Constant-temperature and constant-pressure soaking method for light dry sea cucumbers

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of aquatic product processing, and particularly relates to a constant-temperature and constant-pressure soaking method for light dry sea cucumbers, which comprises the following steps: putting the light dry sea cucumbers in an integrated reaction kettle, soaking the light dry sea cucumbers in purified water, and introducing steam for heat shock treatment to inactivate endogenous enzymes and promote collagen denaturation and unwinding; a soaking stabilizer composed of biological polysaccharide, fish collagen peptide and protease is used for soaking at constant temperature and constant pressure, and remodeling of a collagen network is achieved under the condition that a hypotonic environment is maintained through the synergistic effect that polypeptide guides collagen folding, polysaccharide promotes system stability and biological enzyme covalent cross-linking; on one hand, material transfer loss and damage are avoided, the production efficiency is greatly improved, on the other hand, the problem that low-temperature gelation of sea cucumber collagen is unstable is solved, and the original ecological elastic and tough taste of sea cucumbers is maintained.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of aquatic product processing technology, specifically relating to a constant temperature and pressure soaking method for dried sea cucumbers. Background Technology

[0002] The main component of the sea cucumber's body wall is collagen, rich in proline and hydroxyproline. During traditional drying and initial high-temperature cooking, its triple-helix structure unwinds and denatures, resulting in a randomly coiled state. In routine rehydration, the processed dried sea cucumber is usually placed in purified water and a low-temperature environment, utilizing the natural penetration of water molecules and the cold gelation of collagen to achieve rehydration and expansion. However, existing technologies have the following problems: in a purified water system with extremely low conductivity, due to the lack of metal ions (such as Ca²⁺)... 2+ Mg 2+ Due to the electrostatic shielding effect of substances like amino acids on charged amino acid residues, there is strong electrostatic repulsion between collagen molecular chains. Furthermore, the slow thermal motion of molecular chains at low temperatures makes the refolding process of collagen to restore its correct folding sites extremely difficult, resulting in highly unstable low-temperature gelation. Microscopically, this manifests as disordered and unevenly dense cross-linked hydrogen bonds; macroscopically, it manifests as locally hardened, overall soft and mushy sea cucumbers after soaking, with poor water retention and a lack of their original elasticity. The inorganic salts or alkaline leavening agents added in traditional methods to stabilize the gel not only disrupt the hypotonic environment of pure water but also severely degrade the natural flavor and nutritional activity of the sea cucumbers.

