Low-sugar gastrodia tuber and lily instant health porridge and industrialized canning production process thereof

Abstract

This invention discloses a low-sugar Gastrodia elata, lotus seed, and lily bulb instant porridge and its industrial production process, belonging to the field of functional instant cereal food processing technology. The instant porridge is made by compounding a limited mass of solid material components with purified water. The solid materials include various grains, edible auxiliary materials, chopped nuts, Gastrodia elata ultrafine powder, and a limited amount of low-sugar sweetener. This invention uses a compound organic acid color-protecting process, edible rice wine to complex and deactivate off-odors, and a low-temperature vacuum drying process to prepare Gastrodia elata ultrafine powder, which can improve the sensory aroma of Gastrodia elata and reduce the high-temperature loss of effective substances during processing. The production process includes raw material sorting, precise constant-temperature water-controlled soaking of grains, premixing of Gastrodia elata powder, quantitative canning, high-temperature hot filling and sealing under normal pressure with slight negative pressure, segmented variable-speed rotary sterilization, back-pressure cooling, and light inspection with inkjet coding before warehousing. This invention requires no additional synthetic stabilizers or preservatives throughout the entire process, and the process is compatible with traditional canned porridge production lines. The finished product has a mild and palatable sweetness, with uniform cooking of all grains, a stable porridge system, and good room temperature storage performance. It solves the industry problems of existing similar products, such as excessive sweetness, pungent gastrodia elata odor, inconsistent cooking of raw materials, and high cost of mass production equipment. The entire process forms a complete and collaborative processing system, suitable for large-scale industrial continuous production.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of functional ready-to-eat cereal food processing technology, specifically relating to a low-sugar compound canned ready-to-eat porridge containing Gastrodia elata as an edible ingredient, and its industrialized complete preparation process that is compatible with general canning production lines, has low energy consumption, and high yield. Background Technology

[0002] With changes in people's dietary habits, canned multigrain porridge that is low in sugar, naturally flavored, has a long shelf life, and is ready to eat at room temperature has become an important development direction for the fast food meal replacement category. Currently, multigrain instant porridge and canned grain porridge products on the market generally suffer from the following technical problems: First, most existing instant porridge products contain a large amount of sweeteners such as sucrose and maltose, resulting in a high overall sweetness and a heavy flavor that fails to meet the consumption needs of consumers who prefer a light and low-sweet taste.

[0003] Secondly, ingredients such as Gastrodia elata, Poria cocos, lotus seeds, and lily bulbs have unique flavors and good nutritional value. Among them, Gastrodia elata raw material itself has a distinctly pungent odor. Conventional high-temperature steaming and hot air drying processing methods not only easily cause the internal substances of the raw material to be lost due to heat, but also make it difficult to effectively improve the unpleasant odor, affecting the overall sensory experience of the product.

[0004] Third, the grain structure, water absorption rate, gelatinization characteristics, and heating and cooking cycle of various grains vary greatly. Traditional processing methods, such as short-time soaking combined with static sterilization or constant-speed rotary sterilization throughout the process, can easily lead to inconsistent cooking degrees of various grains. This often results in some raw materials being undercooked and having a hard core, while others are soft, mushy, and broken. Consequently, the taste of the porridge is inconsistent, and the batch quality is not stable.

[0005] Fourth, the existing production processes for similar canned porridge are complex, mostly requiring pre-cooking of grains at high temperatures, high-vacuum sealing equipment, and special sterilization devices. The production line modification costs are high, the production energy consumption is large, and the can crushing damage rate is relatively high, which is not conducive to the large-scale continuous production of small and medium-sized enterprises.

[0006] In existing publicly available technical documents and patents, some solutions involve improvements to the formulas or single processing steps of mixed grain porridge and Gastrodia elata cereal foods. However, most of these solutions are merely simple combinations of raw materials or adjustments to a single step. They do not form an integrated set of technical solutions that include low-sweet formula limitations, optimization of Gastrodia elata aroma and preservation treatment, unified control of mixed grain moisture, normal pressure and slight negative pressure sealing, and segmented variable speed synergistic sterilization. The process parameters are vague, and there is a lack of coordination between the various processes, resulting in limited practical industrial application value.

[0007] Based on the shortcomings of the existing technology, this invention optimizes the product formula and the entire production process. Through multiple technical means, it solves the technical problems of unsuitable sweetness, poor sensory aroma of Gastrodia elata, uneven ripening of raw materials, large investment in production equipment, and high energy consumption in existing products. It has significant technical improvement value and practical significance for industrialization. Summary of the Invention

[0008] Purpose of the invention: The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a low-sugar Gastrodia elata, lotus seed and lily bulb instant porridge and its industrial production process; to solve the technical problems of existing similar products being too sweet, having a strong characteristic odor of Gastrodia elata, having large raw material processing losses, having different cooking times for various grains, having strong dependence on production equipment, and having high production costs for large-scale production.

