JP2007129921A - Solid brown sugar and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for producing solid brown sugar, which is capable of improving its production efficiency widely as compared with that of a production method by crushing and producing the brown sugar having a natural feeling and easy for handling. <P>SOLUTION: In the method for producing the solid brown sugar, 2-6 pts.wt. water is added to 100 pts.wt. powdery brown sugar, the brown sugar is kneaded at a controlled the temperature of by ≤60°C and pushing the kneaded brown sugar S to a screen 7 intermittently by an extruding blade 8 so as to extrude the brown sugar sideways from perforation 11 by using a vertical basket type extrusion molder 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to solid brown sugar and a method for producing the same.

  The crushed solid brown sugar packaged in the market is generally produced by crushing brown sugar solidified into blocks. For example, as shown in the production flow of FIG. 1B, lime or the like is added to sugarcane juice to separate and remove impurities. Next, after heating and concentrating, the mixture is stirred and cooled, and distributed in appropriate amounts to solidify into blocks. The solidified brown sugar is crushed and broken into pieces, and after slabs of a predetermined size are selected, they are packed into a product.

  As for the production method for producing solid brown sugar, it is known to add it to powdered brown sugar, push it into a mold and dry it by heating (Patent Document 1). In addition, there are Patent Documents 2 and 3 relating to the production of solid brown sugar.

JP 2004-24152 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-16934 JP-A-1-321000

  In the conventional method based on the previous crushing, as shown in the production flow, the brown sugar is first solidified and then crushed, which requires many workers and takes time. The workload of crushing and sorting is not light. The shape and size of the solid brown sugar that can be produced are not uniform, and excessively crushed non-standard products are generated in a large amount during sorting, and sometimes 40% or more are out of specification. In terms of quality, the crushed solid brown sugar has a natural appearance, but has a disadvantage that the shape and size vary greatly. Furthermore, since the melted solid brown sugar is solidified, it is not easy for the final consumer to shred, and there is a problem in that it is difficult to handle. When cooling and solidifying to solve these problems, we tried to crush before solidifying completely, but the physical properties changed so rapidly that no conditions for mass production were found.

  In that respect, if it is a manufacturing method of the above-mentioned patent document 1, it is excellent at the point from which a soft solid brown sugar is obtained. However, the powdered brown sugar is pressed and hardened as it is, so it is not sticky, brittle and easy to break. Although the shape and size become uniform because they are put into a mold and pressed, the natural appearance is lost, a large amount of molds are required, and there are still problems in mass production, such as how to perform die cutting.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing solid brown sugar, which can simplify the production process, improve the yield of the product, and greatly improve the production efficiency as compared with the conventional production method. . An object of the present invention is to provide a solid brown sugar that has a natural hardness equivalent to that of a crushed solid brown sugar and is easy to handle with an appropriate hardness.

  In the present invention, as shown in the production flow of FIG. 1 (a), 2 to 6 parts by weight of water is added to 100 parts by weight of powdered brown sugar, kneaded and extruded to produce solid brown sugar. .

  “Brown sugar” refers to the sugar containing sugar that is generally made by heating, concentrating and solidifying sugar cane juice. The “brown sugar” here is mainly from Okinawa. Regardless of this, powdered sugar obtained by heating and concentrating sweet potato juice as a raw material is sufficient, and it is a concept that includes processed brown sugar and raw sugar in general that contain raw sugar, molasses, etc. in brown sugar. The quality of the water to be added may be anything that is suitable for food. In this invention, the process of heat-melting brown sugar is not included. "Extrusion molding" refers to molding by applying pressure to the kneaded brown sugar and extruding it, for example, from a screen or die in a tokoroten style. For example, a molding machine such as a screw mold or a basket mold can be applied. It is not limited to or ability. The order of each step of hydration, kneading, and extrusion molding does not change, but includes cases where the respective steps are processed simultaneously or continuously, such as a molding machine in which a kneader and an extruder are integrated.

  The temperature of brown sugar during kneading is preferably adjusted to 60 ° C or lower. For example, the temperature of brown sugar at the time of kneading can be adjusted by adding cold water.

  Here, “temperature of brown sugar” refers to the average temperature of the kneaded mixture of brown sugar. “Adjust” means to maintain the temperature of brown sugar so that it does not exceed 60 ° C. during the kneading process. For example, a jacket is provided in the kneader to circulate cooling water, or kneading at a low temperature. In addition to forcibly maintaining the temperature, etc., it also includes adjusting the kneading conditions such as measuring the temperature of brown sugar and interrupting kneading so as not to exceed 60 ° C.

