Comparison of hardness of cooked Inaniwa-udon and hardness of other wheat noodles

Abstract

The hardness of the outer layer (H1) and of all layers (H2) of cooked Japanese wheat noodles was studied using a Tensipresser compression tester. The H2 values of cooked strands of No.1-Hiyamugi (machine-made), Sanuki-udon (machine-made), and Inaniwa-udon (hand-stretched) after standing for 0.5 hours were found to be 1.9 N, 2.5 N and about 4.0-7.1 N, respectively. Both H1 and H2 changed with elapsed time for some noodles, but the H2/H1 ratio assumed a fixed value : about 10 for No. 1 Hiyamugi, about 8 for Sanuki-udon, and about 13-18 for Inaniwa-udon. Proton NMR micro-imaging (MRI) of the cooked Inaniwaudon showed cavities in the direction of stretching that persisted for more than 6 hours.