♪♪
Narrator:
THE WORD NOODLE IS DERIVED
FROM THE GERMAN WORD NUDEL,
BUT THE FOOD ITSELF
WAS INVENTED IN CHINA
AS EARLY AS 4,000 YEARS AGO.
EVEN THOUGH COOKING WITH NOODLES
ORIGINATED IN CHINA,
CULTURES FROM AROUND THE GLOBE
HAVE USED NOODLES
IN AN ARRAY OF
UNIQUE AND TASTY DISHES.
NOODLES SEEM SIMPLE.
THEY'RE JUST UNLEAVENED DOUGH
FORMED INTO DIFFERENT SHAPES
AND SIZES
AND THEN COOKED,
BUT MANUFACTURING THEM ISN'T
AS SIMPLE AS YOU'D THINK.
NOODLE RECIPES
ALWAYS START WITH FLOUR.
AT THIS FACILITY,
A FOOD-PROCESSING TECHNICIAN
POURS WHEAT FLOUR AND WATER
INTO A LARGE MIXER.
THE TECHNICIAN
MAKES SURE THE RATIO
EQUALS 80.4% FLOUR
TO 17% WATER.
THE REMAINING 2.6% IS SALT.
THE DOUGH IS FLATTENED AND
ROLLED IN A MOLDING MACHINE.
ONCE THE MOLDING MACHINE
HAS FINISHED FLATTENING
AND WINDING
THE DOUGH INTO BIG ROLLS,
THEY'RE SET ASIDE TO MATURE.
THEN EACH ROLL GOES THROUGH
THIS MACHINE,
CALLED A CALENDAR MILL.
A CALENDAR MILL
IS A SERIES OF PRESSURE ROLLERS
DESIGNED TO REDUCE A MATERIAL
TO A UNIFORM THICKNESS.
THE DOUGH IS FLATTENED
AND ROLLED SIX MORE TIMES
IN THE MOLDING MACHINE
UNTIL IT REACHES
ITS DESIRED THICKNESS.
♪♪
THE CALENDAR MILL
QUICKLY AND ACCURATELY
SLICES THE DOUGH
INTO SLENDER NOODLES
BEFORE CUTTING THEM
TO 47 INCHES.
♪♪
IT'S IMPORTANT
FOR DOUGH TO MATURE.
THIS HELPS GIVE IT
STRENGTH AND ELASTICITY.
♪♪
THE NOODLES FOLD OVER HANGERS
AND HEAD TO THE NEXT STATION.
♪♪
A FOOD-PROCESSING TECHNICIAN
TRANSFERS SEVEN HANGERS
OF NOODLES TO ONE HANGER,
WHICH IS THE APPROPRIATE
DENSITY NEEDED
FOR THE FINAL MATURATION PHASE
OF NOODLE PRODUCTION.
♪♪
THE TECHNICIAN WHEELS
THE HANGERS
INTO A DEVICE CALLED
A STEAM BOILER.
THE NOODLES WILL SPEND
3 1/2 HOURS STEAMING
AT TEMPERATURES
UP TO 212 DEGREE FAHRENHEIT.
♪♪
ONCE THOROUGHLY STEAMED,
THE NOODLES ARE MOVED
TO A STATION
TO COOL AND DRY FOR 24 HOURS
BEFORE THEY'RE
READY FOR PACKAGING.
♪♪
THE WORKERS
WHO PACKAGE THESE NOODLES
ARE SPECIALLY TRAINED
USING A SCALE,
WHICH HELPS THEM DETERMINE
HOW MANY NOODLES
SHOULD BE BUNDLED TOGETHER.
ONCE THEIR TRAINING IS COMPLETE,
THE TECHNICIAN CAN BUNDLE
THE RIGHT QUANTITY OF NOODLES
BY EYE.
♪♪
THIS FACILITY RELIES ON
A TRADITIONAL, MANUAL PROCESS
TO MANUFACTURE THEIR NOODLE.
ACCORDING TO THE FACILITY,
THIS ALLOWS WORKERS
AN OPPORTUNITY
TO CLOSELY INSPECT
THE QUALITY OF THE NOODLES.
THIS FACILITY ALSO
MANUFACTURES A DRY NOODLE.
THE PROCESS IS NEARLY THE SAME,
EXCEPT THAT RATHER
THAN GO THROUGH
A MATURATION PHASE
IN A STEAM OVEN,
THESE NOODLES DRY, STEP BY STEP,
IN A THERMOSTATIC ROOM.
THE PRODUCTION LINE
MANUFACTURES THE NOODLES
AT 45 INCHES BEFORE
TRANSFERRING THEM TO SMALL BINS
WHERE LARGE,
STAINLESS STEEL BLADES
CHOP THEM DOWN
TO 7 INCHES.
FOR THESE NOODLES,
THE MANUFACTURERS
HAVE ADDED TURMERIC,
A SPICE WHICH PROVIDES
BOTH COLOR AND FLAVOR
AND IS ALSO BELIEVED
TO HAVE HEALTH BENEFITS.
WHILE THIS FACILITY PACKAGES
CERTAIN NOODLE VARIETIES
BY HAND,
IT ALSO HAS A FULLY AUTOMATED
PACKAGING LINE
FOR OTHER TYPES OF NOODLES.
MANUFACTURERS PRODUCE
DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF NOODLES
BASED ON CUSTOMER DEMANDS.
THEY SELL THEM
PACKAGED AND IN BUNDLES.
THIS LINE IS PACKAGING THEM
IN 3-OUNCE BUNDLES.
AFTER THOUSANDS OF YEARS,
PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD
STILL CAN'T GET ENOUGH
OF EATING A VARIETY OF DISHES
MADE UP OF NOODLES.
