1
00:00:02,200 --> 00:00:06,440
Instant noodles. Why do you think
they're curly? Do they crimp them?

2
00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:08,920
Crimp them?!
Maybe that's the fashion!

3
00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:14,880
These days we always seem to be
in a hurry, and supermarkets are
full of things to help us save time.

4
00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:16,440
Oh!

5
00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:22,000
But none of them would exist without
some brain-busting, hi-tech stuff
going on behind the scenes.

6
00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:24,880
Why would you use a laser
to grow veg?

7
00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:27,120
Make it bigger? Killing the bugs off?

8
00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:29,600
What, like a laser gun?

9
00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:32,640
I'm going to reveal the secrets
behind supermarket food

10
00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:35,920
we take for granted by making
them Food Factory style.

11
00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:57,240
We've got used to having food that
takes minutes, even seconds to
prepare, but the science that makes

12
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that food possible is all hidden
away, and most of us wouldn't
get the chance to see inside

13
00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:06,160
a food factory, so I've set up my
own supermarket production line

14
00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:08,880
inside this barn
to show you how it's done.

15
00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:13,640
It may look as though
it's full of junk,

16
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but there's everything I need
to discover the secrets of the foods
we turn to when we're in a rush

17
00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:24,760
and to uncover the technological
tricks the food factories use
to make our lives easier.

18
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Take squirty cream. The cream
you don't even have to whip.

19
00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,000
But how much is in this can?

20
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Which one of these jars
do you think it will fill?

21
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That one.

22
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That one? I would say that one.

23
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Probably...that one.

24
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I know! Go on.

25
00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:46,400
That one. Let's give it a go.

26
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Do this one as well..
You said, "Which one?"

27
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All three jugs are filled
from this one can, so how do
you think that's happened?

28
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It's the aerosol, isn't it?

29
00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:03,440
Hairspray? Hairspray!

30
00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:05,400
You're not a million miles away.

31
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Air? Air! Close.

32
00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:14,800
So how do they get all that cream
and gas in a squirty-cream can?

33
00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:18,280
Well, I'm going to find
out by making my own.

34
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Here in the barn,
I've got everything I need to go

35
00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:24,960
back to basics and squeeze out
the secrets of squirty cream.

36
00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:28,840
Right, let's try this stuff.

37
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'Squirty cream is made
from whipping cream,

38
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'and doing this fills it with
loads of tiny air bubbles.'

39
00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:39,320
# I say whip it! #

40
00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:44,000
You can see it just starting
to thicken. Just round there, look.

41
00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:46,920
# Whip it good! #

42
00:02:46,920 --> 00:02:51,200
So is this what's inside
a can of squirty cream?

43
00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:55,040
Now, I've got a glass here
full of hand-whipped cream.

44
00:02:55,040 --> 00:03:00,080
Now, if I pop that on a set
of scales, that's 157g, OK.

45
00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:04,760
Now, identical glass,
and I'm going to fill it up
with some of the squirty cream.

46
00:03:07,640 --> 00:03:10,800
Get as much in there as possible,
fill it right up.

47
00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:13,320
Now, what does this say?

48
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49.6g.

49
00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:20,400
So the squirty cream is much lighter
than the hand-whipped cream.

50
00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:27,120
It must have less cream and loads
more gas, and that means spoon for
spoon it's got half the calories.

51
00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:35,040
Right, I've got to build
something that can get
all that gas into my cream.

52
00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:39,760
I need something that can stand up
to a lot of pressure
and squirt out cream.

53
00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:46,440
I don't want the gas inside this
extinguisher, just the canister.

54
00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:49,320
I reckon that's empty now. Perfect.

55
00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:53,320
# Pressure, pressure,
step into the pressure dome... #

56
00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:56,000
Taking a spanner to your own
fire extinguisher at home

57
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is not a great idea,
as it might blow your head off,

58
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so only go near one if
your house is on fire.

59
00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:05,960
Take that off.

60
00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,600
Instead of beating air
into the cream,

61
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I'll try and make it light and airy
by forcing in lots of gas.

62
00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:16,960
That's why I need
such a tough canister.

63
00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:23,800
Now, this tube is going to dip
into the cream that I'm going
to put inside the canister.

64
00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:26,680
I'll do it up nice and tight,

65
00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:33,560
and once it's pressurised, the gas
is going to force the cream out
through this little hole here,

66
00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:37,120
through this tube,
and out of the nozzle on the end.

