JP7073177B2 - How to evaluate the physical properties of sliced bodies - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for evaluating the physical characteristics of a slice of meat or a processed meat product as a food, and in particular, the sliced body using a measuring device for measuring the hardness and elasticity of a food such as a thinly sliced slice. Regarding the physical property evaluation method.

Conventionally, attempts have been made to evaluate the texture such as softness (hardness) and elasticity of food by sensory evaluation by humans and instrumental analysis such as a rheometer.

Patent Document 1 discloses a texture evaluation method and system for evaluating the texture of food by an objective index.

According to Patent Document 1, a break curve of the test food is obtained, a power spectrum of the break curve is obtained, and a specific peak of the power spectrum on a desired frequency region is calculated as a texture evaluation value of the test food. That is, the frequency analysis of the fracture curve is performed on the value of the uniaxial compression fracture test obtained by a leometer or the like, and the energy in an arbitrary frequency region is obtained, thereby objectively determining the texture such as crispness of the porous food. Evaluate by index.

Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a physical property measuring device and a physical property measuring method for measuring viscoelastic properties of an object having elasticity and viscoelasticity.

According to Patent Document 2, a fluid having a constant injection pressure is sprayed onto the surface of the object to be measured to start a load, and after the load state is maintained for a certain period of time, the spraying is stopped and the load is removed, and the load is sprayed. Based on the change over time in the depth or diameter of the depression on the surface of the object caused by spraying from the start to the stop of spraying, and the depth or diameter of the depression on the surface of the object from the stop of spraying to the lapse of a predetermined time. Measure the viscoelastic properties of the object to be measured.

Further, Patent Document 3 discloses an evaluation method capable of numerically quantifying and evaluating differences in hardness, texture, and texture at the time of chewing with respect to gelled foods such as aloe or fruits. ..

In Patent Document 3, a sample of food to be evaluated is pressed with a plunger, and at the same time, the load and strain rate during pressing are continuously measured, and the calculation is performed by the minimum self-squared method based on the values of the load and strain rate. Then, a strain rate-load curve of an approximate quadratic curve with the X-axis as the strain factor and the Y-axis as the load is created.

Find the slope of the tangent at the inflection of the curved part before reaching the maximum value in the created strain rate-load curve, and use the slope of the tangent as an index showing the hardness of the food when chewing the food, in the strain rate-load curve. The value of (MX-MN) / MX obtained from the values of the minimum value load (MN) and the maximum value load (MX) is adopted as an index of texture.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-133374 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-52911 Japanese Patent No. 5004253

Conventionally, as a method for evaluating an object such as the hardness of food, the breaking stress is measured by a leometer disclosed in Patent Document 1, the surface of the object to be measured in Patent Document 2 is sprayed with a fluid having a constant injection pressure, and the patent document. The main operations were breaking the object to be measured, denting by injection, and pressing, such as pressing the food sample to be evaluated in No. 3 with a plunger.

However, in the piercing evaluation by measuring the breaking stress with a rheometer or the like, the foods that can be measured are limited, and there is a case that there is no correlation with the texture.

Further, the movements such as denting due to pressing on the food by injection and breaking due to pressing as disclosed in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3 correspond to the chewing operation, but in these operation methods, the hardness of thin sliced meat or the like is hard. Well, the elasticity could not be measured.

In this way, for thinly sliced products whose hardness and elasticity affect the texture (for example, sliced meat made of meat such as prosciutto, loin ham, raw meat, sashimi, etc.), equipment using a rheometer or the like. The analysis could not be done.

Therefore, there is a demand for a method for evaluating the physical properties of slices, which is different from the evaluation using piercing, injection, pressing, etc. by measuring the breaking stress of a rheometer or the like.

