A method for producing vegetables or fruits in which water-soluble active ingredients have been highly permeated.

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for treating vegetables and fruits, which uses pressure to infiltrate the vegetables and fruits with water-soluble active ingredients, so that a high concentration of the specific active ingredient is uniformly contained within the matrix of the vegetables and fruits. The present invention has the effect of making it possible to improve the sugar content of vegetables or fruits to at least 18 Brix.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for producing vegetables and fruits highly containing water-soluble active ingredients by using low pressure to minimize the heat and phenomena of the skin of an object to be treated and allowing the water-soluble active ingredients to penetrate into the object so that they can be uniformly distributed in the flesh of the object.

Background Art

[0002] Even after the cultivation and the ripening of vegetables and fruits after harvesting, there is a limit to increasing marketability because the sugar content does not reach the high content expected by consumers. In particular, tomatoes contain a large amount of citric acid, malic acid, succinic acid, amino acids, lutein, proteins, saccharides, ash, calcium, iron, phosphorus, vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin C, dietary fiber, etc., and are rich in antioxidants such as lycopene and beta-carotene. The red color of tomatoes is due to a substance called "carotenoid", especially "lycopene". Red tomatoes contain 7 to 12 mg% of lycopene. Lycopene is effective in preventing prostate cancer in men, breast cancer in women, and cancers of the digestive system. Since lycopene plays a role in the excretion of toxic substances generated when alcohol is decomposed, it is good to drink tomato juice before drinking alcohol or eat tomatoes as an accompaniment when drinking alcohol. Tomatoes are rich in vitamin K that prevents the loss of calcium and helps prevent osteoporosis or senile dementia. Furthermore, vitamin C contained in tomatoes gives elasticity to the skin, prevents fine wrinkles, and suppresses the formation of melanin pigment, which is effective in preventing melasma. In addition, potassium contained in tomatoes helps prevent hypertension caused by the high-salt eating habits of Koreans by discharging the salts in the body from the body. Tomatoes are also perfect for dieting. One tomato (200g) contains only 35kcal and is rich in water and dietary fiber, providing a feeling of fullness. Therefore, eating one tomato before a meal can reduce the amount of food consumed, aid digestion, and promote metabolism. Thus, it is suitable for obese and diabetic patients. When eating fatty foods, adding tomatoes promotes digestion, reduces the burden on the stomach, and neutralizes acidic foods. They are also rich in pectin (dietary fiber), which helps prevent constipation. On the other hand, tomato juice contains less organic acid, is less irritating, has excellent nutritional value, and is easily digestible, making it a preferable beverage for patients.

[0003] However, despite the health benefits of tomatoes, they are a love-it-or-hate-it kind of food. This is because tomatoes do not have a high sugar content, so they cannot replace the sweetness of the fruit. Efforts have been made to improve the sugar content by improving conventional tomato varieties, but there are limits to how much sugar can be increased. Furthermore, in the past, immersion was used to increase the sugar content or salt concentration of fruits and vegetables. However, when agricultural products are immersed in a solution containing dissolved sugar or salt, the original form of the product is deformed due to the separation of protoplasts through osmosis. There were also limitations to distributing products in their raw state by increasing the sugar or salt concentration. Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1492889 discloses a scientific technology that uses pressure differences to increase the sugar content of fruits and vegetables. The method disclosed involves treating agricultural products by reverse osmosis while repeatedly applying and removing pressure to increase the sugar content. The principle is that when a solution is sprayed while repeatedly applying and removing pressure, the solution adsorbed on the surface of the agricultural product is absorbed into the product by reverse osmosis. When this happens, the mist gathers as water droplets and flows downward due to gravity, so the mist of the solution that should be adsorbed by the round agricultural product remains only at the bottom. This has the fatal disadvantage of adsorbing the solution that has flowed down to the lower layers. This has limitations as it is difficult to put into practical use, even though it must permeate.