67
00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:42,600
I'll force so much gas
into the canister it'll be under
a lot of pressure.

68
00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:45,520
When the gas is released,
it'll expand and should make

69
00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:48,320
loads of tiny bubbles in
the cream as it comes out.

70
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Result.

71
00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:57,400
Now, the cream in squirty cream
isn't just cream.

72
00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:01,040
It's contains all these
ingredients as well. Right...

73
00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:03,600
First up.

74
00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:06,080
There's a sugary syrup

75
00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:11,120
and a chemical called an emulsifier
that stops the fat
and the water separating.

76
00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:14,440
Last up is the cream.

77
00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:17,360
Right, put my cream mixture in.

78
00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:20,480
It seems a bit weird, putting
cream in a fire extinguisher.

79
00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:22,720
I hope I don't have
to put a fire out with it!

80
00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:28,080
Right, now for the gas.

81
00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:30,640
# Under pressure
Pushing down on me... #

82
00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:35,320
The job of the gas is to push out
the cream and make all
those bubbles.

83
00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:41,000
It's not carbon dioxide,
like you'd get in a fizzy drink,
and it's not air either.

84
00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:44,880
It's laughing gas.
No, seriously, it's nitrous oxide.

85
00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:49,120
It's the same stuff you get
at the dentist or if you're having
a baby.

86
00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:51,600
Weird ingredient.

87
00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:59,680
Weirdly enough,
laughing gas is perfect for the job.

88
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That's because nitrous oxide
dissolves in fat, and my cream
is full of fat - 35%, in fact.

89
00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:15,040
Now, if I squeeze about 15 party
balloons' worth of gas in here, it
should give me the right pressure.

90
00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:17,360
Fingers crossed.

91
00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:18,960
Just about ready.

92
00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:21,360
I've got one more valve

93
00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:24,240
before I start to pressurise
my squirty cream,

94
00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:26,520
so I'm hoping it's going to work.

95
00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:30,960
What I don't want to happen is
this to go bang and explode
and I wake up covered in cream.

96
00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:32,760
OK, here we go.

97
00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:38,520
Oh! Hear it hiss,
it made me jump then!

98
00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:46,440
OK. Now, that's all that laughing
gas being forced into my canister,
so if I give it a little

99
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shake in there, because I want all
that gas to dissolve into my cream.

100
00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:53,440
Here we go, right.

101
00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:56,960
I'll leave that for a few minutes
just to pressurise.

102
00:06:56,960 --> 00:06:59,440
# Stand back... #

103
00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:06,320
There's now five times as
much pressure in the canister
as there is in a tractor tyre.

104
00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:09,800
Right, let's give
this whipper a whirl.

105
00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:14,200
Now, I've got all my cakes
and my buns here, all they need
is a bit of cream.

106
00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:17,520
Now, fingers crossed...

107
00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:21,400
This could be fantastic,
or it could be a disaster.

108
00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:24,560
Who first? Let's try these buns.
A bit of a shake... Right.

109
00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:29,480
Oop!

110
00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:34,560
I reckon that was a bit
heavy handed, that one.

111
00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:37,440
A little bit more on here.
That's it. Oh, no!

112
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If this was a cake shop,
I'd definitely be sacked.

113
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A little bit on the apple pie,
there we are. A bit more control.

114
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On the tart... The problem is
I can't release it.

115
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Obviously, I've made a mess there.

116
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I think there's a little bit
too much cream there, I reckon.

117
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I need a little bit more control.

118
00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:04,880
Another shake... Yeah.

119
00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:11,080
Oh, look at that,
that's the real deal.

120
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That's it, much better.

121
00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:20,160
Now, it looks great,
nice and fluffy, lots of ridges,
but what about the taste?

122
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Now, it's got to be nice
and light and fluffy.

123
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Oh, it's really lovely and sweet,
and it's got that wonderful texture,

124
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really lots and lots of air bubbles,
and it disappears on your tongue.

125
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Amazing. Do you know what?
I reckon that's a good job.

126
00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:44,560
All I need to do is shrink that
down for the supermarket,
but one last thing.

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Perfect.

128
00:08:47,680 --> 00:08:50,240
'My very own squirty cream.'

129
00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:56,400
Later on, we made up another batch
of squirty cream to the same recipe.