Therefore, the present invention makes it possible to measure hardness and elasticity, which was not possible in the past with sliced bodies such as sliced prosciutto, and by applying the suction method used in human skin measurement to foods, humans It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for evaluating the physical properties of a sliced product capable of obtaining the same result as the sensory evaluation of the above.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a method for evaluating the physical properties of a sliced body for evaluating the hardness and / or elasticity of a sliced body made of meat as food or a processed product of the meat, and is a flat surface portion of a mounting table. The step of placing the sliced body on the surface and the annular tip of the tubular body are brought into contact with the main surface of the sliced body placed on the flat surface portion to form a surrounding space inside the tubular body. The tubular shape of a part of the slice body generated by the step of sucking a part of the slice body exposed in the surrounding space with a predetermined suction force for a predetermined time and the suction from the end of the suction for the predetermined time. The step of measuring the change in the depth of penetration into the body over time and the change over time in the degree of protrusion of a part of the sliced body are used as an index showing the hardness and / or elasticity of the sliced body at the time of chewing. It is characterized by consisting of a process to be performed.

Further, in the present invention, the measurement of the change over time in the depth of penetration of a part of the sliced body into the tubular body from the end of the predetermined time suction is performed at the end of the predetermined time suction and the said. It is characterized in that it is performed after a predetermined time has elapsed from the end of suction.

Further, in the method for evaluating the physical properties of the sliced body of the present invention, the hardness of the sliced body is calculated from the depth of penetration of a part of the sliced body into the tubular body at the end of suction for the predetermined time. It is a feature.

Further, in the method for evaluating the physical properties of the sliced body of the present invention, the depth of penetration of a part of the sliced body into the tubular body after a lapse of a predetermined time from the end of the suction is measured, and the suction is performed for the predetermined time. The ratio of the difference between the depth of penetration of a part of the sliced body into the inside of the tubular body at the end and the penetration depth of a part of the sliced body into the tubular body at the end of suction for the predetermined time. It is characterized by calculating the return rate and calculating the elasticity.

Further, the depth of penetration of a part of the sliced body of the present invention into the tubular body is a light emitting portion that irradiates the internal space of the tip portion of the tubular body in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the tubular body. It is characterized in that the light from the sliced body is interfered with the light receiving portion due to the intrusion of a part of the sliced body into the inside of the cylindrical body, and the intensity of the light is changed.

Further, the meat of the present invention is characterized by being meat, meat, fish meat or a combination thereof.

Further, the processed meat product of the present invention is a meat product, and is characterized by being a dried meat product, a non-heated meat product, a specified heated meat product, or a heated meat product.

Conventionally, in a sliced body made of meat as food or a processed meat product, the texture is evaluated by being chewed (pressed by a tooth) by a person, but in the present invention, the surface of the food is sucked to reduce the suction amount. By performing the measurement by the suction method, the same result as the human sensory evaluation can be obtained. Therefore, according to the present invention, it has become possible to evaluate the hardness and elasticity of thin foods such as sliced prosciutto, which could be evaluated only by the conventional texture.

That is, the sliced body can be evaluated by sucking, which is the opposite operation to pushing. As a result, by sucking with a measuring instrument, it is possible to obtain an objective index in addition to the sensory evaluation of a person.

In addition, the conventional measurement methods using dents due to injection and breakage due to pressing match the mastication operation, but these measurement methods could not measure the hardness and elasticity of thin sliced meat and the like. In the method for evaluating the physical properties of a sliced body of the present invention, the hardness and elasticity can be measured by suction by negative pressure, and even though this is a motion contradictory to chewing such as suction, human sensory evaluation. It became possible to match the evaluation of hardness and elasticity by.

Further, according to the method for evaluating the physical properties of slices according to the present invention, since the results are the same as those for sensory evaluation, they can be used for quality control of foods and the like.