[0003] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a soaking process that does not disrupt the hypotonic environment and can orderly guide the nucleation and regeneration of collagen in dried sea cucumbers. This process can overcome the randomness and fragility of collagen hydrogen bonds at low temperatures, fundamentally solve the problem of unstable cold gelation, and achieve efficient and uniform rehydration of sea cucumbers, as well as the perfect restoration of their original crisp and chewy texture. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the above issues, this invention provides a constant temperature and pressure soaking method for dried sea cucumbers. By introducing a non-ionic stabilizer system composed of microbial transglutaminase, collagen-like peptides, and polysaccharides, combined with a constant temperature and pressure process, the method utilizes peptides to guide precise recombination of collagen conformation, polysaccharides to construct a physical interpenetrating network framework, and relies on biological enzymes to achieve covalent cross-linking and remodeling of collagen, thereby restoring the original ecological taste of dried sea cucumbers.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows: This invention provides a constant temperature and pressure soaking method for dried sea cucumbers, wherein the method comprises: treating the dried sea cucumbers with a soaking stabilizer and soaking them to obtain soaked sea cucumbers, specifically including the following steps: Step 1: Place the dried sea cucumbers in a reaction vessel. The reaction vessel is connected to a reverse osmosis water purifier, a steam generator, a liquid preparation tank, and a vacuum pump via valves A, B, C, and D. A drain valve is installed at the bottom of the outside of the reaction vessel. A frequency conversion ultrasonic module and a temperature control module are installed inside the reaction vessel. A micro-pressure relief valve and an overpressure relief valve are installed at the top of the outside of the reaction vessel. After the purified water is treated by the reverse osmosis water purifier, it is first introduced into the reaction vessel to soak the sea cucumbers for 10 minutes. The liquid is then drained through the drain valve. The valve A connecting the reverse osmosis water purifier to the reaction vessel is closed. Then, the valve E connecting the reverse osmosis water purifier to the steam generator is opened. Steam is generated by heating the water in the steam generator and then introduced into the reaction vessel to steam and soften the sea cucumbers. The high temperature inactivates the endogenous tissue proteases and lysozymes in the sea cucumbers, promotes the thermal denaturation and unwinding of the collagen fibers on the surface of the sea cucumbers, and causes the sea cucumber skin to pre-swell, which is beneficial for subsequent soaking and absorption, resulting in pre-treated sea cucumbers. Step 2: Place the soaking stabilizer in a storage tank, which is connected to a mixing tank. After diluting the soaking stabilizer 10 times and controlling the temperature in the mixing tank, the stabilizer enters the reaction vessel through valve C connected to the mixing tank. The pre-treated sea cucumbers are then soaked. The reaction vessel is set to a constant temperature of 2-15℃, a constant pressure of 0.15-0.35 MPa, a pressure increase rate of 0.05 MPa / min, and a soaking time of 6-24 h using a vacuum pump, buffer tank, and temperature control module. After soaking, the soaking stabilizer is drained and recovered using a drain valve to obtain rehydrated sea cucumbers. Step 3: Slowly depressurize the reactor to atmospheric pressure through the micro-pressure relief valve, open valve A, and introduce purified water treated by the reverse osmosis pure water machine into the reactor. Use the variable frequency ultrasonic module to ultrasonically clean the rehydrated sea cucumbers 3 times. After cleaning, take them out and dry them to obtain rehydrated sea cucumbers.

[0006] Furthermore, the foaming stabilizer comprises the following raw materials by weight percentage: 12% biopolysaccharide, 6% fish collagen peptide, 2% protease and 80% purified water.

[0007] Furthermore, the mass ratio of the soaking stabilizer to the dried sea cucumber is 1.5-2.5:1.

[0008] Furthermore, the biopolysaccharide is selected from any one of pullulan, konjac glucomannan, and tremella polysaccharide.

[0009] Furthermore, the protease is selected from either transglutaminase or tyrosinase.

[0010] The beneficial effects achieved by this invention are as follows: This invention provides a constant temperature and pressure soaking method for dried sea cucumbers. Through the synergistic effect of compounded additives and integrated temperature and pressure control process, the rehydration quality and industrial production efficiency of sea cucumbers are significantly improved. In terms of additive composition, small-molecule fish collagen peptides act as nucleation templates, guiding the thermally unwound sea cucumber native collagen single chains to undergo orderly folding and refolding at low temperatures; proteases promote the restoration of the hydrogen bond network of collagen in sea cucumbers, covalently forming a gel; and biopolysaccharides not only stabilize and regulate the permeability of the sea cucumber during the soaking process but also penetrate deep into the tissue, utilizing their steric hindrance effect to promote the formation of the collagen gel network framework. This effectively avoids the phenomenon of localized hardening, overall softness, or skin disintegration in sea cucumbers, giving the rehydrated sea cucumbers a natural, elastic, and chewy texture.

