JP2011078315A - Method for producing dried mugwort - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for producing dried mugwort by which discoloration and deterioration in flavor of mugwort are suppressed, high sterilization effect is brought and also production cost is reduced. <P>SOLUTION: The method for producing dried mugwort comprises: the process for soaking mugwort in a calcium hydroxide aqueous solution having normal temperature; the process for treating the mugwort with steam; and the process for drying the steamed mugwort. In the process for soaking the mugwort in the calcium hydroxide aqueous solution, the calcium hydroxide aqueous solution is such as to be obtained by dissolving calcined calcium in water, the temperature of the aqueous solution is 5-40°C, and the soaking time is 3-30 min. The process for treating the mugwort with steam comprises treatment with superheated steam. The drying process comprises forced drying by hot air. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing dried wormwood, which suppresses discoloration of wormwood and deterioration of flavor, has a high sterilizing effect, and can reduce production costs.

  Wormwood is a plant that has been loved for a long time, and dried wormwood has been produced so that it can be stored for a long period of time, so that it can be used easily. Among these dry wormwoods, especially those that are edible are required not only to be able to be stored for a long period of time by simply reducing the water content, but also to have good taste and good appearance. Hygiene is also important, and it is necessary to sterilize wormwood and reduce the amount of fungi that adhere.

  However, wormwood contains a lot of ak and also has fungi attached to it. Therefore, before drying, the koji is boiled (boiled) with, for example, an aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution for the purpose of draining or sterilizing. ing. However, it is not easy to kill fungi such as wormwood peculiar to the shape of the leaves (the back of the bristles are dense), even if you can boil it with just a baking soda solution. . Although the number of bacteria attached to the wormwood is not a level that is generally a problem in the raw state, it becomes a problem because the number of bacteria per weight becomes very high when dried. Then, in order to kill fungi, it is possible to boil (boil) for a long time, but there is a problem that the color and flavor deteriorate. Yomogi is often used as a material for Japanese confectionery, and the appearance (particularly the color tone) of Japanese confectionery is regarded as important.

  On the other hand, as a method for preventing the green discoloration and flavor change of vegetables, for example, the vegetables are immersed in an aqueous solution containing 0.005 wt% to 0.07 wt% calcium hydroxide and blanched (enzyme by heating). Etc.) (refer to Patent Document 1), a method of branching green leaves with water to which 0.001 to 1% by weight of calcium carbonate is added (refer to Patent Document 2), and further, mugwort is pH 10 or more. A method of boiling in a calcined calcium alkali aqueous solution and washing with a calcined calcium alkali aqueous solution having a pH of less than 10 has been proposed (see Patent Document 3).

  However, since the thing of the said patent document 1 puts vegetables in the boiled calcium hydroxide aqueous solution which is a strong alkali, as also described in the said patent document 2, under the conditions of a strong alkali. When the heat treatment is performed, chlorophyll, which is a green color source, is denatured, and not only a vivid green color cannot be maintained, but also there is a concern that plant cells are softened and destroyed and the flavor is impaired. Since the thing described in the said patent document 3 also performs the blanching process boiled by strong alkalinity, even if it can maintain green, a plant cell is softened and destroyed like the case of the said patent document 1, and it is flavored. There is a problem that is damaged.

  In addition, unlike plants such as general vegetables and green leaves, wormwood has a unique leaf shape (such as dense bristles on the back), so that it is described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 above. In addition, there is still a problem that even when boiled (boiled) under alkaline conditions, the fungi are difficult to kill. If the fungus is to be killed, it is necessary to boil for a long time, and there is a problem that the color and flavor are further deteriorated.

  Moreover, although the method of sterilizing vegetables by adding a calcined calcium formulation and heat-processing at the temperature of 60 degreeC or more is also proposed (for example, refer patent document 4), as described above, wormwood is Since it has a unique leaf shape (such as dense bristles on the back surface), there still remains a problem that fungi are difficult to kill simply by heating under strong alkaline conditions. Moreover, since this is heat-treated at a temperature of 60 ° C. or higher under strongly alkaline conditions, it is inferior in appearance and flavor, and long-term heating is required when trying to kill fungi. Therefore, there is a problem that the color and flavor are further deteriorated.

JP-A-8-112073 JP 2002-34446 A JP 2007-236225 A JP 2001-29007 A

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing dried wormwood, which can easily sterilize wormwood and does not impair discoloration and flavor.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for producing a dried wormwood comprising a step of immersing wormwood in an aqueous calcium hydroxide solution at room temperature, a step of steaming after immersing, and a step of drying after steaming. The second gist is a method for producing dried wormwood, in which the calcium hydroxide aqueous solution is obtained by dissolving calcined calcium in water. Furthermore, in the step of immersing in the calcium hydroxide aqueous solution, the third gist is a method for producing dry wormwood, wherein the temperature of the calcium hydroxide aqueous solution is 5 to 40 ° C. and the immersion time is 3 to 30 minutes. The fourth gist is a method for producing dried wormwood, in which the steaming process is performed by superheated steaming, and the fifth gist is a method for producing dried wormwood, wherein the drying step is by forced drying. .

