Preparation method of fresh steamed sea cucumber and application thereof

Abstract

This invention belongs to the field of food processing technology, and specifically relates to a method for preparing fresh steamed sea cucumber and its application. By optimizing the enzyme inactivation process, removing the salting process, and post-cooking the process, an innovative processing technology for fresh steamed sea cucumber has been developed, which significantly improves the nutrient retention rate of sea cucumber products and has broad application prospects in enhancing the nutritional value of sea cucumber.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of food processing, and particularly relates to a preparation method and application of fresh-steamed sea cucumbers. Background Art

[0002] Sea cucumbers have a long history of being eaten in China. Xie Zhaozhe's "Wuzazu" during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty recorded the origin of the name of sea cucumbers: "Its nature is warm and tonic, comparable to ginseng, so it is called sea cucumber." Sea cucumbers are named for their tonic effect. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that sea cucumbers have the effects of tonifying the kidney and replenishing essence, replenishing qi and nourishing blood, etc., and can improve energy, regulate immunity, and enhance physical fitness. Modern scientific research has also found that active ingredients in sea cucumbers, such as sea cucumber saponins, polysaccharides, chondroitin, etc., have physiological functions such as delaying aging and anti-cancer. With the popularization of knowledge about the nutritional value of sea cucumbers, they have gradually become common ingredients on the tables of ordinary people.

[0003] There are various enzymes in sea cucumbers. These enzymes will be activated under specific conditions, resulting in the decomposition of components such as proteins and polysaccharides, thus causing the "autolysis" phenomenon. Affected by the seasonal harvesting of sea cucumbers and the "autolysis" characteristics, under traditional processes, after harvesting fresh sea cucumbers, they need to be immediately blanched at high temperature to inactivate the enzymes, and then processed into salted sea cucumbers for preservation. Subsequently, according to production requirements, the salted sea cucumbers can be further processed into two categories of products: one category is products that retain the original form, such as dried sea cucumbers, freeze-dried sea cucumbers, quick-frozen sea cucumbers, frozen ready-to-eat sea cucumbers, fresh stewed sea cucumbers, fresh-steamed sea cucumbers, etc.; the other category is non-original form products such as sea cucumber powder, sea cucumber oral liquid, sea cucumber peptides, etc.

[0004] Dried sea cucumbers, ready-to-eat sea cucumbers and fresh stewed sea cucumbers are the main types of existing sea cucumber products. Among them, dried sea cucumbers adopt the most traditional processing method. After consumers purchase dried sea cucumbers, they need to complete a series of operations such as screening, soaking and processing by themselves to meet the edible requirements, and the soaking process is extremely cumbersome and complex. Compared with dried sea cucumbers, although ready-to-eat sea cucumbers and fresh stewed sea cucumbers solve the problem of soaking and are more convenient to eat, due to the long-term high-temperature boiling and flavoring process, their nutritional retention rate is relatively low. At the same time, after the existing sea cucumber products are blanched at high temperature to inactivate the enzymes, they also need to undergo a water boiling and cooking process, and are packaged and sterilized after the water boiling and cooking process is completed, further resulting in the loss of sea cucumber nutrition and a further reduction in the retention rate.

[0005] Proteins and saponins are important nutrients in sea cucumbers. According to reports of previous research, the total nutritional loss rate of fresh sea cucumbers after blanching in boiling water is as high as 30%; after blanching combined with water boiling and cooking (or blanching combined with steaming and cooking), the protein content of sea cucumbers is reduced from 51.56% to 24.75% - 30.14%, and the saponin content is reduced from 0.97% to 0.19% - 0.22%.

[0006] Therefore, how to prepare sea cucumber products that are both convenient for immediate consumption and have a high nutritional retention rate is still an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0007] In response to the shortcomings of existing technologies, the inventors speculate that the main reasons for the loss of nutrients in sea cucumbers may be the 100°C high-temperature blanching to inactivate enzymes, salting, and prolonged high-temperature boiling before packaging, which are commonly used in traditional sea cucumber processing.

[0008] Based on the above problems, this invention aims to propose a method for preparing fresh steamed sea cucumber. By optimizing the enzyme inactivation process, removing the salting process, and post-processing the cooking process (i.e., integrating cooking and sterilization after sea cucumber packaging), an innovative processing technology for fresh steamed sea cucumber has been developed, which better locks in the nutrients of sea cucumber and solves the problem of low nutrient retention rate of sea cucumber products.