[0009] The ready-to-eat porridge prepared by this invention has a mild and palatable sweetness, uniform solid distribution, good stability when stored in a sealed container at room temperature, and the porridge does not separate into layers, does not separate into water, and has no obvious hard core. The entire production process can be directly adapted to the traditional eight-treasure porridge canning production line without large-scale equipment modification, which is conducive to continuous and large-scale industrial production. Technical solution

[0010] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention employs the following technical combination scheme:

[0011] 1. Low-sweetness ingredient formulation system The product of this invention consists of a fixed mass of solid edible raw materials and purified water broth. The raw materials include a variety of grains, edible auxiliary materials, nuts, gastrodia elata ultrafine powder, and a limited amount of sweetener. The formula abandons the use of high-sweetness ingredients, and selects single-crystal rock sugar and erythritol as the sweetness source and strictly controls the amount added. At the same time, it uses the natural sweetness of red dates and longan to harmonize the flavor, thereby reducing the overall sweetness while ensuring a palatable taste and making the product taste lighter and more natural.

[0012] 2. Integrated pretreatment process for Gastrodia elata raw materials This invention employs a combined treatment method of weak salt compound organic acid for color protection and oxygen inhibition, edible rice wine spraying to complex and passivate odors, and low-temperature vacuum drying. The mixed soaking system of weak salt and organic acid can inhibit browning and oxidation of Gastrodia elata during processing; the alcohols and esters in edible rice wine can combine with the volatile odor components of Gastrodia elata, weakening the unpleasant odor; no artificial deodorizing agents are used in the processing, and the raw materials are safe for consumption. The low-temperature vacuum drying environment avoids the thermal damage to the Gastrodia elata raw material caused by high temperature. By controlling the slice thickness, drying temperature, vacuum degree and final moisture content, the original components of the raw material are preserved to the greatest extent and the sensory quality of the powder is improved.

[0013] 3. Pretreatment with uniform moisture control for mixed grain raw materials This invention eliminates the high-temperature pre-cooking process of grains in traditional processes. By limiting the soaking temperature, the ratio of grains to water, and the soaking time, the moisture content of various grains is uniformly controlled within the range of 45% to 55% after centrifugal dehydration. This method can unify the water activity and starch gelatinization conditions of different grains, reduce the differences in the physicochemical properties of various raw materials, provide a technological basis for simultaneous cooking in the subsequent sterilization stage, and reduce quality problems such as undercooked and mushy grains from the source.

[0014] 4. High-temperature hot filling with atmospheric pressure and slight negative pressure sealing process The purified water is heated to 85-90℃ for high-temperature filling and then mechanically sealed under normal pressure. The physical property of volume shrinkage after the high-temperature soup cools down is utilized to create a stable micro-negative pressure environment inside the tank. No high-vacuum pumping equipment is required, simplifying the production line structure, reducing the probability of tank deformation and breakage, reducing equipment investment and production energy consumption, and making the process highly versatile and compatible with existing conventional canning production equipment.

[0015] 5. Segmented variable speed rotary synergistic sterilization process This invention sets different rotation speeds based on the material's heating state and gelatinization changes during the three stages of the sterilization process: heating, constant temperature, and cooling. The heating stage involves a higher rotation speed to improve the overall heat transfer uniformity inside the tank and reduce the temperature difference of the materials inside the tank; the constant temperature sterilization stage involves a lower rotation speed to reduce the damage to the porridge structure caused by mechanical stirring; and the cooling stage involves a low speed to stabilize the shape of the finished product. By coordinating multiple parameters such as temperature, pressure, and rotation speed, the product achieves uniform ripening of various grains while ensuring commercial sterility and room temperature storage period, thus stabilizing the taste and quality of each batch.

[0016] Beneficial effects Achieving quality optimization in the processing of Gastrodia elata raw materials: Through a complete set of pretreatment methods including color protection, odor deactivation, and low-temperature drying, the unpleasant sensory odor of Gastrodia elata is significantly improved, the loss of raw material components caused by high-temperature processing is reduced, the processing aids are safe and compliant, and the sensory quality of the product is greatly improved.