[0011] In terms of production efficiency and process improvement, this invention relies on a functionally integrated production reactor to integrate a "one-step" production process that includes cleaning, steam softening, constant temperature and pressure soaking, liquid recovery, and ultrasonic post-treatment. This eliminates the need for transferring sea cucumber materials across equipment or workshops, reducing the risk of broken spines, skin damage, and contamination from external bacteria caused by frequent handling. It not only significantly shortens the traditionally lengthy processing cycle of soaking sea cucumbers and increases the production capacity per batch, but also greatly reduces the consumption of water, additives, etc. It is safe, efficient, and environmentally friendly, and has the advantages of large-scale industrial continuous production. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Figure 1 This is a production process flow diagram of a constant temperature and constant pressure soaking method for dried sea cucumbers according to the present invention. Figure 2 The results of soaking rate testing are for the sea cucumbers prepared in Examples 1-4 and Comparative Example 1; Figure 3 The elasticity test results are for the rehydrated sea cucumbers prepared in Examples 1-4 and Comparative Example 1.

[0013] The components include: 1. Reverse osmosis pure water machine; 2. Steam generator; 3. Storage tank; 4. Liquid mixing tank; 5. Vacuum pump; 6. Buffer tank; 7. Reactor; 8. Temperature control module; and 9. Variable frequency ultrasonic module. Detailed Implementation

[0014] The technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0015] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those familiar to those skilled in the art. Furthermore, any methods and materials similar to or equivalent to those described herein may be applied to this invention. The preferred embodiments and materials described herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the scope of this application.

[0016] Unless otherwise specified, all methods described in the following embodiments are conventional. Unless otherwise specified, all materials used in the following embodiments are new materials purchased from the market. The production process flow diagram of the constant temperature and pressure soaking method for dried sea cucumbers in the following embodiments is shown below. Figure 1 As shown. All parts are by weight. Pullulan, konjac glucomannan and tremella polysaccharide used are all food-grade excipients; fish collagen peptides used are in food-grade freeze-dried powder form; transglutaminase and tyrosinase used are both food-grade, with enzyme activities of 200 U / g and 1000 U / g, respectively.

[0017] In the following embodiment, the reactor 7 used for the constant temperature and pressure soaking of dried sea cucumbers comprises four piezoelectric ceramic ultrasonic transducers (model SINO-U-006) evenly distributed at the bottom of the reactor 7, with a working frequency of 25 kHz and an input power of 50 W. The temperature control module 8 consists of an integral heat exchange jacket welded to the reactor 7 and a PT100 resistance temperature sensor. The heating medium is steam, and the cooling medium is ethylene glycol. It is connected to a refrigeration compressor and is used to regulate the temperature inside the reactor 7. The micro-pressure relief valve is specifically an intelligent pneumatic micro-proportional regulating valve (model CX2000A-T11F), with a valve specification of DN3-15 mm, a gas source pressure of 0.35-0.4 MPa, and a pressure relief rate set to 0.02 MPa. The overpressure relief valve is a BNSV pressure relief safety valve with a pressure relief threshold set to 0.40 MPa.

[0018] Example 1: A constant temperature and pressure soaking method for dried sea cucumber is provided. The soaking method uses a soaking stabilizer, which is prepared by 2.4 parts pullulan polysaccharide, 1.2 parts fish collagen peptide, 0.4 parts transglutaminase and 16 parts purified water.

[0019] The specific steps of a constant temperature and pressure soaking method for dried sea cucumber are as follows: Step 1: Place 10 portions of dried sea cucumber in reactor 7. After treating the sea cucumber with pure water through reverse osmosis water purifier 1, first introduce 100 portions of pure water into reactor 7 to soak the sea cucumber for 10 minutes. Drain the liquid through the drain valve. Close valve A connecting reverse osmosis water purifier 1 to reactor 7. Then open valves E and B connecting reverse osmosis water purifier 1 to steam generator 2. Use steam generator 2 to heat and generate steam, then introduce it into reactor 7. Control the steam pressure at 0.10 MPa and steam for 15 minutes to soften the sea cucumber and obtain pre-treated sea cucumber. Step 2: Take 20 parts of the prepared soaking stabilizer and place it in storage tank 3. Storage tank 3 is connected to liquid preparation tank 4. Take 15 parts of the soaking stabilizer and dilute it 10 times with pure water in liquid preparation tank 4. Control the temperature at 5℃ and then inject it into reaction vessel 7 through valve C to soak the pretreated sea cucumber. Use vacuum pump 5, buffer tank 6 and temperature control module 8 to set reaction vessel 7 to constant temperature of 5℃, constant pressure of 0.20 MPa, pressure increase rate of 0.05 MPa / min and soaking time of 16 h. After soaking, use drain valve to drain and recover the soaking stabilizer to obtain rehydrated sea cucumber. Step 3: Slowly depressurize the reactor 7 to atmospheric pressure through the micro-pressure relief valve, open valve A, and introduce purified water treated by the reverse osmosis pure water machine 1 into the reactor 7. Use the variable frequency ultrasonic module 9 to ultrasonically clean the rehydrated sea cucumber 3 times at a frequency of 25 kHz, with each cleaning time being 3 minutes. After cleaning, take it out and dry it to obtain the rehydrated sea cucumber.

