougher, tighter, and less extensi-
ble with the addition of alkaline reagents. The changes in
dough properties associated with alkaline pH levels are
indicative of some types of reactions which fundamentally
influence the behavior of the gluten proteins. The toughen-
ing of dough with alkali addition has a very significant
impact on the processing properties and the texture of the
final products. Addition of alkaline reagents increases water
absorption potential of noodle dough. During sheeting,
dough with alkali are less extensible and more difficult to
compress. The addition of alkali to noodle dough gives noo-
dles a firmer texture than those made with salt alone. There
is little known about the biochemical aspects of the charac-
teristic aroma and flavour of alkaline noodles.
3.5. Starch
Starches from sources such as potato and tapioca are
widely used as a texture enhancing ingredient for instant
 B.X. Fu / Food Research International 41 (2008) 888–902
noodles and regular salted noodles. The rate of addition of
starch is 5–25% of flour weight. Potato and tapioca starch
characteristics include low gelatinization temperature,
rapid swelling and high viscosity. The addition of these
exotic starches improves noodle texture by conferring a
more elastic and chewy texture. Cooked noodle appearance
is also more appealing because the added starch yields noo-
dles with a smooth, clean, and shiny surface. In instant
noodles, adding starch to the formulation assures a short
rehydration time and a uniform texture. Potato starch is
more suitable for instant noodles, and tapioca starch is
usually used for regular salted noodles. Chemically modi-
fied starches are also widely used, especially for frozen
boiled noodles and long-life noodles. The improved
water-holding capacity, gelling properties, and freeze–thaw
stabilities of modified starches are of importance in some
noodle processing stages such as freezing or heat-steriliza-
tion. Starch can be used as dusting powder to prevent noo-
dle strands from sticking to each other. A mixture of equal
proportions of potato starch and corn starch is commonly
used for this purpose.
3.6. Oils
Most instant noodles are fried in oil after steaming and
molding. Oil represents about 20% of the total weight of
the final product. The most common frying oil in Asia is
palm oil because of its good frying performance, heat sta-
bility, availability, and relatively low cost. Partially hydro-
genated soybean and canola oil can also be used for frying.
The conditions and extent of hydrogenation must be opti-
mized to achieve the characteristics desired. Because the
composition of a frying oil has a significant effect on the
flavour of the finished product, the frying oil should be
selected based on local preference.
During the cooking process in the fryer, the quality of
oil deteriorates as a result of a very complex series of chem-
ical reactions. As a result of thermal oxidation, a great
number of volatile and nonvolatile decomposition products
are formed. These products accumulate with prolonged
heating and lead to sensory failures and food safety con-
cerns. Therefore, heat stability is a major concern in select-
ing frying oil. In addition, non-refined oils should be
avoided for frying since they can easily introduce undesir-
able flavour and dark colour to the noodles. The specifica-
tions for frying oils include colour, flavour, free fatty acids,
peroxide number, iodine number, melting point, and
smoke point.
3.7. Improvers
Polyphosphates and hydrocolloids are commonly used
as additives to improve product quality in noodle process-
ing. Polyphosphates facilitate the starch gelatinization dur-
ing cooking and allow more water retention in the noodle.
Functioning as chelating agents in the dough system, poly-
897
phosphates can modify the dough processing properties
and retard the discoloration process of fresh noodles. Poly-
phosphates are dissolved in water before the mixing of the
dough. Their usage rate is typically 0.1% of flour weight.
Hydrocolloids such as guar gum are widely used in instant
noodle processing. They are very hydrophilic and have
high water binding capacity. The addition of a small
amount of gums (0.2–0.5%) can improve rehydration char-
acteristics of noodles during cooking, and modify the tex-
ture and overall ‘‘mouth-feel” of the finished product.
Gums are dispersed in the brine water just before dough
mixing. Natural and synthetic colours can be used in alka-
line noodles, vegetable noodles, and tea noodles to enhance
their natural colour.
