JP2008271916A - Method for producing lyophilized rough-grained soybean curd, and method for producing snack-like food - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for producing a lyophilized rough-grained soybean curd, and to provide a method for producing a snack-like food. <P>SOLUTION: The method for producing the lyophilized rough-grained soybean curd includes subjecting a rough-grained soybean curd prepared using soybean powder to lyophilizing treatment. Also, the method for producing the snack-like food includes coating on prepared lyophilized rough-grained soybean curd with ingredients. From these lyophilized rough-grained soybean curd and snack-like food, not only soybean protein but also lipids, carbohydrates, isoflavones, saponins, lecithin, dietary fibers, various vitamins and minerals, each of which is contained in soybeans, can be easily ingested. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing freeze-dried cotton tofu and a method for producing a snack-like food. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for producing freeze-dried cotton tofu and a method for producing a snack-like food that can use the active ingredient of soybeans as they are and are useful as functional foods.

Tofu has long been eaten as a food containing soy protein with an excellent balance of essential amino acids. However, tofu has a problem that it has a high moisture content and is easily spoiled because it contains proteins and lipids. Therefore, a freeze-drying method is used as a method for preparing tofu having excellent storage stability, and various freeze-dried tofu has already been proposed (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 4).
Moreover, since the soybean protein can be ingested easily, various snack-like foods using freeze-dried tofu have been proposed (for example, Patent Documents 5 and 6).

JP-A-10-271972 JP 2000-228961 A JP 2002-34488 A JP 2005-348721 A JP 2003-189913 A JP 2004-147546 A

  It is known that freeze-dried tofu has a remarkably reduced texture when reconstituted in hot water, and is easily disintegrated, and various additives are added to the raw soy milk to solve such problems. For example, in the above Patent Document 1, oligosaccharides and polysaccharides, in Patent Document 2, starch and collagen peptide, in Patent Document 3, starch paste, and in Patent Document 4, water-soluble cellulose ether and agar are added. . In this way, saccharides, collagen peptides, etc. are added to soy milk, and the addition of such additives may be as much as 10% by weight with respect to soy milk, so that the obtained freeze-dried tofu is useful. There was a problem that the content of soybean protein, which is a protein, was reduced and the original flavor of tofu was harmed.

Furthermore, conventional freeze-dried tofu has been freeze-dried to maintain the texture after reconstitution with hot water, and if the silk tofu is subjected to freeze-drying treatment, cracks will occur in the tofu tissue during the drying process. It is easy to generate, and it is difficult to produce a large-sized freeze-dried tofu, and there is a problem that only about 1.5 cm square can be obtained at most. Therefore, the conventional freeze-dried tofu has only been used as an ingredient for instant miso soup. There is also a problem that the freeze-drying time is long.
Even for snack-like foods that use freeze-dried tofu, it is difficult to obtain large-sized freeze-dried tofu, so it is not possible to obtain a wide variety of snack-like foods, and satisfy the consumer's taste sufficiently It has not reached.

By the way, soybean contains lipids and carbohydrates in a well-balanced manner together with soybean protein, and further includes isoflavones having an arteriosclerosis-inhibiting action and an osteoporosis-inhibiting action, and saponins, lecithins, and dietary fibers that are useful for preventing adult diseases. It is also a food containing various vitamins and minerals. Furthermore, it is a healthy food because it is non-cholesterol. However, since conventional freeze-dried tofu uses silk koji tofu as a raw material, there is a problem that the above-mentioned useful components contained in soybean are not sufficiently utilized.
The present inventors have problems as described above, that is, the soy protein content in freeze-dried tofu is reduced, that a large-sized freeze-dried tofu cannot be obtained, and the useful components in soybean are sufficient. In order to eliminate the fact that they are not being used, we have eagerly studied the production method of freeze-dried tofu and snack-like foods. As a result, we used cotton tofu as the tofu to be freeze-dried and used soybean powder as the tofu. It has been found that the problem can be solved by using the prepared one.
The present invention is based on such knowledge, and provides a method for producing freeze-dried tofu and a method for producing a snack-like food that can have a high soy protein content, can be made large in size, and can further utilize useful components in soybean. To do.