[0020] Example 2: A constant temperature and pressure soaking method for dried sea cucumber is provided. The soaking method uses a soaking stabilizer, which is prepared by 2.4 parts konjac glucomannan, 1.2 parts fish collagen peptide, 0.4 parts transglutaminase and 16 parts purified water.

[0021] The specific steps of a constant temperature and pressure soaking method for dried sea cucumber are as follows: Step 1: Place 10 portions of dried sea cucumber in reactor 7. After treating the sea cucumber with pure water through reverse osmosis water purifier 1, first introduce 100 portions of pure water into reactor 7 to soak the sea cucumber for 10 minutes. Drain the liquid through the drain valve. Close valve A connecting reverse osmosis water purifier 1 to reactor 7. Then open valves E and B connecting reverse osmosis water purifier 1 to steam generator 2. Use steam generator 2 to heat and generate steam, then introduce it into reactor 7. Control the steam pressure at 0.10 MPa and steam for 15 minutes to soften the sea cucumber and obtain pre-treated sea cucumber. Step 2: Take 20 parts of the prepared soaking stabilizer and place them in storage tank 3. Storage tank 3 is connected to liquid preparation tank 4. Take 18 parts of the soaking stabilizer and dilute it 10 times with pure water in liquid preparation tank 4. Control the temperature at 15℃ and then inject it into reaction vessel 7 through valve C to soak the pretreated sea cucumbers. Use vacuum pump 5, buffer tank 6 and temperature control module 8 to set reaction vessel 7 to constant temperature of 15℃, constant pressure of 0.15MPa, pressure increase rate of 0.05 MPa / min and soaking time of 6 hours. After soaking, use drain valve to drain and recover the soaking stabilizer to obtain rehydrated sea cucumbers. Step 3: Slowly depressurize the reactor 7 to atmospheric pressure through the micro-pressure relief valve, open valve A, and introduce purified water treated by the reverse osmosis pure water machine 1 into the reactor 7. Use the variable frequency ultrasonic module 9 to ultrasonically clean the rehydrated sea cucumber 3 times at a frequency of 25 kHz, with each cleaning time being 3 minutes. After cleaning, take it out and dry it to obtain the rehydrated sea cucumber.

[0022] Example 3: A constant temperature and constant pressure soaking method for dried sea cucumber is provided. The soaking method uses a soaking stabilizer, which is prepared by 3.6 parts of Tremella fuciformis polysaccharide, 1.8 parts of fish collagen peptide, 0.6 parts of tyrosinase and 24 parts of purified water.