130
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Would it whip them up into a frenzy
down on my farm?

131
00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:03,120
That's better.
Try one of those scones there.

132
00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:06,360
It's delicious. Is it like the
normal instant whipped cream?

133
00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:10,840
Definitely better. Good! Very milky.
Really light and fluffy as well.

134
00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:14,680
It's real cream. Do you like that?
Mmm! I don't usually like
squirty cream.

135
00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:16,720
This hasn't got the metallic taste.

136
00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:20,160
Would you buy it? If it was smaller!

137
00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:22,800
You wouldn't get that
in the trolley!

138
00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:31,560
Rice is one of the most popular
foods in the world, and we eat over

139
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a million tonnes a day, but did you
know that rice can pack
a nasty punch?

140
00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:39,960
Do you reckon it's OK
to eat leftover rice?

141
00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:42,560
Er... Yeah, why not?

142
00:09:42,560 --> 00:09:46,760
No. Yes.
I would say no. I would say there's
a chance you could get quite poorly.

143
00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:50,640
You are right, it can be a problem,
it can be a problem.

144
00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:56,720
That's because cooled
rice can contain a toxin
that reheating won't destroy.

145
00:09:56,720 --> 00:10:00,800
It's all to do with bacteria
that are very common in rice.

146
00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:05,480
Now, when cooked rice cools,
the bacteria can produce
a toxin that can make you sick.

147
00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:09,240
But supermarkets are full of
products that contain cooked rice,

148
00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:12,200
so how can they guarantee
that they're safe to eat?

149
00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:16,240
Don't have a clue. Do they cook it
before and it's only half cooked?

150
00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:19,840
Maybe they do some
sort of pasteurisation.
Add something to it?

151
00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:25,760
To get to the bottom of this one,
you need to get to know the enemy.

152
00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:32,320
It's too dangerous for me
to take out of the lab,
but this is what it looks like.

153
00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:35,320
It's a type of bacteria
called bacillus cereus.

154
00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:39,600
If you eat rice soon after you cook
it, there's nothing to worry about.

155
00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:42,760
It's when cooked rice cools
down slowly at room temperature

156
00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:47,520
that the bacteria get the chance
to multiply and make the toxin.

157
00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:50,840
Once the toxin is in the rice, it
doesn't matter how much you heat it,

158
00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:55,640
it's not going away,
and if you eat it,
you're going to feel really rough.

159
00:10:57,480 --> 00:11:06,000
So if you're producing precooked
rice on an industrial scale, you've
got a bacillus serious problem.

160
00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:10,760
1,500 tonnes of rice arrives
in this factory every week.

161
00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:17,160
To find out how they beat
the alien invader,

162
00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:18,840
I'll have to boldly go.

163
00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:25,560
When it comes to precooked
microwave rice, things become
a little bit space age.

164
00:11:25,560 --> 00:11:28,240
So beam me up.

165
00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:32,360
And it starts before I even get on
the factory floor. Straight through?

166
00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:34,400
No, no, you've got to wait
a few seconds.

167
00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:37,280
Factory manager Tim McEwan
takes the threat of any invading

168
00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:42,240
bacteria so seriously that everyone
who comes in here is decontaminated.

169
00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:48,640
It's bizarre! We're blowing air on
you to try and take any loose fibres
off the outside of your clothing.

170
00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:51,680
We could end up with curly hair,
couldn't we? That's right!

171
00:11:51,680 --> 00:11:54,040
Yep, that's straight through now.

172
00:11:54,040 --> 00:12:00,600
Finally, we're in! This isn't
outer space, but you know what?

173
00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:04,120
It really does look space age.

174
00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:11,480
'And it needs to be space age
to beat the bacillus cereus bacteria
that's so common in raw rice.'

175
00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:16,280
Right, this is what
I don't understand.

176
00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:21,760
I've been told if you reheat
rice, it can make you sick,
it can make you have food poisoning.

177
00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:25,160
That's right. We stop that
happening by sterilising the rice

178
00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:31,920
with lots and lots of hot steam, and
that kills the bacteria before they
can make a toxin and makes you ill.

179
00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:36,160
The uncooked rice is steamed
way above boiling point
to kill off the bacteria,

180
00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:37,920
and no bacteria means no toxin.

181
00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:41,080
You wouldn't be able to
do this at home, then?