Further, since the measurement is performed by contacting the annular tip of the tubular body with the main surface of the sliced body, the hardness and elasticity of the sliced body can be easily evaluated.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the physical characteristic property measuring apparatus which measures the hardness and elasticity of a slice body. It is a flowchart which shows the process of evaluating the hardness and elasticity of a sliced body by a physical characteristic measuring apparatus. (A) is a state inside the cylinder immediately after the start of suction by the physical characteristic measuring device, (b) is a state inside the cylinder immediately after a predetermined time T1 has elapsed from the start of suction, and (c) is a state inside the cylinder. It is a figure which shows the state of the inside of a cylindrical body immediately after the suction operation is turned off and the predetermined time T2 elapses after the elapse of a predetermined time T1. It is a figure which shows the change of the suction amount of the slice body in the inside of a tubular body after the start of the suction operation shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the measurement point of the prosciutto surface in the evaluation of the hardness and elasticity of a sliced prosciutto using a physical characteristic measuring apparatus. It is a figure which shows the suction amount and the return rate measured by the physical property characteristic measuring apparatus in the part on the Kata side, the part on the Naka side, and the part on the peach side of prosciutto. It is a figure which shows the result of the sensory evaluation of each part in the part on the Kata side, the part on the Naka side, and the part on the peach side of prosciutto. It is a figure which shows the suction amount and the return rate measured by the physical characteristic measuring apparatus of the sliced prosciutto extracted at random. It is a figure which shows the evaluation result of the softness in the sensory evaluation of the prosciutto measured by the physical characteristic measuring apparatus. It is a figure which shows the evaluation result of elasticity in the sensory evaluation of the prosciutto measured by the physical characteristic measuring apparatus.

Hereinafter, a mode for carrying out a method for evaluating the physical properties of a sliced body for evaluating the hardness and elasticity of the sliced body according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention relates to a method for evaluating the physical properties of a sliced body, in which the hardness and elasticity can be measured by sucking thinly sliced meat and other foods by negative pressure, and the hardness and elasticity are measured by human sensory evaluation. The present inventor has found that it is consistent with the evaluation of the above as a result of trial and error.

[Physical characteristic measuring device]
First, a physical characteristic measuring device for measuring the hardness and elasticity of a sliced body will be described with reference to FIG. The sliced body is a piece of meat as a food product or a processed product of meat cut or processed into slices.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a physical property characteristic measuring device for measuring the hardness and elasticity of a sliced body.

As shown in FIG. 1, the physical property characteristic measuring device 1 is composed of a tubular body 2, a measuring device control unit 20, and a cable 30 connecting the tubular body 2 and the measuring device control unit 20.

The tubular body 2 as a measurement probe shown in a cross-sectional view in FIG. 1 has a cylindrical shape, and has an open annular tip portion 5 at one end in the longitudinal direction of the tubular body 2. A cable 30 is connected to the other end of the tubular body 2 in the longitudinal direction.

Further, a through hole 7 having a tip portion 5 is provided inside the tubular body 2, and a surrounding space is formed. The tubular body 2 has a pair of optical prisms 15 and 16 installed between the inner side surface portion 10 of the surrounding space and the outer surface portion 11 located outside the tubular body 2, and the end of the tubular body 2 on the cable 30 side. It has a non-contact optical measuring unit composed of a light emitting unit 18 and a light receiving unit 19 provided in the unit.

The through hole 7 of the tubular body 2 is connected to the measuring device control unit 20 via a suction tube 31 of the cable 30 provided at the end of the tubular body 2. The through hole 7 of the tubular body 2 is brought into a suction state by the suction operation by the motor 24 built in the negative pressure generation unit 23 of the measuring device control unit 20. When the through hole 7 is in the suction state, the sliced body located at the tip portion 5 of the tubular body 2 is sucked inside.

The through hole 7 of the tubular body 2 absorbs the object to be measured from the tip portion 5 and releases it after a predetermined time. The depth of penetration into the tubular body 2 is the optical prisms 15, 16 and the light emitting portion 18 installed between the inner side surface portion 10 of the through hole 7 having the tip portion 5 of the tubular body 2 and the outer surface portion 11 of the tubular body 2. , Measured by a non-contact optical measuring unit composed of a light receiving unit 19.

The optical prisms 15 and 16 are configured to face each other, and the depth of penetration of a part of the sliced body into the tubular body 2 is such that the internal space of the tip portion 5 of the tubular body 2 is in the axial direction of the tubular body 2. The light indicated by the arrow line from the light emitting unit 18 irradiating in the direction orthogonal to the above is interfered with the light receiving unit 19 due to the intrusion of a part of the sliced body into the cylindrical body 2, and the intensity of the light changes. It is measured by doing.

