The Physical Characteristics of Chinese Hand-made and Machine-made Noodles

시중 중화면의 수타면과 기계면의 물리적 특성

Both hand-made and machine-made Chinese noodles are popular in Korea. In this study, each type was evaluated in terms of its physical properties to rigorously determine for consumers which one has better qualities. The noodles were instrumentally measured for color, size, moisture content, density, viscoelasticity, and cutting force. The behaviors of the noodles were visually observed during cooking, and sensory evaluations were performed with the cooked noodles. The hand-made raw noodles were less dense, had higher moisture content, and generated more bubbles during cooking than the machine-made noodles. This indicated that the hand-made noodles contained more entrapped air, thereby resulting in the above physical characteristics. The change in noodle size after cooking was greater in the hand-made noodles, indicating that more entrapped air in expansion escaped during cooking and was replaced by water. The cutting force and viscoelasticity of the hand-made noodles were lower, and were controlled by viscous properties, respectively. These results agreed with the fact that the hand-made noodles had higher moisture content and lower density. In the sensory evaluation, the hand-made noodles presented lower hardness, but higher elasticity. It was inferred that the hand-made noodle dough underwent repeated processes of folding and extending, resulting in better developed of the gluten structure. Consequently, the hand-made noodles were determined to be different than the machine-made noodles in terms of instrumental measurements and sensory observations, suggesting that the hand-made noodles had superior textural properties.