JP2004135561A - Highly restorable dry food and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide highly restorable dry food such as dry vegetable having small volume and high restoring expansiveness when subjected to water-absorbing restoration; and to provide a method for easily, efficiently and economically producing the food. <P>SOLUTION: The dry food 3 is obtained by the following process: cutting cabbage or other vegetables into small pieces and drying them with hot air to obtain hot-air-dried material 1, cutting the vegetables into small pieces and subjecting the cut vegetables to blanching, mixing the hot-air-dried material 1 with blanching-processed material 2 to make the water content of whole the mixture uniform, charging the mixture into a mold for freeze/dry to mold, and freezing/drying the mixture. It is preferable that entire water content of the mixture of the hot-air-dried material 1 and the blanching-processed material 2 accounts for around 40-80%. The dry food absorbs water quickly within several minutes when adding water so as to obtain largely expanded restorable food having good palate feeling and flavor. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a dried food, and more particularly to a dried food having a small volume and a large restoring swellability.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, raw cabbage leaves are cut into small pieces, treated with an antioxidant, blanched with heated air, and then dried incompletely with heated air to a water content of 8 to 18%, which is then 7: 1. Some are compressed at a compression ratio of ~ 15: 1 and then dried again with heated air to a water content of 5%, but this is immersed in water for about 30 minutes to 2 and a half hours to restore and reproduce. (Cited Document 1).
[0003]
In addition, the applicants previously freeze-dried vegetables such as cabbage once cut into small pieces, and humidify the vegetables so that the moisture content becomes 15 to 18% and the water activity value becomes 0.6 to 0.7. To give plasticity, and then pressurized to compress the volume to 1/10 to 1/20 and provide a refrigerated or frozen compressed food (Cited Document 2).
In the case of the cited document 1, as described above, considerable time is required for restoration and reproduction, and the restored product lacks freshness of vegetables. In addition, the reference 2 has good quality, but rehydrates the freeze-dried product, etc., and the applicants have attempted to further improve the process.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-56-5046 [Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-36653 [0005]
[Problems to be solved by the present invention]
An object of the present invention is to make it possible to efficiently and economically obtain a highly restorable dried food having a large restoring expansibility by a simple method.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
When the vegetables are cut into small pieces and dried with hot air, the individual pieces have a large expansion rate, but become indefinite rod-shaped chips, and are bulky and do not decrease in volume as a whole.The restoration speed is slow, and the restored product has a texture. It lacks the freshness of vegetables in terms of flavor and flavor. On the other hand, the freeze-dried vegetables have a fast restoration speed, and the texture and flavor of the restored products are good, but when the dried products are in a loose state, they are very brittle, and the volume is reduced by drying. There is little expansion at the time of restoration.
[0007]
The present invention is to obtain a dried food having a quick and high restoring swelling property and a good flavor while utilizing both properties of the hot-air dried product and the freeze-dried product, and cut cabbage and other vegetables into small pieces. The hot-air dried product dried with hot air and the processed product obtained by cutting the above vegetables into small pieces and blanching are mixed, packed in a freeze-drying form, molded, and freeze-dried to obtain a dried food. .
The total water content when the hot-air dried product and the processed product are mixed is preferably about 40 to 80%.
[0008]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
As the vegetables used for drying in the present invention, cabbage, onion, Chinese cabbage, carrot, lotus root, shiitake mushroom and other various vegetables can be used as appropriate. These vegetables are cut into small pieces suitable for instant soup, instant miso soup, instant noodles, and other uses. The cut vegetables are dried with hot air by a conventional method to obtain a hot-air dried product having a water content of about 4 to 5%.
In this hot air drying, pretreatment such as blanching may be performed, and if necessary, saccharides, salts, and the like may be added in advance to improve the binding property when mixed with a processed product described below. In some cases, an intermediate water content of about 5 to 10%, which does not reach 5% by hot air drying, can be used.
[0009]
On the other hand, separately from the hot-air dried product, a processed product which is naturally drained by performing a blanching process such as heating the vegetables cut into small pieces in hot water for a short time.
[0010]
Mix the hot air dried product and the processed product well. It is advisable to mix the two at a ratio such that the water content of the mixed product is about 40 to 80%. On the other hand, if it exceeds 80%, the hot-air-dried product will be restored during the above mixing, and the restored expansion coefficient of the finished dried food will be reduced.
The same kind of vegetables can be used as the hot-air dried vegetables and the processed vegetables, but various kinds of vegetables can be used in combination according to the application.
[0011]
If the hot-air dried product and the treated product are mixed and left to stand, the moisture of the treated product holding a large amount of water gradually shifts to the hot-air dried product, and the hot-air dried product is given plasticity, Is ready to be restored. When the water content of the mixture is substantially uniform in this way, it is filled and molded into an appropriate frame such as a rectangular parallelepiped or a cube of 5 × 4 × 2 cm, 3 × 3 × 3 cm, 5 × 5 × 1.5 cm depending on the application. . In this case, the molded product after freeze-drying is formed by lightly pressing the mixture. In some cases, an auxiliary agent such as a saccharide or starch can be used to reinforce the molding strength.
