Tag: food science

Meet The Manufacturer: NuTek Food Science

Lowering sodium without compromising taste: a visit to NuTek Food Science

‘Aren’t you worried about the amount of sodium you’re taking in?’ This question has been following me around for years now – from people commenting on a news article to a journalist interviewing me for a story. I’ve usually shrugged it off in some way as I’ve not had high blood pressure – ‘worst I’ve had has been borderline when visiting a doctor from time to time.’ These days however with my second son here and another child on the way, my thinking has shifted a little bit. I’m in my early forties (I mean twenties, cough cough) and thinking about how I definitely want to be there for my children and watch them grow into adults, live forever, and review instant noodles as long as they keep coming up with fascinating and tasty new takes of the local cuisine of the world. I’ve cut back on how much of the noodles I take in when I review in the last year or so – a slurp of broth, a mouthful of noodles and then the supplied garnishes to get the full feel for a product and review it. I then just try to eat the garnishes I might add in after that, and once that’s done, the rest goes down the garbage disposal. It’s hard though; there are varieties that I just have to eat the whole bowl after reviewing – the really tasty stuff, you know? ...see full post

Special Report – How Instant Noodles Are Made: The Pilot Line At The Wheat Marketing Center [VIDEO]

Recently, I was given the great opportunity to visit the Wheat Marketing Center in Portland, Oregon. People who work with noodles and other wheat products from all over the world come here to take part in the Asian Noodle Technology and Ingredient Application Short Course. The course is taught by Dr. Gary Hou, an expert in the production of wheat noodles like ramen and yakisoba. I found out about the course via a news feed I follow and decided to email Dr. Hou and see if I could cover the instant noodle workshop for The Ramen Rater. I was very pleased when he answered in the affirmative, and so on March 27th, we got up early, hopped in the car and drove to Portland! In the following pictures and video, I’ll describe how instant noodles start as raw ingredients and become the blocks of noodles we all know so well. I’ll go through everything from photos first, and then there’s a video at the bottom of the process. Enjoy! ...see full post