[0004] Furthermore, according to prior art that uses repeated pressurization and depressurization to open the cell walls and allow the solution to be gradually adsorbed into the interior of agricultural products, the processing time for repeated pressurization and depressurization exceeds 30 minutes, resulting in products that are susceptible to moisture and have inferior texture. This has the disadvantage of significantly reducing the shelf life of soft agricultural products. In addition, the principle of repeated pressurization and depressurization involves raising the air pressure inside the chamber to a certain level by pressurization, maintaining that pressure, and then decreasing the pressure while releasing the air again. The cycle of repeated pressurization and depressurization is not constant. This has the disadvantage of the level of solution absorption not being constant. This invention was completed as a result of efforts to find a method that allows a predetermined active ingredient to be impregnated into vegetables or fruits that are somewhat soft due to their high water content, without disrupting their original form. [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0005] The objective of the present invention is to provide a method for treating fruits and vegetables by allowing a specific active ingredient to penetrate them within a short period of time. Furthermore, an objective of the present invention is to ensure that the active ingredients are uniformly distributed in the target fruits and vegetables by further applying vibration. The object of the present invention is to provide a processing method for uniformly enhancing specific active ingredients in the flesh or leaf tissue of fruits or vegetables that have soft flesh or leaf tissue. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a method for producing vegetables or fruits enriched with active ingredients, characterized in that the active ingredients in the solvent permeate into the fruit or vegetable through the stem portion, Fruit or vegetable stem In TIFF0007843300000001.tif6170, after being completely immersed in a solution containing the water-soluble active ingredient, In a pressurized chamber, placed in an airtight unit, Close the lid and seal it tightly. Pressurize the internal air pressure to 1.2-1.8 atm and maintain it for 10-15 minutes. To provide a method that includes the following. In addition, the present invention may further include applying vibration for 20 minutes so that the absorbed active ingredient is uniformly distributed within the target fruit or vegetable. More specifically, in order to uniformly distribute the permeating substance within an object, fruit, or vegetable, the pressure is maintained at 1.4 atm for approximately 15 minutes to allow the active ingredient to permeate through the stem of the fruit or vegetable. Then, the pressure is increased and decreased at intervals of 0.5 to 1 second from 1.3 atm to 1.5 atm, and this process is repeated for 20 minutes to generate waves in the solution. The force of these waves causes vibrations within the object, thereby diffusing the permeating substance inside the object into the substrate inside the object. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] In accordance with the present invention, by producing fruits and vegetables enriched with various useful components without altering their original form, it is possible to meet the demand for a variety of vegetables and fruits, and contribute to the diversity of agricultural products and the increasing consumption of agricultural products. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This figure shows the results of observing changes in the appearance of cherry tomatoes by varying the pressure and pressurization time. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] A method is provided for producing vegetables or fruits enriched with an active ingredient, characterized in that the active ingredient in the solvent permeates the fruit or vegetable through the stem portion into the fruit or vegetable. This is done by completely immersing the fruit or vegetable in a solution containing a water-soluble active ingredient at the stem, then placing it in an airtight unit within a pressurized chamber, closing the lid to seal it, and pressurizing the internal air pressure to 1.2-1.8 atm for 10-15 minutes. Furthermore, after maintaining the pressure, the process of increasing and decreasing the pressure in the range of 1.3 atm to 1.5 atm at intervals of 0.5 to 1 second is repeated for 20 minutes. More specifically, the cycle of lowering the pressure to 1.3 atm, holding it for 0.5 seconds, then raising it to 1.5 atm, and holding it for 0.5 seconds is repeated for 20 minutes to induce waves in the solution in which the object is immersed. In the present invention, various substances including sugars, salts, sucralose, stevioside, saponins, minerals, or vitamins can be used as water-soluble active ingredients.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the stemmed vegetable or fruit is a tomato or a bell pepper, and the most preferred water-soluble active ingredient is stevioside mixed with sucralose in small amounts or in a mass ratio of 3 to 4:1. In this invention, the principle by which components in a solution are adsorbed onto vegetables or fruits is that a pressurized solution in a pressure chamber forces the solution through the stem, which is the weakest part of the cell wall pressure of the immersed vegetables or fruits, and this phenomenon is similar to immersion. This is the principle by which active components in the solution permeate into the interior of the vegetables or fruits at a high concentration. It is understood that the permeated active components, such as sugars, diffuse through the subsequent vibration process by the water contained in the vegetables or fruits, resulting in the active components being uniformly distributed throughout the fruit. Therefore, by applying a pressure of 1.2–1.8 atm, sufficient to push the solute in the solution into the stem portion, and maintaining this pressure for 10–30 minutes, the absorption of additional water, i.e., the solvent, is prevented, and only the absorption of the active ingredient, i.e., the solute, is induced. Alternatively, these conditions maintain the original shape of the vegetable while maximizing the penetration of the active ingredient. The pressure and time in the chamber can be determined differently depending on the type of target vegetable or fruit and the type of solute, so that the active ingredient that has permeated the stem portion can diffuse uniformly into the substrate of the fruit or vegetable.

