JP2008118861A - Adjusted cocoa and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique for making bean curd lees recyclable for useful food and improving dissolvability of existing pure cocoa powder in liquid. <P>SOLUTION: A method for producing adjusted cocoa which has solid content made of bean curd lees and solid content made of pure cocoa comprises a process of mixing bean curd lees with pure cocoa, and a process of drying the mixture obtained in the process. The method may comprise, for instance, a process of crushing bean curd lees before drying the mixture. When dissolving the adjusted cocoa thus produced in liquid such as water, lecithin contained in bean curd lees in the adjusted cocoa assists dissolution of pure cocoa powder as a solubilizer, so the adjusted cocoa easily and rapidly dissolves in the liquid. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to adjusted cocoa containing okara and pure cocoa and a method for producing the same.

  Okara is a product that is produced along with tofu when producing tofu, and a small part of the generated okara is used as food or livestock feed. Landfilled and disposed of. And the present condition is that there is not much trouble and cost for this landfill processing and transportation to the landfill.

  Not much attention has been paid to the effective use of this okara, and even if it has been noticed, no use has been found. However, lecithin, which is a solubilizing component, is included in okara, and as a result of many years of study by the inventor about the utility value of this okara, the difficulty of dissolving pure-cocoa powder into liquids Focused on improving.

  Pure-cocoa powder removes a portion of fat (cocoa butter lipid) from the product (cocoa nibs) that has been fermented, dried, crushed and peeled (cacao nibs) after roasting (cocoa mass) In addition, the water content is adjusted to 5 to 10% and the cocoa butter lipid is adjusted to 20 to 25%. The roasting process incorporated in this manufacturing process is performed at a high temperature of 250 to 300 ° C., for example.

  This pure-cocoa powder is used as a beverage by, for example, first kneading well with a small amount of water after being put in a cup, and then pouring a liquid such as milk after kneading. If it is low, for example, if the kneading is insufficient, it will float in the poured liquid, and if so, it will hardly dissolve and the resulting beverage may become powdery.

  The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and aims to provide a technique for improving the solubility of existing pure-cocoa powder in liquid while at the same time making it a useful food resource from okara.

  The adjusted cocoa of the present invention is characterized by including a solid content made of okara and a solid content made of pure-cocoa. This adjusted cocoa contains, for example, a solid content of 35% to 70% by weight of the whole and a solid content of 20% to 65% by weight of pure cocoa to the whole, A moisture content is 10 mass% or less.

The method for producing adjusted cocoa of the present invention comprises a step of mixing okara and pure cocoa, and a step of drying the mixture obtained in this step. A step of crushing okara before drying.
Another method for producing the adjusted cocoa of the present invention comprises a step of drying okara, and a step of mixing the dried product obtained in this step and pure cocoa. For example, the step of crushing the okara before drying the okara is included. In addition, these production methods include a step of granulating a dried product after the drying step, and the step of drying the mixture of okara or okara and pure cocoa is, for example, okara or okara A transport mechanism for transporting the mixture with pure cocoa while heating, a far infrared heater with a wavelength of 4 to 1000 nm for radiating heat to the mixture of okara or okara and pure cocoa transported by the transport mechanism, Is implemented.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the solubility of pure-cocoa powder in a liquid simultaneously with the effective use of okara.

  Hereinafter, the apparatus structure for implementing the manufacturing method of the adjustment cocoa of this invention is demonstrated, referring FIG. This production method prevents the destruction of nutrients contained in okara and pure-cocoa, oxidation of fat, and the like, and dries under energy-saving conditions as much as possible. In the following description, “%” means “% by mass”.

  In the figure, reference numerals 11 and 12 denote hoppers. For example, predetermined amounts are weighed for the okara containing 85% or less of moisture and 0.1% or more of lecithin and the pure-cocoa powder described in the background section. After being weighed and weighed, pure cocoa powder is carried into these hoppers 11 and 12, respectively. The hoppers 11, 12 are connected to the mixer 13, and the okara pure cocoa powder loaded into the hoppers 11, 12 is mixed with each other by the mixer 13. In order to obtain the effects of the present invention, the weight mixing ratio between the karakara and the pure-cocoa powder is preferably 80:20, for example.

