JP2002354988A - Method for impregnating treatment of food - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To impregnate a liquid component or a gas component into a food in a short time by a simple method, to carry out an impregnating treatment without deteriorating texture, freshness, shape, hardness, etc., of the food, to further carry out cooking simultaneously with the impregnating treatment and to provide a method for the impregnating treatment of the food by which seasoning of a food material for pickles or boiled and seasoned foods can be carried out at a high speed with effectiveness for food processing on an industrial scale. SOLUTION: This method for the impregnating treatment of the food is characterized by vacuum drying the food while regulating the temperature so as not to freeze moisture in the food, then bringing the food into contact with a liquid component or a gas component to be impregnated under atmospheric pressure or in a vacuum state and impregnating the liquid component or gas component into the food.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method for impregnating food. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for impregnating a food, wherein the food is impregnated with a liquid component or a gas component.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There are many known foods impregnated with seasonings and the like. For example, foods such as vegetables, meat, and fish are boiled in hot water containing the seasonings, and immersed in the seasonings. Cooking method. However, in the method of boiling food, heating often causes the food to coagulate or soften, and it is inevitable that the food will have a texture different from that of the food before heating. Also, in the method of boiling food,
There has been a problem that it takes a long time for a seasoning or the like to sufficiently penetrate into a food, and that much heat energy is required for heating.

[0003] As a method of shortening the seasoning time by cooking food, a method of reducing the pressure inside the pot containing the ingredients for cooking and the seasoning components so that the flavor penetrates the inside of the ingredients quickly so that the flavor can be quickly penetrated into the ingredients. (Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-112453). However, when the food containing a large amount of water is immersed in the seasoning liquid and decompressed, the water in the food and the seasoning liquid are only replaced by the difference in osmotic pressure, so the shortening of the seasoning time is still reduced. It was not enough.

In the method of immersing food in a seasoning or the like, the seasoning or the like can be impregnated into the food at room temperature or low temperature. There was a problem that it took time. As a method of impregnating a liquid into food by a method other than these ordinary cooking methods, for example, it has been proposed to inject a liquid into beef and disperse it into tissues by a method such as massage (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 4 (1994)). -287665). However, in this method, it is difficult to uniformly disperse the liquid in the tissue, and there is a problem that the tissue is destroyed by massage. In addition, there is a problem that such a method cannot be applied to foods having poor flexibility.

[0005] In the production of pickles and the like, the pressure inside the container is reduced, so that the pickles in the container are pressurized with a pressure difference to put a weight on the container, and at the same time, the oxygen around the pickles is removed to reduce oxidation. A method to prevent this has been proposed (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication
-205638). In this method, pickles are produced in a so-called vacuum pack, but the impregnation effect is almost the same as a weighted state, and it takes a long time to impregnate seasonings and the like.

For this reason, there has been a strong demand for a method for impregnating a food with a liquid component in a short time by a simple method. On the other hand, it has been conventionally performed to replace the gas in the food storage environment from normal air to another gas, such as packing the food with nitrogen. However, it has not been known that the gas or liquid inside the food tissue is replaced with another gas to impregnate the food with the gas.

The present inventor has studied in view of such a situation. As a result, the food is decompressed and then brought into contact with a liquid or a gas so that the tissue of the food is appropriately impregnated with the liquid or the gas in a short time. I found that I got it. However, when the food is decompressed, the temperature of the food rapidly decreases due to latent heat of vaporization when the water in the food evaporates, and the water in the food freezes, sometimes destroying the tissue of the food.
When the moisture in the food freezes, the evaporation rate of the moisture becomes extremely low, and the moisture in the food is not sufficiently evaporated. As described above, if the moisture in the food is frozen or the moisture in the food is not sufficiently evaporated, the impregnation with the liquid or gas is not sufficiently performed. The present inventor has further studied in view of such a situation, and after drying the food under reduced pressure while heating so that the moisture in the food is not frozen, is brought into contact with the liquid or gas to impregnate the liquid or gas. The present inventors have found that the moisture in the food does not freeze, and that the liquid or gas can be suitably impregnated into the tissue of the food in a short time, thereby completing the present invention.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and can be carried out in a short time by a simple method without freezing the food during the drying process. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for impregnating a food with a liquid component or a gas component.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The first food impregnation method of the present invention comprises:
After drying the food under reduced pressure while adjusting the temperature so that the moisture in the food does not freeze, under atmospheric pressure or under reduced pressure,
The present invention is characterized in that a food is impregnated with a liquid component by being brought into contact with a liquid component to be impregnated. In such a food impregnation treatment method, it is preferable that the temperature adjustment is performed by introducing a heating gas, and the impregnation is performed by drying the food under reduced pressure and contacting the liquid component while maintaining the reduced pressure,
Next, it is preferable to perform the reaction at a high pressure, and it is further preferable that the liquid component contains a food additive component.