In this way, the depth of penetration of a part of the sliced body into the tubular body 2 is determined by the fact that the light emitted from the light emitting unit 18 interferes with the light receiving unit 19 and the intensity of the light changes. The signal from the unit 19 is input to the data processing unit 21 via the signal line 33 and calculated as the suction amount. The ON / OFF control of the light emission in the light emitting unit 18 is performed by energizing or shutting off the power supplied by the power supply line 32.

Further, the computer 40 is connected to the data processing unit 21 of the measuring device control unit 20, and the computer 40 displays the data from the data processing unit 21 and stores the data in the memory 41.

In the physical property property measuring device 1, the intensity of light changes depending on the depth of penetration of the object to be measured from the tip portion 5 during measurement, and the magnitude of the repulsive force of the sliced body as the object to be measured against negative pressure and after the negative pressure is released. The ability to return to the original position of the sliced body can be displayed as a curve in real time on the computer 40 via the data processing unit 21.

The suction diameter of the tip 5 of the tubular body 2 as the measurement probe of the physical characteristic measurement device 1 used for measurement is 2 mm, the magnitude of negative pressure is 450 mba, and the measurement interval is set for 2 seconds suction and 2 seconds relaxation (suction). None). A cute meter (Courage + manufactured by Khazaka) is suitable as the physical property characteristic measuring device used for the measurement.

The size of the cylindrical body 2 of the physical characteristic measuring device 1 and the setting conditions for the suction operation are examples, and the present invention is not limited to these.

The sliced body in the method for evaluating the physical characteristics of a sliced body is a piece of meat or a processed meat product cut or processed into slices, and the meat includes meat, meat, fish meat or a combination thereof. In addition, meat means livestock meat, chicken meat and the like. Further, the sliced body may be either heated or unheated. Further, the processed meat product is, for example, a meat product, which is a dried meat product, a non-heated meat product, a specified heated meat product, or a heated meat product.

Therefore, the sliced body corresponds to, for example, sliced raw ham, loin ham, pressed ham, sausage, fish ham, fish sausage, raw meat, sashimi and the like.

Further, the sliced body in the method for evaluating the physical properties of the sliced body preferably has a thickness of more than 0 mm and not more than 5 mm, and particularly preferably has a thickness of 0.5 mm or more and not more than 2 mm.

In this case, when the thickness of the sliced body is less than 0.5 mm, if the tissue of the sliced body is firm and hard, it may be possible to measure even if it is thinner than 0.5 mm. .. However, it should be noted that in the case of slices thinner than 0.5 mm, the meat may be torn and measurement cannot be performed. On the other hand, for thick and hard meat exceeding 2.0 mm, since the amount of meat that can be sucked is small, the height of the penetration depth indicating the suction amount becomes low, and it may not be possible to confirm the difference between meats.

[Physical characteristic measurement method]
Next, a physical property measuring method for measuring the hardness and elasticity of the sliced body by the physical characteristic measuring device will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a process of evaluating the hardness and elasticity of a sliced body by a physical property characteristic measuring device. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state of suction of the sliced body inside the tubular body by the physical property characteristic measuring device, FIG. 3 (a) is a state of the inside of the cylindrical body immediately after the start of suction, and FIG. 3 (b) is a diagram. , The state inside the cylinder immediately after the predetermined time T1 has elapsed from the start of suction, FIG. 3 (c) shows the cylinder immediately after the suction operation is turned off and the predetermined time T2 has elapsed after the predetermined time T1 has elapsed. It is a figure which shows the state inside the state. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing changes in the suction amount of the sliced body inside the tubular body after the start of the suction operation shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3A, in the measurement of hardness and elasticity by the physical property property measuring device 1, the main surface of the slice body 50 to be measured is spread out and placed on the flat surface portion of the mounting table 45 ( Step S1). At this time, a food packaging film (not shown) made of polyethylene or the like is laid between the surface of the slice body 50 in contact with the mounting table 45 and the mounting table 45. This is to prevent the adhesion and friction between the slice body 50 and the mounting table 45 from affecting the measurement.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the annular tip portion 5 of the cylindrical body 2 is brought into contact with the main surface of the slice body 50 mounted on the flat surface portion of the mounting table 45 (step S2).