182
00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:45,200
Absolutely not,
the temperatures we reach are
far greater than you can do at home.

183
00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:49,880
But that hot steam cooks the rice
as well. No, no,
there's no cooking occurs here.

184
00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:53,440
This is just about sterilisation,
this part of the process.

185
00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:57,960
So, once all the bacteria that
could make you ill are destroyed,

186
00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:03,600
the rice is then cooked just
the same way as you would at home,
but on a vast scale.

187
00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:11,720
Then it goes into a sealed room
to be packed in sterile conditions,

188
00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:15,200
or so Tim tells me - he's not
letting me anywhere near it.

189
00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:18,840
You're not going in there.
What, even if I put two masks on?

190
00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:21,480
No, no! Now the rice is cooked
and sterilised,

191
00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:24,520
we've got to make sure
we don't contaminate it.

192
00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:25,920
So what happens?

193
00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:29,360
We seal the packets, and we
inject nitrogen gas into them.

194
00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:36,600
Nitrogen makes up more than three
quarters of the air we breathe, but
it's the final blow to the bacteria.

195
00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:39,960
Nitrogen gas makes it difficult
for the bacteria to grow.

196
00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:42,520
But you told me you'd got rid
of all the bacteria.

197
00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:45,680
That's right, but this is a failsafe,
we've got to be doubly sure.

198
00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:58,160
The reason precooked rice
products are safe to eat
isn't the cooking or the reheating.

199
00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:02,320
It's all the other things they do in
the factory that beat the bacteria
that produce the toxin.

200
00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:05,920
This means we can eat rice
straight from the microwave.

201
00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:10,080
The things they do to make our lives
easier are out of this world.

202
00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:23,120
Noodles have been around
for thousands of years,

203
00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:25,600
but instant noodles are
a 20th century invention.

204
00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:27,280
But what makes them instant?

205
00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:30,440
It is probably some chemical.
I don't know.

206
00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:32,880
Perhaps it's because they're not
too solid.

207
00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:35,240
What is it that allows them
to cook so quickly?

208
00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:37,840
Because they're so small,
they're thin.

209
00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:40,720
So is their shape important?

210
00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:45,560
And what have the factory done
to them to make them zero
effort for us in the kitchen?

211
00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:48,520
To find out, I'm going
to make my own.

212
00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:52,680
Instant noodles look easy,
but they're not.

213
00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:56,320
If this is going to work, I'm really
going to have to use my noodle.

214
00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:04,440
Today my specialist subject
is instant noodles.

215
00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:08,000
Noodles date back to over
4,000 years to ancient China.

216
00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:11,960
To this day, the ingredients
are still basically flour, water,

217
00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:14,480
which I'll mix into a dough,
and a little bit of salt.

218
00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:18,280
But the water is special.

219
00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:23,560
The lake water in ancient China
was rich in minerals.

220
00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:27,840
To create the same effect, I'm
adding sodium carbonate, also known

221
00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:32,280
as old fashioned washing soda,
once used to make soap lather up.

222
00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:38,480
This gives the noodles a firm
texture and a bit of bite
when they're cooked.

223
00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:46,920
A bit sticky now.

224
00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:50,560
What I've got here looks more like
an accident in a mop factory

225
00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:54,520
than some noodles,
but help is at hand.

226
00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:58,680
Here's some top noodle knowledge,
this is the Asian Noodle Technology
Bulletin.

227
00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:04,160
It is a real document,
and apparently all I need now
is some rolling equipment.

228
00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:13,120
Right... Time of truth.

229
00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:14,840
Put the dough in the mangle

230
00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:16,680
and slowly feed it through.

231
00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:19,800
Here we go. Oh, it's coming through.

232
00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:23,680
Not looking like noodles yet.

233
00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:26,960
It's more looking like
it's been run over by a steamroller.

234
00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:31,960
The dough is made all stretchy
because of a protein in flour
called gluten.

235
00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:37,720
Now, the gluten in
the dough is being affected
by the minerals I put in the water,

236
00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:41,440
and that's stopping the dough
becoming too loose and baggy.

237
00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:45,480
'And I certainly don't want
a baggy dough, that would
be a nightmare to roll out.

238
00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:48,480
'A firm smooth dough
is what I'm after.'

239
00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:53,280
I'm getting quite good at this.
I might put my pants through
in a minute!

240
00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:55,560
Right, look at that!

