JP2013017471A - Method and apparatus of producing expanded food product, and expanded food product - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rod-shaped expanded food product rich in flavor and free of irregularity in color or taste.SOLUTION: The method of producing an expanded food product 1 includes: a step of producing an additive-impregnated material in which an additive-impregnated material 7 is produced by impregnating a grain raw material 3 with a liquid additive 5; a step of continuously producing an intermediate expanded material in which the produced additive-impregnated material 7 is charged in an extrusion molding machine 23, heated and blended, and instantaneously discharged outside after pressurized, and an intermediate expanded material 17 is produced continuously and quantitatively; a rod-molding step in which the produced intermediate expanded material 17 is hardened while being linearly drawn by a transfer means 20 to be molded into a rod shape, and a cutting step in which the intermediate expanded material 17 molded into a rod shape is cut to a predetermined length. The surface of the expanded food product 1 may be dusted with a coarsely crushed and dried material 9 such as bonito, tea leaves, vegetables, fruits.

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing puffed food, a puffed food production apparatus, and puffed food, and in particular, using grains as a main raw material, uniform shape, color and taste, not found in conventional puffed foods, and additives. The present invention relates to a method for producing a puffed food characterized by a combination, a puffed food production apparatus for producing the puffed food, and a puffed food produced by the method for producing the puffed food.

  A puffed food mainly made of cereal has been conventionally produced as a snack confectionery or the like as shown in, for example, Patent Document 1 below. In order to produce puffed food, an extruder called “Extruder” is used, and a quantity of cereal raw material is introduced into the extruder raw material input at a fixed quantity, and the raw material input of the extruder is added. The same amount of additives for coloring and seasoning to be blended materials are added to each.

Grain raw materials and additives introduced into the extruder are stirred and mixed by a screw, heated by a heater, pressurized by a nozzle called a “die” provided at the tip of the extruder, and released to the outside. Is done.
At this time, the moisture of the grain raw material instantly evaporates in the nozzle and swells due to the expansion force of the water vapor to obtain a porous expanded food. Moreover, the cross-sectional shape of the puffed food obtained in this way is determined by the hole diameter of the die and the shape of the hole. Examples of the hole shape include a round shape, a square shape, and a star shape.
Moreover, the cutting blade is provided in the outer vicinity of the said die, and the expanded food continuously discharged | emitted from an extruder is cut to about 5-20 mm short.
And the surface of the cut puffed food is appropriately subjected to a treatment such as coating, and is packed and packed and shipped as a product.

JP-A-7-170930

However, when the puffed food is produced by the extruder, the puffed food discharged from the extruder at a high temperature is rapidly cooled by contact with the atmosphere and hardened.
Accordingly, the puffed food naturally starts to arc immediately after being discharged from the extruder, and it has been impossible to maintain the regular form as a product unless it is cut with a short length as described above.

  Moreover, the grain raw material and the additive cannot be sufficiently mixed only by stirring with a screw performed in the extruder, and the produced puffed food has uneven color and uneven taste. Accordingly, additives that are easy to mix were selected and there were practical limitations on the use of the additives.

  The present invention has been made based on such points, and its object is to have a novel shape that has not been found in conventional puffed foods, resulting in uneven color and uneven taste throughout. There are provided a method for producing a new puffed food capable of combining various additives, a puffed food production apparatus used for producing the puffed food, and a puffed food produced by the production method. There is.

  In order to achieve the above object, the method for producing a puffed food according to claim 1 of the present invention includes an additive-impregnated raw material generating step of impregnating a grain raw material with a liquid additive to generate an additive-impregnated raw material, and the generated additive An intermediate expansion material generation process in which the impregnated raw material is put into an extrusion molding machine, heated and mixed, released to the outside at once after pressurization, and an intermediate expansion material is continuously generated in a fixed amount, and the generated intermediate expansion before curing A rod-shaped forming step for curing the material while conveying the material over a predetermined length by the conveying means, and a cutting step for cutting the intermediate expanded material formed into a rod-shaped shape after curing to a predetermined length. It is characterized by that.

  The method for producing a puffed food according to claim 2 is the method for producing a puffed food according to claim 1, wherein in the additive-impregnated raw material generating step, the grain raw material is immersed in a liquid additive for a predetermined time, and dehydrated after completion of the immersion. Thus, the additive-impregnated raw material is generated by drying with hot air until a predetermined water content is reached.

  The method for producing a puffed food according to claim 3 is the method for producing a puffed food according to claim 1, wherein in the additive-impregnated raw material production step, the grain raw material is put in a liquid additive and boiled until it is gelatinized. Thereafter, it is dehydrated and dried with hot air until a predetermined moisture content is obtained, thereby producing an additive-impregnated raw material.