[0009] To achieve the above objectives, on the one hand, the present invention provides a method for preparing low-temperature fresh ginseng with improved nutrient retention rate, the preparation method comprising the following steps:

[0010] S1. Cut open the live sea cucumber and remove its internal organs;

[0011] S2. Blanch at 60℃~85℃ for 10-30 minutes to inactivate enzymes, then cool to room temperature to obtain low-temperature fresh ginseng.

[0012] Furthermore, fresh ginseng prepared at low temperatures can undergo further processing; if no further processing is required, it should be stored at -20℃.

[0013] Furthermore, the preparation method does not include a salting step.

[0014] Furthermore, the nutrients include proteins or saponins.

[0015] Secondly, the present invention provides a method for preparing freshly steamed sea cucumber with improved nutrient retention rate, the preparation method comprising the following steps:

[0016] S1. Cut open the live sea cucumber and remove its internal organs;

[0017] S2. Blanch at 60℃~85℃ for 10-30 minutes to inactivate enzymes, then cool to room temperature to obtain low-temperature fresh ginseng; for example, the blanching and enzyme inactivation temperature is 60℃, 65℃, 70℃, 75℃, 80℃ or 85℃, and the blanching and enzyme inactivation time is 10min, 15min, 20min, 25min or 30min.

[0018] S3. After sealing and packaging the low-temperature fresh sea cucumber obtained in step S2, steam it at 105℃~121℃ for 5-30 minutes to obtain the steamed sea cucumber; for example, the steaming temperature is 105℃, 106℃, 107℃, 108℃, 109℃, 110℃, 111℃, 112℃, 113℃, 114℃, 115℃, 116℃, 117℃, 118℃, 119℃, 120℃ or 121℃; the steaming time is 5min, 10min, 15min, 20min, 25min or 30min.

[0019] Furthermore, the preparation method does not include a salting step.

[0020] Furthermore, step S2 also includes the step of removing the sand spout.

[0021] Furthermore, after removing the sand mouthpiece, a rinsing step is also included.

[0022] Furthermore, step S1, after removing the internal organs, also includes a rinsing step.

[0023] Furthermore, the nutrients include proteins or saponins.

[0024] Thirdly, the present invention provides the application of the preparation method described above in improving the retention rate of nutrients in sea cucumbers.

[0025] Furthermore, the nutrients mentioned include proteins or saponins.

[0026] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0027] (1) The present invention optimizes the enzyme inactivation process in the pretreatment of live sea cucumbers, reduces the traditional enzyme inactivation temperature of 100℃ to 60℃~85℃, and omits the salting process, and finds that the nutritional retention rate of the prepared low-temperature fresh sea cucumbers is significantly improved.

[0028] (2) The present invention moves the cooking process of the sea cucumber product to the post-process, changing the traditional low-temperature long-term cooking before packaging (e.g., cooking and sterilizing at 95-100℃ for 60-90 minutes) to high-temperature short-time cooking and sterilization treatment after packaging (steaming and cooking at 105-121℃ for 5-30 minutes). It was found that the optimized process sequence and specific steaming and cooking sterilization process conditions not only simplify the preparation steps, but also improve the nutrient retention rate of the prepared fresh steamed sea cucumber.

[0029] (3) This invention detects the protein and saponins in sea cucumber raw materials and finished products after different processing techniques, and compares the nutrient retention of sea cucumber under different processing techniques, aiming to provide a basis for the development of fresh steamed sea cucumber processing techniques. Attached Figure Description

[0030] Figure 1 The preparation method of freshly steamed sea cucumber in Example 3 of this invention Detailed Implementation

[0031] The following detailed embodiments further illustrate the concept and technical effects of the present invention to fully understand its purpose, features, and effects. Unless otherwise specified, all methods described are conventional methods. Unless otherwise specified, all materials are available from publicly available commercial sources. The illustrative embodiments and descriptions of the present invention are used to explain the invention and do not constitute an undue limitation thereof. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in the present invention can be combined with each other.

[0032] The live sea cucumbers (Apostichopus japonicus Selenka) used in this experiment were all purchased from Wafangdian, Dalian, Liaoning Province, and all weighed no less than 140g.

