Heating cooker

Abstract

To provide a heating cooker capable of finishing cooking a food material soft without miscellaneous taste.SOLUTION: A heating cooker includes: a heating chamber for storing an object to be heated; heating means for heating the object to be heated; and control means for controlling the heating means. The control means controls the heating means by a cooking pattern designated from an operation panel, and in a step of simultaneously cooking a food material containing protein and a seasoning material containing protein decomposition enzyme, it controls in two stage steps of a first heating step of heating in a temperature zone where the protein decomposition enzyme is activated by controlling the heating means and, after that, a second heating step of heating a food material at the temperature in which the protein decomposition enzyme is deactivated by controlling the heating means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooking appliance.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in cooking appliances such as household ovens and microwave ovens, optimal cooking of food has been performed by switching processes according to the temperature of the food.

[0003] For example, in cooking chicken or the like, cooking is performed in a temperature range suitable for increasing the umami components in the object to be heated. In Patent Document 1, "in the temperature rising process of the internal temperature T of the object to be heated, the temperature at which the enzyme that decomposes the umami components of the object to be heated starts to be activated is T0, the temperature at which the enzyme that decomposes the umami components of the object to be heated is inactivated is T1, and the temperature at which the enzyme that decomposes the protein of the object to be heated and generates umami components is inactivated is T2. The time t(01) for passing through the range T<T0 where the umami components do not increase or decrease, the time t(-) for passing through the temperature range T0<T<T1 where the umami components are decomposed, the time t(+) for passing through the temperature range T1<T<T2 where the umami components are generated, and the time t(02) for passing through the temperature range T2<T where the umami components do not increase or decrease, the heating means is switched by the control means at each of the times t(01), t(+), t(-), and t(02) so that the time t(+) is longer than the time t(-)", thereby increasing the umami components in the object to be heated.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] It is known that food ingredients containing protein such as beef, pork, chicken, and seafood can be softened by soaking them in seasonings containing protease during the pre-cooking stage (pre-treatment). The temperature range at which protease is activated is 40-60°C, and soaking food ingredients at this temperature range for a long period of time can soften the food.

[0006] In Patent Document 1, it is said that the heating means is switched so that the time t(-) for passing through the temperature range of 40 to 55°C where umami components are decomposed and the time t(+) for passing through the temperature range of 55 to 80°C where umami components are produced is longer than the time t(-), but there is a concern that the protein decomposition effect of the protease is difficult to obtain in this temperature range, and the food material will not be softened. Also, if food material is soaked for a long time in the temperature range of 55 to 80°C, there is a concern that the protein near the surface of the food material will be decomposed by the enzymes to the extent that the texture is damaged and the food material will feel sticky, or that the food material will become too hot only near the surface, causing the food material to harden, or that the protease will be inactivated and the food material will not be decomposed and will remain hard.

[0007] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE In view of the above, the present invention provides a cooking device capable of cooking food materials until they are soft and without any unpleasant flavors. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention relates to A heating chamber for accommodating an object to be heated, and a heating means for heating the object to be heated; The above and a control means for controlling the heating means, the control means controlling the heating means in accordance with a cooking pattern designated from an operation panel, and cooking ingredients containing protein and seasonings containing protease. liquid In the process of cooking at the same time, The food material containing protein is immersed in the seasoning liquid containing a protease. The heating means is controlled to a temperature range where the proteolytic enzyme is activated. The above foods containing protein The first heating step is to heat the material, and then Detecting the weight of the food material containing protein in a non-liquid immersion state after the seasoning liquid containing the protease has been discharged; The heating means is controlled to a temperature at which the protease is inactivated. The above containing proteinThe second heating process is a two-step process that heats the food material. 。 Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, food ingredients can be softened and free of unpleasant tastes. For example, food ingredients such as beef, pork, and chicken containing protein can be softened by soaking them in a seasoning containing protease at an appropriate temperature range of 40 to 60°C before cooking. The food ingredients are then baked at a temperature of 80°C or higher, at which the protease is inactivated, to remove the unpleasant taste of the protease. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a three-dimensional view of an oven range which is an example of a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a cross-sectional view of an oven range that is an example of a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] A diagram showing an example of a container for soaking food ingredients in proteolytic enzymes. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a cooking flow of the cooking device according to the present invention. [Diagram 5] 4 is a time chart showing the process flow of a first heating step and a second heating step. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an oven range, which is an example of a cooking device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. EXAMPLES