[0010] In the second method for impregnating food according to the present invention, the food is dried under reduced pressure while controlling the temperature so that moisture in the food is not frozen, and then impregnated under atmospheric pressure or under reduced pressure. It is characterized in that the food is impregnated with the gas component by contacting the gas component with the gas component. In such a method of impregnating food, it is preferable that the impregnation is performed by subjecting the food to a reduced pressure treatment and then increasing the pressure by a gas component to be impregnated. In the method for impregnating foods of the present invention, the pressure during drying under reduced pressure is 10 to 100,000 Pa, and the pressure at which the food is brought into contact with the liquid component to be impregnated or the gas component to be impregnated is: The pressure is preferably 10 to 50,000 Pa, and the impregnation is preferably performed under the condition that the temperature of a gas component or a liquid component to be impregnated is −20 to 300 ° C., and the impregnation is performed by a vacuum impregnation apparatus or a vacuum impregnating apparatus. It is preferable to use a pressure impregnation device.

In such a method of impregnating food, it is preferable to perform ultrasonic treatment during impregnation, and it is preferable to perform microwave irradiation during impregnation. The food used in the food impregnation method is preferably selected from cereals, meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, and processed foods.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the present invention will be described specifically. The food impregnation method of the present invention impregnates a food with a liquid component or a gas component under reduced pressure. In the present invention, various foods can be impregnated without any particular limitation. For example, foods that can be used in the present invention include leafy vegetables, root vegetables, vegetables such as mushrooms,
Fruits, grains, beans, meat, fish, skin, eggs, eggshells, bones, pasted products, processed foods, livestock feeds, etc., selected from cereals, meat, fish, vegetables, fruits and processed foods Foods are preferably used. These foods, during the impregnation, may be in a raw state, may be appropriately cut, may be pulverized, may be dried, may be subjected to heating , Or may be frozen.

[0013] These foods generally have many pores, voids or tubular structures, in which water, low volatile components or air is present. In the present invention, water present in the pores, voids or tubular tissue of the food,
By physically substituting the low-volatility component or air with the liquid component or gas component to be introduced, the liquid component or gas component can be impregnated inside the food.

The impregnation method of the present invention comprises:
Drying under reduced pressure while adjusting the temperature so that the moisture in the food does not freeze, and impregnating the first food with the liquid component impregnated therewith, and heating the food so that the moisture in the food does not freeze. A second food impregnating method in which drying is performed under reduced pressure while adjusting the pressure, and a gas component is impregnated into the dried product, may be mentioned.

Each of the food impregnation methods of the present invention has a vacuum drying step of drying the food under reduced pressure while adjusting the temperature so that the moisture in the food is not frozen. The step of drying under reduced pressure can be performed by reducing the pressure of the food while adjusting the temperature so that the moisture in the food does not freeze.

In the step of drying under reduced pressure, for example, the food is accommodated in a decompression device, and the inside of the decompression device is usually 10 to 100,000.
0 Pa, when performing temperature adjustment by introducing a heating gas, preferably 2,000 to 100,000 P
a, When the introduction of the heating gas is not performed, preferably 1
It can be performed by reducing the pressure to about 0 to 50,000 Pa. Due to this reduced pressure, water present in the pores, voids or tubular tissues of the food is discharged to the outside of the food,
The food is dried. In such a step of drying under reduced pressure, the temperature is reduced due to the reduced pressure, but in the present invention, the temperature is adjusted in this step so that the moisture in the food to be dried under reduced pressure is not frozen.