241
00:16:55,560 --> 00:17:00,320
That started off as just that
lump of fairly dry dough.

242
00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:03,720
That's not bad. I could turn
that into a belt or something.

243
00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:05,520
Great.

244
00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:11,240
But now, how to turn what looks like
normal dough into instant noodles,

245
00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:14,440
and it's got more to do
with coiffure than cheffery.

246
00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:17,440
I'm going to give the dough
a cut and wave.

247
00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:19,040
Mm-hmm...

248
00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:24,400
There's no such thing as a noodle
barber, but these fellas do need
to go through a cutting machine.

249
00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:28,840
I reckon an office shredder
will do the job.

250
00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:34,560
Now, I've heard about office
pranks where they've shredded
the boss's tie but never noodles.

251
00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:37,840
Oh-ho-ho, there we go!

252
00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:42,920
Now, believe it or not, this is
exactly what happens in the factory.

253
00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:47,280
Obviously, they don't use an
office shredder and an aquarium,

254
00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:49,960
but you see the noodles now
are starting to curl up.

255
00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:52,880
That's exactly what I want.

256
00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:55,720
Right, wow! They look brilliant.

257
00:17:55,720 --> 00:18:01,160
Really noodly, but obviously they're
a long way from being instant yet,
because they're raw.

258
00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:06,040
There's a big innovation still to
come before they're instant noodles.

259
00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:08,280
But first they need to be
pre-cooked, and that's done

260
00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:14,360
with steam, so I'm going to knock up
an industrial-size noodle cooker.

261
00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:16,440
Right, needs soldering.

262
00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:22,320
I'll pump steam along these copper
pipes into this plastic container
which will hold the noodles.

263
00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:27,280
And my cooker will be powered
with steam from what else?
Wallpaper strippers!

264
00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:31,440
A bizarre set of tools, I know,
but it might just work.

265
00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:34,280
Right, time to cook my noodles.

266
00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:38,120
It's a bit like a sauna now,
isn't it? Right.

267
00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:47,680
Now, the hot steam...should cook
the noodles and set them in
a nice wavy shape.

268
00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:51,280
The great thing about cooking them
with stream rather than boiling

269
00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:53,960
is it keep the noodles
as dry as possible.

270
00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:00,360
Right, lid on. In the factory,
they only take about three minutes.

271
00:19:00,360 --> 00:19:03,840
# I got.. Sss-steam heat

272
00:19:03,840 --> 00:19:08,000
# I got... Sss-steam heat... #

273
00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:12,640
Right, let's have a look
at the noodles.

274
00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:14,880
They look lovely and cooked.

275
00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:16,520
Now, let's pick one up.

276
00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:21,720
Yeah, look at that. The heat has set
that nice curly noodly shape there.

277
00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:26,280
It's al been very traditional.
There's nothing new about steamed
noodles,

278
00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:31,200
but what I've got to do next
is probably the greatest innovations
in noodle history.

279
00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:35,720
Any guesses? I'll come back to that
in just an instant.

280
00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:50,880
When you think of innovation,
you wouldn't think that this is high
on the list, but when you're growing

281
00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:57,160
millions of lettuces every week,
you'd want all the hi-tech help
that you could get your hands on.

282
00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:02,480
Especially when it comes to
the great British weather.

283
00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:08,360
It can go from rain to snow
to beautiful sunshine
in the blink of an eye.

284
00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:11,800
These lettuces
have a lot to put up with.

285
00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:15,480
Giving them a helping hand
is Peter Sargeant.

286
00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:21,920
He produces 2.8 million iceberg
lettuces a week and supplies
major supermarkets.

287
00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:23,560
It's lovely and warm.

288
00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:26,480
If I was a lettuce,
I'd never want to leave.

289
00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:32,880
Over their lifetime in here, we try
to reduce the temperature so we're
preparing them for the life outside.

290
00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:35,360
We'll start planting at the end
of February.

291
00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:37,960
The conditions are
pretty awful in the fields.

292
00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:41,680
If I was outside in February,
I probably wouldn't survive either.

293
00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:44,080
# What a beautiful day... #

294
00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:48,280
When the lettuces are big
enough and brave enough to

295
00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:52,360
face the weather outside,
they're planted in the fields.