3.8. Preservatives
Alcohol can be included in the fresh noodle formulation
to extend shelf life by inhibiting growth of micro-organ-
isms. Long-life noodles are usually soaked in dilute organic
acids before packaging. Steamed and deep-fried instant
noodles have a high fat content of 15–22%, and oxidative
rancidity is the major factor limiting shelf life. The use of
antioxidants in the frying oil is common. Four synthetic
antioxidants are currently widely used: butylated hydroxy-
anisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), propyl
gallate, and tertiary-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ). These
antioxidants function by inhibiting or interfering with the
chain reaction mechanisms that produce compounds that
result in rancidity. Of these, TBHQ has been shown to have
the best antioxidant activity.
4. Noodle unit processing
Despite the large variation of formulation, size, and
shape of noodles, the process to form noodle strands is
remarkably constant for different types of noodles. It typi-
cally comprises dough mixing, formation of dough sheets,
compounding of two dough sheets, and sheet thickness
reduction by rolling, and noodle strand formation by pass-
ing the dough sheet through a pair of cutting rolls. After
cutting, there is great flexibility in further processing and
packaging. The noodle strands could be packed directly
and marketed as fresh noodles, or could be dried, steamed,
fried, boiled, frozen or undergo a combination of these
processes to make different kinds of noodles.
4.1. Basic processing: from flour to raw noodle strands
4.1.1. Mixing
Mixing is the first step in noodle processing. Most ingre-
dients are pre-dissolved in water and stored in a tank.
Wheat flour is weighed and placed into a mixer and the
correct amount of mixing water is added. In noodle manu-
facturing, the main aims of mixing are to distribute the
ingredients uniformly and to hydrate the flour particles.
898 B.X. Fu / Food Research International 41 (2008) 888–902
There is little gluten development during the mixing stage
in the low water absorption noodle dough. The degree of
gluten development, however, could be very significant in
high water absorption dough (>35%) with long mixing time
(>15 min). A properly mixed noodle dough should have its
gluten proteins hydrated as much as possible but not to the
degree that the dough sheet would be problematic during
sheeting due to stickiness. This would maximize the forma-
tion of a continuous gluten matrix with embedded starch
granules during sheeting.
There are two types of mixers commonly used in the
noodle industry: the horizontal mixer and the vertical
mixer. They can both provide good mixing and some
kneading actions during mixing. Both mixers are usually
operated at medium speed (70–100 rpm) for 10–20 min of
mixing.
The vertical mixer is more limited to large-scale auto-
matic continuous noodle production. The mixing blades
of most vertical mixers have a big surface area. They are
very efficient in distributing water evenly in flour during
the early stages of mixing. Vertical mixers can also provide
a certain degree of kneading action once the flour particles
are sufficiently hydrated.
The horizontal type mixer can have a single shaft or
double shafts. The latter has been proven to be more effi-
cient in noodle dough mixing. The two shafts with special
blades rotate in opposite directions during mixing. The
blades attached in the two shafts are inter-linked in such
a way that the dough crumbs move both vertically and hor-
izontally in opposite directions at the same time. These
mixing actions contribute to uniform mixing and to some
gluten development through the beating action of the
blades.
There have been a few new mixers developed for the
noodle industry: the continuous high-speed mixer; the
low-speed super mixer; and the vacuum mixer. The contin-
uous high-speed mixer can mix the flour and water uni-
formly in seconds. The mixing water is sprayed into
flying fine flour particles in a mixer rotating at a speed of
1500 rpm. The high speed of the mixer creates a large sur-
face area for both water and flour. This surface area
enables flour particles to hydrate evenly and instantly.
The low-speed super mixer was developed for the mixing
of high water absorption noodle dough. It is designed to
mimic hand mixing, and is operated at very low speed
(<10 rpm) to avoid damage to the gluten structure. The
combination of high water absorption, long mixing, and
special kneading action can produce noodle dough with
well-developed gluten structure. The vacuum mixer is
widely used in modern noodle factories. Mixing under a
vacuum allows extra water to be added to the flour without
causing processing problems. This allows flour particles to
hydrate sufficiently and the gluten matrix to develop effi-
ciently during mixing and subsequent sheeting.