The temperature of the food at the time of drying under reduced pressure is not particularly limited as long as the moisture in the food does not freeze, and varies depending on the type of the food, but is preferably in the range of 0 to 200 ° C. The temperature of the food during drying under reduced pressure is as follows:
For example, when it is desired to perform food impregnation while maintaining the freshness of the food, the temperature of the food is preferably 0 to 50.
° C, more preferably 5 to 40 ° C, particularly preferably 5 to 2 ° C.
It is desirable to be about 5 ° C. Further, for example, when it is desired to perform heating and cooking simultaneously with the food impregnation treatment, the temperature of the food is preferably 0 to 200 ° C.,
In particular, if you want to cook with vacuum drying
The temperature of the food is preferably about 70 to 200 ° C.

The temperature of the food during the drying under reduced pressure may be adjusted by any method. For example, a method using a heater, a method using a high-frequency heating device, or a heating gas (air) The food can be heated or adjusted directly or indirectly by a method of introducing a heating medium gas such as an inert gas. A plurality of these heating methods can be used.

In the method using a heater, the heater may be installed in the decompression device, may be installed outside the decompression device, and may be heated through a window provided in the decompression device, or the decompression device may be heated by the heater. Thus, the food can be heated indirectly. Examples of the heater include an infrared heater and an electric heater. In the method using the high-frequency heating device, the high-frequency heating device is installed in the decompression device.

In the method of introducing a heating gas (heat medium gas) into the decompression device, the degree of vacuum, evacuation speed, amount of introduced gas,
Parameters such as the introduced gas temperature and the introduced gas humidity can be arbitrarily adjusted. The heating gas used here is preferably a gas whose humidity has been adjusted together with temperature adjustment, and more preferably a gas which has been dehumidified and dried before introduction. Examples of the gas component of the heating gas include nitrogen, air, inert gas, and the like, and a gas that has been sterilized, passed through a filter, or the like is preferably used so as not to include bacteria and contaminants. In order to prevent this, a gas having a low oxygen content is also preferably used. In addition, when performing the reduced pressure drying step while discharging the gas in the decompression device to maintain the reduced pressure state, while introducing the heating gas, the moisture in the discharged gas is removed and the heating is performed. After that, it is also preferable to recycle it into the decompression device as a heating gas.

In the present invention, among these, the method of adjusting the temperature by introducing a heating gas is preferably employed. In addition, even when temperature is adjusted using a heater or a high-frequency heating device, it is preferable to introduce a heating gas or to introduce a heating gas accompanied by recycling, because heat efficiency is good. In the present invention, in the step of drying under reduced pressure, it is preferable to monitor not only the temperature in the decompression device but also the temperature of the food to control the temperature. The temperature of the food can be measured by a method of measuring the temperature of the food in contact or non-contact with the food using a temperature sensor, a method of measuring the temperature of a standard liquid (such as an aqueous solution of ethylene glycol) installed in a decompression device, and the like. . By monitoring the temperature in the decompression device and the temperature of the food or the like, local freezing of the food can be prevented.
It is also preferable to measure the degree of vacuum, humidity, and the like inside the decompression device. In addition, such monitoring of the temperature in the decompression device, the food temperature, and the like can be similarly performed in a step of impregnating a liquid component or a gas component described later.

For example, in the method of introducing the heating gas into the decompression device, the temperature in the decompression device is monitored by monitoring the temperature inside the decompression device and the temperature of the food. If there is a possibility that
Alternatively, when there is a possibility that the temperature of the food may rise more than necessary, the above parameters can be appropriately changed to prevent the temperature.

In such a vacuum drying step, the lower the pressure and the higher the degree of vacuum, the more easily moisture and low volatile components in the food are discharged, and the higher the vacuum drying can be performed in a short time. The pressure conditions for adequately discharging the moisture in the inside differ depending on the temperature, the amount of moisture in the food, etc., and a relatively small degree of reduced pressure may be used at high temperatures, and a large degree of reduced pressure may be used at low temperatures. Tend to need.

