Although for reasons most of us would have preferred not to exist in the first place, “science” has recently become somewhat of a buzzword, suddenly gaining a lot of traction if not veneration, as well as being actively employed as a guidance for public policy measures concerning societies in general. 

But Science is not the Truth – it’s a Way.

For, in summary, science is a method of exploration of and dealing with reality that relies on its empirical examination using logic and formal thinking to discover laws of nature, and establish ways of accomplishing desired tasks. Scientific method requires collecting as much data about the object of research as possible, analyzing it, and making tentative conclusions based on the results of this analysis. As conditions change or new knowledge is acquired, these conclusions (and their underlying assumptions) can change as well.

Although with regards to doctrinal matters science is viewed in a dialectic opposition to Religion (dogma), concerning issues of methodology science is often counterpositioned to Art, with the latter rooted in feelings, intuition and other areas beyond formal analysis.

But what about noodle making? Which of these two categories does it belong to? Art or science?

Compare it to painting: although some individuals have a natural knack to graphically represent natural objects or products of their imagination, for all intents and purposes, to paint a good picture admired by other people one would admittedly need to take into account many aspects of the craft – from laws of perspective to the properties of brushes, coloring materials, different types of painting surfaces, etc.

The same applies to noodle making, including machine assisted production of homemade noodles we are talking about: to make really good noodles each time using the same set of equipment one would need not only to learn how the noodle machine works but to control for a number of parameters during actual noodle making as well:

from choosing the right ingredients in appropriate (for the type of noodles we are planning to make) quantities and ratios, as well as mixing and aging time for dough, to setting a proper gap between rollers during different stages of rolling, thinning and cutting, etc.

Thus, at least in terms of methods used, noodle making is a science-based endeavor, and throughout its long history Yamato has devoted much resources to develop not only hardware (noodle machines) but software (noodle making techniques) as well based on scientific (digital) approach that allows anyone to produce the best noodles. 

In this regard, here we can point out another important characteristic of science – reproducibility: a scientific experiment conducted with the same instruments and under the same conditions should always produce the same results – which in practical terms of noodle making implies that a developed set of procedures, if thoroughly followed through, can be used by anyone to produce noodles of the same quality and properties, meaning that you can easily entrust this task to your employees.  

All this may sound complex if not complicated but driving a car also requires a certain amount of prior training as well as a constant control of road and traffic conditions while at it.

To address these issues, we decided to dedicate our next class (on Jan. 14, 2021) to a detailed explanation of methods and techniques to produce low hydration noodles, like those usually used for tonkotsu ramen bowls.

LEARN EXACTLY how to make low hydration noodles, including:

properties of flour, water, kansui and other ingredients to make low hydration noodles; temperature control during noodle making; mixing time and hydration volume at different stages of dough making; resting time and conditions; appropriate clearance between rollers during all stages of noodle making process, including adjusting it depending on the actual thickness of dough sheet; allowed dough sheet thickness ranges for different cutters, and how to adjust / select both accordingly to produce noodles with desired characteristics.

The class is Free, and its live broadcast is accessible by the link that will be sent to your email address after you sign up. 

(NOTE: we are looking forward for, and would definitely welcome your watching the live broadcast, but should that be difficult, you would still be able to watch a recording of the class using the same link)