Other than the mechanics of the mixer, mixing is also
influenced by the quality of flour, the volume of water
added, the presence/absence and amount of certain ingredi-
ents (especially salt and alkaline salt), and the temperature
and humidity of the processing environment. Flour with
high protein content hydrates relatively fast, easily forms
large-sized dough crumbs, and therefore requires less mix-
ing. Starch granules, once damaged during the milling pro-
cess, increase their hydration capability significantly, and
will compete for the limited amount of water in the noodle
dough with the gluten components in the flour. Flour with
high starch damage requires higher water absorption and
longer mixing. For most noodles, the amount of water
added during mixing should be maximized as long as good
dough processing properties are ensured. The development
of surface stickiness of the dough sheet with increased
water addition necessitates limiting water absorption for
noodle dough. The dough strengthening and tightening
effect of salt and alkaline salt allows the addition of more
water without causing processing problems. Salt can also
facilitate the hydration of flour particles during mixing.
Mixing under low temperature (<20 °C) could slow flour
hydration and gluten development. It is also not desirable
to mix the dough at high temperature (>35 °C) due to
the increase in enzyme activity and the possibility of gluten
damage. The optimum mixing temperature for most noodle
dough is 25–30 °C.
Mixing is usually followed by dough resting. This step
allows the crumbly mixture to rest for a period of time to
accelerate further hydration of flour particles and to redis-
tribute water in the dough system. Resting can also
improve processing properties and facilitate gluten forma-
tion during sheeting. This is achieved by the relaxation of
the gluten structure already formed during mixing. The
resting facility usually sits between the mixer and the first
pair of sheeting rolls. Resting is carried out by mixing
dough crumbs at very low speed (5–8 rpm) for 10–
20 min. The mixing can avoid the formation of large dough
crumbs during resting and also serves feeding of the sheet-
ing rolls in the continuous process.
4.1.2. Sheeting
Although flour particles are sufficiently hydrated after
mixing and resting, the development of the gluten matrix
is far from complete and is localized without continuity.
It is during the sheeting process that the continuous gluten
matrix is developed. The development of a uniform protein
matrix with a good balance of elasticity and extensibility is
very critical to ensure good processing properties and the
best eating quality of the finished product. Under compres-
sion, adjacent endosperm particles become fused together
so that the protein matrix within one endosperm particle
becomes continuous with that of adjacent particles. The
sheeting process is intended to achieve a smooth dough
sheet with desired thickness, and a continuous and uniform
gluten matrix in the dough sheet.
The dough crumbs are transferred to a hopper and
passed through one or two pairs of sheet rolls to form con-
tinuous dough sheets. The newly compressed dough sheets
are usually rough in surface with non-uniform texture. It is
 B.X. Fu / Food Research International 41 (2008) 888–902
common to fold a dough sheet or laminate two sheets just
before the next pass. After the second pass, the combined
sheet is usually rested for as short as a few minutes or
for as long as several hours. Dough sheets can be rested
by slow passage on a zigzag conveyor in automated plants.
Resting can also be achieved by storing dough sheets
wound on wooden or plastic spools.
Resting allows gluten structure relaxation to occur. The
gluten mellows and becomes more extensible during rest-
ing. The maturing effect at this stage eases the subsequent
sheet reduction, and a more uniform protein matrix with
fewer air spaces can be developed.
After resting, the compounded sheet is reduced in thick-
ness in steps by passing the sheet through a series of sheet-
ing rolls which have a gradually reduced gap between the
rolls. The number of reduction passes through the sheeting
rolls varies, but is normally between three and five. Final
dough sheet thickness is determined by the type of noodle
to be produced. The gluten matrix in machine-sheeted
dough is aligned along the direction of sheeting. This is
in contrast to noodle dough developed by hand, in which
the gluten structure is developed in all directions. The supe-
rior texture of hand-made noodles is largely attributed to
the degree and mode of gluten formation. The development
of multi-roll and waved roll sheeting technology was to
simulate the hand motions used to form the gluten struc-
ture unique to hand-made noodles. In modern noodle
plants, the application of this technology, coupled with
high water absorption, has significantly improved the eat-
ing quality of the finished products.