[0017] Uniformly cooked grains and stable batch quality: By precisely controlling the moisture content of grains and using a segmented variable-speed sterilization process, the differences in processing characteristics of different grains are balanced, resulting in uniform cooking of each raw material with no obvious undercooked, hard core, soft, or loose phenomena, and good product consistency.

[0018] With a light and low-sweet flavor, it appeals to a wider audience: the amount of sweetener added is controllable and the proportion is low. Combined with the natural flavor of the ingredients, the product has a mild and natural sweetness, which is suitable for consumers who prefer a light taste and is applicable to a wider range of scenarios.

[0019] Good industrial adaptability and low production cost: It eliminates the need for pre-cooking of grains and investment in high-vacuum sealing equipment, and can be directly used in traditional canning production lines. The equipment modification cost is low, the production energy consumption is low, and the can scrap rate is reduced. The production process is smooth and continuous, suitable for large-scale assembly line production, and has good economic benefits.

[0020] The product uses clean ingredients and a gentle processing technique: no artificial thickeners, stabilizers, or preservatives are added throughout the entire process, and the raw materials are all-natural. The various processing steps work together to form a complete production system, which is not a simple superposition of conventional food processing steps. Compared with existing similar technologies, it has significant improvements in product quality, production convenience, and mass production costs.

[0021] Attached image description: Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating the industrial production process of the low-sugar gastrodia elata, lotus seed, and lily bulb instant porridge of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0022] The technical solution of the present invention will be described in detail below through specific embodiments, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. Example 1 (Optimal Median Parameter Example)

[0023] 1. Material mass proportions Solid components: 20 parts black glutinous rice, 15 parts millet, 12 parts roasted Job's tears, 11 parts red adzuki beans, 8 parts mung beans, 9 parts diced Chinese yam, 8 parts diced Poria cocos, 7 parts lotus seeds (without core), 6 parts dried lily bulbs, 6 parts peeled peanuts, 5 parts chopped walnuts, 7 parts diced red dates, 4 parts dried longan pulp, 2 parts ultrafine powder of Gastrodia elata, and 7.5 parts single crystal rock sugar; Broth components: 197.5 parts purified water.

[0024] 2. Raw material pretreatment Mixed grain raw materials: Soak at a constant temperature of 28℃ for 4.5 hours, with a material-to-water ratio of 1:2.5. After soaking, centrifuge to dehydrate to a moisture content of 50%. Fruits, vegetables, and medicinal ingredients: Diced Chinese yam, diced Poria cocos, cored lotus seeds, and dried lily bulbs are sorted, rinsed, and drained separately for later use; peanut kernels and walnut kernels are roasted to enhance aroma, cooled, and sealed for later use. Gastrodia elata processing: Fresh Gastrodia elata is cut into 2.5mm uniform thin slices and soaked in a 4wt% weak salt solution containing 0.05% edible citric acid + 0.03% vitamin C for 40 minutes at a constant temperature. It is then rinsed with clean water to remove residual salt and dried with cold air. It is then sprayed with 12% vol edible rice wine for 20 minutes and placed in a vacuum dryer at 56℃ and -0.075MPa until the moisture content of the material is ≤7%. After ultra-fine grinding and sieving through a 120-mesh sieve, Gastrodia elata ultra-fine powder is obtained and premixed evenly with single-crystal rock sugar.

[0025] 3. Industrialized production processes Various pre-treated materials are quantitatively mixed, accurately measured, and then packaged into tin cans; Purified water is heated to 88℃ and kept at a constant temperature. High-temperature hot filling is used to inject the soup, and the head clearance inside the tank is controlled at 7mm. After the broth is poured in, it is quickly and mechanically rolled and sealed under normal pressure to form a tight seal. The product is fed into a rotary autoclave for segmented variable-speed sterilization: linear heating to 121℃ for 15 minutes, with a rotation speed of 5 r / min during the heating stage; constant temperature and pressure simmering at 121℃ for 21 minutes, with a rotation speed of 3 r / min during the constant temperature stage; and slow cooling using low-pressure clean compressed air to reduce the temperature inside the autoclave to 38℃, with a rotation speed of 1 r / min during the cooling stage. After sterilization, the cans are dried with hot air, then automatically inspected with lights to remove defective cans, marked with inkjet printing, and stored at room temperature.

[0026] 4. Finished product effect The finished product has sufficient solids, a mild sweetness, and a significantly reduced pungent odor from the gastrodia elata. The porridge remains stable at room temperature, and there are no hard or undercooked grains. Example 2 (Erythritol Low-Sugar Optimized Example)

[0027] This embodiment differs from Embodiment 1 in that single-crystal rock sugar is replaced with 6 parts of erythritol, while the remaining raw material ratios, raw material pretreatment methods, and complete industrial production process parameters are completely identical.