Next, the impregnation step in the first food impregnation method of the present invention, that is, the step of impregnating a liquid component into the food dried under reduced pressure as described above will be described. As the liquid component to be impregnated into the food in the impregnation step, any component that can be handled in a liquid state during the impregnation, such as a liquid, a solution, a slurry liquid, or a dispersion liquid, can be used.

As such a liquid component, for example, the following components can be used by dispersing or dissolving in a liquid as needed, and these can be used alone or in a suitable mixture. Liquids such as water, alcohol, edible oil, and chelating liquid; fermented seasonings such as soy sauce and miso; food extract components such as fruit juice and gravy; beverages such as alcoholic beverages, juices and teas; sodium chloride, potassium chloride, calcium chloride; Inorganic salts such as magnesium chloride and iron chloride; essential inorganic elements such as iodine; sweeteners such as sucrose, fructose, glucose, starch syrup, honey, maple syrup, other natural sweeteners and artificial sweeteners; various vinegars, acetic acid,
Acidulants such as phosphoric acid, lactic acid, malic acid, citric acid, tartaric acid, and gluconic acid; bitter ingredients; spices such as pepper, pepper, mustard, wasabi, garlic, ginger, or spice extract ingredients; Enzymes and fermentative bacteria; humectants such as glycerin, mirin, casein, and sugars; preservatives such as sorbic acid, benzoate, tannin, and polyphenols; bactericides, antibacterial agents, and bacteriostats; Ingredients: Natural and synthetic pigments and coloring agents; Color formers; Dietary fiber components such as agar and konjac; Gelatin such as glue and gelatin; Antioxidants such as catechin and erythorbic acid; Nutrients such as vitamins and amino acids Active ingredients and medical agents; quality modifiers such as polyphosphates; other food additives.

The liquid component that can be used in the present invention only needs to be a liquid at the time of impregnation, and even if it is solid at room temperature, such as beef tallow, butter, and chocolate, the impregnation conditions such as temperature are adjusted. Thus, a raw material that can be handled as a liquid can also be suitably used. Among these liquid components, in the present invention, a liquid component containing a food additive component such as a seasoning and an edible oil are particularly preferably used.

The impregnation of the liquid component in the present invention is carried out by bringing the food into contact with the liquid component after the treatment under reduced pressure or under reduced pressure. As a method of impregnating the food with the liquid component, any method in which the pressure is reduced at least once in the process of impregnating the food with the liquid can be adopted, and after the food is decompressed, the liquid component and the liquid component are subjected to the atmospheric pressure. It may either be in contact or contact the food with the liquid component under reduced pressure. As such a method, preferably,
A method of impregnating a food with a liquid component by subjecting the food to a reduced pressure treatment, contacting the food with a liquid component while maintaining the reduced pressure, and then increasing the pressure.

In the present invention, the food may be impregnated with the liquid component by subjecting the food to a reduced pressure treatment and then contacting the food with the liquid component. For example, decompress food,
In a mode in which the food comes into contact with the liquid component quickly while the reduced pressure state in the food is maintained, the food may be exposed to normal pressure for a short time before contacting the liquid component after the decompression treatment. Absent.

When the food is brought into contact with the liquid component while keeping the food under reduced pressure, the method of contacting the food with the liquid component is not particularly limited, and the food impregnation site under the reduced pressure is sufficiently contacted with the liquid component. Contact may be made, and methods such as immersion may be mentioned.For example, if the food in the container is housed in a decompression device, while maintaining the decompressed state by the decompression process, the container is filled with the food. It can be performed by a method such as inhaling a liquid component.

In the step of impregnating the liquid component, the reduced pressure treatment or reduced pressure state may mean the reduced pressure treatment and reduced pressure state in the above reduced pressure drying step, and the reduced pressure treatment is different from the reduced pressure drying step. Although it may mean a reduced pressure state after the step of drying under reduced pressure, it is more preferable to further perform a reduced pressure treatment to make the state of reduced pressure higher than that after the step of drying under reduced pressure.