To produce noodles with the best eating quality, a uni-
form and well-developed protein matrix must be achieved
during the sheeting stage. Other than flour quality and mix-
ing, the process of sheeting has significant impact on the
formation of the gluten matrix in the dough sheet. The
major factors are reduction rate, number of passes, as well
as the size, speed, temperature and position of the sheeting
rolls. The first pair of sheet-forming rolls is slow moving,
large in diameter and aligned horizontally to facilitate the
feeding of dough crumbs. Due to the requirement of high
pressure to compress two sheets together, the rolls for the
compounding pass are usually even larger in diameter
and aligned with an angle (mostly 45°). The following
reduction pass is to develop a smooth dough sheet with a
uniform gluten matrix. The thickness of the dough sheet
should be reduced gradually to avoid damage to the surface
and gluten structure. This is controlled through the gap set-
tings in a series of smooth rolls. The thickness of the dough
sheet should not be reduced by more than 40% after com-
pounding, and the reduction rate decreases with each suc-
cessive reduction. The final reduction in thickness before
cutting should be no more than 10%. With each successive
pass, the roll diameter should decrease gradually so that
compression distance and pressure are also reduced. The
linear velocity of the sheeting rolls has to increase with
the decrease of roll diameter and increase of dough sheet
length after each pass. Sheeting at very high speed, how-
899
ever, could over-stretch the dough sheet without enough
compression. The speed of each pair of sheeting rolls is
controlled based on the linear velocity of the last pair of
rolls which is usually limited within 28 m/min. Since tem-
perature has a significant effect on the physical properties
of gluten, it is important to control the temperature of
sheeting rolls to maintain a good sheet flow and proper glu-
ten development during sheeting.
4.1.3. Cutting
Once the dough sheet is reduced to the desired thickness,
the sheet is then cut into noodle strands along the direction
of sheeting. The width and shape of the noodle strands are
determined by the cutting rolls. The cutting device consists
of a pair of slotted rolls with identical slot widths. The slots
on each roll are offset from one other to allow cutting to
occur. The two cutting rolls are aligned horizontally, with
the rear one turning clockwise and the front one counter-
clockwise at the same speed. Cutting force is generated
between the neighboring two sharp edges of the slots of the
two cutting rolls. There is a comb underneath each cutting
roll to prevent the noodle strands from sticking to the rolls.
The shape of the cross-section of the noodle strands depends
on the groove of the slot, the width of the slot and the thick-
ness of the dough sheet. The popular shapes are rectangular,
square, and round. There are two systems to specify noodle
cutters, metric and imperial. The width of the noodle strands
equals 30 mm divided by the number assigned to the cutting
rolls in the metric system, and 25.4 mm divided by the cutter
number in the imperial system. Noodle strands are finally cut
into proper lengths by a length-cutter. In the case of instant
noodle production, the noodle strands are continually fed
into a traveling net conveyor which moves slower than the
cutting rolls above it. The speed differential between noodle
feeding and net traveling results in a unique wave to the noo-
dle strands. After steam cooking, the strands are cut into
serving size before deep frying or hot-air drying.
4.2. Secondary processing – from raw noodle strands to
finished products
4.2.1. Drying
The shelf life of noodles can be significantly extended if
microbiological and biochemical stability is ensured. The
most effective way of achieving this goal is to dry the noodle
to a moisture content at which microbiological growth is
impossible. Noodle moisture can be removed by air-drying,
deep-frying, or vacuum-drying. Deep-frying is an important
process in the production of steamed and deep-fried instant
noodles, and will be discussed below. Vacuum-drying is a
newer technology with very limited application in the noo-
dle industry. Frozen noodles can be vacuum-dried to pro-
duce premium quality products. Air-drying can be further
classified as hot-air drying (>70 °C) and non-hot air drying
(<50 °C) based on the maximum drying temperature used in
a noodle drying process. Non-hot air drying is applied for
the production of regular dry noodles, and hot-air drying
900 B.X. Fu / Food Research International 41 (2008) 888–902
is mainly used in the manufacture of steamed and hot-air
dried instant noodles.