The present invention made to solve the above problems is a method for producing freeze-dried cotton tofu characterized by subjecting a cotton tofu prepared using soybean powder to a freeze-drying treatment. It is preferable to use a powder having an average particle size of 100 μm or less.
In addition, the method for producing a snack-like food of the present invention comprises a method for producing a snack-like food comprising coating the ingredients on freeze-dried cotton tofu prepared as described above, or cotton tofu prepared using soybean powder, It is a method for producing a snack-like food comprising contacting a food and then subjecting it to freeze-drying.

In the manufacturing method of the freeze-dried tofu of this invention, there exist the following effects.
(1) Since the freeze-drying process is performed using cotton tofu prepared using soybean powder as a raw material, moisture in the tofu is easily removed. Accordingly, cracks do not occur even when a large-sized tofu is freeze-dried, so that a large-sized freeze-dried tofu can be obtained. Also, the freeze-drying time can be shortened.
(2) Since soybean powder is used as a raw material, there is an advantage that useful components in soybean can be used as they are. Furthermore, in the conventional method for producing tofu, a large amount of cost was required for the treatment of by-product okara. However, in the method of the present invention, no okara is produced as a by-product, so that the production cost can be reduced. Can do.
(3) Since freeze-dried tofu can be prepared without using sugars and collagen peptides used in conventional freeze-dried tofu production methods, the soy protein content can be increased and the original flavor of tofu can be maintained. be able to.
Moreover, in the manufacturing method of the snack-like foodstuff of this invention, as above-mentioned, the frozen cotton tofu of large size can be utilized, and it has the advantage that it can be set as a wide variety of products. In addition, by eating the snack-like food, not only soy protein, but also lipids, carbohydrates, isoflavones, saponins, lecithin, dietary fiber, various vitamins and minerals contained in soybeans can be easily consumed. Can do.

As described above, the freeze-dried tofu of the present invention is prepared by subjecting a cotton tofu prepared using soybean powder to a freeze-drying treatment.
The soybean powder is obtained by grinding and pulverizing whole soybeans, dried whole soybeans, moulted soybeans, etc., and the soybean powdering can be performed according to a conventional method, for example, a vibration mill, a ball mill, It can be pulverized using a conventional pulverizer such as a hammer mill, a bin mill, or a jet mill.
The particle size of the obtained soybean powder is adjusted to an average particle size of 100 μm or less, preferably about 10 to 90 μm, more preferably about 30 to 40 μm. When the average particle size exceeds 100 μm, the texture of the freeze-dried tofu obtained is inferior, and when the soymilk is coagulated, there is a possibility that the okara content and tofu are separated, and when it is less than 10 μm, the powdering cost increases. .
In addition, various products are sold as soybean powder, and such commercial products may be used. Furthermore, after the soybean fine powder dispersion is heated to soy milk (boiled cucumber), a spray-dried powder is commercially available and may be used (for example, trade name: whole soybean soy milk powder, stock (Made by Maeda Super Techno).

In the present invention, the soybean powder is first dispersed by dispersing the soybean powder in water. The concentration of the soybean powder soymilk is adjusted to a brick concentration of 8 to 25%, preferably 10 to 20%, more preferably 14 to 16%. If the Brix concentration is less than 8%, the lyophilized tofu obtained has a low soy protein content, which may result in poor flavor and texture. On the other hand, if the Brix concentration exceeds 25%, the okara content and the tofu may be separated when the soymilk is coagulated.
The above-mentioned soybean powder soymilk can be prepared by an appropriate method. For example, soybean powder is added to and stirred in a predetermined amount of water so as not to cause lumps, and heat treatment (for example, 90 to 100 ° C., preferably For 2 to 10 minutes, preferably about 5 minutes) and then cooled.

Next, the soybean powder soy milk prepared above is coagulated with a coagulant, and the coagulated tofu is transferred to a molding box and pressed to prepare cotton tofu. This step can be carried out in substantially the same manner as a normal cotton tofu production step.
The coagulation reaction can be carried out at an appropriate temperature depending on the type of coagulant, and can be carried out by a high temperature coagulation method or a low temperature coagulation method. For example, soybean powder soymilk heated to 80 to 90 ° C. is put in a soup bowl, and a coagulating liquid is added thereto and stirred to coagulate the soymilk. Further, soy milk may be coagulated by adding soybean powder soymilk to a coagulating liquid heated to 80 to 90 ° C.
After coagulation, after removing clean water (floating water), the coagulated tofu can be taken out, transferred to a molding box, and then pressed to obtain cotton tofu. At this time, it is preferable to press so that the weight of the obtained cotton tofu is about ½ of the amount of soy milk used.