The pressure at which the food is brought into contact with the liquid component to be impregnated may be a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure, but is preferably 10 to 50,000 Pa, more preferably 10 to 50,000 Pa.
0 to 10,000 Pa, particularly preferably 1,000 to 10,000 Pa when the liquid component to be impregnated is water or an aqueous solution.
0 Pa, 1 when the liquid component to be impregnated is oil or oil solution
It is desirable that the pressure condition is about 00 to 5,000 Pa.

The temperature of the liquid component to be impregnated depends on the type of liquid and food, and is not particularly limited, but is preferably in the range of -20 to 300 ° C, more preferably 0 to 200 ° C. It is desirable to have. The temperature of such a liquid component is preferably 0 to 50 ° C., more preferably 5 to 40 ° C., and particularly preferably 5 to 50 ° C., for example, when it is desired to perform food impregnation while maintaining the freshness of the food. It is desirable to be about 25 ° C. Further, for example, when it is desired to perform heating and cooking simultaneously with the food impregnation treatment, the temperature of the liquid component is preferably −20 to 300.
C, more preferably 0 to 200 C,
In particular, when it is desired to perform cooking together with the step of impregnating the liquid component, the temperature of the liquid component is preferably 70 to 3
The temperature is desirably about 00 ° C, preferably about 70 to 200 ° C.

The temperature of the food at the time of impregnation with the liquid component also varies depending on the type of the liquid and the food, and is not particularly limited, but is preferably in the range of 0 to 200 ° C. desirable. The temperature of such food is preferably 0 to 50 ° C., more preferably 5 to 40 ° C., and particularly preferably 5 to 25 ° C., for example, when it is desired to carry out the food impregnation while keeping the food fresh. It is desirable that the temperature is about ° C. In addition, for example, when it is desired to perform cooking simultaneously with the food impregnation treatment, the temperature of the food is preferably 0 to 200 ° C., and particularly, when it is desired to perform cooking together with the step of impregnating the liquid component. The temperature of the food is preferably about 70 to 200 ° C.

The food thus decompressed is brought into contact with the liquid component while maintaining the reduced pressure, and then the pressure in the decompression device is increased to impregnate the food with the liquid component. The pressure increase is desirably performed under the condition that the atmospheric pressure of the food in contact with the liquid component is increased to a pressure of usually about 10,000 Pa to 1.1 MPa, preferably about 0.1 MPa (atmospheric pressure) to 0.9 MPa.

The pressure is increased by atmospheric pressure (0.1 MPa) usually by releasing the reduced pressure state by air purging or the like.
It can be performed by increasing the pressure to a degree, but may be further pressurized. When the pressure is further increased than the atmospheric pressure, a pressurizing device can be appropriately used. Such pressurization is performed, for example, by using a pressure-resistant container as a container for performing a decompression operation, performing a decompression process, and then, in a state where the food is immersed in the liquid component, in the apparatus, air, nitrogen gas, carbon dioxide gas, This can be performed by introducing a gas such as an inert gas and increasing the pressure to a desired pressurized state. At this time, if pressure is applied using steam, alcohol vapor, or the like as a gas to be introduced, heating can be performed at the same time. In addition, as the gas used for pressurization, a gas that has been sterilized, passed through a filter, or the like is preferably used so as not to contain bacteria or contaminants, and a gas having a low oxygen content is also preferably used to prevent food from being oxidized. Used.

[0036] According to such a method, the pores, voids or tubular tissues of the food before impregnation contain any of liquid components such as water and low volatile components and gas components such as air. Even if it is, it is possible to suitably achieve the impregnation treatment by suitably replacing the liquid component to be impregnated. Next, the impregnation step in the second food impregnation method, that is, the step of impregnating the food product dried under reduced pressure with a gas component as described above, will be described.

The gas component impregnating the food in the impregnation step includes, for example, gas obtained by evaporating a liquid such as water vapor, alcohol vapor, and volatile substance vapor; gas containing fragrance and various additives; oxygen, carbon dioxide, Various gases such as ethylene, nitrogen, rare gas and air can be mentioned,
These can be used alone or in a suitable mixture. When the gas component is an alcohol vapor or a gas containing an alcohol vapor, it is preferable since food can be sterilized or sterilized by impregnation of the gas component.