[0028] The finished product has a mild flavor, a harmonious and consistent taste, and maintains stable quality even after long-term storage at room temperature.

[0029] Example 3 (Parameter Lower Limit Matching Example)

[0030] The lower limit of the proportions claimed is used; the soaking temperature of the mixed grains is 25℃, the soaking time is 5h, the material-to-water ratio is 1:2, and the moisture content is controlled at 45% by centrifugation; the thickness of the sliced ​​Gastrodia elata is 2mm, sprayed with 10% vol rice wine, and dried at 55℃ and -0.07MPa; the sterilization time is 28min, the heating speed is 4r / min, the constant temperature speed is 2r / min, and the cooling speed is 0r / min; the rest of the process is the same as in Example 1.

[0031] The finished product meets the quality standards, the grains are cooked evenly, and the storage stability is good.

[0032] Example 4 (Parameter Upper Limit Matching Example) The proportions are taken at the upper limit according to the claims; the soaking temperature of the mixed grains is 30℃, the soaking time is 4h, the material-to-water ratio is 1:3, and the moisture content is controlled at 55% by centrifugation; the thickness of the sliced ​​Gastrodia elata is 3mm, sprayed with 15% vol rice wine, and the drying conditions are 58℃ and -0.08MPa; the sterilization constant temperature time is 32min, the heating speed is 6r / min, the constant temperature speed is 3r / min, and the cooling speed is 2r / min; the rest of the process is the same as in Example 1.

[0033] The finished product has a moderately soft and chewy texture, and excellent overall sensory and storage properties. Comparative Example 1 (Traditional Process vs. Traditional Process)

[0034] The raw material ratio is the same as in Example 1; the grains are pre-cooked at high temperature; the gastrodia elata is directly sliced ​​and dried with hot air at high temperature, without color protection or yellow wine odor passivation treatment; sterilization is carried out using traditional static constant temperature sterilization without speed control.

[0035] The finished grains were not cooked to varying degrees, with many having hard cores, and the gastrodia elata had a noticeable pungent odor, resulting in significant overall quality defects. Comparative Example 2 (No segmented speed change + Gastrodia elata without pretreatment control)

[0036] The raw material ratio and grain pretreatment are the same as in Example 1; the compound color protection and yellow wine spraying odor passivation process for Gastrodia elata are omitted; sterilization adopts conventional rotary sterilization with constant speed throughout the process.

[0037] The finished product has a noticeable residual odor of Gastrodia elata, the porridge has a loose structure, and its quality deteriorates quickly after storage.

[0038] The above examples and comparative examples show that the present invention, through the combination of multiple technologies such as low-sweet limited formula, special pretreatment of Gastrodia elata, unified control of moisture in mixed grains, normal pressure and slight negative pressure sealing, and segmented variable speed coupled sterilization, produces products that are superior to existing traditional process products in terms of sensory flavor, uniformity of material ripening, storage stability, and ease of production. It has substantial characteristics and significant technological progress.

Claims

1. A low-sugar Gastrodia elata and Lily Bulb instant porridge, characterized in that, It is made by combining solid material components and soup components in a certain mass ratio; The solid material components include: 18-22 parts black glutinous rice, 13-17 parts millet, 10-14 parts roasted Job's tears, 9-13 parts red adzuki beans, 7-9 parts mung beans, 8-10 parts diced Chinese yam, 7-9 parts diced Poria cocos, 6-8 parts lotus seeds (without the core), 5-7 parts dried lily bulbs, 5-7 parts peeled peanuts, 4-6 parts chopped walnuts, 6-8 parts diced red dates, 3-5 parts dried longan pulp, 1.5-2.5 parts ultrafine powder of Gastrodia elata, and 1-9 parts low-sugar sweetener. The soup base consists of only 195-200 parts purified water; This recipe uses a limited amount of low-sugar sweeteners, combined with the natural sweetness of diced red dates and dried longan pulp, to create a harmonious blend. The finished product has a moderate sweetness, a balanced taste, and a natural and balanced flavor, making it suitable for long-term consumption.

