Evaluation of Drying Characteristics for Japanese Noodle (Udon)

Abstract

The dried Japanese noodle is one of the most favorable foods in Japan and supplied as the preserved food due to its long shelf life. In the production of dried noodle, the drying process is known to be troublesome but governs the product quality, because strips of fresh noodle are relatively thick and have limited strength to withstand the internal stress caused by rapid drying. Therefore, the controlled humidity drying is necessary to keep the rate balance of evaporation and the internal moisture diffusion. However, the optimal drying conditions are difficult to achieve due to the complexity of operating variables, such as the temperature, humidity, and velocity. In the present study, we regarded the drying of fresh noodle as moisture diffusion phenomena within a solid material. The moisture diffusivity, the effect of drying condition on drying kinetics, and the stress induced by drying were investigated to obtain the technical information about the optimal drying operation. It is expected that this information would be useful for development of the optimal drying operation of Japanese noodle.