  In the extrusion molding, the brown sugar S kneaded on the screen 7 having a group of through-holes can be intermittently pressed and molded. Here, “intermittent” is intended to exclude the case of continuous extrusion at a constant speed using, for example, a screw-type extrusion molding machine or the like. This includes cases where

  Specifically, a cylindrical screen 7 having a group of through holes and an extrusion blade 8 that rotates while being elastically pressed against the inner surface 7a of the screen 7 are provided, and the circumferential direction of the screen 7 is disposed sideways. The vertical basket type extrusion molding machine 2 in which the extrusion blade 8 rotates about the vertical axis can be used. Then, the black sugar S kneaded in the extrusion molding machine 2 is put in, and the black sugar S kneaded by the extrusion blade 8 is intermittently pressed against the screen 7 to be extruded laterally from the through hole 11.

  In this case, the molded solid brown sugar is preferably formed with a nodular extrusion trace on the outer surface as shown in FIGS.

  According to the production method of the present invention, which is made by adding water to powdered brown sugar, kneading, and extrusion molding, the production process can be simplified and the production efficiency can be greatly improved as compared with the conventional production method. . Since heating is not required, energy costs can be saved. By extrusion molding, it can be molded into almost a predetermined shape, and by changing the extrusion mold, solid brown sugar of any size and shape can be made. As a result, it is possible to produce with extremely high yield, with almost no out of specification. Moreover, it can be continuously molded and mass production is easy. Also in terms of quality, by adding 2 to 6 parts by weight of water to 100 parts by weight of powdered brown sugar, kneading of the brown sugar results in an appropriate stickiness, and a solid that is easy to handle while having an appropriate hardness You can get brown sugar.

  However, when kneading progresses and viscosity increases, frictional resistance increases and frictional heat is generated, and the temperature of the kneaded product rises without heating. When the temperature of the kneaded product exceeds 60 ° C., the powdered brown sugars start to partially melt, the amount of evaporation of water increases rapidly, and the kneaded product is likely to become so hard that it is difficult to knead. Even if such a kneaded product is extruded, satisfactory solid brown sugar cannot be obtained. Thus, it has been found that by adjusting the temperature of brown sugar at the time of kneading to 60 ° C. or less, solid brown sugar having an appropriate hardness can be produced stably and efficiently.

  According to the method of adding cold water, equipment such as a cooling device is unnecessary, and the temperature of brown sugar during kneading can be easily adjusted.

  According to the method of intermittently pressing the kneaded brown sugar onto a screen having a group of through holes, mass production can be achieved without complicated equipment. In addition, by intermittently extruding, a knot-like extrudate trace can be formed on the outer surface of the brown sugar, so that it is possible to obtain a brown sugar that is natural in appearance.

  If a vertical basket-type extrusion molding machine is used to extrude from the through-holes of the screen in an integrated manner, the brown sugar that is pushed sideways (horizontal direction) It cannot be endured and is naturally divided. That is, solid brown sugar having a natural and moderately varying size and shape can be continuously obtained simply by extrusion molding. Since a kneading machine and an extrusion molding machine are arranged one above the other and a flow line without waste can be secured, it is suitable for continuous production.

  FIG. 1A shows a manufacturing flow of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the manufacturing facility includes a kneader 1, an extrusion molding machine 2, a conveyor 3 for transportation, a carriage 4 for transportation, and the like.

  In the kneading step, water is added to powdered brown sugar and kneaded with the kneader 1 without heating. For powdered brown sugar, ordinary powdered brown sugar can be used and is not particularly limited. In order to stabilize the quality, several types of brown sugar can be mixed. There is no particular need to adjust the temperature, and room temperature is sufficient. The kneading machine 1 to be used can be appropriately selected from known ones according to the production capacity.

  An important point in this step is to add an appropriate amount of water so that a viscosity that leads to moderately powdered brown sugar is obtained. Specifically, 2 to 6 parts by weight of water is added to 100 parts by weight of powdered brown sugar. Especially, it is preferable to set it as 3-5 weight part. Such conditions were selected based on experiments, and Table 1 shows the experimental results.