[0012]
The mixture packed in the above frame is freeze-dried by an ordinary method. Freeze-drying causes almost no change in volume, so that the dried food can be obtained by taking it out of the frame. This dried food can be stored for a long period of time if enclosed in a moisture-proof bag or the like.
[0013]
When water, preferably boiling water, is added to such a dried food, it quickly absorbs water. Since the processed product in the mixture has been freeze-dried only, almost no swelling is observed at the time of restoration, but the hot-air dried product is freeze-dried in the preparation process for restoration as described above. As a result, the water rapidly expands toward the original state due to water absorption, and expands and recovers in a short time. The apparent volume when this dried food is restored is about 5 to 10 times, and a large increase in volume is recognized. In the case of using the above-mentioned hot water, it is restored in a very short time of about 2 to 5 minutes. Therefore, even for instant foods that need to be stored in a limited space, a large amount of vegetables can be restored by a short time restoration. Can be provided.
[0014]
【Example】
(Example 1)
The raw cabbage was washed, cut into approximately 30 mm squares and drained, and 1000 g of the fresh cabbage was boiled for 2 minutes for blanching treatment. This was cooled and dehydrated by a centrifuge for 3 minutes to obtain 500 g. An auxiliary agent obtained by mixing 47.5 g of glucose, 47.5 g of lactose, and 2.5 g of salt was added thereto, mixed, dried and hot-air dried to obtain a hot-air dried product 1 having a water content of 4.5%. .
[0015]
Also, the raw cabbage was washed in the same manner as described above, cut into approximately 30 mm squares, allowed to stand still, and drained. 1000 g of the cabbage was boiled for 2 minutes, cooled, taken in a colander, and drained for 5 minutes, and 804 g. Was obtained.
To the treated product 2, 121 g of the hot-air dried product 1 was added, mixed well, and allowed to stand, so as to transfer and equalize the moisture. At this time, the total water content was 75.6%. This mixture was filled in a 5 × 4 × 2 cm plastic frame mold in 30 g portions, pressed lightly by hand, and freeze-dried. As a result, dried food 3 having a rectangular parallelepiped cake shape with a water content of 3.6%, a weight of 5.3 g, and a volume of 28.7 ml was obtained. (Fig. 1)
[0016]
When one of the dried foods 3 was put in the glass 4 and 250 ml of boiling water was added, the dried foods absorbed and restored, and after 2 minutes, some space was left in the middle of the glass so that the bottom and the liquid surface were filled. It expanded 5 greatly. One dried food had an amount equivalent to 68.1 g of cut cabbage. (Fig. 2A)
In addition, the texture and taste were fresh and good as a whole.
[0017]
(Example 2)
To the processed product obtained by blanching 1000 g of the raw cabbage of Example 1 above, 201 g of the hot-air dried product was added, mixed well, and allowed to stand still to achieve the transfer and uniformity of moisture. At this time, the total water content was 68.5%. This mixture was filled in a plastic frame frame of 5 × 4 × 2 cm in 30 g portions, and freeze-dried by lightly pressing it by hand. As a result, a dried food having a cuboid shape having a water content of 3.7%, a weight of 8.2 g, and a volume of 28.7 ml was obtained.
[0018]
One of the dried foods was put in a cup, and 250 ml of boiling water was added. Two minutes later, the dried food swelled significantly so as to fill from the bottom of the cup to the upper end of the liquid level. One dried food had an amount corresponding to 84.4 g of cut cabbage. (Fig. 2B)
In addition, the texture and taste were fresh and good as a whole.
[0019]
(Example 3)
To the processed product obtained by blanching 1000 g of the raw cabbage of Example 1 described above, 281 g of the hot-air-dried product was added, mixed well, and allowed to stand. At this time, the total water content was 58.1%. This mixture was filled in a plastic frame frame of 5 × 4 × 2 cm in 30 g portions, and freeze-dried by lightly pressing it by hand. As a result, a dried food having a cuboid shape with a water content of 3.3%, a weight of 11.1 g, and a volume of 26.9 ml was obtained.
[0020]
One dried food was placed in a cup and 250 ml of boiling water was added in the same manner as above. After 2 minutes, the density was higher than that in Example 2 and the swelling was very large so as to fill from the bottom of the cup to the top of the liquid level. did. One dried food had an amount corresponding to 98.3 g of cut cabbage. (Fig. 2C)
The texture and taste were also fresh and good as a whole.
[0021]
(Example 4)
To the processed product obtained by blanching 1000 g of the raw cabbage of Example 1 described above, 362 g of the hot-air-dried product was added, mixed well, and allowed to stand. At this time, the total water content was 48.1%. This mixture was filled in a plastic frame frame of 5 × 4 × 2 cm in 30 g portions, and freeze-dried by lightly pressing it by hand. As a result, a dry food having a cuboid shape with a water content of 3.2%, a weight of 13.8 g, and a volume of 26.9 ml was obtained.
