DE102014006045A1 - Method and device for producing a vegetable syrup - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process for producing a vegetable syrup which can be used, for example, as a spread, comprising the steps of: washing the vegetable; Mincing the vegetables; Adding water to the minced vegetables to make a vegetable mash; Heating the vegetable mash to a temperature in excess of 80 ° C and maintaining that temperature for more than 6 hours; Juicing the vegetable mash; Filtering the vegetable juice; and evaporating the filtered vegetable juice. The invention also relates to a device for carrying out this method.

Description

The present invention relates generally to a process for producing a vegetable syrup, and more particularly to a process for producing a vegetable syrup by means of a vegetable or fruit juice recovery plant. In addition, the invention relates to a device for carrying out the method according to the invention.

In recent years, dietary habits have changed noticeably in many areas of the population. For one thing, the number of vegetarians and vegans has increased dramatically, and moreover, for many people it is necessary for health reasons to limit or completely eliminate the consumption of meat and dairy products (for example, cheese). As a result, demand for vegetable spreads has also risen sharply. For some years now, there has been a steadily increasing supply of vegetable spreads, pastes and creams, which are a good alternative to sausages and cheese.

From the DE 199 12 450 A1 For example, a method for producing a spread is known. In this process, potatoes are peeled, cooked and coarsely crushed. The shredded vegetables and other minced ingredients are placed in a cutter where they are chopped into a fine pasty mass which is then heated to a temperature of about 75 ° and then bottled.

A disadvantage of this known method is that a special device for producing the vegetable spread is required. In addition, the known spreads only have a short shelf life and must be consumed quickly after opening the package. Finally, vegetables such as carrots or sugar beets are only partially suitable for this form of making a spread.

Starting from the DE 199 12 450 A1 It is an object of the present invention to provide a process for producing a vegetable syrup by means of which the disadvantages explained above can be overcome. It is a particular object of the present invention to provide a process for producing a vegetable syrup using already existing production facilities available. In addition, the vegetable syrup should have as long as possible.

These and other objects are achieved by a method for producing a vegetable syrup according to claim 1, characterized in that for the preparation of the vegetable syrup, the components of a conventional vegetable or fruit juice extraction plant is used. Preferred embodiments of the invention are given with respect to the method in the dependent claims 2 to 9 and with respect to the apparatus for performing the method in subclaim 10.

The advantages of the invention are, in particular, that a conventional vegetable or fruit juice extraction plant is used for the preparation of the vegetable syrup, whereby the utilization of such a plant is increased, resulting in a reduction of costs.

In a conventional method for producing vegetable juices from carrots, sugar beets or other vegetables by means of a vegetable or fruit juice extraction plant, this vegetable is first washed, then steam peeled, pre-shredded and heated. This is followed by fine grinding and juicing. The vegetable juice thus obtained is then sterilized and bottled.

In the method according to the invention, the vegetables (for example carrots or sugar beets) are first washed and then comminuted, for example, in a fruit mill (hammer or Rätzmühle). The crushed (ground) vegetables are then added to water. This mixture (also referred to as mash) is heated with the aid of a mash-heating plant to a temperature of preferably above 80 ° C. For pectin extraction, this mixture remains in a mash tank for preferably more than 6 hours, with constant stirring. Then this hot vegetable mash is squeezed in a fruit juice squeezer. As an intermediate, this creates an extract-containing liquid, which is filtered by means of a filtration plant to rid it of residual impurities. The filtered, extract-containing liquid is then evaporated by means of an evaporator unit to more than 70% DM (DM = dry matter content) to a syrup. The syrup thus obtained can be used, for example, as a spread.

