Instant noodles, a beloved convenience food worldwide, owe their ubiquity to a meticulous and efficient manufacturing process. Shanghai Poemy machinery will provide a detailed look into how instant noodles are made, including the machinery involved in each step, and offer an in-depth introduction to the packaging lines for both cup noodles and bag noodles.
1. Mixing
The process begins with the creation of the dough, which involves mixing key ingredients such as wheat flour, water, salt, and various additives to enhance the noodles' texture and flavor.
- Machinery:Industrial mixers.
- Process:Ingredients are loaded into mixers, which blend them into a consistent dough.
2. Kneading
Kneading the dough is essential for developing gluten, which gives the noodles their characteristic chewy texture.
- Machinery:Dough kneaders.
- Process:The dough is kneaded thoroughly to achieve the desired elasticity and consistency.
3. Rolling
The kneaded dough is then rolled into thin sheets, a crucial step for uniform cooking and shaping of the noodles.
- Machinery:Roller machines.
- Process:Dough is fed through rollers that progressively thin it into even sheets.
4. Steaming
Steaming pre-cooks the dough sheets, ensuring they maintain the correct texture during frying or drying.
- Machinery:Steaming tunnels.
- Process:The dough sheets are passed through steaming tunnels where they are cooked with steam at high temperatures.
5. Cutting and Shaping
The steamed dough sheets are cut into noodle strands and shaped as required. Cup noodles often have a wavy or curly shape, while bag noodles are typically straight.
- Machinery:Cutting machines.
- Process:The dough sheets are cut into strands using rotating blades and shaped as per the product design.
6. Frying or Air-Drying
The noodles are then either fried or air-dried to remove moisture and extend shelf life.
- Options:
⊙ Frying: The noodles are deep-fried, adding flavor and crispness.
⊙ Air-Drying: Hot air is used to dry the noodles, resulting in a lower fat content.
- Machinery:Fryers or air-drying tunnels.
- Process:Noodles are subjected to high temperatures in fryers or passed through hot air tunnels to dehydrate them.
7. Cooling
After frying or drying, the noodles need to be cooled to room temperature to prepare them for packaging.
- Machinery:Cooling conveyors.
- Process:Noodles are conveyed through cooling tunnels where they gradually return to ambient temperature.