  The mixture of okara and pure-cocoa powder is once stored in the storage tank 14 and naturally dried. Then, the said mixture is carried into the crusher 15 from the storage tank 14, and is pulverized in this crusher 15 so that the particle size may be set to 50 micrometers-100 micrometers, for example. The moisture content of the pulverized mixed powder is, for example, 40% to 70%.

  The pulverized mixed powder is carried into the hermetic dryer 16. The hermetic dryer 16 is for instantaneously drying the mixed powder so that lecithin in okara is not damaged, and an example of the configuration will be described. The hermetic dryer 16 includes a container that forms a hermetically sealed space. A suction plate 17 is provided on the top plate that forms the upper portion of the container, and an exhaust means 18 is connected to the suction deaerator port 17. ing. The exhaust means 18 sucks and deaerates the atmosphere in the sealed space via the suction deaeration port 17.

  A far-infrared radiation tube having a wavelength of 4 to 1000 nm serving as a heater is provided at an upper position in the sealed space. Further, a wire mesh conveyor or a caterpillar on which the mixed powder is loaded is provided as a transport mechanism below the far-infrared radiation tube (upper and lower intermediate positions in the sealed space). The mixed powder loaded at a speed of 5 cm / sec or more is moved. Thus, the product temperature (surface temperature) of the powder on the conveyor or the caterpillar when moving the powder is freely controlled, and the mixed powder can be heated.

  In the figure, 19 is a hot stove using city gas, and is connected to the hermetic dryer 16. The hot air furnace 19 is configured to send necessary hot air to the hermetic dryer 16, and the sent hot air is configured to be sprayed onto the mixed powder conveyed by the conveyor or the caterpillar.

  The radiation temperature of the far-infrared radiation tube to the mixed powder is set to 300 to 900 ° C., for example, the product temperature (surface temperature) of the powder on the conveyor or caterpillar is set to 150 ° C. or lower, and suction deaeration is further performed. The mixed powder crushed by the previous process in the state where the degassing from the mouth 17 has been performed is loaded on the conveyor (caterpillar) and passes below the radiation tube, thereby radiating heat from the radiation tube. And it moves in the sealed space while being exposed to the heat of the conveyor. During the movement, the mixed powder is instantaneously dried so that the moisture content is 10% or less by sending hot air from the hot air furnace 19 separately.

  In the figure, numerals 21, 22, and 23 are cyclones, and numeral 24 is an air blower. The mixed powder dried in the hermetic dryer 16 is carried into the cyclone 21 or the cyclone 22, pulverized so as to have a predetermined particle diameter, and further carried into the cyclone 23. It is pulverized to 100 μm. Thereafter, the mixed powder is stored in the product bottle 24 and is taken out from the outlet 25 of the product bottle 24 as a product of adjusted cocoa.

  When the prepared cocoa prepared in this manner is dissolved in a liquid such as water, lecithin contained in the dried cocoa in the adjusted cocoa assists the dissolution of pure cocoa powder as a solubilizing agent. Dissolves in the liquid easily and quickly.

  The prepared cocoa should be dissolved in the liquid faster than pure-cocoa by the action of lecithin, so that the taste equivalent to that of pure-cocoa can be obtained. For example, the content is preferably 35% by mass to 70% by mass, and the solid content of the pure-cocoa powder is preferably 20% by mass to 65% by mass. The solid content of the okara powder here is a component (dry matter) other than moisture in the okara powder, and the solid content of the pure-cocoa powder is a component other than moisture (dry matter) in the pure-cocoa powder.

  In addition, after drying okara and pure-cocoa powder in the above-mentioned flow separately, they may be crushed and then mixed with each other, but as in the above-mentioned flow, they may be mixed. Since it is more effective to reduce drying costs and to homogenize the ingredients, it is more effective to mix okara and pure-cocoa powder and then crush and dry. Differences in the sizes of the cocoa are suppressed, and when the adjusted cocoa is produced, the body is uniformly dispersed in the pure-cocoa powder. Therefore, since lecithin is uniformly dispersed in the pure-cocoa powder, the solubility of the adjusted cocoa is further increased, which is preferable.