2. The low-sugar Gastrodia elata and Lily instant congee according to claim 1, characterized in that, The Gastrodia elata ultrafine powder is prepared using a synergistic process that integrates composite color protection and oxygen inhibition, mild complexation and odor passivation with edible rice wine, and low-temperature vacuum preservation and drying. Fresh Gastrodia elata is sliced ​​into 2-3 mm thin slices and soaked in 3-5 wt% edible salt water with 0.04-0.06% edible citric acid and 0.02-0.04% vitamin C for 40 minutes at a constant temperature. After rinsing with clean water until there is no salty taste, the surface free water is dried. The gastrodia elata slices were sprayed and soaked in 10-15% vol edible rice wine for 20 minutes. The amount of rice wine used was 8-12g per 100g of gastrodia elata slices. The alcohol and ester components in the rice wine were used to complex and encapsulate the volatile and irritating odor substances of gastrodia elata, and to gently deactivate them, thereby weakening the unpleasant sensory odor. Vacuum drying parameters: temperature 55~58℃, vacuum degree -0.07~-0.08MPa, the moisture content of the dried Gastrodia elata slices is ≤7%, and the Gastrodia elata ultrafine powder is obtained by ultrafine pulverization and sieve screening of 100~120 mesh. 3.The low-sugar Gastrodia Gastrodia and Lily instant congee according to claim 1, characterized in that, The low-sugar sweetener is selected from any one or a combination of two of the following: single crystal rock sugar and erythritol. The total mass of low-sugar sweetener added shall not exceed 6% of the total mass of all solid material components. This ratio range is the optimal critical value for balancing the sensory flavor and low-sweetness of the product.

4. An industrialized canning preparation process for the low-sugar gastrodia elata, lotus seed, and lily bulb instant porridge according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, It includes the following continuous processes: Raw material grading and selection → Pre-treatment of grains by precise constant temperature and water control soaking → Sorting and trimming of auxiliary materials → Pre-mixing and dispersing of Gastrodia elata ultrafine powder → Precise quantitative canning → High-temperature hot filling and soup injection → Normal pressure sealing and rolling → Segmented variable speed rotary sterilization and simmering → Back pressure cooling → Canning back finishing → Light inspection and sorting → Inkjet coding and warehousing. This process eliminates the traditional high-temperature pre-cooking process for grains. It relies on the precise control of grain moisture, high-temperature hot filling with atmospheric pressure to form a micro-negative pressure seal, and segmented variable-speed differentiated rotary sterilization, among other processes working together. It is not a simple superposition of conventional processing unit operations, but rather achieves stable product quality and industrialized low-cost continuous mass production.

5. The industrialized canning process according to claim 4, characterized in that, The precise constant-temperature soaking pretreatment parameters for the mixed grains are as follows: Soaking environment temperature 25-30℃, constant temperature soaking time 4-5 hours, soaking water added amount 2-3 times the total mass of dry grains; After soaking, centrifugation is used to dehydrate and adjust the moisture content of the material to 45-55%, which unifies the water activity and basic physicochemical conditions of starch gelatinization of various grains and balances the differences in grain structure, water absorption rate and maturation period of different grains. If the moisture content deviates from this range, the raw material is prone to quality problems such as hard core and undercooked or over-gelatinized and soft.

6. The industrialized canning process according to claim 4, characterized in that, In the high-temperature hot filling process, the purified water is preheated to 85-90°C and kept at a constant temperature. After filling, the head clearance inside the tank is controlled at 6-8mm, and the metering accuracy error of a single tank is ≤±1g. After being mechanically sealed under normal pressure, the tank naturally forms a stable, slightly negative pressure sealed environment by relying on the physical pressure difference created by the natural cooling and shrinkage of the high-temperature broth. This eliminates the need for high-vacuum sealing equipment, simplifies production line configuration, and reduces the probability of tank breakage and production energy consumption.

7. The industrialized canning process according to claim 4, characterized in that, The segmented variable speed rotary sterilization cooking is carried out in a rotary sterilizer. Different rotation speeds are matched according to the different heating states of materials and starch gelatinization processes in the stages of heating, constant temperature and cooling during the sterilization process, forming a multi-parameter linkage sterilization system. Heating stage: linearly heat up to 121℃ within 15 minutes, with a rotation speed of 4-6 r / min to improve the uniformity of heat transfer inside the tank; Constant temperature sterilization stage: simmer at 121℃ for 21-32 minutes with constant temperature and pressure, and rotate at 2-3 r / min to reduce the impact of mechanical shearing on the porridge's shape; Cooling stage: Use 0.15-0.17MPa clean compressed air for back pressure slow cooling, cool the inside of the reactor to below 40℃, and rotate at 0-2r / min to maintain the stability of the finished product material structure; The entire set of sterilization parameters is controllable, meeting the commercial sterility requirements for long-term storage of products at room temperature, while ensuring uniform maturation and consistent taste and quality of the entire can of material.

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