Abstract:
Over gelatinization of extruded rice noodles during open wet steam cooking is a major problem
in food processing industry. This occurs due to condensation of water droplets which come into
contact with noodle strings during steaming process. This issue may arise due to the presence of
stuck noodles in the finished product. The design of a steam chamber is also very important aspect
in order to produce straight and single form of rice noodles strings. As a result, five prototype
designs were created: the wooden frame enclosed with polythene sheet (A), the wooden frame
enclosed with gray cloth (B), the wooden frame enclosed with plywood sheet with two steam
inlets in the galvanized door (C), the wooden frame enclosed with plywood sheet with multiple
steam inlets in the galvanized door (D), and the completely enclosed galvanized chamber (E). All
steam chambers had multiple steam inlets in lateral walls except the chamber with gray cloth. Red
rice noodles were prepared from the combination (16% MC, 200 µm, water at ambient
temperature (30±2°C), control atmosphere, 20 minutes) and fed into five different types of
prototype designs in order to complete the cooking (gelatinization) process. Performance of the
five prototype designs were evaluated in terms of percentage of dried noodles coming out of each
design in single straight form. According to the results, the percentage of dried noodles coming
out of each design was analyzed (A-50.0 ± 7.1%, B-15.0 ± 5.0%, C-15.0 ± 5.0%, D-50.0 ±7.1%, E 77.5 ± 4.3%). The mean values of all designs revealed that best prototype design was “design E”
(steam chamber consisted of completely enclosed galvanized chamber with the multiple steam
inlets in the two lateral sides). When compared to other designs, it produced a larger percentage
of straight single noodles. To conclude, design E is the ideal steam chamber for producing straight
single rice noodles for the market.