[0033] Because the nutrient content varies among different sea cucumber individuals, the experiment used nutrient retention rate (rather than nutrient content) as a metric to reduce the impact of differences in the original nutrients of sea cucumbers.

[0034] Example 1: Screening of enzyme inactivation temperature in the preparation of low-temperature fresh ginseng

[0035] Live sea cucumbers were cut open along the ventral line, their internal organs removed, and rinsed. The rinsed live sea cucumbers were divided into several equal portions. One portion was not blanched and was directly stored at -20℃ for testing. The other nine portions were blanched at 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100℃ for 30 minutes to inactivate enzymes. After blanching, they were placed at room temperature, the sand mouth was removed, and they were rinsed to obtain raw materials for different treatment groups. These were stored at -20℃ for testing.

[0036] Protein content was measured in unblanched sea cucumbers and sea cucumbers treated at different temperatures. The results showed that at 40℃, the protein retention rate was only 57.69%; within the enzyme inactivation temperature range of 45–55℃, the protein retention rate increased to 66.24%–76.92%; when the enzyme inactivation temperature was further increased to 100℃, the protein retention rate showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing, with retention rates of 89.74%, 90.17%, 85.47%, 81.20%, and 77.34% at 60℃, 70℃, 80℃, 90℃, and 100℃, respectively. A study on the protein retention rate at 85℃ showed a retention rate of 88.15%, indicating that the protein retention rate was above 85% within the enzyme inactivation temperature range of 60℃–85℃. Therefore, 60℃–85℃ was chosen as the enzyme inactivation temperature range for low-temperature fresh sea cucumber processing. The protein retention rates of fresh ginseng obtained after blanching at different temperatures are shown in Table 1.

[0037] Table 1. Protein retention rate in sea cucumbers after blanching at different temperatures.

[0038]

[0039] Example 2: Preparation of Low-Temperature Fresh Ginseng

[0040] The live sea cucumber is cut open along the ventral line, the internal organs are removed and it is rinsed; the rinsed live sea cucumber is blanched at 85℃ for 30 minutes to inactivate enzymes, and after blanching, it is placed at room temperature, the sand mouth is removed and it is rinsed to obtain low-temperature fresh sea cucumber.

[0041] Example 3: Preparation of Steamed Sea Cucumber

[0042] The low-temperature fresh ginseng prepared in Example 2 was sealed and packaged, then steamed at 110°C for 30 minutes to cook and sterilize. After the process, it was stored at 0-4°C for testing.

[0043] Example 4: Preparation of Steamed Sea Cucumber

[0044] The low-temperature fresh ginseng prepared in Example 2 was sealed and packaged, then steamed at 105°C for 20 minutes to cook and sterilize. After the sterilization, it was stored at 0-4°C for testing.

[0045] Example 5: Preparation of Steamed Sea Cucumber

[0046] The low-temperature fresh ginseng prepared in Example 2 was sealed and packaged, then steamed at 121°C for 5 minutes to cook and sterilize. After the sterilization, it was stored at 0-4°C for testing.

[0047] Comparative Example 1: Preparation of Salted Sea Cucumber

[0048] Cut open the live sea cucumber along the ventral line, remove the internal organs and rinse. Blanch the rinsed live sea cucumber at 100℃ for 30 minutes to inactivate the enzymes. After blanching, place it at room temperature and salt it by layering sea cucumber and salt. After salting, remove the sand mouth and rinse. Desalinate it three times at 4℃ to obtain salted sea cucumber.

[0049] Comparative Example 2: Preparation of Salted Stewed Sea Cucumber

[0050] The salted sea cucumbers prepared in Comparative Example 1 were cooked at 100℃ for 90 minutes. After cooking, they were sealed and packaged, sterilized at 100℃ for 20 minutes, and then stored at 0-4℃ for testing.

[0051] Comparative Example 3: Preparation of Salted Ready-to-Eat Sea Cucumber

[0052] The salted sea cucumbers prepared in Comparative Example 1 were sterilized at 100℃ for 90 minutes, then soaked at 0-4℃ for 48-72 hours. After soaking, they were sealed and packaged, and stored at -20℃ for testing.