A part of the slice body 50 exposed in the surrounding space is sucked by T1 for a predetermined time with a predetermined suction force in the direction indicated by the thick arrow (upper side of the paper surface) (step S3).

The depth of penetration of a part of the sliced body 50 into the tubular body 2 generated by the suction from the end of the T1 suction for a predetermined time is measured (step S4).

Further, the suction operation is turned off after the lapse of a predetermined time T1 (step S5). As shown in FIG. 3B, a part of the slice body 50 has penetrated into the tubular body 2 by suction.

As shown in FIG. 4, the depth of penetration (suction amount) into the tubular body 2 at this time is defined as A. The hardness of the sliced body 50 is calculated from the depth of penetration (suction amount) of a part of the sliced body 50 into the tubular body 2 at the end of T1 suction for a predetermined time.

That is, the hardness as an index of the softness of the sliced body 50 is indicated by the value of the penetration depth (suction amount) A. The larger the value of A, the softer the meat can be determined.

Next, the change over time in the depth of penetration of a part of the sliced body 50 into the tubular body 2 from the end of T1 suction for a predetermined time is measured (step S6).

As shown in FIG. 4, the measurement of the penetration depth of a part of the sliced body 50 into the tubular body 2 from the end of the predetermined suction time T1 is the elapse of the predetermined time T2 from the end of the predetermined suction time T1. It will be done at t2 later. As shown in FIG. 3C, when the suction operation is turned off and T2 elapses for a predetermined time, a part of the slice body 50 remains inside the tubular body 2. As shown in FIG. 4, the depth of penetration into the cylindrical body 2 at this time is B (step S7).

The penetration depth B of a part of the slice body 50 into the inside of the tubular body 2 after a lapse of a predetermined time T2 from the end of suction is measured, and a part of the tubular body of the slice body 50 at the end of T1 suction for a predetermined time. The difference from the penetration depth A into the inside of 2 is calculated, and the ratio of the calculated difference in the penetration depth A to the inside of the tubular body 2 of a part of the slice body 50 is calculated as the return rate to obtain the elasticity ( Step S8).

That is, the return rate (elasticity) as an index of the elasticity of the sliced body is obtained by calculating the ratio from (A-B) / A. The larger the return rate value, the more elastic the meat can be determined.

The computer 40 stores the suction amount from the data processing unit 21 and the return rate in the memory 41 together with the identification number of the sliced body (step S9).

[Correlation between evaluation by physical characteristic measuring device and sensory evaluation]
Next, the correlation between the evaluation of the hardness and elasticity of the sliced body as a food product and the sensory evaluation of the sliced body by the physical property property measuring device will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7.

The measurement sample is selected from 20 raw ham logs (meat chunks of raw ham before slicing) consisting of 3 parts on the Kata side, Naka side, and Momo side, and 2 pieces are selected from each part of each raw ham log, and the total number is total. It consists of 120 sheets. In the following description, sliced prosciutto will be referred to as "sliced prosciutto".

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing measurement points on the surface of prosciutto in evaluating the hardness and elasticity of sliced prosciutto using a physical property property measuring device.

As shown in FIG. 5, the fat portion 51a covers the upper surface of the sliced prosciutto 51, and the other portion is the lean portion 51b. The measurement points are a total of 5 points near the center a of the surface of the sliced raw ham, which is indicated by an ellipse, and the outer edges b, c, d, and e of the four points indicated by the ellipse. The average value of the measured values of 20 times in total was taken as the measured value of one raw ham.

The thickness of the prosciutto is the thickness sliced with the set value of the cutter set to 1.2 mm.