[0011] The chamber pressure is set based on an external atmospheric pressure of 1 atm. It is most preferable to set the chamber pressure 0.2 to 0.8 atm higher than the external atmospheric pressure. Applying a higher pressure will cause cracking of the vegetable or fruit peels. According to the present invention, in the case of tomatoes, it was confirmed that the penetration of the active ingredient occurred at the weakest point of the vascular bundles of the stem, which is the junction between the xylem and phloem connecting the stem and the fruit of the tomato. The pressurizing device of the present invention includes a chamber, a chamber container for containing contents, a sealing unit for controlling the inflow and outflow of air when the contents of the chamber container are pressed into the chamber and the lid is closed, an air inlet for injecting air into the chamber through a compressor, an air outlet for discharging air after completion, a pressure gauge for displaying the air pressure inside the chamber, and a compressor as a device for injecting air into the chamber. When using tomatoes as a raw material, there has been a limitation in that it is difficult to increase the sugar content to about 8 Brix or more through conventional breeding methods. However, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to improve the sugar content to 18 Brix or more.

[0012] Furthermore, since sugar as a solute can cause obesity, using stevioside as a solute to improve sugar content allows for consumption without worrying about obesity or diabetes, as stevioside possesses a characteristic sweetness but is not absorbed by the body. Stevioside is approximately 200 times sweeter than sugar, but it does not increase the body's sugar absorption, so the sugar content is not measured at 18 Brix, yet it can produce the same sweetness as when using sugar at 18 Brix. However, it has been reported that obtaining sweetness solely from stevioside may result in a bitter taste at the end. Therefore, in the present invention, it is most preferable to mix stevioside and sucralose in a mass ratio of 3 to 4:1 to obtain the optimal sweetness. The present invention will be described by the following examples, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to these examples. [Examples]

[0013] (Example 1) Preparation of jujube cherry tomatoes with high sugar content After completely immersing 20 pieces of 20g of cherry tomatoes in a solution of 3g of stevioside and 1g of sucralose in 1000 ml of purified water, the immersed tomatoes were placed in a chamber and the internal pressure was pressurized to 1.4 atm. After maintaining the pressure for 20 minutes, it was lowered to 1.3 atm and held for 0.5 seconds, then raised to 1.5 atm and maintained for 0.5 seconds. This cycle was repeated and vibrated for 20 minutes, then the air was exhausted and the immersed tomatoes were taken out of the chamber. As a result of inspecting the sugar content of the prepared cherry tomatoes, it was confirmed that a sweetness corresponding to an average of 18 Brix was generated. (Example 2) Preparation of paprika with high sugar content After completely immersing 6 pieces of 15g of paprika in a solution of 3g of stevioside and 1g of sucralose in 1000 ml of purified water, the immersed paprika was placed in a chamber, the internal pressure was pressurized to 1.8 atm, the pressure was maintained for 10 minutes, and then the air was removed. The moisture was drained and the immersed paprika was taken out of the chamber. As a result of inspecting the sugar content of the prepared paprika, it was equal to the sweetness corresponding to 20 brix.