• 1. Waschen und optionales Schälen des Gemüses, wobei das Schälen mechanisch und/oder unter Einsatz von Heißdampf erfolgen kann.
• 2. Zerkleinern des Gemüses in einer Obstmühle.
• 3. Hinzufügen von Wasser zu dem zerkleinerten Gemüse, um eine Gemüsemaische herzustellen.
• 4. Extraktion von Pektinstoffen. Pektin (griechisch ”pektos” = gerinnen) ist ein natürlicher Bestandteil der Zellwände und der Mittellamella bei allen höheren Landpflanzen. Die Extraktion der Pektinstoffe kann beispielsweise durch verschiedene Säuren bei einem pH-Wert von 1 bis 3, einer Temperatur zwischen 65°C und 85°C und einer Extraktionszeit von 0,5 bis 6 Stunden erfolgen. Gemäß der Erfindung wird die Gemüsemaische vorzugsweise auf eine Temperatur von über 80°C erhitzt und vorzugsweise mehr als 6 Stunden unter Beibehaltung dieser Temperatur in einem Rührwerk gerührt.
• 5. Entsaften der Gemüsemaische, wobei die Entsaftung in einer Saftpresse erfolgt. Hierbei kann jede geeignete Saftpresse verwendet werden, wie zum Beispiel eine Packpresse, eine Bandpresse oder eine hydraulische Filterpresse. Alternativ kann zum Entsaften aber auch ein Dekanter verwendet werden.
• 6. Filtern des Gemüsesafts, um den extrakthaltigen Gemüsesaft von restlichen Verunreinigungen zu befreien. Das Filtern kann mit Hilfe einer herkömmlichen Fitrationsanlage (z. B. Vakuumdrehfilter, Kerzenfilter oder Crossflow-Filter) erfolgen.
• 7. Eindampfen des gefilterten, extrakthaltigen Gemüsesafts mit Hilfe einer Verdampferanlage. Verwendet werden können Röhren-, Dünnschicht- oder Umlaufverdampfer. Diese Verdampfer können ein- oder mehrstufig ausgebildet sein und im Gleichstrom, Gegenstrom oder Parallelstrom arbeiten. Das Eindampfen erfolgt in einer Weise, dass der fertige Sirup einen Trockenmassegehalt von über 70% hat.
• 8. Abfüllen des fertigen Gemüse-Sirups.

The method according to the invention consequently comprises the following steps:

• 1. Washing and optional peeling of the vegetables, wherein the peeling can be done mechanically and / or using superheated steam.
• 2. Mincing the vegetables in a fruit mill.
• 3. Add water to the minced vegetables to make a vegetable mash.
• 4. Extraction of pectin substances. Pectin (Greek "pektos" = coagulation) is a natural component of the cell walls and mid-laella in all higher land plants. The extraction of pectic substances, for example, by various acids at a pH of 1 to 3, a temperature between 65 ° C and 85 ° C and a Extraction time of 0.5 to 6 hours. According to the invention, the vegetable mash is preferably heated to a temperature above 80 ° C and preferably stirred for more than 6 hours while maintaining this temperature in an agitator.
• 5. Juicing the vegetable mash, wherein the juicing is done in a juicer. Any suitable juicer may be used, such as a pack press, a belt press or a hydraulic filter press. Alternatively, a decanter can be used for juicing.
• 6. Filter the vegetable juice to remove any residual impurities from the extractive vegetable juice. Filtering can be carried out using a conventional filtration system (eg vacuum rotary filter, candle filter or crossflow filter).
• 7. Evaporation of the filtered, extract-containing vegetable juice with the aid of an evaporator system. Can be used tube, thin film or circulation evaporator. These evaporators can be designed in one or more stages and operate in cocurrent, countercurrent or parallel current. The evaporation is carried out in such a way that the finished syrup has a dry matter content of over 70%.
• 8. Bottling the finished vegetable syrup.

1 shows a schematic representation of a preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention for carrying out the method for producing a vegetable syrup.

1 shows a block diagram with the individual process steps of the method for producing a syrup from vegetables, such as carrots or sugar beet. As explained in the introduction, a conventional plant for the production of fruit juices or vegetable juices can be used to carry out the process. In this way, no additional equipment or plant components are needed to produce the vegetable syrup, so that an existing plant for the production of fruit and vegetable juices can be operated more efficiently and longer.