  First, as Example 1, 85 g of okara containing 80% moisture and 15 g of pure cocoa powder containing 5% moisture were prepared, and adjusted cocoa was produced according to the above production method. In addition, Table 1 below describes the ratio of the moisture contained in each of the okara pure-cocoa powder and the ratio of the solid content remaining when the moisture is removed, and FIG. This table is shown as a graph. In addition, the amount of water of the mixture in the table and the amount of solid content of the mixture described the results of measuring the amount of water and the amount of solid content of the mixture immediately after mixing according to the production method using the above-mentioned apparatus. The water content was 42.5% and the solid content was 57.5%.

  After preparing adjusted cocoa by the above method, the components of the adjusted cocoa were measured. As shown in FIG. 2 (b), the amount of moisture contained in the adjusted cocoa was 10% of the total, and the solid content was a component other than moisture. 90% of the total amount, of which the proportion of okara in the total adjusted cocoa was 49% and the proportion of pure-cocoa powder in the total was 41% .

  A certain amount of the adjusted cocoa produced in this manner is collected and placed in a container, and the same amount of pure cocoa contained in this adjusted cocoa is placed in another container, and hot water is poured into each container. As a result of stirring and observing the degree of dissolution, the adjusted cocoa completely dissolved in 3 to 5 seconds after stirring, but in the case of pure cocoa alone, it took 25 to 35 seconds after stirring until completely dissolved. Therefore, the effect of the present invention was shown.

  Subsequently, as Example 2, 80 g of okara containing 80% moisture and 20 g of pure-cocoa powder containing 5% moisture were prepared, and adjusted cocoa was produced according to the above production method. In addition, Table 2 below describes the ratio of moisture contained in each of these okara pure-cocoa powders and the ratio of the solid content remaining when the moisture is removed, and FIG. This Table 2 is shown as a graph. In addition, about the mixture immediately after mixing okara and pure cocoa powder, the moisture content was 65% and the amount of the solid content was 35%.

  After preparing adjusted cocoa by the above method, the components of the adjusted cocoa were measured. As shown in FIG. 3 (b), the amount of moisture contained in the adjusted cocoa was 10% of the total, and the solid content was a component other than moisture. Of the total solid content was 90%, 46% was okara, and 41% was pure cocoa. In other words, the proportion of solids from okara in the whole adjusted cocoa was 46 × 0.9 = 41.4%, and the proportion of solids in pure cocoa in the whole adjusted cocoa was 54 × 0.9 = 48.6%. It was.

  A certain amount of the adjusted cocoa produced in this manner is collected and placed in a container, and the same amount of pure cocoa contained in this adjusted cocoa is placed in another container, and hot water is poured into each container. As a result of stirring and observing the degree of dissolution, the prepared cocoa completely dissolved in 3 to 5 seconds after stirring. However, in the case of pure cocoa alone, it took 25 to 30 seconds after stirring until completely dissolved. Therefore, the effect of the present invention was shown.

It is the block diagram which showed the apparatus structure which uses the adjustment cocoa of this invention for a manufacturing method. It is the graph which showed the component of the adjustment cocoa used in the Example. It is the graph which showed the component of the adjustment cocoa used in the other Example.

Explanation of symbols

13 Mixer 14 Storage tank 15 Crusher 16 Sealing dryer

Claims (8)

  An adjusted cocoa comprising: a solid content made of okara and a solid content made of pure cocoa. A solid content of 35% to 70% by weight of the whole,
Solid content of 20% to 65% by weight of pure cocoa with respect to the whole,
The adjusted cocoa according to claim 1, wherein the moisture content is 10% by mass or less. Mixing okara and pure cocoa;
Drying the mixture obtained in this step;
A method for producing adjusted cocoa, comprising:   The method for producing adjusted cocoa according to claim 3, further comprising a step of crushing okara before drying the mixture. Drying the okara,
Mixing the dried product obtained in this step with pure cocoa;
A method for producing adjusted cocoa, comprising:   The method for producing adjusted cocoa according to claim 5, further comprising a step of crushing the okara before drying the okara.   The method for producing adjusted cocoa according to any one of claims 3 to 6, further comprising a step of granulating a dried product after the drying step.   The step of drying the mixture of okara or okara and pure-cocoa includes a conveyance mechanism that conveys the mixture of okara or okara and pure-cocoa while heating, and okara that is conveyed by the conveyance mechanism or The method for producing adjusted cocoa according to any one of claims 3 to 7, which is carried out by a far-infrared heater having a wavelength of 4 to 1000 nm that radiates heat to a mixture of okara and pure cocoa. .

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