On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1096

(China), rice (Japan), or sweet potato — are
prized for several qualities: their clarity and
glossy brilliance, their slippery, firm texture,
andtheirreadinessforeatingafterjustafew
minutes of soaking in hot liquid, whether
plainhotwaterorasouporbraiseddish.
Thefirmestnoodlesaremadefrom
starcheshighinthestraight-chainamylose
form(p.457).Whereordinarylong-grainrice
is21–23%amylose,specialnoodlericesare
30–36%,andmung-beanstarchis35–40%
amylose.Starchnoodlesaremadebyfirst
cookingasmallamountofdrystarchwith
watertomakeastickypastethatwillbindthe
restofthestarchintoacohesivedough.The
pasteismixedwiththerestofthedrystarch
andmorewatertomakeadoughwith35–45%
moisture,andthedoughisthenextruded
throughsmallholesinametalplatetoform
noodles.Thenoodlesareimmediatelyboiled
togelateallthestarchandformacontinuous
networkofstarchmoleculesthroughout,and


thenaredrainedandheldattheambient
temperatureorchilledfor12–48hoursbefore
beingair-dried.Duringtheholdingperiod,the
gelatedstarchmoleculesfallintoamore
orderlyarrangement,orretrograde(p.458).
Thesmalleramylosemoleculescluster
togethertoformjunctionsinthenetwork,

crystallineregionsthatresistdisruptioneven
byboilingtemperatures.Thedriednoodles
arethusfirmandstrong,butthelessorderly
partsofthenetworkreadilyabsorbhotliquid
andswelltobecometenderwithouttheneed
foractivecooking.
Starchnoodlesaretranslucentbecause
they’reauniformmixtureofstarchandwater,
withnoparticlesofinsolubleproteinorintact
starchgranulestoscatterlightrays.
Rice Noodles and Wrappers Like starch
noodles, rice noodles are held together by
amylose,notgluten;butbecausetheycontain
protein and cell-wall particles that scatter