As in block 1 shown, the vegetables are first washed and optionally peeled. In block 2 The vegetables are minced in a fruit mill. In block 3 Water is added to the minced vegetables to make a vegetable mash. In block 4 For example, pectic substances are extracted by heating the vegetable mash to a temperature above 60 ° C. and preferably above 80 ° C., and preferably stirring in an agitator for more than 6 hours while maintaining this temperature.

In block 5 The vegetable mash is juiced with the help of a juicer, or a decanter. In block 6 the vegetable juice is juiced to rid the vegetable juice of residual impurities. In block 7 The filtered vegetable juice is evaporated by means of an evaporator system until the finished syrup has a dry matter content of over 70%. In block 8th The finished syrup is then bottled.

It should be noted that in addition to carrots and sugar beets and other vegetables can be used. Furthermore, mixtures of different vegetables can be used. Further, it is possible that other ingredients may also be included, such as flavors, flavors, colors, preservatives, etc. Further, it is possible that various nuts or honey may be added.

The device for carrying out the method according to the invention has the following components:

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

a device for washing and (optionally) for peeling the vegetables,

2

a device (eg fruit mill) for crushing the vegetables,

3

means for adding water to the minced vegetables to produce the vegetable mash

4

a device for heating the vegetable mash to a temperature of over 80 ° C, this heating device preferably containing an agitator,

5

a device for juicing the vegetable mash, such as a juicer or a decanter, to produce a vegetable juice,

6

a filtration plant for filtering the vegetable juice,

7

an evaporator system for evaporating the filtered vegetable juice so that the finished syrup has a dry matter content of preferably over 70%, and

8th

a bottling plant for filling the finished vegetable syrup.

In a preferred embodiment, the device according to the invention comprises a washing device with a desteiner, a fruit mill, a fruit press, a downstream intermediate tank, a Vacuumdrehfilter, a device for adding activated carbon, an ultrafiltration system, an ion exchanger, a concentrate plant, a tank farm and a bottling plant.

It is obvious that the device according to the invention can also contain other components, such as, for example, pipelines, cooling devices, tank installations for intermediate storage of intermediate products. It is also provided that the individual components must not be connected directly in series. It is conceivable that the individual components are spatially separated, and that the implementation of the individual process steps takes place with a time offset. However, it is preferred that the individual process steps follow one another without substantial interruptions, whereby an optimum quality of the product is achieved. Continuous processing of the vegetables and a continuous sequence of operations (with the exception of heating the mash to extract the pectin) can avoid contamination of the finished product and effectively reduce unwanted negative changes in the individual intermediates (such as oxidation).

QUOTES INCLUDE IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant has been generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• DE 19912450 A1 [0003, 0005]

Claims (10)

Process for the preparation of a vegetable syrup, comprising the following process steps: a) washing the vegetables, b) crushing the vegetables, c) adding water to the minced vegetables to make a vegetable mash, d) heating the vegetable mash to a temperature above 80 ° C and maintaining that temperature for more than 6 hours, e) juicing the vegetable mash, f) filtering the vegetable juice, and g) evaporation of the filtered vegetable juice. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that in step d) the vegetable mash is stirred in an agitator. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the juicing in step e) is carried out with the aid of a juicer, or a decanter. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the filtering takes place in step f) with the aid of a Fitrationsanlage. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the evaporation in step g) takes place with the aid of an evaporator system. A method according to claim 5, characterized in that for evaporating a tube, thin-film or circulation evaporator is used. Method according to one of claims 5 and 6, characterized in that the evaporators are formed in one or more stages. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the evaporation takes place in such a way that the finished syrup has a dry matter content of over 70%. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the finished vegetable syrup is filled into suitable containers. Apparatus for carrying out the method according to one of the preceding claims.

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