US Corn and the World of Japanese Noodles
In Japan, where manufacturers turn out 600,000 metric tons of noodles per year, the U.S. Grains Council is introducing a new choice for noodle makers, ramen chefs and consumers: a noodle blend of 20 percent corn flour and 80 percent wheat flour instead of the traditional 100 percent wheat noodle.
The Council’s ramen noodle, developed at Muramen Ltd., made its debut at a taste test in May for 10 Japanese food and noodle media reporters, five noodle manufacturers and nine corn flour manufacturers.
“This audience gave us good feedback on the taste and texture of our corn flour noodles,” reported Hiroko Sakashita, USGC associate director in Japan. “Some commented that they recognized a subtle sweetness of corn in the noodle. Some said they minded the noodle’s corn scent, but others did not.”
The Council’s noodles were served in three of the forms most popular in Japan: dipping noodles served cold with soup on the side (tsukemen), fried noodles with meat and vegetables (yakisoba), and in a hot noodle bowl with soup (ramen).
Incorporating corn flour into noodles produces several benefits: a shorter cooking time, better texture retention (conventional noodles tend to become soft once served), and reduced ingredient costs.
A Council handbook with the noodle formula and recipes was distributed at the tasting and, later, to 270 ramen shops in Tokyo.
“We hope this will encourage up-and-coming ramen chefs to develop their own original noodle recipes to include in their shops’ menus,” Sakashita said.
Based on the results in Tokyo, she said the Council plans to continue noodle promotion activities in other major Japanese cities like Osaka.
美國玉米和日本麵條
在日本，每年生產60萬公噸麵條，美國穀物協會向製麵者，拉麵師傅和消費者介紹另一種新的選擇：那就是由百分之20的玉米粉和百分之80的小麥粉所製成的麵條而非傳統的百分之100的小麥粉所製成的麵條。
美國穀物協會的拉麵條是由Muramen公司開發出來，並在5月由10家日本相關的食品和麵條媒體報導，5家拉麵製造廠和9家玉米粉製造廠舉辦首次試吃活動。
美國穀物協會駐日本副代表Hiroko Sakashita 女士說：“這次參與發表會的觀眾們對我們玉米粉麵條口感與試吃上有很好的反應”，“有些評語是麵條裡有不可思議的玉米甜味。有些人則會注意到麵條裡玉米的香味，有些人則不會。”
美國穀物協會以在日本最受大眾喜愛的3種麵條呈現玉米：浸泡式的冷麵(涼麵)，與肉類和蔬菜一起炒的麵條(炒麵)，和與熱湯搭配使用的麵條(拉麵)。
在麵條中含有玉米粉有以下幾種優點：可縮短烹調時間，口感更佳(一般的麵條煮後會變得較軟)，而且更能降低烹調成本。
美國穀物協會並在試吃會上發放麵條的配方與食譜，之後會在東京270家拉麵店推廣。
Hiroko Sakashita 說：“我們希望這有助於激勵拉麵師傅開發出屬於自己店裡獨一無二的招牌菜單。”
基於在東京的成果，Hiroko Sakashita 說美國穀物協會在日本其他主要城市，例如大阪，也會持續推展玉米麵條的活動。
