Different varieties of kansui for production of ramen noodles with different properties and characteristics
When speaking about ramen not as a dish but as noodles in a narrow sense, one of the most fundamental questions is what exactly makes noodles into “ramen noodles”? And considering that ramen noodles can be of many varieties and for different culinary applications, reducing its definition to a single common denominator is not easy. But there is one element that is absolutely common to all varieties of ramen noodles — kansui, as by definition ramen noodles have to be made from dough that contains this substance.
But then we are faced with a question of what is kansui, to which again it is difficult to give an unambiguous answer.
As a general description kansui can be defined as a salt (in a broad sense used in chemistry) which is added to dough to give it alkaline properties.
Kansui usually refers to either or a combination of sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) and potassium carbonate (K2CO3) in liquid (i.e. dissolved in water) or powder form. Each component’s function can be described in the following way:
However, kansui ingredients are not limited to the compounds above, with various other substances (such as different varieties of sodium phosphates, etc.). can be used for ramen making as well.
On October 8, 2021, join Yamato for a free online workshop dedicated to the role of kansui in ramen noodles.
In particular, we will look into how different proportions of the two compounds most frequently used in kansui differently affect ramen noodles’ smell, color, taste and texture, as well as explore other substances that can be used as kansui.
The workshop is Free, and its live broadcast is accessible by the link that will be sent to your email address after you sign up.
IMPORTANT:
a link to the workshop’s livestream will be sent to your email address 30 minutes before the start
(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)
Time schedule
| Time (Japanese time) | Contents |
| 4:30~4:35 (P.M.) | Introduction |
| 4:35 ~ 4:45 | A brief lecture on kansui, and its role in ramen noodles |
| 4:45 ~ 5:05 | Hands-on demonstration of production process to make fresh ramen noodles from dough made with kansui |
| 5:05 ~ 5:10 | Q&A |
*October 8, 4:30 P.M. Japanese time will be:
October 8, 00:30 in Los Angeles;
October 8, 02:30 in Dallas;
October 8, 03:30 in New York;
October 8, 10:30 A.M. in Helsinki;
9:30 A.M. in Berlin;
8:30 A.M. in Lisbon
*Schedule and timetable may be subject to change
*The workshop will be conducted in English
How to register for the workshop
You will receive an email with instructions for how to log in to the workshop’s livestream.
NOTE:
Please feel free to tell us about what kind of noodles you would want to see featured or any particular topic covered during the workshop.