296
00:20:52,360 --> 00:20:54,880
Peter's next big problem is rain,

297
00:20:54,880 --> 00:21:00,760
but he's got some technological
wizardry to make sure his lettuces
get just the right amount of water.

298
00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:04,800
How can you control the weather?
You can't do a rain dance
and make it rain.

299
00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:09,280
No, but we can make sure we've got
enough water available to the crop.

300
00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:13,760
Peter can control how much water
there is underneath his fields

301
00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:17,200
so his lettuce are
always getting just what they need.

302
00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:24,360
Irrigation ditches around each field
are connected to over 150
miles of underground pipes.

303
00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:27,880
They take water straight
to the plants' roots,

304
00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:32,520
and Peter can even control the water
level in each individual field.

305
00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:35,880
To see where the water level is,
we dig a hole such as this, Jimmy.

306
00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:38,480
This one's dry because it's just
been freshly planted.

307
00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:42,320
Once we've finished planting,
we'll start raising the water level.

308
00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:44,400
So time to turn the water on.

309
00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:46,960
# I don't care what
the weatherman says

310
00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:49,080
# When the weatherman says
it's raining... #

311
00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:51,920
So these are drainage ditches
where you hold all the water?

312
00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:55,280
That's right, Jimmy. All we need
to do is lower this pipe here.

313
00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:57,680
That lets water out from
that system into this system.

314
00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:00,720
Are you sure? I don't want to flood
all your farm!

315
00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:03,080
No, I think you'll be OK. Yeah? OK.

316
00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:05,520
So this way round?
Right, here we go.

317
00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:07,760
And out comes the water.
That's right.

318
00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:11,280
And now that water is on its way
to the field that we saw earlier.

319
00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:14,600
Yes, it is, but that field will
take quite a long time to fill,

320
00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:17,120
so we'll go and have a look
at another field. OK.

321
00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:20,360
# I don't care how
the weatherman points

322
00:22:20,360 --> 00:22:22,880
# When the weatherman points
to gloomy... #

323
00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:28,000
Peter, this hole is
completely different.

324
00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:30,320
Yes, and we can see the
water level on this stick.

325
00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:32,360
So you've raised that water
level up.

326
00:22:32,360 --> 00:22:34,760
We've raised up the water
in the ditches,

327
00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:37,200
and that's raised the level of water
in the field.

328
00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:42,280
But Peter's watering system only
works if his fields are dead flat.

329
00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:44,920
Do you come along with
a spirit level and make sure?

330
00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:47,200
No, not quite, we use lasers.

331
00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:49,560
That's a bit hi-tech,
are you just showing off?!

332
00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:54,920
No, no, no, it's common practice for
levelling out roadways,
and we use the lasers to transmit

333
00:22:54,920 --> 00:23:00,560
a signal to this tractor and buckets
behind us, and that will enable us to

334
00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:04,360
pick up soil from the high spots
and drop it in the low spots.

335
00:23:04,360 --> 00:23:07,280
It'll be level within about
sort of four centimetres.

336
00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:09,760
Can I get them on my lawn at home?
I've got a few bumps.

337
00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:11,520
It might make a bit of a mess!

338
00:23:13,360 --> 00:23:18,960
That leaves one last piece of top
technology - a factory on wheels.

339
00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:24,880
As it rolls across the fields,
the lettuces get picked and packed
ready for the supermarket.

340
00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:30,320
An iceberg might seem like the
simplest part of the salad,
but to grow it on a supermarket

341
00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:35,920
scale requires a few hi-tech tricks,
all to let us have
a little bit of lettuce!

342
00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:48,120
Back at the barn,
I'm making noodles.

343
00:23:48,120 --> 00:23:51,760
So far, I've made traditional
noodles the traditional way by steam

344
00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:55,840
cooking them, but now it's time
to turn them into instant noodles.

345
00:23:55,840 --> 00:24:03,560
When instant noodles were invented,
finding a way to dry out or
dehydrate the cooked noodles

346
00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:09,080
but still allowing the customer
to rehydrate them quickly at home
proved to be very difficult.

347
00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:16,800
Then just over 50 years ago, this
man, Momofuku Ando, hit on the idea

348
00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:23,560
of flash frying the cooked noodles
to get rid of the water, a genius
moment that made him very rich.

349
00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:27,920
His company is now worth
over £2.5bn.

350
00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:32,280
I'm going to put my noodles
in these little baskets here.