  Moreover, the manufacturing method of the puffed food by Claim 4 is a manufacturing method of the puffed food in any one of Claims 1-3, The conveyance means used at the said rod-shaped formation process is a conveyance conveyor, It is characterized by the above-mentioned. It is what.

  The method for producing a puffed food according to claim 5 is the method for producing a puffed food according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the conveying means used in the rod-shaped forming step is extruded from the extruder. The drive pulley and the driven pulley that sandwich and convey the intermediate expansion material are arranged in a plurality of sets at an appropriate interval in the feed direction.

  Moreover, the manufacturing method of the puffed food by Claim 6 is a manufacturing method of the puffed food in any one of Claims 1-5. WHEREIN: The feeding end of the intermediate puffed material shape | molded in the rod shape following the said rod-shaped formation process. The present invention is characterized in that a torsion forming process is performed in which a torsional rotation is applied to form a torsion shape.

  The method for producing a puffed food according to claim 7 is the method for producing a puffed food according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the food is bonded to the surface of the intermediate puffed material following the rod-shaped forming step or the twist forming step. A food adhesive application process for forming an adhesive layer by applying a material, and a dry crushed material spraying process for sprinkling the dry crushed material on the surface of the intermediate expanded material to which the food adhesive is applied are performed. It is characterized by being.

  A method for producing a puffed food according to claim 8 is the method for producing a puffed food according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the food is bonded to the surface of the intermediate puffed material following the rod-shaped forming step or the twist forming step. Food adhesive first application step of applying a coating material to form an adhesive layer, a dry crushed material spraying step of sprinkling dry crushed material on the surface of the intermediate expanded material coated with the food adhesive, and the dried crushed material A food adhesive second application step of forming a film by applying a food adhesive to the surface of the sprinkled intermediate expansion material is performed.

  The apparatus for producing a puffed food according to claim 9 includes a raw material inlet for introducing an additive-impregnated raw material obtained by impregnating the grain raw material with a liquid additive, and a leading end while stirring and mixing the added additive-impregnated raw material. A screw transported toward the head, a pressurizing unit that pressurizes the heated and mixed additive-impregnated raw material transported to the tip, and the pressurized additive-impregnated raw material is discharged to the outside at once to be expanded. A die having a discharge port of a predetermined shape; and a conveying means provided at a downstream position of the die for conveying the unexpanded intermediate expanded material discharged from the die over a predetermined length. A cutting device that is provided at a downstream position of the conveying means and cuts the cured intermediate expanded material protruding from the end of the support member to a predetermined length while supporting the intermediate expanded material carried out from the transfer means by the support member. And comprising And it is characterized in Rukoto.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for producing a puffed food according to the ninth aspect, wherein the conveying means is a conveyer.

  An apparatus for producing puffed food according to claim 11 is the apparatus for producing puffed food according to claim 9, wherein the conveying means includes a drive pulley for nipping and conveying the intermediate puffed material extruded from the extruder. A plurality of sets of driven pulleys are arranged at appropriate intervals in the feed direction.

  An expanded food manufacturing apparatus according to claim 12 is the expanded food manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein an intermediate expansion is carried out from the conveying means between the conveying means and a support member. A torsion molding machine is provided which is provided with a torsional rotation at the feeding end of the material to form a torsional shape.

  The expanded food production apparatus according to claim 13 is the expanded food production apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein a food adhesive is applied to the surface of the intermediate expanded material upstream of the support member. A food adhesive application device to be applied is provided, and at the downstream position of the food adhesive application device, a dry coarse product spraying device for sprinkling the dry coarse product on the surface of the intermediate expanded material is provided. is there.

  The expanded food production apparatus according to claim 14 is the expanded food production apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein a food adhesive is applied to the surface of the intermediate expanded material upstream of the support member. A food adhesive first application device to be applied is provided, and a dry coarse product spraying device for sprinkling the dry coarse product on the surface of the intermediate expanded material is provided at a downstream position of the food adhesive first application device, and the dry coarse product is distributed. A food adhesive second application device for applying a food adhesive on the surface of the intermediate expansion material is provided at a downstream position of the device.

  The expanded food according to claim 15 is an expanded food manufactured using an additive-impregnated raw material obtained by impregnating a grain raw material with a liquid additive, and the expanded food has a diameter or a length of one side. It has a rod-like shape with a length of 5 to 15 mm and a length of 20 to 200 mm.

  The expanded food according to claim 16 is the expanded food according to claim 15, wherein the liquid additive is a diluted or extracted liquid or extract of juice extracted from bonito, tea, vegetables, fruits, etc. It is a seasoning liquid to which is added.

  The expanded food according to claim 17 is the expanded food according to claim 15 or 16, wherein a dried coarse product obtained by drying and coarsely crushing bonito, tea, vegetables, fruits, etc. on the surface of the expanded food. It is characterized by being covered.