As the coagulant used in the above process, any one commonly used as a tofu coagulant can be used. For example, bittern, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, calcium sulfate, glucono delta Examples include lactone and malic acid.
The amount of the coagulant used can be appropriately set according to the type of coagulant, but is usually 0.2 to 1% by weight, preferably 0.3 to 0.8% by weight, based on soy milk. More preferably, it is about 0.5% by weight.

In addition, when solidifying, various food materials may be added to the above-described soy milk as desired. Examples of such food materials include seaweeds, seeds and leaves.
Seeds include, for example, sesame seeds, macadamia nuts, almonds, hemp seeds, cashew nuts, pumpkin seeds, pods, ginnan, chestnuts, walnuts, coconuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, pine nuts, peanuts, etc. Seeds are used in the form of debris.

  Examples of seaweed include hinoki, kelp, and seaweed. Since seaweed contains a lot of minerals, the addition of seaweed can improve the nutritional balance. These seaweeds are preferably obtained by cutting raw algae into appropriate sizes, performing a blanching treatment (short-time hot water immersion treatment), performing low-temperature drying such as freeze-drying, and then pulverizing. Used for.

  Examples of the leaves include tea leaves, green-yellow vegetable leaves, and strawberries. These leaves contain various components useful for maintaining health such as polyphenols, β-carotene, flavonoids, herbal medicines, and the like, and are useful for maintaining health. These leaves are also preferably used after blanching treatment, followed by low-temperature drying such as freeze-drying and then powdering.

  In addition, flavors such as matcha powder, eggplant powder, coffee powder, salt, glutamic acid soda, sodium inosinate, sodium guanylate, sugar, starch syrup, sweet oligo, oligo molasses, etc. , Sour agents such as citric acid and malic acid, pastes such as sodium alginate, vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, calcium lactate, light calcium carbonate, zinc gluconate, sulfuric acid Minerals such as zinc, copper gluconate, copper sulfate, and additives commonly used in this field may be added as appropriate. Moreover, you may add additives, such as starches, agar, collagen peptide, gelatin, as needed. In particular, trehalose is preferably added as a preservability improver. By adding trehalose, storage stability is improved and discoloration during heating and color loss during storage can be prevented. Trehalose is added to about 5 to 20%, preferably about 8 to 12%, and more preferably about 10% of soybean powder soymilk.

The cotton tofu prepared above is cut into an appropriate size and shape, and then subjected to a freeze-drying process to prepare freeze-dried tofu. The shape of the cut cotton tofu is not particularly limited, and may be adapted to a desired shape of the final product. Examples thereof include a cube shape, a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a disk shape.
Regarding the cutting of the above-mentioned cotton tofu, compared with silk koji tofu, the cotton tofu can be easily lyophilized because there are many routes through which water sublimes, and cracks are less likely to occur during the processing. Accordingly, it becomes possible to subject the large-sized cotton tofu to the freeze-drying process. In terms of a rectangular parallelepiped shape, the freeze-drying process can be performed with a size up to about 30 × 30 × 150 mm.

The lyophilization treatment can be performed according to a conventional method using a conventional lyophilizer. For example, after pre-freezing the cut cotton tofu at −20 ° C. or lower, the freeze-dried cotton tofu of the present invention is dried by vacuum drying at a vacuum degree of about 1 to 100 Pa and a shelf temperature of about 40 to 70 ° C. can get.
In addition, it is preferable to heat-process the cut cotton tofu prior to preliminary freezing. Examples of the heat treatment conditions include 75 to 90 ° C., preferably 80 to 85 ° C., and 10 to 50 minutes, preferably 20 to 30 minutes. By performing such heat treatment, shrinkage of the cotton tofu during the freeze-drying treatment can be prevented, and scattering of the powder when the obtained freeze-dried cotton tofu is broken can be reduced. Furthermore, the lyophilized cotton tofu obtained can be sterilized by heat treatment.