  Here, in the present invention, the water vapor used for the water vapor treatment means saturated (normal pressure) water vapor and superheated water vapor. Usually, the former is in the temperature range of 80 to 100 ° C., and the latter is in the temperature range of 100 to 240 ° C. Become. Therefore, the water vapor used in the present invention usually has a temperature range of 80 to 240 ° C.

  The present invention immerses wormwood in an aqueous calcium hydroxide solution at room temperature, not at high temperature, treats it with water-derived water vapor, and dries it, so that there is little deterioration in the dark green color or flavor of the wormwood. Realized the production of dried wormwood with a small number of adherent bacteria. According to this, since there is no need for the heat treatment of boiling in hot water as in the conventional blanching treatment, the heating equipment is not necessary, the work efficiency can be improved, and the cost can be reduced. In addition, since the heat treatment is not performed under strong alkali conditions, the wormwood cells are not softened and destroyed, and the color tone or flavor is not deteriorated. Furthermore, by performing steam treatment on the wormwood treated in this way, it is considered that germs that have entered between the soft hair that grows densely on the backside of the leaves can be sterilized, so the color tone or flavor of the wormwood is deteriorated. Without incurring, fully sterilized dried wormwood can be obtained.

  And, when the calcium hydroxide aqueous solution is obtained by dissolving calcined calcium in water, the calcined calcium is made from shells such as scallops and is derived from natural products, and therefore dried. When wormwood is edible, consumers can feel secure. Furthermore, in addition to calcium hydroxide, the aqueous solution contains magnesium oxide, silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide, ferric oxide, titanium oxide, sodium oxide, potassium oxide, sulfur trioxide, phosphorus pentoxide, etc., Since the obtained dried wormwood contains some of these components, further improvement in flavor can be expected.

  In the step of immersing in the calcium hydroxide aqueous solution, if the temperature of the calcium hydroxide aqueous solution is 5 to 40 ° C. and the immersion time is 3 to 30 minutes, the original bright green color of wormwood may be impaired. A small amount of savory dried wormwood can be produced efficiently.

  Furthermore, in the case where the steam treatment step is a superheated steam treatment, a high temperature treatment can be performed in an environment with a very low oxygen concentration, so that quality deterioration due to oxidation can be prevented. Moreover, unlike boiled blanching, it is not necessary to immerse the wormwood in hot water, so the outflow of nutrients can be reduced. Furthermore, since it has a high sterilizing effect, the treatment can be completed in a shorter time, and discoloration can be further prevented. When the drying step is forced drying, the moisture content of the wormwood is reduced in a short time, so that new bacteria can be prevented from attaching and growing.

  In the present invention, “normal temperature” means that heating is not performed, and the temperature is generally 40 ° C. or lower even in summer. “Dry wormwood” means wormwood having a water content of 10% by weight or less.

  Next, an embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described.

  The dried wormwood obtained by the production method of the present invention can be obtained, for example, as follows.

  First, 500 g of raw wormwood is selected and washed with running water to remove foreign matter. Then, using calcined calcium (Okhotsk calcium F / Nippon Natural Materials Co., Ltd.), 1000 mL of a 0.1 wt% calcined calcium aqueous solution is prepared, and the above wormwood is immersed in this for 15 minutes. The temperature of the calcined calcium aqueous solution at this time was 20 ° C.

  Next, the wormwood after the immersion is lightly rinsed with water, and then dehydrated with a basket type centrifugal dehydrator. After the dehydration, the wormwood was subjected to superheated steam treatment (normal pressure: 101.3 Pa, temperature 180 ° C.) for 5 minutes and then dried with hot air (60 ° C., 7 hours) to obtain a dried wormwood with a moisture content of 8% by weight. It was. Usually, the superheated steam treatment is performed by putting the wormwood into a steamer or the like and blowing normal-pressure steam (saturated steam) therein. In the present invention, the superheated steam treatment refers to water vapor (superheated steam: for example, 101. The treatment is performed with water vapor heated to 100 ° C. or higher at 3 kPa (1 atm). Moreover, normal-pressure water vapor (saturated water vapor) refers to water vapor generated when water is heated under normal pressure.