Fresh raw noodle strands of 2–4 m in length are hung on
rods in a drying chamber where temperature, relative
humidity, and ventilation are regulated, or in a drying tun-
nel where the rods travel through sections with different
controlled environments. Moisture is removed from the
surface of the noodle strands by air. The driving force
for moisture removal is the difference in the partial pressure
of water vapour in the surface of the noodle strands and
the partial pressure of the vapour in the air. Properties of
the noodle strands, temperature, relative humidity and
the flow rate of air are all important factors influencing
noodle drying. During drying, noodle surface moisture
becomes vapour and is removed by the surrounding air.
This creates a moisture content gradient within the noodle
strands and moisture will diffuse as liquid from the centre
moves to the surface of the noodle strands along the mois-
ture gradient. With a receding evaporation front, drying
rate is limited primarily by moisture diffusion within the
noodle strands. Because of its hygroscopic nature, salt
has a significant effect on the moisture diffusion rate during
drying. Noodles with high salt content are slower to dry
than those with low salt content.
Noodle quality has to be preserved during the drying
process. Improper drying could damage the noodle struc-
ture, causing over-elongation, cracking, warping and split-
ting of noodle strands. These conditions result in problems
in handling and packaging. Moreover, cooking properties
and texture could be severely affected. If attempts are made
to dry too quickly, a large moisture difference will exist
between the surface and core of the noodle. As the noodle
shrinks while losing moisture, the dry surface will try to
contract onto the wet core. The surface of the noodle will
be under tension and the core under compression. Noodle
strands will relax these stresses by deforming permanently.
A proper noodle drying process usually involves multi-
stages to minimize undesirable noodle structural changes.
A three-stage drying process, involving pre-drying, drying,
and cooling, is a very common practice.
The first stage which takes up to 15% of total drying time
is of primary importance. In this stage, low temperature
(15–25 °C) and dry air are applied to reduce the noodle
moisture content from 32% to 38% to less than 28%. Its
main function is to dry the noodle superficially soon after
cutting to prevent noodle strands from sticking together
and to avoid the over-elongation of noodle strands. The
pre-drying stage is followed by a first drying phase at fairly
high humidity and temperature (75–85% RH, 30–40 °C).
The inside moisture diffuses towards the surface, and an
equilibrium will be reached between inside moisture diffu-
sion and surface moisture evaporation. In the second drying
phase, higher temperatures and drier air (40–50 °C, 55–60%
RH) is applied to remove the noodle moisture. In the final
stage, the product is gradually cooled down and further
dried. The main concern here is to lower the temperature
gradually to avoid internal stresses in the noodle.
Health concerns about the fat in fried noodles have led
to the production of steamed and hot-air dried instant noo-
dles. Steamed noodles are dried by hot air instead of frying
to a moisture content of less than 12%. They are dried
using hot blast air of 70–80 °C for 30–45 min. The major
factors affecting the drying process are temperature,
humidity, air pressure, and size, moisture content, and
packing density of wavy noodle strands.
4.2.2. Steaming
Steaming is widely used in noodle processing. As long as
the temperature of the steam is high enough, starch gelati-
nization and protein denaturation occur in wet raw noodles
during steaming. The degree of cooking depends on the ori-
ginal moisture content of the noodle; the amount, pressure
and temperature of the steam; and steaming time. In the
high moisture steamed noodles process, noodles are
sprayed with hot water to accelerate gelatinization of
starch, and steeped, or washed with cold water to stop
cooking after steaming. After washing away soluble star-
chy material from the noodle surface, the noodles are
drained and coated with cooking oil.