The snack-like food of the present invention is a method for producing a snack-like food comprising coating the freeze-dried cotton tofu obtained above with a foodstuff.
The food material to be coated is not particularly limited as long as it is a food material conventionally used for food coating, for example, chocolate, sweetener (eg, sugar, glucose, starch syrup, sorbitol, reduced starch hydrolyzate, etc.), Seasonings (for example, soy sauce, mirin, sake, sauce, etc.) can be mentioned.
The coating onto freeze-dried cotton tofu can be performed according to conventional food coating techniques, and examples include a method of coating freeze-dried cotton tofu with molten chocolate.

According to another method of producing a snack-like food of the present invention, the cotton tofu prepared using the soybean powder prepared above is brought into contact with the food material to infiltrate the cotton tofu, and then subjected to freeze-drying treatment. Consists of. The contact between the cotton tofu and the food can be performed by immersing the cotton tofu when the food is liquid, and by embedding the cotton tofu into the food when the food is powdery.
As the ingredients used in this method, the ingredients exemplified above can be used. When the food material is liquid, the concentration of the food liquid can be appropriately set according to the food material type.
More specifically, after the cotton tofu prepared by using the soybean powder obtained by the above-mentioned method is cut into an appropriate size and shape, it is brought into contact with an appropriate amount of food, and is preferably about 12 to 72 hours. Is allowed to stand for about 24 to 60 hours, and after the food is soaked in the cotton tofu, it is further heat-treated as necessary, and then subjected to freeze-drying to obtain the snack-like food of the present invention. it can. In addition, the said conditions can be referred for the conditions of a freeze-drying process.

The freeze-dried cotton tofu obtained by the present invention can be used as a material for various dishes as tofu by reconstitution with hot water, in addition to being used for the snack-like food of the present invention.
In addition, the snack-like food obtained in the present invention is porous, has a low bulk specific gravity, has a light and good texture, and has good crispness and swallowability. Furthermore, since it can change coating materials, such as a seasoning and a sweetener, it is a foodstuff which can satisfy a consumer's preference.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although this invention is demonstrated concretely based on an Example, this invention is not limited to these examples.

Example 1
Add 9 kg of round soybean powder (particle size 70-90 μm) to 46 kg of water, stir and disperse, then put in a steam kettle, heat to 98 ° C., cook for an additional 5 minutes and boil it (soybean powder into water) In addition, it was heated to prepare a soybean powder soymilk having a Brix concentration of 14%. On the other hand, a coagulation liquid in which 55 g of magnesium chloride is dissolved in 30 kg of 85 ° C. hot water is prepared. 10 kg of the above-mentioned soybean powder soymilk (soymilk temperature: 6 ° C. or less) was poured into this coagulation liquid to coagulate it. After coagulation, the water is removed, the tofu is transferred to a molding box, and pressed with a press until the weight is about half of the amount of soymilk used. Cotton tofu was obtained.

Example 2
A coagulation liquid is prepared by dissolving 50 g of magnesium chloride in 12 kg of hot water at 55 ° C. On the other hand, whole soybean milk powder (trade name, manufactured by Maeda Super Techno Co., Ltd., particle size 30-40 μm) is added to water, stirred and dispersed, heated to 95 ° C., and then cooked for 5 minutes. Next, 10 kg of soybean powder soymilk having a Brix concentration of 14% was prepared by cooling. This soybean powder soymilk is heated to 80 ° C. and put in a soup bowl, and then the above-mentioned coagulating liquid is poured and coagulated. After coagulation, clean water is removed, and the tofu is transferred to a molding box and pressed with a press until the weight is about half of the amount of soymilk used. Cotton tofu was obtained.

Example 3
Appropriate amounts of 1 kg of trehalose and green tea powder (so much soy milk turns light brown) were added to 10 kg of soybean powder soy milk in Example 2, and the following was performed in the same manner as in Example 2 to obtain cotton tofu containing green tea powder.

