31st March: National Noodle Month

National Noodle Month comes to an end today so in case you've missed all the noodle stuff online here are my ten facts about noodles.

1. The word noodle comes from the German word Nudel. While it's possible to eat a single noodle, a meal usually contains several, so the word is usually seen in plural form.
2. Noodles may have been eaten in China as long ago as 4,000 years. In 2005, a team of archaeologists in China reported finding an earthenware bowl containing millet noodles at a neolithic site, but it has since been disputed as you probably couldn't make noodles from millet as it has no gluten in it.
3. Instant noodles, also known as ramen, were invented by Momofuku Ando in Japan in 1958. They are made from fresh noodles which are flash fried and then dried out.
4. When they first hit the supermarkets, ramen noodles were an expensive luxury item, not the staple for people on a budget as they are now.
5. Ramen noodles have been eaten in space. Two years before he died, Ando created “Space Ram,” a vacuum-packed ramen made with smaller noodles (so they can be cooked without using boiled Water), for Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi.
6. There is a museum in Japan dedicated to instant noodles. According to the museum's website there are 5,460 different flavours.
7. A noodle can only be called a noodle if it contains 5.5% egg solids.
8. Noodles represent longevity in China. A Chinese birthday party will include lashings of noodles. They are thought to be a fairly healthy food, being low in sodium and fat, and high in vitamins and minerals such as Iron, riboflavin, niacin and thiamin.
9. While we associate noodles with long, thin, Spaghetti like shapes, the unleavened dough from which they are made can be made into any number of different shapes, just like pasta.
10. As well as March being National Noodle Month, you can also celebrate National Noodle Day on October 6th, and National Noodle Ring Day on December 11th.

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