[0022]
One dried food was put in a cup and 250 ml of hot water was added in the same manner as above. After 3 minutes, the density was higher than that of Example 3 and it expanded very much so as to fill from the bottom of the cup to the top of the liquid level. did. One dried food had an amount corresponding to 110.4 g of cut cabbage. (Fig. 2D)
The texture and taste were also fresh and good as a whole.
[0023]
(Comparative Example 1)
40 g of the hot-air-dried product was added to the processed product obtained by blanching 1000 g of the raw cabbage of Example 1 above, mixed well, and allowed to stand. At this time, the total water content was 92.7%. This mixture was filled in a plastic frame frame of 5 × 4 × 2 cm in 30 g portions, and freeze-dried by lightly pressing it by hand. As a result, a dried food having a cuboid shape with a water content of 4.8%, a weight of 2.9 g, and a volume of 31.2 ml was obtained.
[0024]
One dried food was put in a cup and 250 ml of boiling water was added in the same manner as above. After 2 minutes, the expanded cabbage was floating on the bottom of the cup and on the top of the liquid. No large expansion and restoration were observed as a whole. One dried food had an amount equivalent to 48.5 g of cut cabbage. (Fig. 3E)
The texture and taste were fresh and good as a whole.
[0025]
(Comparative Example 2)
442 g of the hot-air dried product was added to the processed product obtained by blanching 1000 g of the raw cabbage of Example 1 described above, mixed well, and allowed to stand. At this time, the total water content was 38.4%. This mixture was filled in a plastic frame frame of 5 × 4 × 2 cm in 30 g portions, and freeze-dried by lightly pressing it by hand. As a result, a dried food having a rectangular parallelepiped shape having a water content of 3.3%, a weight of 16.2 g, and a volume of 26.2 ml was obtained.
[0026]
When one dried food was put in a cup and 250 ml of boiling water was added in the same manner as above, the dried food had a higher density than in Example 4 and expanded to fill from the bottom of the cup to the upper end of the liquid level. It took about 10 minutes to completely expand without expanding. One dried food had an amount corresponding to 120.8 g of cut cabbage. One dried food had an amount corresponding to 120.8 g of cut cabbage. (Fig. 3F)
Further, the texture and taste were slightly poor and inferior to those of the above examples.
[0027]
(Example 5)
The raw Chinese cabbage is washed, cut into about 30 mm squares, allowed to stand and drained. 1000 g of the cabbage is boiled for 2 minutes, cooled, taken in a colander and drained for 5 minutes to obtain 780 g of a processed product. Was.
To this treated product, 220 g of the hot-air dried product of the cabbage of Example 1 was added, mixed well, and allowed to stand still to achieve the transfer and uniformity of moisture. At this time, the total water content was 72.7%. This mixture was filled in a plastic frame mold of 5 × 4 × 2 cm in 30 g portions, and freeze-dried by lightly pressing it by hand. As a result, a dried food having a cuboid shape having a water content of 2.4%, a weight of 8.1 g, and a volume of 29.9 ml was obtained.
[0028]
When one dried food was put in a cup and 250 ml of boiling water was added, the dried food was absorbed and restored, and after 2 minutes, it expanded very greatly so as to fill from the bottom of the cup to the upper end of the liquid level. Further, the texture and taste were fresh and good as a whole.
[0029]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the present invention takes advantage of both hot-air drying and freeze-drying, and while the dried food occupies a small volume, when it is reconstituted with water, it expands greatly in a few minutes and the volume is increased. It is extremely increased, and a food with a good texture and flavor can be obtained. Also, by using both of the above drying methods, the balance of heat can be made rational and efficient, and economical production can be achieved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a highly restorable dry food showing an example of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the highly restorable dry food of the embodiment of the present invention has been expanded and restored.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a dried food of a comparative example of the present invention has been expanded and restored.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Hot-air dried product 2 Treated product 3 High-restoration dried food 4 Cup 5 High-restoration dried food expanded and restored

Claims (4)

The hot air dried product, which is obtained by cutting cabbage, onion, Chinese cabbage and other vegetables into small pieces and dried with hot air, and the processed product obtained by cutting the above vegetables into small pieces and blanching are mixed, molded, freeze-dried, and restored. Large, highly resilient dried food. 2. The highly restorable dried vegetable according to claim 1, wherein the hot-air dried product and the processed product are mixed so as to have a total water content of 40 to 80%, molded and freeze-dried. Cabbage, onion, Chinese cabbage and other vegetables are cut into small pieces and dried with hot air, while the above vegetables are cut into small pieces and blanched, and the hot-air dried and blanched pieces are mixed to obtain a water content. A method for producing a highly resilient dried food having a large resilience, which is made uniform, filled in a molding frame and dried by freeze-drying. The method for producing a highly restorable dried food according to claim 3, wherein the blanching treatment is performed with hot water.

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