The impregnation of the gas component in the present invention is carried out by bringing the food component into contact with the gas component after reduced pressure treatment or under reduced pressure. After the decompression treatment or the food under reduced pressure, the contact between the gas component and the gas component is preferably performed after the decompression treatment or in a decompression device that contains the food under the decompression condition. Are preferably employed. In order to introduce the gas component impregnated into the decompression device, for example, a gas may be directly introduced into the decompression device after the decompression treatment, or a liquid may be introduced into the decompression device after the decompression treatment and vaporized. Alternatively, the liquid may be vaporized by storing the food and the liquid in a decompression device in a state where they do not come into contact with each other and subjecting the liquid to a decompression treatment. By these methods, the food and the gas component to be impregnated can be preferably brought into contact with each other after the pressure reduction treatment or in a reduced pressure state. In the case where the liquid is vaporized under reduced pressure and the gas is brought into contact with the food for impregnation, the liquid used may be appropriately heated.

In the present invention, the impregnation of the food with the gaseous component is as follows:
In the process of impregnating the gas into the food, any method can be adopted in which the pressure is reduced at least once, but preferably, the food is decompressed, and then the gas is impregnated by increasing the pressure with the gas to be impregnated. It is desirable to process. In the step of impregnating the gas component, the reduced pressure treatment or reduced pressure state may mean the reduced pressure treatment and reduced pressure state in the reduced pressure drying step described above, and the reduced pressure treatment and reduced pressure state are separate from the reduced pressure drying step. Although it may mean, after the step of drying under reduced pressure, further subjected to a reduced pressure treatment,
It is more preferable to make the state of reduced pressure higher than after the reduced pressure drying step.

The pressure under reduced pressure when the food is brought into contact with the gas component to be impregnated may be a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure, preferably 10 to 50,000 Pa, more preferably 100 to 10,000 Pa. And particularly preferably 1
It is desirable that the pressure condition is about 00 to 5,000 Pa. At this time, it is more preferable to replace the inside of the decompression device with a gas component to be impregnated in advance. By this decompression treatment, water, low-volatile components or air present in the pores, voids or tubular tissues of the food are discharged to the outside of the food,
The inside of the pores, voids, or tubular tissues of the food is in a reduced pressure state equivalent to that around the food. The pressure during the decompression treatment can be appropriately adjusted depending on the desired degree of impregnation, but the lower the pressure and the higher the degree of decompression, the more easily moisture, low volatile components or air in the food is discharged, and the higher the degree of impregnation. Can be.

The temperature of the gas component to be impregnated varies depending on the type of gas and food, and is not particularly limited. However, the temperature at the time of contact with food is preferably -2.
It is desirable that the temperature be in the range of 0 to 200 ° C, more preferably 0 to 200 ° C. The temperature of such a gas component is
For example, when it is desired to perform food impregnation while maintaining the freshness of the food, the temperature at the time of contact with the food is preferably 0 to 50 ° C, more preferably 5 to 40 ° C, and particularly preferably 5 to 40 ° C. It is desirable to be about 25 ° C. Further, for example, when it is desired to perform heating and cooking simultaneously with the food impregnation treatment, the temperature of the gas component is the temperature at which the gas comes into contact with the food, preferably −20 to 200 ° C., and more preferably 0 to 200 ° C.
The temperature is desirably 200 ° C. In particular, when it is desired to perform heating and cooking together with the step of impregnating the gaseous component, the temperature of the gaseous component is preferably about 70 to 200 ° C.

The temperature of the food at the time of impregnation with the gaseous component depends on the type of the gas and the food, and is not particularly limited, but is preferably in the range of 0 to 200 ° C. desirable. The temperature of such food is preferably 0 to 50 ° C., more preferably 5 to 40 ° C., and particularly preferably 5 to 25 ° C., for example, when it is desired to carry out the food impregnation while keeping the food fresh. It is desirable that the temperature is about ° C. Further, for example, when it is desired to perform cooking simultaneously with the food impregnation treatment, the temperature of the food is preferably 0 to 200 ° C., and particularly, when it is desired to perform cooking together with the step of impregnating the gas component. The temperature of the food is preferably about 70 to 200 ° C.