Example 4
The cotton tofu obtained in Example 2 was cut into a rectangular parallelepiped of about 25 × 10 × 90 mm (26.6 g) and about 20 × 20 × 100 mm (47.2 g). The cut cotton tofu was heat-treated at 80 ° C. for 25 minutes, and then the residual heat was removed and pre-frozen in a −20 ° C. freezer. Subsequently, it was freeze-dried at a degree of vacuum of 40 Pa and a shelf temperature of 60 ° C. until the water content reached about 3% to obtain freeze-dried cotton tofu. During the freeze-drying process, there were few things that were significantly deformed or broken.
The water content of the obtained freeze-dried cotton tofu was 2.5%, the shape of the dough was substantially maintained, and the weight was about 1/5 of the weight of the dough.

The components of the freeze-dried cotton tofu obtained are shown in Table 1. In addition, as a comparison, frozen tofu ingredients known as health foods (quoted from the 5th Food Composition Table) are also shown. In addition, in order to clarify a component comparison, it expressed by converting with a moisture content of 5%.
As shown in Table 1, since the freeze-dried cotton tofu obtained in the present invention uses the soybean component as it is, it was confirmed that the sugar, dietary fiber, and mineral content were higher than the frozen tofu.

Example 5
The freeze-dried cotton tofu (shape: about 20 × 20 × 100 mm) obtained in Example 4 was immersed in molten chocolate, then pulled up, cooled to room temperature, and a snack-like food coated with chocolate was obtained.
The obtained snack-like food was crispy and light, had a good texture, crisp, and had good properties as a snack-like food.
Moreover, in the above cooling step, a snack-like food topped with almond pieces was obtained by coating almond slices on the surface of chocolate.

Example 6
50% by weight of soy sauce, 20% by weight of mirin, 20% by weight of HL-PDX (trade name, manufactured by Matsutani Chemical Co., Ltd., reduced starch hydrolyzate), 9.5% by weight of Awamori and 0.5% by weight of chili pepper, A seasoning liquid was prepared by boiling. On the other hand, the cotton tofu obtained in Example 1 was cut into a rectangular parallelepiped shape of about 25 × 10 × 90 mm and about 20 × 20 × 100 mm. The cut cotton tofu was immersed in the above-mentioned seasoning liquid for 60 hours (the cotton tofu was slightly contracted at this point). Next, after removing from the seasoning liquid and heat-treating at 80 ° C. for 25 minutes, the remaining heat is removed, pre-frozen in a −30 ° C. freezer, freeze-dried at a vacuum degree of 40 Pa and a shelf temperature of 55 ° C., and a snack-like food is obtained. Obtained.
The resulting freeze-dried cotton tofu had a water content of 23.0%, which was slightly shrunk from the dough size in shape and about 1/4 of the dough weight. In addition, the use of the reduced starch hydrolyzate improved the freeze resistance and prevented the loss of shape and the flavor during freeze-drying.
The obtained snack-like food had a moist texture, was crisp, and had good properties as a snack-like food.

Example 7
The cotton tofu obtained in Example 2 was cut into a rectangular parallelepiped shape of about 20 × 20 × 100 mm. The cut cotton tofu was embedded in super white sugar and left for 60 hours. The cotton tofu was taken out and the following was freeze-dried in the same manner as in Example 6 to obtain a snack-like food coated with sugar.

Example 8
The cotton tofu containing green tea powder obtained in Example 3 was cut into a rectangular parallelepiped shape of about 25 × 10 × 90 mm. The cut cotton tofu was heat-treated at 80 ° C. for 25 minutes, and then the residual heat was removed and pre-frozen in a −20 ° C. freezer. Thereafter, freeze-drying treatment was carried out in the same manner as in Example 4 to obtain freeze-dried green tea-containing cotton tofu.
The obtained cotton tofu maintained the flavor and hue of matcha tea due to the action of trehalose, and also suppressed color loss during storage.

Claims (4)

  A method for producing freeze-dried cotton tofu, characterized by subjecting cotton tofu prepared using soybean powder to freeze-drying treatment.   The method for producing freeze-dried cotton tofu according to claim 1, wherein the average particle size of the soybean powder is 100 µm or less.   A method for producing a snack-like food, comprising coating the freeze-dried cotton tofu according to claim 1 or 2 with an ingredient.   A method for producing a snack-like food, characterized in that cotton tofu prepared using soybean powder is contacted with a food material and then subjected to freeze-drying.