A process for the production of a nest-shaped food product containing strips of a dried vegetable, preferably a garden vegetable, storable at room temperature for at least 7 days is disclosed. The process involves providing at least one fresh vegetable which has been previously washed, cutting the vegetable into strips, feeding the vegetable strips in metered amounts into a perforated mold, subjecting the strips to a stabilization heat treatment by means of saturated steam, drying the thermally stabilized strips by means of a flow of hot air so as to obtain a nest containing dried strips of vegetable with a moisture content of between 8% and 16% by weight of their total weight. The invention also concerns a nest-shaped food product which is obtained by means of the process and which may optionally contain strips of durum wheat semolina pasta.

Frying is performed in two stages so as to dip a retainer in frying oil at a prescribed dipping ratio and then to dip the whole of the retainer in the frying oil, and in addition, flow rates of the frying oil supplied from an upstream side and a downstream side of a frying oil tank and a surface level of the frying oil are controlled. Therefore, a noodle lump can be prevented from peeling off and floating from the bottom of the retainer before fixing the shape of the noodle lump due to a pressure applied by the frying oil so as not to impair the shape of the noodle lump, and as a result, frying efficiency or production efficiency can be improved. Besides, a noodle lump that has a very small number of coarse or dense portions in a distribution of noodle strings can be stably produced.

Frying is performed in two stages so as to dip a retainer in frying oil at a prescribed dipping ratio and then to dip the whole of the retainer in the frying oil, and in addition, flow rates of the frying oil supplied from an upstream side and a downstream side of a frying oil tank and a surface level of the frying oil are controlled. Therefore, a noodle lump can be prevented from peeling off and floating from the bottom of the retainer before fixing the shape of the noodle lump due to a pressure applied by the frying oil so as not to impair the shape of the noodle lump, and as a result, frying efficiency or production efficiency can be improved. Besides, a noodle lump that has a very small number of coarse or dense portions in a distribution of noodle strings can be stably produced.

An objective of the present invention is to provide a method of producing a container-packed processed food with noodles, wherein the container-packed processed food with noodles is prevented from collapsing by cooking or boiling, and maintained in an appropriate firmness even after stored for a long period of time, without impairing an original taste of a raw material of the noodles.

The above objective is solved by a method of producing container-packed processed food with noodles, including: subjecting noodles to boil heat treatment and steam heat treatment, and subjecting the treated noodles to freeze treatment to obtain frozen noodles; and subjecting a container filled with the frozen noodles and a seasoning liquid containing a starch degradation product having a DE value of 4 to 18 in the range of 25% by mass and 40% by mass to heat sterilization treatment to obtain a container-packed processed food with noodles.

An objective of the present invention is to provide a method of producing a container-packed processed food with noodles, wherein the container-packed processed food with noodles is prevented from collapsing by cooking or boiling, and maintained in an appropriate firmness even after stored for a long period of time, without impairing an original taste of a raw material of the noodles.

The above objective is solved by a method of producing container-packed processed food with noodles, including: subjecting noodles to boil heat treatment and steam heat treatment, and subjecting the treated noodles to freeze treatment to obtain frozen noodles; and subjecting a container filled with the frozen noodles and a seasoning liquid containing a starch degradation product having a DE value of 4 to 18 in the range of 25% by mass and 40% by mass to heat sterilization treatment to obtain a container-packed processed food with noodles.

A frozen food product comprising a first food product portion, a second food product portion and a third food product portion is disclosed. The first food product portion, a second food product portion and a third food product portion are configured such that the second food product portion is disposed intermediate the first food product portion and the third food product portion. In some embodiments, the frozen food product is frozen Ramen wherein the first food product portion is frozen soup broth, the second food product portion is a frozen noodle mass, and the third food product portion includes at least one or more toppings commonly found in Ramen. In some embodiments, the third food product portion is a composite layer that includes one or more toppings commonly found in Ramen that are embedded within frozen soup broth.

A frozen food product comprising a first food product portion, a second food product portion and a third food product portion is disclosed. The first food product portion, a second food product portion and a third food product portion are configured such that the second food product portion is disposed intermediate the first food product portion and the third food product portion. In some embodiments, the frozen food product is frozen Ramen wherein the first food product portion is frozen soup broth, the second food product portion is a frozen noodle mass, and the third food product portion includes at least one or more toppings commonly found in Ramen. In some embodiments, the third food product portion is a composite layer that includes one or more toppings commonly found in Ramen that are embedded within frozen soup broth.

Provided is a method for producing noodle strands with which it is possible to reduce or prevent adhesion of wide noodle strands to each other. The method for producing noodle strands with a wavy cross-section comprises the preparation of a noodle strip and the cutting of the noodle strip into noodle strands using a cutting blade device. The cutting blade device has a pair of cutting blade rolls. The cutting blade rolls each have multiple circular grooves and multiple blades disposed alternately along the longitudinal direction of the cutting blade rolls, and are disposed so that the circular grooves of one cutting blade roll engage with the blades of the other cutting blade roll. The circular grooves of the cutting blade rolls each have two first groove sections near blades that are adjacent along the longitudinal direction of the cutting blade rolls and a second groove section between the two first groove sections that is deeper than the two first groove section. When the shortest distance between a first groove section of one cutting blade roll and the blade of the other cutting blade roll that faces said first groove section is D.sub.1, the thickness of the noodle strip is 2.0-2.7 times D.sub.1.

Provided is a method for producing noodle strands with which it is possible to reduce or prevent adhesion of wide noodle strands to each other. The method for producing noodle strands with a wavy cross-section comprises the preparation of a noodle strip and the cutting of the noodle strip into noodle strands using a cutting blade device. The cutting blade device has a pair of cutting blade rolls. The cutting blade rolls each have multiple circular grooves and multiple blades disposed alternately along the longitudinal direction of the cutting blade rolls, and are disposed so that the circular grooves of one cutting blade roll engage with the blades of the other cutting blade roll. The circular grooves of the cutting blade rolls each have two first groove sections near blades that are adjacent along the longitudinal direction of the cutting blade rolls and a second groove section between the two first groove sections that is deeper than the two first groove section. When the shortest distance between a first groove section of one cutting blade roll and the blade of the other cutting blade roll that faces said first groove section is D.sub.1, the thickness of the noodle strip is 2.0-2.7 times D.sub.1.

An apparatus for rapidly cooking food includes a housing having a reservoir, a heating element, a binary distributor, and a container. In a method of using the apparatus for rapidly cooking food, food is placed into the container and water is poured into the reservoir. The heating element heats the water in the reservoir, and the resulting steam travels into the binary distributor. Pressurized steam then exits the binary distributor to uniformally cook the top of the food. Condensed steam gathers at the bottom of the container and is kept at a temperature capable of cooking the food. In such a way, food in the container is rapidly cooked. In one embodiment, the food to be cooked is a single serving of ramen brick style noodles.