[0023] The specific steps of a constant temperature and pressure soaking method for dried sea cucumber are as follows: Step 1: Place 10 portions of dried sea cucumber in reactor 7. After treating the sea cucumber with pure water through reverse osmosis water purifier 1, first introduce 100 portions of pure water into reactor 7 to soak the sea cucumber for 10 minutes. Drain the liquid through the drain valve. Close valve A connecting reverse osmosis water purifier 1 to reactor 7. Then open valves E and B connecting reverse osmosis water purifier 1 to steam generator 2. Use steam generator 2 to heat and generate steam, then introduce it into reactor 7. Control the steam pressure at 0.10 MPa and steam for 15 minutes to soften the sea cucumber and obtain pre-treated sea cucumber. Step 2: Take 30 parts of the prepared soaking stabilizer and place it in storage tank 3. Storage tank 3 is connected to liquid preparation tank 4. Take 25 parts of the soaking stabilizer and dilute it 10 times with pure water in liquid preparation tank 4. Control the temperature at 2℃ and then inject it into reaction vessel 7 through valve C to soak the pretreated sea cucumber. Use vacuum pump 5, buffer tank 6 and temperature control module 8 to set reaction vessel 7 to constant temperature 2℃, constant pressure 0.35 MPa, pressure increase rate 0.05 MPa / min and soaking time 24 h. After soaking, use drain valve to drain and recover the soaking stabilizer to obtain rehydrated sea cucumber. Step 3: Slowly depressurize the reactor 7 to atmospheric pressure through the micro-pressure relief valve, open valve A, and introduce purified water treated by the reverse osmosis pure water machine 1 into the reactor 7. Use the variable frequency ultrasonic module 9 to ultrasonically clean the rehydrated sea cucumber 3 times at a frequency of 25 kHz, with each cleaning time being 3 minutes. After cleaning, take it out and dry it to obtain the rehydrated sea cucumber.

[0024] Example 4: A constant temperature and pressure soaking method for dried sea cucumber is provided. The soaking method uses a soaking stabilizer, which is prepared by 2.4 parts pullulan polysaccharide, 1.2 parts fish collagen peptide, 0.4 parts transglutaminase and 16 parts purified water.

[0025] The specific steps of a constant temperature and pressure soaking method for dried sea cucumber are as follows: Step 1: Place 10 portions of dried sea cucumber in reactor 7. After treating the sea cucumber with pure water through reverse osmosis water purifier 1, first introduce 100 portions of pure water into reactor 7 to soak the sea cucumber for 10 minutes. Drain the liquid through the drain valve. Close valve A connecting reverse osmosis water purifier 1 to reactor 7. Then open valves E and B connecting reverse osmosis water purifier 1 to steam generator 2. Use steam generator 2 to heat and generate steam, then introduce it into reactor 7. Control the steam pressure at 0.10 MPa and steam for 15 minutes to soften the sea cucumber and obtain pre-treated sea cucumber. Step 2: Take 20 parts of the prepared soaking stabilizer and place them in storage tank 3. Storage tank 3 is connected to liquid preparation tank 4. Take 15 parts of the soaking stabilizer and dilute it 10 times with pure water in liquid preparation tank 4. Control the temperature at 10℃ and then inject it into reaction vessel 7 through valve C to soak the pretreated sea cucumbers. Use vacuum pump 5, buffer tank 6 and temperature control module 8 to set reaction vessel 7 to constant temperature of 10℃, constant pressure of 0.25MPa, pressure increase rate of 0.05 MPa / min and soaking time of 12 h. After soaking, use drain valve to drain and recover the soaking stabilizer to obtain rehydrated sea cucumbers. Step 3: Slowly depressurize the reactor 7 to atmospheric pressure through the micro-pressure relief valve, open valve A, and introduce purified water treated by the reverse osmosis pure water machine 1 into the reactor 7. Use the variable frequency ultrasonic module 9 to ultrasonically clean the rehydrated sea cucumber 3 times at a frequency of 25 kHz, with each cleaning time being 3 minutes. After cleaning, take it out and dry it to obtain the rehydrated sea cucumber.

[0026] Comparative Example 1: Take 10 parts of dried sea cucumber and soak them in 100 parts of purified water for 24 hours to obtain rehydrated sea cucumber.