[0014] (Experimental Example 1) Change in tomato appearance due to pressure and time As a result of observing the appearance of cherry tomatoes after pressurizing at 1 atm, 1.4 atm, and 2 atm in the same manner as in Example 1 and pressurizing at the same pressure (1.4 atm) for 5 minutes, 15 minutes, and 20 minutes, the results of comparing the observed tomato appearance after applying pressure in the same manner as in Example 1 were the same as in Figure 1. The results of inspecting the sugar content of each tomato are shown in Tables 1 and 2 below:

Table 1

[0015]

Table 2

[0016] [Table 3]

[0017] (Experimental Example 3) Confirmation of the pathway through which the active ingredient is injected into the tomato. Tomatoes wrapped in plastic wrap except for the stem (experimental group) and tomatoes treated by covering only the stem with silicone to block contact with the outside (control group) were treated with 3 g of stevioside, then completely immersed in a solution of 1 g of sucralose dissolved in 1000 ml of purified water, and treated under the same conditions as in Example 1. Subsequently, the sugar content was measured. The results are shown in the table below. [Table 4]

[0018] The purpose of the experiment is to demonstrate that the part of the tomato where the active ingredient is adsorbed is not the epidermis, but the calyx, where the nutrient and water pathways of the fruit (tomato) are connected to the stem. It is not possible to verify the previous patent's hypothesis that the part where the active ingredient is adsorbed is the stomata of the fruit by using the pressure difference. According to the present invention, fruits and vegetables enriched with various useful components can be produced without altering their original form, thereby contributing to the diversity of agricultural products and the increasing consumption of agricultural products in response to the demand for a variety of vegetables and fruits. Another aspect of the present invention may be as follows: [1] A method for producing vegetables or fruits enriched with active ingredients, After completely immersing the fruit or vegetable in a solution containing a water-soluble active ingredient at the stem, Place the unit in an airtight chamber, close the lid, and pressurize the internal air pressure to 1.2-1.8 atm. A method characterized by maintaining the mixture for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the active ingredient in the solvent to permeate the fruit or vegetable through the stem portion. [2] The method according to [1], further comprising the step of maintaining the pressure and then increasing and decreasing the pressure in intervals of 1.3 atm to 1.5 atm in intervals of 0.5 to 1 second for 20 minutes. [3] The method according to [1], wherein the water-soluble active ingredient is sugars, salts, sucralose, stevioside, saponins, minerals, or vitamins. [4] The method according to [1], characterized in that the vegetable or fruit having a stem is a tomato or a bell pepper, and the water-soluble active ingredients are a mixture of stevioside and sucralose in a mass ratio of 3 to 4:1.

Claims

1. A method for producing tomatoes enriched with active ingredients, A step of completely immersing a tomato having a stem in an aqueous solution in which the active ingredient is dissolved, The process involves placing the soaked tomatoes into the sealing unit inside the pressurized chamber, closing the lid, and sealing the pressurized chamber. A process of pressurizing the internal pressure to 1.2 to 1.8 atm and maintaining it for 10 to 15 minutes, and After the step of maintaining the aforementioned pressure, the step of increasing and decreasing the pressure at intervals of 0.5 to 1 second, in increments of 1.3 atm to 1.5 atm, for 20 minutes. A method comprising, wherein the active ingredient is a sugar, a salt, sucralose, stevioside, saponin, mineral, or vitamin.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pressure maintained for 10 to 15 minutes is 1.2 atm to 1.4 atm.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the active ingredient is a mixture of sucralose and stevioside.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the active ingredient is a mixture of stevioside and sucralose in a mass ratio of 3 to 4:1.

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