  According to this method, since the heat treatment (branching) of boiling with hot water is unnecessary as in the prior art, no heating equipment is required, work efficiency is improved, and cost can be reduced. Moreover, since the heat treatment is not performed under strong alkali conditions such as an aqueous calcium hydroxide solution, the wormwood cells are not softened and destroyed, and the color tone and flavor are not deteriorated. Moreover, since the wormwood is immersed in the calcined calcium aqueous solution, the flavor can be expected to be improved by a trace amount of elements contained in the calcined calcium. And since the wormwood after the above treatment is treated with superheated steam without boiling with hot water, it is compatible with being immersed in the calcined calcium aqueous solution without causing deterioration of color, flavor and quality, and outflow of nutrients. Thus, it can be sterilized efficiently in a short time. Furthermore, since forced drying with hot air is performed, it is possible to obtain dry wormwood which is sterilized efficiently and sufficiently in a short time.

  In the above example, calcined calcium is used for producing the calcium hydroxide aqueous solution, but not limited to this, calcium hydroxide may be used. However, when using dried wormwood as edible, it is preferable to use calcined calcium in consideration of consumer psychology.

  In the above example, the wormwood is immersed in the calcined calcium aqueous solution for 15 minutes, but depending on the degree of growth of the wormwood (total size, stem thickness, leaf thickness, etc.) and water temperature (variation depending on the season), It is preferable to set the dipping time appropriately. For example, when the wormwood is growing well or when the water temperature is low, it is immersed for about 15 to 25 minutes, and conversely, when the wormwood is still young or the water temperature is high Is preferably immersed for about 7 to 15 minutes. This is because, if the immersion time is too short, the effect of immersion cannot be obtained, and conversely, if the immersion time is too long, there is no difference in the obtained effect and the time is simply lost. In addition, when mulberry is immersed in an aqueous calcium hydroxide solution at room temperature for a certain period of time, organic acids such as oxalic acid, which is one of the components of wormwood, are combined with calcium in the aqueous solution. It may be a cause of preventing deterioration.

  In the above example, the wormwood after immersion is lightly washed away with water. However, even if it is not washed away, there is no significant effect on the change in the color tone or deterioration of the flavor of the obtained dried wormwood, so it can be omitted.

  Furthermore, in the above example, the basket type centrifugal dehydrator is used for dehydration. However, the general centrifugal type dehydrator can also be used for dehydration.

  In the above example, the wormwood after dehydration is subjected to superheated steam treatment, but the same effect can be obtained even with normal saturated steam treatment. However, it is preferable to perform the superheated steam treatment from the viewpoint of preventing quality deterioration due to oxidation and efficiency. Further, the treatment time is preferably 2 to 15 minutes in the case of superheated steam treatment and 5 to 20 minutes in the case of saturated steam treatment, although it depends on the temperature of the steam. If it is too short, a sufficient sterilizing effect cannot be obtained. Conversely, if it is too long, the color tone and flavor may be deteriorated.

  Furthermore, in the above example, the hot wormwood is forcibly dried by hot air drying. Alternatively, the drying wormwood of the present invention can be obtained by performing natural drying such as drying in the shade. . Further, the forced drying method is not limited to the hot air drying described above, and may be a method such as freeze drying or vacuum drying.

  Next, examples of the present invention will be described together with comparative examples. However, the present invention is not limited to these examples.

[Example 1]
First, 500 g of raw wormwood was washed with tap water to remove foreign matters and dirt, and then immersed in 1000 mL of a 0.1 wt% calcined calcium aqueous solution (25 ° C.) for 15 minutes. Next, this was lightly rinsed with tap water, dehydrated with a basket-type centrifugal dehydrator, and then subjected to superheated steam treatment (normal pressure: 101.3 Pa, temperature 180 ° C.) for 5 minutes. This was dried with a hot air dryer at 60 ° C. for 7 hours to obtain the desired dried wormwood. The water content of the obtained dried wormwood was 6.5% by weight.

[Example 2]
The target dried wormwood was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the saturated steam treatment (normal pressure: 101.3 Pa, temperature 98 ° C.) was performed for 10 minutes instead of the superheated steam treatment. The water content of the obtained dried wormwood was 7.1% by weight.

Example 3
The target dry wormwood was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that calcium hydroxide was used instead of calcined calcium. The water content of the obtained dried wormwood was 6.2% by weight.

[Comparative Example 1]
The target dry wormwood was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that water (distilled water) was used instead of the calcined calcium aqueous solution. The moisture content of the obtained dried wormwood was 6.8% by weight.

[Comparative Example 2]
The target dry wormwood was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a 0.2 wt% aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution was used in place of the calcined calcium aqueous solution. The water content of the obtained dried wormwood was 6.9% by weight.

[Comparative Example 3]
The target dry wormwood was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that alkaline ionized water (pH 9.5) was used instead of the calcined calcium aqueous solution. The water content of the obtained dried wormwood was 6.0% by weight.

