A method for strongly softening plant-based food ingredients, and an aqueous solution used in this method.

Abstract

The present invention aims to provide a method for strongly softening plant-based ingredients and an aqueous solution used in this method, in order to enable suitable use of plant-based ingredients as ingredients for dysphagia-friendly foods and foods for the elderly. [Solution] The aqueous solution according to the present invention is characterized in that the solutes are sodium bicarbonate and trehalose, and the amounts of these solutes are 1.0 to 2.0% by weight of sodium bicarbonate and 1.0 to 2.0% by weight of trehalose per 100% by weight of water. Furthermore, the method for strongly softening plant-based food ingredients according to the present invention is characterized in that an aqueous solution is made by dissolving 1.0 to 2.0% by weight of sodium bicarbonate and 1.0 to 2.0% by weight of trehalose per 100% by weight of water, and then the plant-based food ingredients are immersed in the aqueous solution and heated.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for strongly softening plant-based food materials and an aqueous solution used in the method, so that the plant-based food materials can be suitably used as food materials for swallowing food and nursing food.

Background Art

[0002] The meals provided to patients in hospitals, that is, hospital meals, are very important for improving the nutritional status of patients and are also considered an integral part of treatment. And hospital meals are required to be provided in a content suitable for the state of each patient's intake function. In particular, for the elderly and others with a reduced swallowing function, it is necessary to provide meals such as swallowing food and nursing food (hereinafter, these are referred to as "swallowing food, etc.") that are soft and easy to swallow.

[0003] For the elderly and others who could not take nutrition orally at the time of hospitalization, shortening the period of nutritional supply through the tube as much as possible and starting oral intake of a sufficient amount as soon as possible for even one meal is extremely important for improving the prognosis. Inappropriate meal provision that does not match the swallowing function leads to aspiration pneumonia and a decline in nutritional status, and is a factor causing problems such as the occurrence of complications and the extension of the hospitalization period. In addition, the prolongation of the hospitalization period leads to an increase in medical costs and shortages of hospital beds and nursing facilities, and there is a great concern that it will develop into a social problem.

[0004] And in the future, in an aging society with a high proportion of the elderly, it is expected that the number of the elderly and others who need swallowing food, etc. will further increase. In addition, since swallowing food, etc. are also in demand as meals in disabled facilities, nursing facilities, and home nursing in addition to hospitals, various types of swallowing food, etc. have already been developed and manufactured by many operators and are circulating in the market. Also, the market is expected to expand in the future.

[0005] However, these conventional dysphagia-friendly foods had two main problems. First, they were significantly more expensive than regular food, making it extremely difficult for the elderly, who are mostly pensioners, to purchase them for every meal due to their financial circumstances.

[0006] The second issue is that conventional dysphagia-friendly foods, especially those containing vegetables, lack vibrant green color and other attractive features, thus diminishing their visual appeal. This makes it difficult to stimulate the appetite of those consuming these foods and ensure they receive sufficient nutrition through adequate food intake.

[0007] Due to the problems described above, even patients whose nutritional status improves through appropriate intake of dysphagia-friendly foods during hospitalization and who are able to be discharged often face a significant burden in preparing meals at home, leading them to consume only soft foods. As a result, we have seen many cases where patients fall into a state of requiring care, such as a decline in nutritional status due to a lack of essential nutrients, weight and muscle loss, difficulty walking, and being bedridden, making it difficult for them to live at home. Furthermore, this problem is particularly common among elderly people living alone and in households where elderly people are caring for other elderly people, and it has been shown that malnutrition due to insufficient intake can lead to a vicious cycle of conditions such as frailty and sarcopenia, which have been receiving increasing attention in recent years.

[0008] The inventors of this invention have diligently conducted research to resolve the problems described above. As a result, they have discovered that the problems described above can be solved by using an aqueous solution containing baking soda and trehalose as solutes to soften plant-based ingredients during cooking, and based on this, they have created the present invention.

[0009] Furthermore, the inventor of this invention, from his position of preparing and providing hospital meals, has been earnestly engaged in research on improving the quality of dysphagia-friendly foods and other related topics in order to solve the problems described above. In recognition of the achievements of this research, he won the Grand Prix at the 2015 Dysphagia-Friendly Food Contest. Building on this experience of winning the Grand Prix, this invention is an evolution of the dysphagia-friendly food that was used in the contest, based on the concept of "easier to prepare, cheaper, and tastier."

[0010] In filing this application, the applicant (inventor) of this application conducted a search of past patent documents and found the following documents in the technical field to which this invention belongs. However, they were unable to find any patent documents that provided a detailed explanation of the technical concept of this invention. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0011] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-284522 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2013-220043 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2016-077256 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0012] The present invention aims to provide a method for strongly softening plant-based ingredients and an aqueous solution used in this method, in order to enable suitable use of plant-based ingredients as ingredients for dysphagia-friendly foods and foods for the elderly. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] As a means to achieve this, the aqueous solution according to the present invention is an aqueous solution used to strongly soften plant-based food ingredients, and is characterized in that it contains sodium bicarbonate and trehalose as solutes, with the amounts of these solutes being 1.0 to 2.0% by weight of sodium bicarbonate and 1.0 to 2.0% by weight of trehalose per 100% by weight of water.

[0014] Furthermore, the method for strongly softening plant-based food ingredients according to the present invention is characterized by preparing an aqueous solution by dissolving 1.0 to 2.0% by weight of baking soda and 1.0 to 2.0% by weight of trehalose in 100% by weight of water, then immersing the plant-based food ingredients in the aqueous solution and then heating it.

[0015] Furthermore, the method for strongly softening plant-based ingredients according to the present invention is also characterized in that the plant-based ingredients are vegetables or legumes. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] According to the present invention, in order to make plant-based ingredients suitable for use as ingredients in dysphagia-friendly foods and caregiving foods, a method for strongly softening plant-based ingredients and an aqueous solution used in this method can be provided. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0017] The following describes embodiments for implementing the aqueous solution used to strongly soften plant-based food ingredients according to the present invention, and a method for strongly softening plant-based food ingredients using the aqueous solution.

[0018] First, prepare baking soda and trehalose, and dissolve them in water to obtain an aqueous solution. The proportions should be 1.0 to 2.0% by weight of baking soda and 1.0 to 2.0% by weight of trehalose per 100% by weight of water.

[0019] Next, prepare the vegetable ingredients to be softened. In this embodiment, frozen spinach was prepared. Place this frozen spinach in a container and pour the aqueous solution obtained earlier into it. At this time, it is preferable to pour the aqueous solution so that the entire prepared frozen spinach is immersed. In terms of weight ratio, it is preferable to use about 2 to 4 of the aqueous solution for 1 of frozen spinach.

[0020] After that, put the container with the frozen spinach into the steam convection and heat it. The heating conditions at this time are preferably about 30 to 40 minutes at 95°C of steam. After heating, after confirming that the spinach has become soft enough to be crushed with a spoon or fingers, take out the spinach from the container so that its shape does not collapse and transfer it to another container.

[0021] Next, put the arranged spinach into the blast chiller with the container to remove the rough heat. By doing so, the rough heat of the spinach can be removed and its shape becomes difficult to collapse.

[0022] In this way, using the aqueous solution according to this embodiment, the spinach can be strongly softened. The spinach obtained by the method according to this embodiment is sufficiently softened, can be crushed only by the tongue and gums, and is very easy to swallow, making it suitable as a swallowing food or the like.

[0023] In the above embodiment, frozen spinach was used as the vegetable ingredient, but in addition to spinach, any vegetable ingredient can be used. In particular, the method and aqueous solution according to the present invention are effective for vegetables such as burdock (including frozen burdock), dried radish, hijiki (including dried hijiki), etc., which have a lot of fiber and do not become soft enough to be crushed only by the tongue and gums even after being heated for a long time.

[0024] In addition, when the method and the aqueous solution according to the present invention are used, there is also an advantage that the green color exhibited by the food material is not lost even after heat cooking. Therefore, the present invention can be suitably used for green vegetables, beans, and the like. Examples of such green vegetables, beans, etc. include cucumber, green peas, kidney beans, bok choy, broccoli, komatsuna, etc. (including their freezing).

[0025] Furthermore, in the above embodiments, steam convection is utilized. However, in the present invention, when heat-cooking plant-based food materials, the most significant feature is the use of an aqueous solution containing sodium bicarbonate and trehalose. Therefore, even if steam convection is not used, as long as heat cooking can be performed, the effects according to the present invention can be enjoyed.

[0026] Also, in the above embodiments, a blast chiller is utilized. However, for the same reason, its use is not essential. By other means of removing rough heat, the effects according to the present invention can be enjoyed. Of course, by effectively utilizing these devices, it is possible to more easily obtain a higher-quality dysphagia diet or the like.