In order to produce high quality steamed noodles, it is
very important to have raw noodles made from dough with
high water absorption, and to use saturated wet high tem-
perature steam in the steaming process. The degree of
cooking during steaming is critical. Under-steamed noodles
will have a hard core and will be difficult to cook properly
by stir-frying before serving. Over-steamed noodles are soft
and sticky. The desirable moisture content of steamed noo-
dles for stir-frying is 59–61%.
Steaming is a key process in the manufacture of instant
noodles. A high degree of starch gelatinization is required
for the production of hot-air dried instant noodles. Steam-
ing time is longer for hot-air dried noodles than for deep-
fried noodles. Excessive swelling of starch on the noodle sur-
face, which could cause many processing problems, should
be avoided during steaming in instant noodle production.
4.2.3. Frying
Most instant noodles are deep-fried. After steaming,
noodle blocks are fed into frying baskets which are
mounted on the traveling chain of a tunnel fryer. The bas-
kets filled with noodle blocks are immersed in hot oil for
deep-frying. The frying temperature and time are usually
140–160 °C, and 60–100 s, respectively. The temperature
of the fryer outlet is normally maintained slightly higher
than that of the inlet. The frying process should be opti-
mized to deliver fried noodles with good sensory proper-
ties, low fat content, and low fat decomposition products.
Deep-frying of noodle accomplishes the following: (1) loss
of moisture and uptake of oil, (2) gelatinization of starch
before the free water was evaporated, and (3) creation of
both external and internal porous structures in the noodle.
A discussion of how and why noodles fry in hot oil
involves both mass transfer and heat transfer. Water in a
frying noodle migrates from the central portion radically
 B.X. Fu / Food Research International 41 (2008) 888–902
outwards to replace that which is lost by dehydration on
the exterior surfaces. A porous sponge structure in the noo-
dle is created during the frying process due to the steam
vaporization. Oil transfers into the open pores of the noo-
dle surface from which steam has rushed out. The kinetics
and dynamics of the mass transfer during frying depends
on the properties of steamed noodles, the temperature of
the frying oil, and frying time. The moisture and oil con-
tents of the deep-fried noodles are 3–6% and 15–22%,
respectively. Water plays a number of roles in the transfer
of heat into the noodle. It carries off thermal energy from
the hot frying oil surrounding the frying noodle. This
removal of energy from the noodle surface prevents char-
ring or burning caused by excessive dehydration. The con-
version of liquid water to steam as the water leaves the
food carries off the bulk of the contacting oil’s energy. As
long as the water is leaving, the noodle will not char or
burn. Another function of water is to cook the interior of
the noodle. Sufficient heat must be transferred to bound
water to finish the starch gelatinization process which
started during steaming.
Deep-fried instant noodles can be prepared for serving
both by steeping and boiling, but the texture of the boiled
noodles is distinctly superior to the steeped noodles.
Degree of starch swelling and moisture gradient in the noo-
dle plays a very important role in determining noodle tex-
ture. When cooking deep-fried instant noodles by boiling,
the starch can swell enough before the moisture gradient
gets smaller. On the contrary, when cooking deep-fried
instant noodles by steeping, the moisture gradient in the
noodle disappears before enough swelling of the starch
can be achieved.
4.2.4. Boiling
Boiling is a simple process but very critical in terms of
finished product quality. The application of boiling in noo-
dle processing has increased significantly in recent years
due to the increased popularity of chilled, frozen, and
long-life noodles. The key factors for boiling are ratio of
noodle to water, boiling time, and quality of boiling water.