As for the raw ham logs used for the evaluation, two pieces are selected from each sliced part. The part on the Kata side and the part on the peach side are sampled at the edge position as much as possible from each prosciutto log, and the part on the Naka side is sampled at the center of the log.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the suction amount and the return rate measured by the physical property characteristic measuring device 1 at the portion on the Kata side, the portion on the Naka side, and the portion on the peach side of the prosciutto.

As shown in FIG. 6, the suction amount is the penetration depth A after the suction period T1 measured by the physical property characteristic measuring device 1 at the part on the Kata side, the part on the Naka side, and the part on the peach side of the prosciutto, and returns. The rate is a value calculated from the intrusion depth B after a predetermined time T2 has elapsed from the suction operation OFF after the suction period T1 has elapsed. The suction amount on the vertical axis shown in FIG. 6 is the measured penetration depth A, the unit is mm, and the return rate on the horizontal axis is calculated from the measured penetration depths A and B, and the unit is%. Is.

As shown in FIG. 6, it was measured that the portion on the Kata side was soft and the portion on the Naka side and the portion on the peach side were slightly firm because the amount of suction on the Kata side of the measured prosciutto was large. .. Further, it was confirmed that the return rate of the part on the Kata side was around 50% and the elasticity was a little weak, and the return rate of the part on the Naka side and the part on the peach side exceeded 50% and had elasticity. Further, in FIG. 6, the distribution state of the suction amount and the return rate is shown by a thick arrow.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the results of sensory evaluation of two pieces of each part in the part on the Kata side, the part on the Naka side, and the part on the peach side of the prosciutto.

In the sensory evaluation, the hardness was evaluated on a 5-point scale (1 to 5) by 6 evaluators. In addition, 1 of the 5-grade evaluation is the softest, 5 of the 5-grade evaluation is the hardest, and the hardest evaluation value is 30. As shown in FIG. 7, in the sensory evaluation, the parts on the Kata side are 8 and 9 of 10 or less, the parts on the Naka side are 18 and 23 exceeding 15, and the parts on the peach side are 24 or more. There were 24 and 28. Further, in FIG. 7, the distribution state of hardness in the sensory evaluation is shown by a thick arrow, and the part on the Naka side and the part on the peach side are harder than the part on the Kata side. A correlation was found with the measurement results that the part on the Naka side and the part on the peach side were harder than the part on the Kata side.

As a result, there is a correlation between the hardness and softness from the measurement results of the sliced raw ham by the measurement device 1 and the hardness and softness in the texture by the sensory test, and it is confirmed that they match, and the physical property characteristics are measured. It was confirmed that the evaluation of hardness and softness by the device 1 was effective.

In general, a prosciutto log (a lump of prosciutto before slicing) consisting of three parts on the Kata side, Naka side, and peach side is a part on the Naka side and a part on the peach side rather than the part on the Kata side. It is known to those skilled in the art that it is harder, which is in agreement with the result of evaluation of hardness and softness by the physical property property measuring device 1, and a correlation was found in this respect as well.

Next, the suction amount and return rate measured and evaluated by a randomly extracted sliced prosciutto ham physical property characteristic measuring device without specifying the parts on the Kata side, Naka side, and Momo side, and the sensory evaluation of the same product. The comparison will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the suction amount and the return rate measured by a device for measuring the physical characteristics of randomly extracted sliced ham.

The number of randomly extracted sliced prosciutto ham samples is 6, and the sample names are S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, and S6. The measurement points are the same as those shown in FIG. 5, and the center portion a indicated by the ellipse on the surface of the sliced raw ham and the four outer edge portions b, c, d, and e indicated by the ellipse are measured at a total of five locations. Therefore, each point was measured 4 times, and the average value of the measured values of 20 times in total was taken as the measured value of one piece of raw ham.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the evaluation result of the softness in the sensory evaluation of the prosciutto ham measured by the physical characteristic measuring device. Further, FIG. 9 shows the suction amount shown in FIG. 8 as dots for each sample, and shows a line connecting the dots for each sample.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the evaluation results of elasticity in the sensory evaluation of prosciutto ham measured by the physical characteristic measuring device. Further, FIG. 10 shows the return rate shown in FIG. 8 as dots for each sample, and shows a line connecting the dots for each sample.

