Fresh cooked noodles are high-moisture foods, and the key issue in their storage is to prevent microbial spoilage. The pickling process is a step where fresh cooked noodles are soaked in an acid solution at room temperature after being cooked. Generally, the minimum pH required for microbial growth is around 4.3. When the pH drops below 4.3, most microorganisms find it difficult to survive, and even the few that can grow have significantly reduced reproductive capabilities. Therefore, reducing the acidity of fresh cooked noodles to a certain pH can effectively inhibit the growth and reproduction of microorganisms, thus extending the shelf life of the noodles.
Natural organic acids such as malic acid, citric acid, lactic acid, and acetic acid are commonly used as acid regulators. After several comparative experiments, it was found that lactic acid has a gentle taste and is not irritating. The pH of the acid solution adjusted with lactic acid is more stable, and moreover, lactic acid is a beneficial acid that can enhance human digestion and absorption. Therefore, lactic acid is chosen as the acid regulator.
The acidity of fresh cooked noodles is jointly influenced by the acidity of the pickling solution and the duration of pickling. It was found in experiments that an excessively long pickling time would significantly increase the water absorption of the noodles, leading to softening, swelling, and a decrease in toughness, which affects the taste. Therefore, it is necessary to strictly control the time of pickling.
Our Zhengzhou Dongfang Naomu Food Machinery Co., Ltd.fresh cooked noodle production equipment uses a multifunctional quantitative noodle cooking, washing, and acid adjustment integrated system. It allows for the switching of noodle cooking time for various qualities of noodles, automatic noodle cooking without human intervention, and a three-stage water washing and pH lactic acid regulation process to ensure the quality of each package of noodle products is consistent.