[Comparative Example 4]
500 g of raw wormwood was washed with tap water to remove foreign matters and dirt, and then boiled with a 0.1 wt% calcined calcium aqueous solution at 90 ° C. for 5 minutes. Next, this was rinsed lightly with tap water, dehydrated with a basket-type centrifugal dehydrator, and then dried with a hot air dryer at 60 ° C. for 7 hours to obtain the desired dried wormwood. The water content of the obtained dried wormwood was 6.5% by weight.

[Comparative Example 5]
The target dry wormwood was obtained in the same manner as in Comparative Example 4 except that the temperature of the calcined calcium aqueous solution was 60 ° C. The moisture content of the obtained dried wormwood was 6.3% by weight.

  About these Example goods and comparative example goods, "color change", "viable bacteria count", "E. coli group", and "flavor" were evaluated according to the following procedures, respectively, and the results are shown in Table 1 below. It was shown together.

[Color change]
The obtained Example product and Comparative product were visually observed by 10 monitors. Regarding the color change, ◎ indicates that there is no change and the color is bright green. Grades are evaluated in 4 grades: ◯ for things that are advanced, △ for those that are partially brownish, and × for those that are further advanced and brownish as a whole. I asked for a good evaluation.

[Viable count] and [Coliform group]
The obtained Example product and Comparative product were pulverized by a rotary cutter type pulverizer to obtain powder passing through a pore having an opening diameter of 1 mm, which was used as each test sample. 1 g of each test sample was diluted in 10 mL of physiological saline to prepare a diluted sample solution. The diluted sample solution was used for the measurement of viable cell count and coliform group, respectively. As for the number of viable bacteria, 1 mL of the diluted sample solution was cultured at 35 ° C. ± 1 ° C. for 48 hours ± 3 hours with Petrifilm (registered trademark) for viable cell count, and the number of colonies visible in the medium was measured. Then, the number of colonies measured was multiplied by the dilution factor to obtain the number of bacteria per 1 g of the Example product and the Comparative product. When the number of colonies measured is greater than 10 ³ as a result of culturing and measuring the diluted sample solution, 1 mL of the diluted sample solution is further diluted with 10 mL of physiological saline, and the sample solution is rarely cultured.・ By measuring, the exact number of viable bacteria is calculated. Moreover, about coliform group, it culture | cultivated for 24 hours +/- 3 hours at 35 degreeC +/- 1 degreeC with the petri film (trademark) for coliform group measurement, and observed whether the colony could be confirmed to a culture medium. And what was able to confirm even one colony was made positive, and what was not able to confirm a colony was made negative.

[Flavor]
The obtained Example product and Comparative product were pulverized by a rotary cutter type pulverizer to obtain powder passing through a pore having an opening diameter of 1 mm, which was used as each test sample. 5 g of each test sample was mixed in a koji made of 60 g of white flour, 10 g of sugar and 90 g of water to prepare a wormwood koji. Ten monitors monitor the produced wormwood rice cake, evaluate it in four levels, ◎ for the savory flavor, ◯ for the savory flavor, △ for the unsatisfactory flavor, and × for those that do not feel at all. Called for evaluation.

  From the above results, it can be seen that the example products are generally good in evaluation for any of the items, so that the color of the wormwood does not change, the flavor is maintained, and it is sufficiently sterilized. However, it can be seen that the comparative example product is inferior to the example product because none of these evaluations are good. Moreover, even if the immersion time of the calcium hydroxide aqueous solution was changed to 5 minutes and 10 minutes in the same manner as in Example 2, the same product as in Example 2 was obtained. Further, in the same manner as in Example 2, even when the temperature of the calcined calcium aqueous solution was changed to 38 ° C. and 10 ° C., the same product as in Example 2 was obtained.

  The present invention is a method for easily producing dry wormwood having a high bactericidal effect, suppressing discoloration of wormwood, and having a good flavor. The dried wormwood produced by this method has a bright green color and good flavor, and has a small number of attached bacteria, so that it is suitable for edible use.

Claims (5)

  A method for producing dried wormwood, comprising: a step of immersing wormwood in an aqueous calcium hydroxide solution at room temperature; a step of steaming after immersing; and a step of drying after steaming.   The method for producing dried wormwood according to claim 1, wherein the calcium hydroxide aqueous solution is obtained by dissolving calcined calcium in water.   3. The method for producing dry wormwood according to claim 1, wherein in the step of immersing in the aqueous calcium hydroxide solution, the temperature of the aqueous calcium hydroxide solution is 5 to 40 ° C. and the immersion time is 3 to 30 minutes.   The method for producing a dry wormwood according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the steaming step is a superheated steaming treatment.   The method for producing a dried wormwood according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the drying step is performed by forced drying.