  Each of Tests 1 to 9 was made by changing the amount of water added and kneading time for a predetermined amount of powdered brown sugar shown in the table, and evaluating the quality of the solid brown sugar produced. For example, in Test 1, 20 g of water was added to 1300 g of powdered brown sugar (corresponding to 1.5 parts by weight of water with respect to 100 parts by weight of powdered brown sugar), and the mixture kneaded for 20 minutes was extruded, The quality of the obtained solid brown sugar was evaluated, and the result of evaluation of x was shown. All tests were performed under the same conditions except for the conditions shown in the table. Specifically, a kneading machine generally used for a small amount was used, and a vertical basket type extrusion molding machine 2 described later was used for extrusion molding. The quality of solid brown sugar was evaluated by comprehensively evaluating the hardness, appearance shape, size, etc., and “good” means “good”, “good” means “good”, “good” means “good”, “good” means “poor”. All the hydration temperatures were adjusted to 10 ° C.

  When the amount of water added is 1.5 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of powdered brown sugar, the amount of water added is too small to obtain sufficient viscosity even after kneading, and an appropriate hardness can be obtained after molding. None (Test 1). On the other hand, when the amount of water exceeds 6 parts by weight, the connection of the powdered brown sugar becomes too good, resulting in a hard and difficult to handle after molding (Tests 8 and 9). From the above results, it was found that the amount of water added is preferably 2 to 6 parts by weight and more preferably 3 to 5 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of powdered brown sugar. In addition, the influence of the kneading time on the quality was not recognized so much.

  Next, it is important to adjust the temperature of the brown sugar kneaded product not to exceed 60 ° C. during the kneading step. Unlike honey sugar, such as white sugar, brown sugar contains naturally occurring honey, so if it is kneaded with adequate water, the kneaded product will become sticky and generate frictional heat. As a result of the increase, partial melting and water evaporation progress and become hard and difficult to knead, and it is easy to produce a hard and difficult to handle even if molded. Specifically, it can be adjusted by adding cold water and kneading. In this case, even when kneaded for 30 minutes to 40 minutes, it could be maintained at 60 ° C. or lower. What is necessary is just to adjust the temperature of cold water, for example in the range of 5 to 25 degreeC according to the temperature of brown sugar, or environmental temperature. In addition, the kneader 1 itself can be cooled and adjusted by attaching a jacket to the kneader 1 and circulating cooling water through the jacket. Although it lacks simplicity, it is suitable for mass production because the temperature can be reliably controlled. The kneading time depends on the kneading method and the amount of treatment, but when kneading for a long time, the water evaporates and affects the quality, and therefore it is preferably 10 minutes to 30 minutes.

  The brown sugar kneaded product S is extruded and formed into solid brown sugar of a desired size and shape. For the extrusion molding, a vertical basket type extrusion molding machine 2 obtained by improving a known granulator was used. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the extrusion molding machine 2 includes a cylindrical stirring chamber 6 having an opening on the top surface of a driving chamber 5 in which a motor or the like is disposed. A stainless steel cylindrical screen 7 mounted on the side wall, and three extrusion blades 8 made of an elastic material rotating around the vertical axis are provided in the stirring chamber 6. A base end portion of the extrusion blade 8 is fixed to a rotating shaft 9 disposed in the central portion of the stirring chamber, and a spring plate 10 is attached to the distal end portion. The total length from the front end to the base end of the extrusion blade 8 is set to be larger than the radial dimension from the rotation shaft 9 to the inner peripheral surface 7a of the screen 7, and as shown in FIG. They are arranged in a state of being bent in a convex arc shape toward the rotation direction. Therefore, if the pushing blade 8 is rotationally driven, the spring plate 10 is always rotated while being elastically pressed against the inner peripheral surface 7a of the screen 7.

  In the present invention, a newly processed extrusion molding screen 7 is attached in place of the punching plate granulator screen in which a large number of pores are formed. As shown in FIG. 3 (b), the extrusion molding screen 7 has a cylindrical shape in which a plurality of square-shaped through-holes 11 of about 1 cm square are formed at intervals in a 3 mm-thick stainless steel plate. Is processed. According to the extrusion molding machine 2, the brown sugar kneaded by the extrusion blades 8 can be intermittently pressed against the screen 7 and continuously extruded.