[0012] FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional view of an oven range, which is an example of a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.

[0013] As shown in these figures, the oven range 1 has a structure in which a heating chamber 3 and a machine chamber 8 are enclosed by a cabinet 2. A table 31 is arranged within the heating chamber 3, and food to be heated is placed on this table 31 for cooking.

[0014] The machine chamber 8 arranged below the heating chamber 3 houses a control means 81, a magnetron 82, or a semiconductor solid-state element (not shown). In this embodiment, the magnetron 82 is used as a microwave radiating means, but a semiconductor solid-state element may be used instead of the magnetron. In the case of heating by irradiating microwaves (called range heating), the microwaves radiated from the magnetron 82 installed in the machine chamber 8 are radiated while being stirred within the heating chamber 3 by a rotating antenna 83 rotated by a rotary motor 84 in Fig. 2, thereby heating the object to be heated with reduced unevenness.

[0015] In the case of heating using the upper heater 61 installed above the heating chamber 3 (called grill heating), the object to be heated is heated by the radiant heat of the upper heater 61.

[0016] In the case of heating using the hot air heater 62 in FIG. 2 installed at the rear of the heating chamber (called oven heating), air heated by the hot air heater 62 is circulated into the chamber by a fan 23 rotated by a motor 22.

[0017] In the case of heating using a steam unit consisting of the steam generating means 63 and a pump (not shown) in Fig. 2 attached to the outer surface of the side of the heating chamber 3 (called steam heating), water is supplied to the steam generating means 63 from the water tank 11 by driving the pump. A sheath heater is embedded in the steam generating means 63, and water is boiled in a short time and sprayed from the steam nozzle 63f into the heating chamber 3, heating the object 7 to be heated.

[0018] These four heating means, namely, range heating, grill heating, oven heating, and steam heating, can be freely controlled and driven by the control means 81. For example, it is also possible to combine a plurality of heating means and drive them simultaneously, or to drive a plurality of heating means alternately.

[0019] The front of the heating chamber 3 can be opened and closed by a door 5, and the door 5 is provided with a finder 51 that allows the state of the heated object inside to be confirmed even when the door 5 is closed. The oven range 1 also includes a door opening / closing detection unit (not shown) that detects whether the door 5 is opened or closed.

[0020] Light irradiation means 4 is installed on the side of heating chamber 3, and irradiates light toward the object to be heated placed on table 31. Here, light irradiation means 4 is surrounded by a reflector 41, and the light irradiated from light irradiation means 4 is reflected by the reflector 41 and enters heating chamber 3, where it is irradiated to the object to be heated. By using a lamp that irradiates visible light for light irradiation means 4, it is possible to brighten the inside of heating chamber 3 and make it easier for the user to see the state of the object to be heated.

[0021] 2 is provided on the ceiling of the heating chamber 3. The infrared unit 70 includes an infrared sensor (not shown) and a lens (not shown), and can detect the surface temperatures of the object to be heated and the entire surface of the table 31.