351
00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:37,560
Nice curly shapes,
nice little twirls.

352
00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:41,200
It looks like some sort of desk
tidy, where you put all your

353
00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:44,560
waste elastic bands, look at that.
Right, into the hot oil.

354
00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:47,240
That lovely sizzling sound.

355
00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:50,480
You can see all these bubbles
coming out and they're frying away.

356
00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:54,120
All the water is being forced out
by the hot oil.

357
00:24:54,120 --> 00:24:58,160
And all the water deep inside
the noodles is getting pushed out.

358
00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:03,840
So after frying,
hopefully, if I've got it all right,
they should be nice and crispy.

359
00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:06,320
Let's have a look at these guys.

360
00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:09,760
Now, perfect shape to them,
but they're all spilling out.

361
00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:11,600
They look like some angry octopus.

362
00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:14,960
Look at that.
Still a little bit hot.

363
00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:19,600
That's all right.
They're hard, it's worked.

364
00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:23,600
Most of that moisture has been
forced out by that hot fat, and I'm

365
00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:30,920
left with quite a curvy, twiddly
little noodle that is...crispy.

366
00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:36,400
So in theory
all I have to do is add hot water,
and I've got my instant noodles.

367
00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:41,240
But are my homemade noodles
anything like the ones you
get in the supermarket?

368
00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:43,920
If I magnify these shop-bought
noodles,

369
00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:48,760
you can see that flash frying
has done something wholly unusual
to the surface.

370
00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:54,840
There's lots and lots
of tiny holes, and that's where

371
00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:57,800
all the water has been forced out
when they've been fried.

372
00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:01,200
Those holes are really useful,
because it lets the water out

373
00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:06,040
but also it allows the water
back in when you cook them at home.

374
00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:09,960
So hopefully my noodles should have
those type of holes.

375
00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:11,920
Let's have a look.

376
00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:13,840
Hoo-hoo!

377
00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:15,480
It looks like a monster.

378
00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:18,800
Look at that, that's amazing.
My holes are massive and there's

379
00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:24,080
lots of them, which is brilliant,
there's a huge one there.

380
00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:25,760
Brilliant.

381
00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:29,400
My noodles have that classic
noodle shape, which allows the water

382
00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:34,640
to move all around the noodles,
but also when they're cooking,
they don't all clump together.

383
00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:38,760
In with my noodles...

384
00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:42,880
But plain noodles taste... Well,
plain, so I need to add some dried

385
00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:47,240
vegetables and bits of soya
with the same texture as meat.

386
00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:49,560
A few dried peas...

387
00:26:49,560 --> 00:26:55,200
In goes some powdered chicken
flavouring and a bit of colouring.
Next, hot water.

388
00:26:55,200 --> 00:27:00,600
It seems a bit crazy, I've done all
this work to get the moisture out
just to put it back in again.

389
00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:05,840
Right, I suddenly feel
like a student again.

390
00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:09,200
A quick stir
and four minutes later...

391
00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:12,360
Here we go. It's a big curly one.

392
00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:18,960
HE CHUCKLES

393
00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:23,400
Well, that's half soft...
and half crunchy.

394
00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:25,880
Just the way I like them.

395
00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:31,560
And in terms of being really
instant, well, I'm a bit slow,
but you know what? That's worked.

396
00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:37,720
There we go,
my very own instant noodles.

397
00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:45,720
Later on, we made up another
batch to the same recipe.

398
00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:49,920
Would my instant snack
be an instant hit down on the farm?

399
00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:52,760
Have a delve in. Oh, it's horrible!

400
00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:55,080
It's a bit of an acquired taste(!)

401
00:27:55,080 --> 00:27:58,400
But these brave tasters
aren't really my target audience.

402
00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:04,640
What I need are some experienced
noodle eaters, like these students.
There we go. Have a taste.

403
00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:08,520
I'd only eat that if I hadn't eaten
for a few days and I was desperate!

404
00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:11,160
So you wouldn't buy this
in a shop, then? No way.

405
00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:15,640
Ah, well, not an instant hit, then.

406
00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:19,760
From laser lettuces
to space age rice, it seems

407
00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:26,600
that our food has gone hi-tech,
but it means food factories have
to work harder so we don't have to,

408
00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:29,040
and I'm not going
to argue with that.

409
00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:38,960
Subtitles by Red Bee Media

410
00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:43,480
E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk