Manufacturing methods for processed foods

Abstract

The primary focus is on effectively utilizing food ingredients that would otherwise be discarded, and even when large quantities of food waste are generated, the aim is to process them appropriately while paying sufficient attention to food hygiene. [Means for solving the problem] We propose a method for producing processed food characterized by a processing step of stirring edible organic fiber and konjac powder together with an alkaline solution, a heating and standing step of heating the processed material after the processing step to a predetermined temperature and then letting it stand, and immersing the processed material in an alkaline solution after the heating and standing step.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for producing processed foods using organic fibers and konjac.

Background Art

[0002] In the process of food processing, there are cases where processing is carried out after removing some of the raw food materials from the perspective of improving texture. Specifically, by removing organic fibers from the raw materials, the unique fibrous and crispy textures are reduced.

[0003] The organic fibers removed in the process of such food material processing are often discarded without being used as food, although they are originally edible. Okara removed in the process of food processing using soybeans as a raw material is widely known as an example of such organic fibers.

[0004] Processing these food materials into new foods while reducing the demerits such as the texture that can be avoided as described above not only enables the effective utilization of the food materials but also leads to a suitable donor of the nutrients contained in the food materials, thus bringing great utility to general consumers.

[0005] From the above viewpoints, a number of technologies have been disclosed so far, and the practical application of processed food materials has been attempted. Specifically, Patent Document 1 discloses a food processing method including kneading okara with food polysaccharides such as jelly-like tokoroten and konjac and then heating and coagulating, and Patent Document 2 discloses a food processing method including mixing those raw materials into a paste, molding them, and subjecting them to heat treatment by putting them into salt water.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

[0007] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 is unclear as to the specific process by which processed foods can be mass-produced, and the technology described in Patent Document 2 raises questions as to whether the heat treatment method of immersion in high-temperature saline solution can uniformly sterilize the processed ingredients. In other words, because the sterilization process is not specific, there were still challenges in finding a suitable method for mass production and shipment of processed foods. As mentioned above, since the present invention focuses on effectively utilizing ingredients that would otherwise be discarded, it is desirable that even if a large amount of discarded ingredients are generated, they be processed in a way that is suitable from a food hygiene perspective. Therefore, even in such processing processes, technical ingenuity that takes mass production into consideration is required. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To solve the above problems, the present invention proposes a method for producing processed food, characterized by a processing step of stirring edible organic fiber and konjac powder together with an alkaline solution, a heating and standing step of heating the processed material after the processing step to a predetermined temperature and then letting it stand, and immersing the processed material in an alkaline solution after the heating and standing step.

[0009] Furthermore, with respect to the above invention, we also propose a method for producing processed food in which the processed substance is immersed in an alkaline solution with a concentration such that the pH value of the processed substance is 10 or higher. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] With the features described above, the present invention makes it possible to achieve mass production while ensuring homogeneity and paying attention to food hygiene in food processing processes that use ingredients that were previously discarded. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] The embodiments of the present invention will now be described. First, edible organic fiber, konjac powder, and an alkaline solution are prepared. In the above description, okara (soy pulp) was used as an example of organic fiber, but it is not limited to this, and other materials such as cabbage cores, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and grains can also be used. In addition, any edible organic fiber that has a certain degree of firmness as a food ingredient, is insoluble or sparingly soluble, and generally has the crumbly or dry texture described above as a problem can be used.

[0012] It is desirable that the organic fibers be pre-processed into a powder. This is to facilitate the stirring with the alkaline solution described later and the subsequent mixing with konjac powder. While it is desirable to grind them as finely as possible, it is not necessarily required to be in a specific granular shape. In this embodiment, we will describe the case in which okara (soy pulp) is used as the organic fiber and is ground into a powder before use. Again, it should be noted that okara is merely one example of an organic fiber, and the process described below is equally applicable to other edible organic fibers.

[0013] Incidentally, in the processing steps of the present invention, it is necessary to stir edible organic fiber and konjac powder together with an alkaline solution. However, it is preferable to stir the organic fiber and konjac powder separately in an alkaline solution beforehand, and then mix and stir the stirred substances together. By stirring them separately in an alkaline solution beforehand, the solification of the konjac powder is particularly promoted, which can reduce the labor and time required for mixing with organic fiber, which has different physical properties. In the following explanation, we will proceed assuming that the organic fiber and konjac powder are stirred separately beforehand.

[0014] The alkaline solution can be an aqueous solution using, for example, calcium hydroxide, calcium carbonate, calcium bicarbonate, calcium oxide, magnesium oxide, magnesium carbonate, sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, or sodium bicarbonate. In addition, various substances can be used as solutes, as long as they are not alkaline substances that are harmful to the human body if ingested. In this embodiment, the explanation will be based on the premise of an aqueous solution using calcium hydroxide.

[0015] As an example of a method for producing an alkaline solution using calcium hydroxide as the solute, first, a predetermined amount of water is placed in a container, then lime is added and stirred for a predetermined time, and then the mixture is circulated. By circulating the mixture after it has been stirred to produce the alkaline solution, the alkaline concentration can be kept uniform, and consequently, the burden of the mixing process in the post-settlement mixing process described later can be reduced.

[0016] Incidentally, the hydrogen ion concentration (pH) of the alkaline solution produced at this time should preferably be in the range of 10.75 to 12. If the concentration is higher than this, the strong alkalinity will cause the okara to decompose over time during the stirring or mixing process, making it difficult to ensure homogeneity as a processed food. In any case, by stirring the okara with an alkaline solution of the above concentration and then mixing it with refined flour, it becomes possible to process food with a good texture.

[0017] Furthermore, the temperature of the alkaline solution should ideally be lukewarm, at least 45 to 65 degrees Celsius, when it is mixed and stirred with the okara during the processing stage. Maintaining a consistent temperature level allows for efficient stirring with the okara.

[0018] The stirring of the okara and the alkaline solution can be carried out by any method that is optimal for achieving homogeneous alkalization of the processed substance after the stirring (processing step). For example, this can be done by continuously spraying the alkaline solution onto a predetermined amount of okara. In this embodiment, if the calcium hydroxide aqueous solution is mixed irregularly with the powdered okara, the okara may clump together in some areas, resulting in inefficient mixing and potentially reducing the yield of the processed food. In this regard, for example, by going through a process in which a certain amount of alkaline solution is continuously sprayed from the top of a container in which the powdered okara is stored, as described above, it becomes easier to evenly mix the alkaline solution with the okara.

[0019] Alternatively, another method could be considered in which an alkaline solution is injected into the container holding the powdered okara while applying pressure to the okara. By adopting this configuration, the alkalinization of the processed material can be promoted, thereby achieving labor savings or increased efficiency in the production of the processed material.

[0020] Next, we will explain the processing step of further stirring and mixing the substance obtained by adding water to the okara and stirring it, and the substance obtained by adding water to the konjac powder and stirring it. In order to efficiently mix the two substances, it is desirable to mix them while the temperature difference between the two substances is 45 degrees or less, and more preferably, it is desirable to keep it to around 35 degrees or less. Since the substance obtained by stirring okara is likely to be hotter than konjac powder due to its production process, if the temperature difference is at least 45 degrees or less, the hydrogen ion concentration will not change erratically during the processing step, and it will be easier to achieve homogenization of the processed food.

[0021] Incidentally, the konjac powder used in the processing stage contains mannan, a water-soluble polysaccharide derived from konjac potatoes, and is pre-mixed with water to form a sol (paste-like) substance. As mentioned above, making the konjac powder into a sol makes it easier to mix with okara (soy pulp), allowing for the rapid production of large quantities of processed material.

[0022] As a process for making the above-mentioned konjac flour into a sol state, a method can be considered in which water is stored in a container and the konjac flour is dropped into the container while circulating the container as a whole or only the inside of the container, and stirred for a predetermined time. At this time, by allowing the stirred konjac flour to stand for a predetermined time, the konjac flour containing moisture swells and becomes a sol state.

[0023] The water used for swelling at this time is preferably at a water temperature of around 12 degrees, and it is desirable that the temperature of the sol-like konjac flour be maintained at 5 to 25 degrees throughout the process. By maintaining and adjusting the temperature of the konjac flour to a certain extent, the swelling can be delayed, and the gelation (hardening) of the processed substance of konjac flour or a mixture of konjac flour and okara can be suppressed due to the continuous processing process for a predetermined time, enabling the smoothing of the process of molding the subsequent processed food, and ultimately improving the efficiency of mass production.