[0022] The weight sensor 9 supporting the table 31 can measure the weight of the object to be heated. From this measured weight and the surface temperature detected by the infrared unit 70, the temperature estimation means can calculate an appropriate control pattern that follows the heating pattern for the change in the internal temperature of the object to be heated, and can estimate the internal temperature of the object to be heated. If the weight sensor 9 is not provided, the internal temperature of the object to be heated may be estimated from the time change in the surface temperature of the object to be heated and the amount of heat generated by the infrared unit 70. FIG. 3 shows a container in which food is immersed in a proteolytic enzyme. The container 10, which is composed of a container body 10a and a top lid 10b, is made of heat-resistant resin, ceramic, crystallized glass, silicon, etc., and the food is stored inside. The top lid 10b is provided with an exhaust port 12 with a check valve. A seal member 13 is provided on the inner surface of the top lid 10b, and when the top lid 10b is placed on the container body 10a, the container body 10a is pressed against the seal member to seal the container. After putting ingredients and seasoning liquid into container 9 and closing top lid 10b, the user can suck the gas from inside the container through exhaust port 12 with a check valve manually or with an electric pump to reduce the pressure inside container 10. By reducing the pressure inside container 10, the seasoning liquid can easily permeate the inside of the ingredients, making the ingredients softer.

[0023] FIG. 4 shows a cooking flow of the cooking device according to the present invention, and the process of cooking using the oven range 1 will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0024] First, in process step S0, the user opens the door 5 of the oven range 1 and places an object to be heated on the table 31 in the heating chamber 3. In this case, the object to be heated is a deep dish on which food is placed, or the container 10 in FIG. 3 that contains food.

[0025] The user then closes the door 5, selects the type of food using an operation panel (not shown) located on the door 5 in process step S1, and presses the start button to start cooking. At that time, it is preferable that a separate instruction is input in process step S1 that the cooking in this case is to soften the ingredients, and that a method of heating different from normal heating is clearly indicated.

[0026] When the start of cooking is instructed, the control means 81 of the oven range 1 controls the heating means of the magnetron 82, upper heater 61, hot air heater 62, and steam generating means 63 according to the food designated on the operation panel, and heats according to the object to be heated, but at this time, the control means 81 calculates the heating pattern by these heating means in processing step S2, and thereafter controls the heating process according to this pattern. The heating process here is divided into a first heating process and a second heating process.

[0027] Here, the first heating step and the second heating step will be described in detail with reference to an example in which beef and a seasoning material containing a protease are cooked simultaneously.

[0028] Fig. 5 is a time chart showing the process flow of the first heating step and the second heating step. In Fig. 5, the heating step is divided into a first heating step in which the beef is heated so that its internal temperature reaches 40 to 60°C, which is the temperature at which protease is activated, and a second heating step in which the food is then baked at a temperature of 80°C or higher, which is the temperature at which protease is deactivated. The user opens the door 5 of the oven range 1, places the beef soaked in the seasoning liquid containing the protease together with the container 10 on the table 31 in the heating chamber 3, selects the type of cooking using the operation panel (not shown) arranged on the door 5, and presses the start button to start cooking.

[0029] In response to this, a control pattern appropriate for the first heating step is calculated by the temperature estimation means from the surface temperature of the beef detected by the infrared unit 70 and the weight of the beef measured by the weight sensor 9 so that the internal temperature of the beef is in the temperature range of 40 to 60°C where the protease is activated. This process corresponds to process step S2 in Figure 4.

[0030] The calculated heating pattern for the first heating step is passed to the control means 81, which controls the first heating step. In this first heating step, beef soaked in a seasoning liquid containing protease is heated in a liquid-immersed state in the container 10, and the beef is heated so that the internal temperature of the beef is in the temperature range of 40 to 60°C at which the protease is activated, accelerating the decomposition of the beef's proteins and resulting in a tender finish.

[0031] Furthermore, by heating in the first heating step at a temperature range of 40 to 60° C., it is possible to avoid hardening of the food material due to long-term heating. To avoid hardening of the food material due to heat, it is more preferable to set the temperature range to 40 to 50° C. The operation time of the first heating step is preferably about 30 minutes so as not to impair the texture of the beef surface, but may be about 1 hour if emphasis is placed on tenderness.