[0027] A particularly great advantage in the present invention is that, by using food additives such as sodium bicarbonate and trehalose, which are very inexpensive and easily available, a dysphagia diet or the like can be manufactured without incurring costs. In addition, since these originally exist in nature and have been used without any problems previously, there is also an advantage that there is no concern regarding safety.

Example

[0028] Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the examples shown below.

[0029] [Preparation of Aqueous Solution] 4.5 g of sodium bicarbonate and 4.5 g of trehalose were prepared and dissolved in 300 ml of water to obtain an aqueous solution. In the examples, basically, 300 ml of the aqueous solution was prepared for 100 g of the food material.

[0030] [Example 1: Fresh cucumber] 100g of raw cucumber cut into 5mm slices was prepared and placed in a container. Then, 300ml of the prepared aqueous solution was poured into the container. After confirming that the entire cucumber was submerged in the solution, the container was placed in a steam convection oven and heated at 95°C for 30 minutes.

[0031] After confirming that the cucumbers were soft enough to be crushed between your fingers, gently drain the water using a colander, place them in a container, and then put them in a blast chiller to cool them down and allow them to set in shape. After that, soak them in the seasoning liquid and adjust the flavor.

[0032] The cucumbers obtained retained their beautiful green color and did not look like they were suitable for dysphagia diets. Furthermore, when tasted, they were surprisingly soft, and were perfectly suitable for use as a dysphagia diet.

[0033] [Example 2: Frozen green peas] 100g of frozen green peas were prepared and placed in a container. Then, 300ml of the prepared aqueous solution was poured into the container. After confirming that the frozen green peas were submerged in the aqueous solution, the container was placed in a steam convection oven and heated at 95°C for 40 minutes.

[0034] After confirming that the frozen green peas were soft enough to be crushed between your fingers, I carefully removed them from the container without disturbing their shape and soaked them in the seasoning liquid to adjust the flavor. Then, I placed them in a blast chiller to cool them down and allow them to set their shape.

[0035] The resulting frozen green peas retained their beautiful green color and did not look like a food for people with swallowing difficulties. Furthermore, when tasted, they were surprisingly soft, and were perfectly suitable for use as a food for people with swallowing difficulties.

[0036] [Example 3: Frozen spinach] 100g of frozen spinach was prepared and placed in a container. Then, 300ml of the prepared aqueous solution was poured into the container. After confirming that the frozen spinach was submerged in the solution, the container was placed in a steam convection oven and heated at 95°C for 40 minutes.

[0037] After confirming that the frozen spinach was soft enough to be crushed between your fingers, I drained the water from the container, placed it in a colander, and put it in a blast chiller to cool it down and allow it to set its shape. Then, I soaked it in the seasoning liquid and adjusted the flavor.

[0038] The resulting frozen spinach retained its beautiful green color and did not look like a food for people with swallowing difficulties. Furthermore, when tasted, it was surprisingly soft, and was perfectly suitable for use as a food for people with swallowing difficulties. [Industrial applicability]

[0039] According to the present invention, a method for strongly softening plant-based ingredients and an aqueous solution used in this method can be provided, in order to make plant-based ingredients suitable for use as ingredients in dysphagia-friendly foods and care foods. Furthermore, according to the present invention, plant-based ingredients can be strongly softened without using expensive enzymes, so dysphagia-friendly foods and the like can be provided at a very low cost.

[0040] Furthermore, unlike the impregnation freezing method, which requires several days to soften plant-based ingredients, this invention can powerfully soften plant-based ingredients in a short time of about 30 minutes to 1 hour. In addition, this invention has the advantage of being very easy for anyone to implement, as the materials used are inexpensive and readily available.

Claims

1. An aqueous solution for use in strongly softening plant-based food ingredients, characterized in that the solutes are baking soda and trehalose, and the amounts of these solutes are 1.0 to 2.0% by weight of baking soda and 1.0 to 2.0% by weight of trehalose, based on 100% by weight of water.

2. A method for strongly softening plant-based food by preparing an aqueous solution in which 1.0 to 2.0% by weight of baking soda and 1.0 to 2.0% by weight of trehalose are dissolved in 100% by weight of water, then immersing the plant-based food in the aqueous solution and heating it.

3. The method for strongly softening a plant-based food ingredient according to claim 2, characterized in that the plant-based food ingredient is a vegetable or a legume.