Next, the food is impregnated with the gas component by increasing the pressure around the decompressed food with the gas component to be impregnated. As the pressurization method, the gas component brought into contact with the food in the decompression device by the method described above is usually 100 Pa to 2 MPa, preferably 10,000 Pa to
A method of increasing the pressure to a pressure of about 1.1 MPa, particularly preferably about 0.1 to 0.9 MPa, may be mentioned. The boost is
The pressure can be increased by increasing the pressure in the decompression device to about atmospheric pressure with the gas component to be impregnated, but the pressure may be further increased.

After the food subjected to the reduced pressure treatment is brought into contact with the gas component while maintaining the reduced pressure state, the liquid component is impregnated into the food by increasing the pressure in the pressure reducing device. The pressure increase is desirably performed under the condition that the atmospheric pressure of the food in contact with the gas component is increased to a pressure of usually about 10,000 Pa to 1.1 MPa, preferably about 0.1 MPa (atmospheric pressure) to 0.9 MPa.

The pressurization is performed similarly to the impregnation of the liquid component described above.
Usually, it can be performed by increasing the pressure to about the atmospheric pressure (0.1 MPa) by a method such as releasing the reduced pressure state by air purging or the like. However, the pressure may be further increased. When the pressure is further increased than the atmospheric pressure, a pressurizing device can be appropriately used. Such pressurization
For example, in a state in which food is immersed in a liquid component, after a pressure-reducing container is used as a container for performing a decompression operation and the pressure is reduced,
This can be performed by introducing a gas such as air, nitrogen gas, carbon dioxide gas, or inert gas into the apparatus and increasing the pressure to a desired pressurized state. At this time, if pressure is applied using steam, alcohol vapor, or the like as a gas to be introduced, heating can be performed at the same time. In addition, as the gas used for pressurization, a gas that has been sterilized, passed through a filter, or the like is preferably used so as not to contain bacteria or contaminants, and a gas having a low oxygen content is also preferably used to prevent food from being oxidized. Used.

As described above, the method of impregnating a food with a gaseous component includes, for example, impregnation with oxygen to promote fermentation of kimchi and pickles, and impregnation with an inert gas such as nitrogen to deteriorate the quality such as oxidation. Can be used for various purposes such as preventing germination, suppressing germination or accelerating ripening by introducing ethylene gas, and replacing gas in food with air. In the food impregnation method of the present invention in which a liquid component or a gas component is impregnated in food, a process of applying vibration such as ultrasonic treatment can be performed during the impregnation process. The treatment for imparting vibration such as ultrasonic treatment may be continuously performed in all the steps of the impregnation treatment, or may be performed in some of the steps. It is preferable to perform such a treatment at the stage of the decompression treatment, because the moisture, low volatile components or air in the food can be discharged more smoothly. Further, it is preferable to perform a process of imparting vibration such as an ultrasonic treatment at the stage of pressure increase because the impregnation of the liquid component or the gas component can be performed more smoothly.

Further, in the food impregnation treatment of the present invention, the impregnation is preferably performed using a vacuum impregnation apparatus or a vacuum-pressure impregnation apparatus. Of these, it is more preferable to perform the impregnation using a vacuum-pressure impregnation apparatus because the operation can be performed easily and smoothly even when pressure is applied at the time of pressurization.
Further, in the food impregnation treatment of the present invention, heating, heat retention or cooling may be performed during the impregnation treatment, or microwave irradiation treatment may be performed. The microwave irradiation treatment may be performed for the purpose of thawing the frozen food, may be performed for the purpose of keeping the temperature under reduced pressure to avoid a temperature decrease due to deprivation of the latent heat of evaporation of the water, and may be used for the purpose of heating and cooking. And may be performed for the purpose of sterilization. The microwave irradiation treatment may be continuously performed in all steps of the impregnation processing, or may be performed in some steps.

Further, in the food impregnation method of the present invention, stirring may be performed during the impregnation. The stirring under reduced pressure may be performed for the purpose of uniformly discharging the liquid component or the gas component contained in the food from the overlapping foods, or for the purpose of uniformly impregnating the liquid component or the gas component. Is also good. It is preferable to perform stirring during the impregnation because the impregnation is performed more uniformly. The stirring may be continuously performed in all the steps of the impregnation treatment, or may be performed in some of the steps.