  That is, when the brown sugar kneaded material S is put into the agitating chamber 6 and the extrusion blade 8 is driven to rotate, the kneaded material S is pushed toward the outer periphery of the agitating chamber 6 and the reaction force accompanying the elastic deformation of the spring plate 10. Is pressed against the inner peripheral surface 7a of the screen 7. As a result, a part of the kneaded material S is pushed out from the through hole 11. Since the kneaded material S has viscoelasticity, even if the through hole 11 is somewhat large, it is not easily interrupted. At this time, the extrusion load of the extrusion blades 8 with respect to each through hole 11 acts intermittently according to the rotation period of the three extrusion blades 8, so that the kneaded material S passes through the through holes 11 as shown in FIG. It is pushed out intermittently. As a result, a characteristic nodular extrusion trace is formed on the outer surface of the extruded solid brown sugar as shown in FIG.

  Such an extrusion molding machine 2 is also useful for reducing honey balls. Honey bead is a hardened lump of honey contained in brown sugar. It is hard and difficult to break, so it is usually removed by sieving. However, here, the honey balls contained in the brown sugar kneaded material S are pressed against the inner peripheral surface 7a of the screen 7 by the rotating spring plate 10 and ground.

  Since the brown sugar extruded sideways from the through-hole 11 becomes intermittently large in the horizontal direction, when it reaches a certain length, it is naturally divided without being able to withstand its own weight. As a result, solid brown sugar having a moderately dispersed size and shape is molded, and solid brown sugar having natural appearance can be obtained. For example, in the present example, a product of about 3 to 6 cm shown in FIG. 5 could be obtained.

  Finally, in order to stabilize moisture, the molded solid brown sugar is dried for several hours in an atmosphere of 60 ° C to 70 ° C, then a predetermined amount is packed in a bag, and metal foreign objects are inspected with a metal inspection machine. It is only necessary to select products that are not abnormal and produce them.

(Other Example) It can replace with the vertical basket type extrusion molding machine 2, and can also use the screw type extrusion molding machine 14 shown in FIG. A cutter 16 that intermittently rocks in a chopping manner is attached to the front surface of the die 15 of the molding machine 14 so as to cut the extruded solid brown sugar. The plurality of extrusion holes 17 penetratingly formed in the die 15 are formed in different irregular cross-sectional shapes. According to this, even if it extrudes continuously, since the cross-sectional shape of the solid brown sugar extruded differs for every extrusion hole 17, the naturalness of appearance can be provided. Furthermore, if the rocking | fluctuation period of the cutter 16 is changed, since length will also change variously, it can be made like the pulverized solid brown sugar.

(A) is a manufacturing flow diagram of the present invention, (b) is a manufacturing flow diagram showing a conventional method. Schematic diagram of manufacturing equipment of the present invention The conceptual diagram of a basket type extrusion molding machine. (A) is a cross-sectional view of the stirring chamber, and (b) is a partially enlarged view of the screen. Conceptual diagram showing the state where brown sugar kneaded from the through hole is pushed out The photograph which shows the real thing of the solid brown sugar made by this invention. The vertical length is about 4 cm and the horizontal length is about 1 cm. Conceptual diagram showing another embodiment

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Kneading machine 2 Extruder 7 Screen 8 Extruding blade 11 Through hole S Kneaded brown sugar

Claims (6)

  A method for producing solid brown sugar produced by adding 2 to 6 parts by weight of water to 100 parts by weight of powdered brown sugar, kneading and extrusion molding.   The manufacturing method of the solid brown sugar of Claim 1 with which the temperature of the brown sugar at the time of kneading | mixing is adjusted to 60 degrees C or less.   The manufacturing method of the solid brown sugar of Claim 1 with which the temperature of the brown sugar at the time of kneading | mixing is adjusted to 60 degrees C or less by adding cold water.   The method for producing solid brown sugar according to claims 1 to 3, wherein the kneaded brown sugar (S) is intermittently pressed onto a screen (7) having a group of through holes (11) and extruded. Add 2-6 parts by weight of water to 100 parts by weight of powdered brown sugar,
Adjusting the temperature of brown sugar to below 60 ° C and kneading,
A cylindrical screen (7) in which a group of through holes (11) are opened, and an extrusion blade (8) that rotates while being elastically pressure-bonded to the inner peripheral surface (7a) of the screen (7). ) Is disposed sideways, and a vertical basket type extrusion machine (2) in which the extrusion blade (8) rotates around the vertical axis is used.
The kneaded sugar (S) is charged into the extrusion molding machine (2),
A method for producing solid brown sugar produced by pressing the brown sugar (S) kneaded by the extrusion blade (8) intermittently against the screen (7) and extruding it laterally from the through hole (11).   Solid brown sugar produced by the production method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein a knot-like extrusion mark is formed on the outer surface.