[0024] The processed substance processed as described above is heated at a predetermined temperature and then allowed to stand (heating and standing process). The heating at the predetermined temperature at this time is preferably about 45 degrees. Considering that the processed substance is likely to be at a higher temperature than the konjac flour during its production process, if the temperature difference is at least within about 45 degrees, the hydrogen ion concentration will not change unstably during the stirring process, and it will be easy to achieve the homogenization of the processed food ingredients.

[0025] The present invention is characterized in that after the heating and standing process, the processed material is infiltrated with an alkaline solution. By infiltrating with an alkaline solution, the pH that has dropped excessively through the heating and standing process can be adjusted to suppress the progress of oxidation, and thereby the adhesion or growth of harmful bacteria can be suppressed. The concentration of the alkaline solution to be infiltrated and the infiltration time are not particularly limited, and basically can be appropriately adjusted as long as the packaging process of the processed material as processed food can be smoothly carried out. However, if long-term infiltration such as on a daily basis is continued, the nutritional components in the processed food will elute into the alkaline solution, so it is desirable to avoid this. In any case, by taking such measures to suppress the progress of oxidation, the preservability of the processed food can be enhanced, and it can be easily distributed in large quantities to the market.

[0026] The following examples are given to more specifically explain in order to clarify the sterilization or bacterium growth inhibition effect in the present invention. These examples are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention in any way.

[0027] (Example 1) First, the applicant adopted okara as an edible material using organic fibers, subjected it to a processing treatment of stirring with konjac powder and an alkaline solution, and then infiltrated the processed material into lime water with multiple patterns of alkaline concentrations for 24 hours each. In particular, in Example 1, the sterilization effect of the processed material when infiltrated into lime water in a state where the pH of the processed material was 10.7 and 10.17 was verified. The results are shown in Table 1 below. In the table, "kneading" refers to the processed material composed of okara, konjac powder, and an alkaline solution (the same applies in Example 2).

[0028] (Table 1) JPEG2026108609000001.jpg69143

[0029] As shown in the table above, when the processed material was immersed in an alkaline solution (limewater) with a pH of 9 to 12, the pH of the processed material was 9.21 to 11.18. However, while no sterilization effect was obtained when immersed in limewater with a pH of 9 (TNTC), when immersed in limewater with a pH of 10 to 12 (the pH of the processed material was 10.1 to 11.18), a certain level of sterilization or bacterial growth inhibition effect, sufficient to be offered on the market as a processed food, was confirmed in all cases.

[0030] (Example 2) Next, in Example 2, the sterilization effect of the processed material was verified when it was immersed in limewater at pH levels of 8.11 and 8.17. Specifically, the processed material used in Example 1 was cut into approximately four pieces and then immersed in cold water overnight to lower the pH to the above values. In other words, the processed material used in this example is the same as that used in Example 1, except for the pH value.

[0031] The results of the verification conducted under the above conditions are shown in Table 2 below.

[0032] (Table 2) JPEG2026108609000002.jpg52143

[0033] As shown in the table above, when the processed material was immersed in an alkaline solution (limewater) with a pH of 9 to 11, its pH was 6.8 to 8.36. However, no sterilization effect was obtained in any of the limewater solutions (TNTC). Furthermore, even when immersed in limewater with a pH of 12 (the processed material's pH was 9.54 or 9.82), the sterilization or bacterial growth inhibitory effect was not sufficient to be considered marketable as a processed food.

[0034] As can be seen from Examples 1 and 2 above, in order to obtain a sufficient inhibitory effect on bacterial growth to the extent that the processed substance, after undergoing the heating and standing process, can be mass-produced and provided as a marketable processed food, it can be said that a more significant effect is obtained by immersing the processed substance in lime water of a predetermined alkaline concentration so that its pH value becomes 10 or higher.

Claims

1. A processing step involves stirring edible organic fiber and konjac powder together with an alkaline solution, A heating and standing step is performed in which the processed material that has undergone the above processing step is heated to a predetermined temperature and then left to stand, A method for producing processed food, characterized by immersing the processed substance in an alkaline solution after the heating and standing step.

2. A method for producing a processed food according to claim 1, comprising immersing the processed substance in an alkaline solution of a concentration such that the pH value of the processed substance is 10 or higher.

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