In the food impregnation method of the present invention, the food may be pretreated before the impregnation. As the pretreatment, any treatment that can be applied to food, such as cutting, freezing, thawing, heating, drying, seasoning, stirring, pressurizing, depressurizing, and chemical treatment can be performed.
In particular, in practicing the present invention, it is preferable to use frozen food after being half-thawed or thawed because of its high impregnation efficiency.

Further, in the food impregnation method of the present invention, post-treatment may be performed after the impregnation.
As the post-treatment, cutting, freezing, thawing, heating, drying, seasoning, stirring, pressurization, decompression, and chemical treatments can be performed, and any of the processes that can be performed on foods can be performed. Extra components can also be removed. For example, by performing drying or dehydration treatment after impregnating the liquid component, excess liquid component can be removed.

In the food impregnation method of the present invention, the degree of impregnation can be controlled by controlling the degree of pressure reduction and the like, and a food having a desired degree of impregnation can be manufactured. For example, it is possible to produce a food product that has been uniformly impregnated up to the center, and it is also possible to produce a food product in which only the surface is impregnated. Specifically, for example, in the case of coloring the food surface, the impregnation treatment of only the surface of the food can be achieved by controlling the degree of reduced pressure during the reduced pressure treatment.

According to such an impregnation treatment method, a food component can be impregnated with a liquid component or a gas component in a very short time. In addition, since the impregnation can be performed at room temperature without heating or cooling, even when fresh food or the like is impregnated, the impregnation can be performed without impairing the texture.

[0053]

According to the present invention, food can be impregnated with a liquid component or a gas component in a short time by a simple method. In addition, impregnation can be performed without impairing the texture, freshness, shape, hardness, and the like of the food, and heating can be performed simultaneously with the impregnation. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a method for impregnating foods that can be used for seasoning foods for pickles and boiled foods at high speed and is effective for food processing on an industrial scale.

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Soichiro Kuwa 1763-8 Fussa, Fussa-shi, Tokyo F-term (reference) 4B035 LC16 LP09 LP16 LP25 LP55

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A food is dried under reduced pressure while controlling the temperature so that the water in the food is not frozen, and then brought into contact with a liquid component to be impregnated under atmospheric pressure or under reduced pressure to obtain a liquid component in the food. Impregnating a food. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the temperature is adjusted by introducing a heating gas. 3. The food impregnation method according to claim 1, wherein the impregnation is carried out by drying the food under reduced pressure, contacting the food with a liquid component while maintaining the reduced pressure, and then increasing the pressure. 4. The method for impregnating food according to claim 1, wherein the liquid component contains a food additive component. 5. The food is dried under reduced pressure while controlling the temperature so that the water in the food is not frozen, and then brought into contact with the gas component to be impregnated under atmospheric pressure or under reduced pressure, so that the gas component is contained in the food. Impregnating a food. 6. The food impregnation method according to claim 5, wherein the impregnation is performed by subjecting the food to a reduced pressure treatment and then increasing the pressure by a gas component to be impregnated. 7. The pressure during drying under reduced pressure is 10 to 100,00.
0 Pa, and the pressure at which the food is brought into contact with the liquid component to be impregnated or the gas component to be impregnated is 10 to 50,000 Pa, the food according to any one of claims 1 to 6, Impregnation method. 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the impregnation is performed under the condition that the temperature of the gas component or the liquid component to be impregnated is −20 to 300 ° C.
The method for impregnating food according to any one of claims 1 to 7. 9. The food impregnation method according to claim 1, wherein the impregnation is performed using a vacuum impregnation apparatus or a vacuum-pressure impregnation apparatus. 10. The method for impregnating food according to claim 1, wherein ultrasonic treatment is performed during the impregnation. 11. The method for impregnating food according to claim 1, wherein microwave irradiation is performed during the impregnation. 12. The method for impregnating food according to claim 1, wherein the food is selected from cereals, meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, and processed foods.