As shown in FIG. 8, according to the physical property characteristic measuring device, the samples S1 and S2 were measured to have a suction amount of about 1 mm and to be soft. Further, the samples S3, S4, S5 and S6 had a suction amount of about 0.5 mm and were measured to be hard.

On the other hand, in the sensory evaluation shown in FIG. 9, the softness was evaluated on a 5-point scale (1 to 5) by 6 evaluators. It should be noted that 5 on a 5-point scale indicates the softest, 1 on a 5-point scale indicates the hardest, and the softest evaluation value is 30.

As shown in FIG. 9, the samples S1 and S2 had an evaluation value of 25 and were evaluated to be soft in texture. Further, the samples S3, S4, and S5 had an evaluation value of around 15, which was harder than the samples S1 and S2 and had normal softness. The sample S6 has an evaluation value of less than 10, and is evaluated as hard. Correlation with the measurement results that the samples S1 and S2, which are the measurement results by the physical characteristic measuring device, are soft, and the samples S3, S4, S5, and S6 are hard. A relationship was found.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, according to the physical property characteristic measuring device, it was measured that the samples S1 and S2 had a return rate of less than 50% and a low elasticity. Further, the samples S3, S4, S5 and S6 had a return rate of more than 50% and were measured to be elastic.

In the sensory evaluation shown in FIG. 10, the elasticity was evaluated by 6 evaluators on a 5-point scale (1 to 5). It should be noted that 5 on a 5-point scale indicates the most elastic, 1 on a 5-point evaluation indicates the least elasticity, and when the elasticity is the highest, the evaluation value is 30.

As shown in FIG. 10, the samples S1 and S2 were evaluated to have an evaluation value of elasticity in the sensory evaluation of about 10 and a small elasticity as a texture. Further, the samples S3, S4, and S5 were more elastic than the samples S1 and S2, and the evaluation value of the elasticity was around 20, and it was evaluated that the samples had elasticity as a texture. Further, the sample S6 has an evaluation value of 29 and is evaluated to have a higher elasticity as a texture, and the samples S3, S4, S5, and S6 are more elastic than the samples S1 and S2 which are the measurement results by the physical property characteristic measuring device. A correlation was found with the measurement results that there was.

In this way, there is a correlation between the hardness and softness from the measurement results of the sliced raw ham by the physical property characteristic measuring device and the hardness and softness in the texture by the sensory test, and it is confirmed that they match, and the physical characteristic characteristics are measured. It was confirmed that the evaluation of hardness and softness by the device was effective.

Further, there is a correlation between the return rate calculated from the measurement result by the physical property characteristic measuring device 1 and the elasticity in the texture by the sensory test, and it is confirmed that they match, and it is based on the return rate by the physical property characteristic measuring device 1. It was confirmed that the evaluation of elasticity was effective.

It should be noted that these data of hardness (suction amount), elasticity (return rate) by the physical characteristic measuring device and hardness, softness, and elasticity by the sensory test are examples of measurement, and are not limited to this. ..

[Effect of method for evaluating physical properties of sliced body]
As described above, in the sliced body, the texture is conventionally evaluated by being chewed (pushed by a tooth), but the present invention is a suction type that sucks the surface of food and measures the suction amount. By doing so, the same result as human sensory evaluation can be obtained. Therefore, according to the present invention, it has become possible to evaluate the hardness and elasticity of thin foods such as sliced prosciutto, which could be evaluated only by the conventional texture.

That is, the sliced body can be evaluated by sucking, which is the opposite operation to pushing. Therefore, by sucking with a measuring instrument, it is possible to obtain an objective index in addition to the sensory evaluation of a person.

In addition, the conventional measurement methods using dents due to injection and breakage due to pressing match the mastication operation, but these measurement methods could not measure the hardness and elasticity of thin sliced meat and the like. In the method for evaluating the physical properties of a sliced body of the present invention, the hardness and elasticity can be measured by suction by negative pressure, and even though this is a motion contradictory to chewing such as suction, human sensory evaluation. It became possible to match the evaluation of hardness and elasticity by.