[0032] In the first heating step, microwave heating is more preferable as the heating means. A magnetron 82 or a semiconductor solid-state element (not shown) can be used to generate microwaves. Microwave heating has the advantage that it is easy to raise the core temperature of the food in a short time, and by quickly activating the protein enzymes that have permeated the inside of the food, it is easy to break down the protein to the inside of the food and soften the food.

[0033] When the first heating step is completed, the completion of the first heating step is indicated on the display and is notified to the user by an alarm sound, etc. This is the notification process in process step S4 in FIG.

[0034] Upon completion of the first heating step, the user removes the top lid 10b of the container 10 in FIG. 3, drains the seasoning liquid, and places it again on the table 31 in the heating chamber 3. This is the seasoning liquid draining process in process step S5 in FIG. 4. As a result, the heating in the second heating step performed thereafter is heating in a non-immersed state. After completion of the first heating step in process step S6, the control means 81 detects the opening and closing of the door 5 by the door opening / closing detection unit (not shown), and can start the subsequent second heating step using this as a condition. At this time, the weight sensor 9 detects the weight loss due to the draining of the seasoning liquid, and by using this as a new condition for starting the second heating step, the amount of heat in the second step can be accurately controlled.

[0035] When the gas inside container 10 is sucked out manually or with an electric pump to reduce the pressure inside container 10, exhaust port 12 with a check valve can be opened to restore the pressure inside container 10 to atmospheric pressure, making it possible to easily remove top lid 10b of container 10.

[0036] In the second heating step of the processing step S7, the beef is heated in a non-immersed state in the container 10, and the beef is heated so that the internal temperature of the beef reaches a temperature of 80°C or higher at which the protease is inactivated, thereby removing the unpleasant taste of the protease. As the heating means for the second heating step, grill heating, oven heating, or steam heating is preferable. Grill heating, oven heating, and steam heating are easy to raise the temperature of the surface of the food material, and promote the Maillard reaction on the surface of the food material, thereby finishing the food material with a fragrant flavor. In addition, since the surface of the food material can be finished at a high temperature in a short time, overheating of the core of the food material is suppressed, and hardening of the food material can be avoided. After the second heating step is completed, the series of cooking processes is completed in processing step S8. In order to soften the food to its core in the first heating step, it is more preferable to estimate the internal temperature and heat the food to a temperature of 40 to 60°C at which the protease is activated, as this activates the protease to the inside of the food. However, when it is difficult to estimate the internal temperature of the heated object or when the texture of the surface of the food is a priority, the infrared unit 70 can be used to heat the food to a surface temperature of 40 to 60°C. In this case, it is possible to prevent the protein near the surface of the food from being decomposed by the enzymes to the extent that the texture is damaged or the food feels mushy, or to prevent the food from becoming too hard due to excessive heat entering only the surface area.

[0037] Here, it is possible to cook meat and vegetables, or seafood and vegetables, until they are soft at the same time. For example, a seasoning liquid containing a mixture of meat protein-degrading enzymes and enzymes that break down or break down the cell walls of vegetables is poured into a container containing meat and vegetables, and the enzymes react with the ingredients at the temperature range of the first heating step, and the ingredients are finished in the second heating step. In this case, by using an enzyme that reacts with vegetables at a temperature range similar to that of the enzyme that reacts with meat, it is possible to prevent the meat from becoming too soft or hard.

[0038] In this embodiment, the food material is immersed in a seasoning liquid containing a protease, but this is not the only possible configuration. A seasoning powder containing a protease may be applied to the food material. In addition, the seasoning is not limited to a seasoning liquid or a seasoning powder, and may be an onion, pineapple, maitake mushroom, shio-koji, or other food material containing a protease.