[0027] Rehydration rate assessment: The weights W0 of the sea cucumbers before rehydration in Examples 1-4 and Comparative Example 1 were recorded as 10.01 kg, 10.03 kg, 9.98 kg, and 10.01 kg, respectively (in specific examples, integer records were taken, with 10 portions). The weights W1 of the sea cucumbers after rehydration were then recorded. The rehydration rate (times) was calculated as W1 / W0. The results are shown in […]. Figure 2 .

[0028] Elasticity assessment: The rehydrated sea cucumbers obtained in Examples 1-4 and Comparative Example 1 were subjected to full textural analysis using a texture analyzer. The initial testing speed was 2 mm / s, the testing speed was 1.0 mm / s, the compression degree was 30% deformation, and the interval between two compressions was 5 s. The elasticity results were recorded. The results are shown in […]. Figure 3 .

[0029] Figure 2 The results showed that the dried sea cucumbers in Examples 1-4 treated with the soaking process provided by the present invention had a high soaking rate and could absorb about 10 times the amount of water. Among them, Example 1 had the highest water absorption efficiency, while the dried sea cucumbers in Comparative Example 1 treated with a simple soaking process had a low soaking rate of less than 5 times the amount of water.

[0030] Figure 3 The results showed that in the elasticity test experiment simulating chewing, Example 1 had a higher elasticity recovery effect, while the simply water-soaked dried sea cucumber had low elasticity and was in a soft and mushy state. This indicates that the dried sea cucumber soaking process provided by the present invention has a positive effect on the low-temperature gelation process of collagen, and the process flow is short, which can improve the efficiency of industrial production.

[0031] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0032] The present invention and its embodiments have been described above. This description is not restrictive, and the accompanying drawings are only one embodiment of the present invention. The actual application is not limited to this. In conclusion, if those skilled in the art are inspired by this description and design similar methods and embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention, they should all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A constant temperature and constant pressure soaking method for dried sea cucumbers, characterized in that, The method involves treating dried sea cucumbers with a soaking stabilizer and then soaking them to obtain rehydrated sea cucumbers, specifically including the following steps: Step 1: Place the dried sea cucumber in a reaction vessel, soak it in purified water first, and then steam it to obtain pre-treated sea cucumber; Step 2: Dilute the soaking stabilizer and pass it into the reaction vessel to soak the pretreated sea cucumbers. Set the temperature, pressure and time to obtain rehydrated sea cucumbers. Step 3: After depressurizing the reactor, perform ultrasonic cleaning and drying to obtain rehydrated sea cucumbers; The foaming stabilizer comprises the following raw materials by weight percentage: 12% biopolysaccharide, 6% fish collagen peptide, 2% protease, and 80% purified water.

2. The constant temperature and pressure soaking method for dried sea cucumber according to claim 1, characterized in that, The reactor is connected to a reverse osmosis water purifier, a steam generator, a liquid preparation tank, and a vacuum pump via valves A, B, C, and D, respectively. The reverse osmosis water purifier is connected to the steam generator via valve E.

3. The constant temperature and pressure soaking method for dried sea cucumber according to claim 2, characterized in that, A drain valve is installed at the bottom of the outer side of the reactor. The reactor is equipped with a frequency conversion ultrasonic module and a temperature control module. The upper outer side of the reactor is equipped with a micro-pressure relief valve and an overpressure relief valve.

4. The constant temperature and pressure soaking method for dried sea cucumber according to claim 3, characterized in that, The mass ratio of the soaking stabilizer to the dried sea cucumber is 1.5-2.5:1; In step 2, the dilution process of the foaming stabilizer is carried out in a mixing tank, with the temperature set to 2-15℃, the pressure set to 0.15-0.35 MPa, and the time set to 6-24 h.

5. The constant temperature and pressure soaking method for dried sea cucumber according to claim 1, characterized in that, The biopolysaccharide is selected from any one of pullulan, konjac glucomannan, and tremella polysaccharide.

6. The constant temperature and pressure soaking method for dried sea cucumber according to claim 1, characterized in that, The protease is selected from either transglutaminase or tyrosinase.

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