Further, according to the method for evaluating the physical properties of slices according to the present invention, since the results are the same as those for sensory evaluation, they can be used for quality control of foods and the like.

Further, since the measurement is performed by contacting the annular tip of the tubular body with the main surface of the sliced body, the hardness and elasticity of the sliced body can be easily evaluated.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, this embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. This embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention, and the replacements and changes thereof can be made. , It is included in the scope and gist of the invention, and is also included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

Further, the functional block shown in the functional block diagram of FIG. 1 shows the functional configuration of the physical property characteristic measuring device 1 in the method for evaluating the physical property of a sliced body according to the present invention, and does not limit a specific mounting form. .. That is, it is not necessary to implement the hardware corresponding to the functional block in the figure, and it is of course possible to configure the configuration to realize the functions of a plurality of functional units by executing a program by one processor. Further, a part of the functions realized by the software in the embodiment may be realized by the hardware, and further, a part of the functions realized by the hardware may be realized by the software.

1 Physical property characteristic measuring device 2 Cylindrical body (measurement probe)
5 Tip 7 Through hole (surrounding space)
10 Inner side surface 11 Outer side surface 15, 16 Optical prism 18 Light emitting unit 19 Light receiving unit 20 Measuring device control unit 21 Data processing unit 23 Negative pressure generating unit 24 Motor 30 Cable 31 Suction tube 32 Power supply line 33 Signal line 40 Computer 41 Memory 45 Stand 50 Sliced body 51 Prosciutto (sliced prosciutto)
51a Fat part 51b Lean part

Claims (7)

It is a method for evaluating the physical properties of a sliced body for evaluating the hardness and / or elasticity of a sliced body made of meat as food or a processed product of the meat.
The process of placing the sliced body on the flat surface of the mounting table, and
One of the slices exposed to the surrounding space by contacting the annular tip of the tubular body with the main surface of the slice placed on the flat surface to form a surrounding space inside the tubular body. The process of sucking the part with a predetermined suction force for a predetermined time and
A step of measuring a change over time in the depth of penetration of a part of the sliced body into the tubular body caused by the suction from the end of the suction for a predetermined time.
A method for evaluating physical properties of a sliced body, which comprises a step of using a change over time in the degree of protrusion of a part of the sliced body as an index showing the hardness and / or elasticity of the sliced body at the time of chewing. The measurement of the change over time in the depth of penetration of a part of the sliced body into the tubular body from the end of the suction for the predetermined time is determined at the end of the suction for the predetermined time and from the end of the suction. The method for evaluating the physical properties of a sliced body according to claim 1, wherein the method is performed after a lapse of time. The method for evaluating the physical characteristics of a sliced body is characterized in that the hardness of the sliced body is calculated from the depth of penetration of a part of the sliced body into the inside of the tubular body at the end of suction for a predetermined time. 1 or the method for evaluating the physical properties of a sliced body according to claim 2. In the method for evaluating the physical properties of the sliced body, the depth of penetration of a part of the sliced body into the tubular body after a lapse of a predetermined time from the end of suction is measured.
The difference between the depth of penetration of a part of the sliced body into the inside of the tubular body at the end of suction for the predetermined time is the part of the sliced body into the tubular body at the end of suction for the predetermined time. The method for evaluating the physical properties of a sliced body according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the elasticity is calculated by calculating the ratio in the penetration depth as the return rate. The depth of penetration of a part of the sliced body into the tubular body is determined by the light emitted from the light emitting portion that irradiates the internal space of the tip portion of the tubular body in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the tubular body. 2. Among them, the method for evaluating the physical properties of a sliced body according to any one. The method for evaluating the physical characteristics of a sliced body according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the meat is meat, animal meat, fish meat, or a combination thereof. Any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the processed meat product is a meat product, which is a dried meat product, a non-heated meat product, a specified heated meat product, or a heated meat product. The method for evaluating the physical properties of sliced meat according to 1.

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