The desirable volume of boiling water is 10–20 times the
weight of uncooked wet noodles. When the volume of boil-
ing water is not sufficient, it takes longer to bring the noo-
dles back to a boil. Noodle strands stay close together
without enough relative movement, resulting in rough noo-
dle surface and a lack of cooking uniformity. On the other
hand, too much boiling water or too strong heating can
damage the surface of noodle strands due to intensive fric-
tion between noodle strands and boiling water. Water
should be in mild boiling status at all times in a continuous
noodle boiling process. The temperature of boiling water is
usually maintained at 98 °C. Boiling time depends on the
size of the noodle strands and the types of finished prod-
ucts. It is adjusted precisely to give optimal textural charac-
teristics. A proper moisture content and moisture gradient
in the noodle strand is the key to the texture of finished
product quality. Keeping cooking loss to a low level in
901
the boiling process is extremely important. Formation of
a sufficient and uniform gluten matrix in the sheeting pro-
cess is a prerequisite for low cooking loss. High water
absorption and high salt content (up to 8%) in noodle pro-
cessing can shorten the necessary boiling time, and there-
fore, decrease the cooking loss. Noodles made from flour
with low starch damage have lower cooking losses than
those made from flour with high starch damage. While
hardness of water has no significant effect on cooking loss,
the alkalinity of the water does. Noodle boiled in water of
pH 5–6 has the least cooking loss. The loss increases signif-
icantly once the pH of the boiling water reaches 7–8. The
pH of alkaline water could very likely be around 8.0.
Therefore, it is very important to adjust the pH of water
used for boiling noodles. Organic acid, such as lactic acid,
acetic acid, malic acid or citric acid, is often added to adjust
the pH of water for the production of boiled noodles, such
as Udon. Noodles also have low cooking loss if the pH
remains at 9.5 during boiling. This is why when boiling
alkaline noodles it is not necessary to adjust the pH of
the water.
4.2.5. Freezing
The texture of boiled noodles deteriorates very fast due
to the disappearance of moisture gradient between the inte-
rior and exterior of noodle strands during storage. Fast
freezing, however, can extend the ‘‘tastiest” state of boiled
noodles. High water absorption (>40%) during noodle
dough mixing is necessary in order to obtain the desirable
texture in the finished products, because high water absorp-
tion can shorten the boiling time required. This is often
achieved through vacuum mixing. Incorporation of starch
is also beneficial in maintaining the texture of boiled noo-
dles when frozen. After boiling, noodles are first washed
with cool water, then immersed in cold water under 5 °C,
and finally fast frozen by blasting cold air of 30 °C. Noo-
dle strands are easier to separate during thawing if they are
cooled to 0–5 °C before fast freezing. Over-freezing
(< 40 °C) could damage the noodle structure because the
expansion of the noodle core during freezing can break
the noodle surface, which freezes completely before the
noodle core is frozen.
Acknowledgements
I wish to express my sincere gratitude to many experts in
the field of wheat/flour quality and noodle processing for
sharing their invaluable knowledge with me over the years.
Thanks are also due to H. Johnson for editing the paper.
References
Asentorfer, R. E., Wang, Y., & Mares, D. J. (2006). Chemical structure of
flavonoid compounds in wheat that contribute to the yellow colour of
Asian alkaline noodles. Journal of Cereal Science, 43, 108–119.
Crosbie, G. B. (2005). Defining and developing tests to meet the key wheat
quality requirements of Asian foods. In C. L. Blanchard, H. Truong,
H. M. Allen, A. B. Blakeney, & L. O’Brien (Eds.), Cereals 2005:
902 B.X. Fu / Food Research International 41 (2008) 888–902
Proceedings of the 55th Australian cereal chemistry conference and
AACCI pacific rim symposium (pp. 32–36). Australia: Royal Australian
Chemical Institute.
Crosbie, G. B., & Ross, A. S. (2004). Asian wheat flour noodles. In C.
Wrigley (Ed.), Encyclopedia of grain science (pp. 304–312). Oxford,
UK: Elsevier Ltd..
Fuerst, E. P., Anderson, J. V., & Morris, G. F. (2006). Delineating the role
of polyphenol oxidase in the darkening of alkaline wheat noodles.
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 54, 2378–2384.
Hatcher, D. W. (2001). Asian noodle processing. In G. Owens (Ed.),
Cereals processing technology (pp. 131–157). Cambridge, UK: Wood-
head Publishing Limited.