[0039] In this embodiment, the configuration in which the food material is immersed in a seasoning liquid containing a protease is shown, and the cooking flow in which the seasoning liquid is discharged between the first heating step and the second heating step (processing step S5) is shown, but this is not limited to the above. For example, some seasoning materials containing protease do not need to be removed from the food material before the second heating step. The same is true for salt koji and the like, which does not need to be removed. In this case, the seasoning liquid discharge step (processing step S5) and the transition decision to the second heating step (processing step S6) are not necessary, and the process may automatically transition to the second heating step. Similarly, in the case of cooking in which the food material is simmered with a seasoning liquid containing a protease, the seasoning liquid discharge step (processing step S5) and the transition decision to the second heating step (processing step S6) are not necessary. In preparation for these cases, it is preferable to provide two cooking courses: one in which the seasoning material is removed, and one in which the seasoning material is not removed. The second heating step involves heating in a non-immersed state, which also includes heating in a state in which seasoning powder containing proteolytic enzymes that do not need to be removed is applied or sprinkled on the food material.

[0040] In the present embodiment, an oven range having range heating, oven heating, grill heating, and steam heating has been described as an example of a heating means, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention may be a cooking device having only oven heating and grill heating. EXAMPLES

[0041] FIG. 6 shows a configuration diagram of the second heating step in Example 2. The plate 20 is made of a resin containing ferrite or the like that absorbs microwaves. In the second heating step of Example 2, the food material (the object to be heated 7) after the first heating step is placed on the plate 20 installed in the upper stage of the heating chamber, and is baked by sequentially or alternately performing microwave heating and grill heating. The upper surface of the object to be heated is located near the upper heater 61, so that the Maillard reaction can be promoted to give it a fragrant finish. In addition, the bottom surface of the object to be heated can be finished with a fragrant finish by promoting the Maillard reaction by the plate 20 that absorbs microwaves and becomes hot by microwave heating. By not simultaneously performing microwave heating and grill heating, the power consumption can be kept below 1500W that can be used with an AC100V power source in Japan. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 1: Oven range 2: Cabinet 3:Heating chamber 31: Table 4: Light irradiation means 41:Reflector 5: Door 51: Finder 61: Upper heater 62: Hot air heater 63: Steam generating means 7: Object to be heated 8: Machine room 81: Control means 82: Magnetron 83: Rotating antenna 9: Weight sensor

Claims

1. The heating apparatus includes a heating chamber for accommodating an object to be heated, a heating means for heating the object to be heated, and a control means for controlling the heating means. The control means controls the heating means in a cooking pattern specified from an operation panel, and in a process of simultaneously cooking protein-containing ingredients and a seasoning liquid containing a protease, the control means controls the heating means to heat the protein-containing ingredients in a temperature range where the protease is activated by a first heating step in which the protein-containing ingredients are immersed in the seasoning liquid containing the protease and the heating means is controlled to heat the protein-containing ingredients in a temperature range where the protease is activated by a first heating step, and thereafter detects a weight of the protein-containing ingredients in a non-immersed state after the seasoning liquid containing the protease has been discharged, and controls the heating means to heat the protein-containing ingredients at a temperature where the protease is deactivated by a second heating step.

2. The cooking machine according to claim 1, A cooking machine characterized in that the temperature range of the first heating step is 40 to 60°C, and the temperature range of the second heating step is 80°C or higher.

3. The cooking machine according to claim 1, A cooking machine characterized in that the heating means in the first heating step is a means for radiating microwaves into the heating chamber.

4. The cooking machine according to claim 1, The cooking machine according to claim 1, wherein the heating means in the second heating step is any one of oven heating, grill heating, and steam heating.

5. The cooking machine according to claim 1, The cooking machine according to claim 1, further comprising: a door opening / closing detection unit that detects whether a door is open or closed after the first heating step is completed, and starts the second heating step.

6. The cooking machine according to claim 1, This heating cooker is characterized in that, when the food material containing protein is placed in a container having a heating element on the underside, in the second heating step, microwave heating and oven heating or grill heating are alternately or sequentially switched between.

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