  Moreover, the puffed food according to claim 18 is the puffed food according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that the puffed food has a twisted shape.

The following actions are obtained by the above means. First, according to the method for producing a puffed food of the present invention, the additive-impregnated raw material generation step is provided prior to the intermediate puffing material generation step, so that the additive can be evenly distributed throughout the grain raw material. In addition, the occurrence of color unevenness, taste unevenness and the like of the expanded food caused by the uneven distribution of additives is prevented, and the commercial value of the expanded food is improved.
Further, by executing the rod-shaped forming step after the intermediate expanded material generating step, the generated intermediate expanded material before curing is molded into a rod-shaped shape extending in the discharge direction without curling and is cured.

Accordingly, in the next cutting step, cutting is performed on the intermediate expanded material formed into a rod-like shape, so that it becomes possible to produce expanded foods having a length of 20 mm or more that did not exist in the past. .
Further, when the additive-impregnated raw material is obtained by immersing the cereal raw material in the liquid additive for a predetermined time in the additive-impregnated raw material generation step, there is a risk of discoloration, aroma, and taste deterioration due to heating. With regard to the additive, it becomes possible to produce an additive-impregnated raw material while maintaining the natural coloration and the scent and taste of the additive.

  In addition, when the additive material impregnated raw material is added to the liquid additive in the additive impregnated raw material generation step and boiled until it is gelatinized, the additive impregnated raw material is obtained. By making it easy to impregnate liquid additives that are difficult to impregnate in, and using an additive-impregnated raw material that has been pregelatinized to produce an intermediate expansion material, the expansion of the additive-impregnated raw material becomes more active or easy , Expansion time is shortened.

Moreover, when a conveyor is used as the conveying means used in the rod-shaped forming step, there is no restriction on the cross-sectional shape of the intermediate expanded material to be transferred, and intermediate expanded materials having various cross-sectional shapes can be transferred. It becomes possible.
On the other hand, as a conveying means used in the rod-shaped forming step, a configuration in which a plurality of sets of driving pulleys and driven pulleys that sandwich and convey the intermediate expanded material are arranged at appropriate intervals in the feeding direction is applied. In this case, the posture of the intermediate expanded material during conveyance is stabilized, and the rotation of the intermediate expanded material around the axis at the clamping portion between the drive pulley and the driven pulley is restricted.

In addition, when the torsion forming step is executed subsequent to the rod-like forming step, it is possible to produce expanded foods having different tastes by adding twist to the intermediate expanded material formed into a rod-like shape. It becomes possible.
In addition, when the food adhesive spraying step and the dry crushed material spraying step are performed subsequent to the rod-shaped forming step or the twist forming step, the intermediate expansion material is formed into a rod shape, a twisted shape is added, and an intermediate shape is added. Adhesion of the dried crushed material to the surface of the expanded material is carried out, and an unprecedented new expanded food with the dried crushed material coated on the surface can be efficiently produced.

  Further, when the first step of spreading the food adhesive, the step of spraying the dried crushed material, and the second step of spreading the food adhesive are carried out following the rod-shaped forming step or the torsion forming step, intermediate expansion is performed. The material becomes rod-like and twisted, and the dry crushed material adheres to the surface of the intermediate expanded material and the coating is formed. The surface is coated with the dry crushed material, and is difficult to peel off. It will be possible to efficiently produce new puffed foods that are difficult to absorb.

In addition, according to the apparatus for producing a puffed food of the present invention, the curling tendency of the intermediate puffed material is provided by providing the conveying means for conveying the pre-cured intermediate puffed material over a predetermined length at the downstream position of the die. This prevents the rod-shaped intermediate expanded material from being formed.
Further, the intermediate expanded material is cured while being supported by the conveying means and the supporting member, and its rod-like shape is maintained. Therefore, the intermediate expanded material has a length exceeding 20 mm, which is impossible with a conventional expanded food manufacturing apparatus. It becomes possible to produce the expanded food.

Moreover, when a conveyor is applied as the conveying means, it is possible to apply conveying means that can cope with intermediate expanded materials having various cross-sectional shapes.
In addition, when a configuration in which a plurality of sets of driving pulleys and driven pulleys are arranged at appropriate intervals in the feed direction is applied as the conveying means, the intermediate expansion material is sandwiched by the driving pulley and the driven pulley. Conveyance with restricted rotation around the axis becomes possible.

  In addition, when a torsion molding machine is provided between the conveying means and the support member, it is possible to manufacture expanded foods having different shapes obtained by further twisting the intermediate expanded material formed into a rod shape. Become.