Hatcher, D. W., Anderson, M. J., Desjardins, R. G., Edwards, N. M., &
Dexter, J. E. (2002). Effects of flour particle size and starch damage on
processing and quality of white salted noodles. Cereal Chemistry, 79,
64–71.
Hatcher, D. W., & Kruger, J. E. (1993). Distribution of polyphenol
oxidase in flour millstreams of Canadian common wheat classes milled
to three extraction rates. Cereal Chemistry, 70, 51–55.
Hou, G. (2001). Oriental noodles. Advances in Food and Nutritional
Research, 43, 141–193.
Huang, S. (1996). China – The world’s largest consumer of paste products.
In J. E. Kruger, R. B. Matsuo, & J. W. Dick (Eds.), Pasta and noodle
technology (pp. 301–325). St. Paul, MN: American Association of
Cereal Chemists.
Juliano, B. O., & Sakurai, J. (1985). Miscellaneous rice products. In B. O.
Juliano (Ed.), Rice: Chemistry and technology (pp. 569–618). St. Paul,
MN: American Association of Cereal Chemists.
Kim, S. K. (1996). Instant noodles. In J. E. Kruger, R. B. Matsuo, & J. W.
Dick (Eds.), Pasta and noodle technology (pp. 195–225). St. Paul, MN:
American Association of Cereal Chemists.
Lu, H., Yang, X., Ye, M., Liu, K., Xia, Z., Ren, X., et al. (2005). Millet
noodles in late Neolithic China. Nature, 437(13 October2005),
967–968.
Miskelly, D. M. (1993). Noodles – A new look at an old food. Food
Australia, 45, 496–500.
Miskelly, D. M. (1996). The use of alkali for noodle processing. In J. E.
Kruger, R. B. Matsuo, & J. W. Dick (Eds.), Pasta and noodle
technology (pp. 227–273). St. Paul, MN: American Association of
Cereal Chemists.
Miskelly, D. M. (1998). Modern noodle based foods – Raw material
needs. In A. B. Blakeney & L. O’Brien (Eds.), Pacific People and Their
Food (pp. 123–142). St. Paul, MN: American Association of Cereal
Chemists.
Nagao, S. (1991). Noodles and pasta in Japan. In D. J. Martin & C. W.
Wrigley (Eds.), Cereals international (pp. 22–25). Brisbane, Australia:
Royal Aust. Chem. Inst..
Nagao, S. (1996). Processing technology of noodle products in Japan. In J.
E. Kruger, R. B. Matsuo, & J. W. Dick (Eds.), Pasta and noodle
technology (pp. 169–194). St. Paul, MN: American Association of
Cereal Chemists.
Park, C. S., & Baik, B. K. (2004). Relationship between protein
characteristics and instant noodle making quality of wheat flour.
Cereal Chemistry, 81, 159–164.
Prabhavat, S. (1988). Mungbean utilization in Thailand. In S. Shanmu-
gasundaram & B. T. McLean (Eds.), Mungbean, Proceedings of the
Second International Symposium. Taiwan: Asian Vegetable Research
and Development Centre.
Ross, A. S., Quail, K. J., & Crosbie, G. B. (1997). Physicochemical
properties of Australian flours influencing the texture of yellow
alkaline noodles. Cereal Chemistry, 78, 814–820.
Shiratori, R., & Nagata, Y. (1986). Utilization of buckwheat in modern
Japan. Fagopyrum, 6, 23–26.
Udesky, J. (1988). The book of Soba. New York: Kodansha International/
USA Ltd..
Wu, T. P., Kuo, W. Y., & Cheng, M. C. (1998). Modern noodle based
foods – Product range and production methods. In A. B. Blakeney &
L. O’Brien (Eds.), Pacific people and their food (pp. 37–90). St. Paul,
MN: American Association of Cereal Chemists.
Zhao, L. F., & Seib, P. A. (2005). Alkaline-carbonate noodles from hard
winter wheat flours varying in protein, swelling power, and polyphenol
oxidase activity. Cereal Chemistry, 82, 504–516.