[0053] Comparative Example 4: Preparation of Salted Dried Sea Cucumber Samples for Home Cooking

[0054] The salted sea cucumbers prepared in Comparative Example 1 were subjected to cold air drying to obtain dried sea cucumbers. Subsequently, they were rehydrated and softened, sand mouth removed, and washed using a simulated home cooking method. After being cooked at 100℃ for 90 minutes, they were soaked at 0-4℃ for 48-72 hours, sealed in packaging, and stored at -20℃ for testing.

[0055] Preparation of freshly stewed sea cucumber (Comparative Example 5)

[0056] The low-temperature fresh ginseng prepared in Example 2 was cooked at 100℃ for 90 minutes. After cooking, it was sealed and packaged, sterilized at 100℃ for 20 minutes, and then stored at 0-4℃ for testing.

[0057] Comparative Example 6: Preparation of Ready-to-Eat Sea Cucumber

[0058] The low-temperature fresh ginseng prepared in Example 2 was sterilized at 100℃ for 90 min, then soaked at 0-4℃ for 48-72 h. After soaking, it was sealed and packaged and stored at -20℃ for testing.

[0059] Preparation of Comparative Example 7: Dried Sea Cucumber Samples for Home Cooking

[0060] The fresh sea cucumber prepared in Example 2 was subjected to cold air drying to obtain dried sea cucumber. Then, it was rehydrated and softened, sand mouth removed, and washed in a simulated home cooking method. After being cooked at 100℃ for 90 minutes, it was soaked at 0-4℃ for 48-72 hours, sealed and packaged, and stored at -20℃ for testing.

[0061] Performance testing methods

[0062] 1. Protein detection

[0063] The detection of protein in sea cucumbers was carried out according to the first method, Kjeldahl method, in the national standard GB 5009.5-2016 "Determination of Protein in Food".

[0064] 2. Detection of saponins

[0065] Sample preparation and saponin detection methods refer to the national standard GB / T 33108-2016 Determination of sea cucumber saponins in sea cucumber and its products by high performance liquid chromatography.

[0066] Performance Test Example 1: Nutrient Retention Tests of Different Pretreatment (Enzyme Inactivation) Processes

[0067] Table 2 shows the comparison of nutrient retention between the low-temperature fresh sea cucumber prepared in Example 2 and the salted sea cucumber prepared in Comparative Example 1.

[0068] Table 2. Nutritional Comparison of Low-Temperature Fresh Sea Cucumber and Salted Sea Cucumber

[0069]

[0070] It can be seen that the protein content of live sea cucumber is 4.13g / 100g. After low-temperature fresh sea cucumber processing, the protein content is 3.64g / 100g, with a protein retention rate of 88.14%. However, after salting, the protein content decreases from 3.94g / 100g to 3.05g / 100g, with a protein retention rate of only 77.41%.

[0071] The saponin content of live sea cucumbers was 73.15 mg / kg. After low-temperature treatment, the saponin content decreased to 44.62 mg / kg, with a relatively high saponin retention rate of 61.00%. However, salting treatment reduced the saponin content from 71.95 mg / kg to 14.22 mg / kg, with a saponin retention rate of only 19.76%.

[0072] It can be seen that the low-temperature fresh sea cucumber process can better preserve the protein and saponins in sea cucumber, and has obvious advantages in terms of nutrient preservation. Therefore, the low-temperature fresh sea cucumber preparation method of the present invention has broad application prospects in terms of nutritional enhancement of sea cucumber products or sea cucumber raw materials.

[0073] Performance Test Example 2: Nutrient Retention Tests of Different Curing Processes

[0074] Example 2 prepared fresh steamed sea cucumber. Compared with the salted stewed sea cucumber, salted ready-to-eat sea cucumber, salted dried sea cucumber home cooking samples prepared in Comparative Examples 2-7, the cooking process was placed later. The nutritional retention of the sea cucumber was compared with that of the low-temperature fresh sea cucumber or salted sea cucumber before processing. The results are shown in Table 3.

[0075] Table 3. Nutritional Comparison Results of Steamed Sea Cucumber, Stewed Sea Cucumber, Ready-to-Eat Sea Cucumber, and Dried Sea Cucumber Samples from Home Cooking

[0076]

[0077] Table 3 shows that, compared with the low-temperature fresh sea cucumber prepared in Example 2, the retention rates of sea cucumber protein and saponins after fresh steaming were as high as 94.74% and 99.21%, respectively.

