Thread Content
Products such as orchid roots and twisted dough are usually unbranded and are processed only in small food workshops. At a time when stricter controls are being imposed on small food manufacturing units across the country, foods produced by such units, such as orchid roots and twisted dough products, need to accelerate their development in order to meet the market’s new demands for their products. The history of orchid roots is not very long, at only over 200 years. Yet this \"Chinese candy\" made from glutinous rice and coated with sugar became a popular snack that people rushed to acquire during the New Year in times of scarcity, gaining popularity throughout the country. To make orchid roots, the raw materials such as glutinous rice must first be soaked, then crushed into powder. After that, processes such as mixing the powder, kneading it, and cutting it into strips are carried out, followed by frying it in a pan. Finally, a sugar coating is applied to it using syrup. Among all snacks, this one has a more complicated production process and higher costs; as a result, in recent years, with the competition from foreign snacks, it has become increasingly rare. Moreover, orchid roots are mostly artificially produced, and in some areas, the inheritors of the techniques for making orchid roots face the problem of a lack of successors. As various news outlets expose the improper practices of small food production facilities, people have growing concerns about the food produced by such facilities. In contrast, modern factories that use food processing machinery for food production are more favored by people, who generally feel more confident about the safety of foods produced by such machinery. Therefore, using food machinery and equipment to replace manual labor in the production of orchid roots makes it necessary to ensure that this process is more standardized, regulated, and hygienic – factors that must be taken into account in current orchid root production. As can be seen from the production process of orchid roots, no additives are required during production; therefore, the quality of the product is largely determined by the raw materials. The ingredients used to make orchid roots include glutinous rice, powdered white sugar, granulated white sugar, maltose, salad oil, and more. Testing raw materials helps to ensure the safety of the final food products. Currently, some necessary testing equipment, such as devices for detecting pesticide residues and analyzers for food oils, enables rapid testing within a short time frame, which greatly facilitates the inspection of raw materials. Subsequently, the glutinous rice needs to be soaked, and this soaking process represents a major challenge in the production of orchid roots. Due to the influence of temperature changes during the soaking process, experienced craftsmen are needed to monitor the condition of the glutinous rice and adjust the time accordingly, either increasing or decreasing it from the seven-day period. An important reason for the development of food processing machinery is that it enables the food production process to remain unaffected by external factors, by creating an optimal production environment for the food through parameters such as temperature and humidity that can be set manually. Fermenters and dryers are examples of such equipment. For the soaking of glutinous rice, researchers need to determine the most suitable soaking conditions and then develop appropriate equipment accordingly. After soaking, the glutinous rice still needs to be ground to achieve the desired particle size. In this regard, China already has various grinding machines designed for different particle size requirements and for different types of ingredients, such as ultra-fine grinders, universal grinders, and coarse grinders; orchid root manufacturers can simply choose the machine that suits their needs. Additionally, tasks such as kneading dough and slicing are also carried out by food processing machinery like dough mixers and slicers. Frying is another challenge in the production process of orchid roots. Firstly, during the frying process, it is necessary to precisely control the oil temperature and heat level; in the past, this was done by experienced craftsmen ； Next is the control of oil quality; the oil must not be reused indefinitely. The frying equipment available on the market today can achieve automatic temperature control by presetting a temperature, thus automating the temperature regulation process. At the same time, in response to the unhealthy substances that may be produced by overheating of oils, some companies have invented low-temperature vacuum frying equipment. This device uses a vacuum environment to lower the boiling temperature of the oil, thereby extending its service life. When coating orchid roots with sugar, it is necessary to ensure that the coating is applied evenly, a process that is very similar to that used in making yuanxiao; a yuanxiao-making machine can be used to apply the sugar coating. To meet food safety standards for orchid roots, those that were previously sold outdoors are gradually being packaged. Vacuum packaging machines and pillow packers are among the most commonly used packaging equipment. Currently, both types of packaging equipment available on the market are quite mature, offering excellent performance in terms of sealing quality and speed. As a food product mostly produced in small food workshops, orchid roots need to adapt to the growing demand for food safety, hygiene, and health. By using mechanical equipment to upgrade their products, they can become more competitive in the market.