[0078] Compared to the low-temperature fresh sea cucumber prepared in Example 2, the protein retention rates of the fresh stewing process, ready-to-eat process, and home cooking process for dried sea cucumber in Comparative Examples 5-7 were all lower than those of the fresh steaming process.

[0079] Compared to the salted sea cucumbers prepared in Comparative Example 1, the protein retention rates of the sea cucumbers processed using the ready-to-eat and home cooking methods in Comparative Examples 3-4 were also above 90%, but still lower than those processed using the fresh steaming method, and the saponin retention rates were only 61.46% and 73.15%, respectively. In contrast, the protein and saponin retention rates were the lowest after the fresh stewing process, at 81.69% and 49.64%, respectively.

[0080] This demonstrates that the steaming process in Example 3 has virtually no impact on the protein and saponin content of fresh sea cucumbers prepared at low temperatures, exhibiting excellent nutrient retention. In contrast, the preparation methods for stewed sea cucumbers, ready-to-eat sea cucumbers, and dried sea cucumbers used in home cooking all involve prolonged high-temperature processing, which is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive but also results in significant nutrient loss. This application, by postponing the cooking process and innovating with a steaming process, better preserves the nutrients in sea cucumbers.

[0081] Performance Test Example 3: Nutrient Retention Test of Different Sea Cucumber Products

[0082] The nutritional content of the salted fresh stewed sea cucumber, salted ready-to-eat sea cucumber, and salted home-cooked sea cucumber prepared in Example 3 and Comparative Examples 2-4 was calculated. The nutrient retention relative to live sea cucumber raw materials is shown in Table 4.

[0083] Table 4. Nutritional Comparison Results of Home-Cooked Sea Cucumber Samples: Steamed Sea Cucumber, Salted Stewed Sea Cucumber, Salted Ready-to-Eat Sea Cucumber, and Salted Dried Sea Cucumber

[0084]

[0085] It is evident that steamed sea cucumbers retained 83.50% of their protein and 60.52% of their saponins compared to live sea cucumbers. Among the samples of salted stewed sea cucumbers, ready-to-eat salted sea cucumbers, and dried salted sea cucumbers used in home cooking, the protein retention rates ranged from 63.24% to 72.40% compared to live sea cucumbers, while the saponin retention rates for all three did not exceed 15%.

[0086] Calculations show that the protein retention rates of freshly steamed sea cucumbers were 1.32 times, 1.15 times, and 1.18 times that of salted stewed sea cucumbers, salted ready-to-eat sea cucumbers, and salted dried sea cucumbers used in home cooking, respectively. The saponin retention rates of freshly steamed sea cucumbers were 6.17 times, 4.99 times, and 4.19 times that of salted stewed sea cucumbers, salted ready-to-eat sea cucumbers, and salted dried sea cucumbers used in home cooking, respectively.

[0087] It is evident that the present invention, by optimizing the enzyme inactivation process, omitting the salting process, and placing the cooking process after packaging, produces a freshly steamed sea cucumber product with a significantly higher nutrient retention rate than existing conventional sea cucumber products. Therefore, the freshly steamed sea cucumber preparation method of the present invention has broad application prospects in enhancing the nutritional value of sea cucumber products.

[0088] The embodiments described above are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. Other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative effort are all within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An application of a method for preparing freshly steamed sea cucumber in improving the retention rate of nutrients in sea cucumber, characterized in that, The preparation method includes the following steps: S1. Cut open the live sea cucumber and remove its internal organs; S2. Blanch at 60℃~85℃ for 10-30 min to inactivate enzymes, then cool to room temperature to obtain low-temperature fresh ginseng; S3. After sealing and packaging the low-temperature fresh sea cucumber obtained in step S2, steam it at 105℃-121℃ for 5-30 minutes to cook and sterilize it, thus obtaining the steamed sea cucumber. The preparation method does not include a salting step; The nutrients mentioned include proteins and saponins; In the aforementioned application, steamed sea cucumbers have a protein retention rate of up to 83.50% and a saponin retention rate of up to 60.52% compared to live sea cucumbers.

2. The application according to claim 1, characterized in that, Step S2 also includes the step of removing the sand spout.

3. The application according to claim 1, characterized in that, The procedure of removing the internal organs and / or removing the sand mouth also includes a rinsing step.

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