In addition, a food adhesive applicator for applying a food adhesive on the surface of the intermediate expanded material is provided at the upstream position of the support member, and a dry crushed material is applied to the surface of the intermediate expanded material at a position downstream of the food adhesive applicator. In the case where a spraying device for the dried coarsely crushed material is provided, an adhesive layer is formed on the surface of the intermediate expanded material in the middle of curing to facilitate the adhesion of the dried crushed material and continuously on the surface of the intermediate expanded material formed into a rod shape. Therefore, it becomes possible to adhere the dry crushed material efficiently.
Also, a food adhesive first application device for applying a food adhesive on the surface of the intermediate expanded material is provided at an upstream position of the support member, and the intermediate expandable material is provided at a downstream position of the food adhesive first application device. When a dry crushed material spraying device for sprinkling dry crushed material is provided, and a food adhesive second coating device for applying a food adhesive on the surface of the intermediate expanded material is provided downstream of the dry crushed material spraying device, it is cured. An adhesive layer is formed on the surface of the intermediate expanded material in the middle to facilitate the adhesion of the dry crushed material, and the dried crushed material is continuously and efficiently attached to the surface of the intermediate expanded material formed into a rod-like shape. By forming a film on the surface, it is possible to prevent the dry crushed material from being peeled off.

In addition, according to the puffed food of the present invention, the use of an additive-impregnated raw material obtained by impregnating a cereal raw material with a liquid additive as a raw material for producing the puffed food makes the additive uniform throughout the cereal raw material. The color unevenness and taste unevenness of the puffed food caused by the uneven distribution of the additives distributed in the region are prevented.
In addition, the conventional puffed food has a curl shape with a length of 5 to 20 mm, whereas the puffed food of the present invention has a rod shape with a length of 20 to 200 mm. It becomes possible to provide a new puffed food having a length and shape that did not exist before.

In addition, when the liquid additive is an extract obtained from bonito, tea, vegetables, fruits, etc., a diluted or extracted liquid of juice, or a seasoning liquid obtained by adding a seasoning to these, a new and unprecedented flavor is expanded. It can be added to foods, and bonito, tea, vegetables, and fruits are all natural foods or processed foods, so that a healthier expanded food can be provided.
In addition, when the dried crushed material obtained by drying and crushing dried bonito, tea, vegetables, fruits, etc. on the surface of the puffed food, not only the flavor of bonito, tea, vegetables, fruits, etc., but also the food These can be tasted as feeling and color, and a new puffed food having an unprecedented texture and color can be provided.

  In addition, when the puffed food is configured to have a twisted shape, it is possible to provide a puffed food having a new shape that has a length that did not exist in the past and further has a twisted shape.

According to the method for producing puffed food, the apparatus for puffed food and the puffed food of the present invention, it is possible to efficiently produce stick-shaped puffed food without causing curling, and by adopting a twisted shape, an unprecedented shape It will be possible to provide puffed food. Further, the adoption of the liquid additive makes it possible to produce a puffed food product having a high commercial value without causing uneven color and taste unevenness due to uniform mixing with the grain raw material.
In addition, when natural foods such as bonito, tea, vegetables and fruits or processed products thereof are used as liquid additive materials, it becomes possible to provide puffed foods with an unprecedented flavor, and dry crushed products However, if the same material is used, it becomes possible to provide a food with an unprecedented texture.

It is a figure which shows 1st Embodiment of the puffed food of this invention, and is a perspective view which shows three types of aspect (a) (b) (c) of puffed food. It is a figure which shows 1st Embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus of the puffed food of this invention, and is a perspective view of the manufacturing apparatus of puffed food. It is a figure which shows 1st Embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus of the puffed food of this invention, and is a side view of the manufacturing apparatus of puffed food. It is a figure which shows 1st Embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus of the puffed food of this invention, and is a front view of the manufacturing apparatus of puffed food. It is a figure which shows 1st Embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus of the puffed food of this invention, and is a top view of the manufacturing apparatus of puffed food. It is a figure which shows 2nd Embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus of the puffed food of this invention, and is a side view of the manufacturing apparatus of puffed food. It is a figure which shows 1st Embodiment of the manufacturing method of the expanded food of this invention, and is a schematic diagram which shows each process of the manufacturing method of expanded food. It is a figure which shows the additive impregnation raw material production | generation process in the manufacturing method of the puffed food of this invention, and is a schematic diagram which shows the 1st aspect of an additive impregnation raw material production | generation process. It is a figure which shows the additive impregnation raw material production | generation process in the manufacturing method of the puffed food of this invention, and is a schematic diagram which shows the 2nd aspect of an additive impregnation raw material production | generation process. It is a schematic diagram which shows the rod-shaped shaping | molding process in the manufacturing method of the puffed food of this invention, a foodstuff adhesive dispersion | spreading process, and a dry coarsely crushed material dispersion | distribution process. In the method for producing a puffed food according to the present invention, a rod-shaped forming step, a food adhesive first spraying step, a dry coarse product spraying step, a food adhesive first spraying step, a dry crude product spraying step, and a food adhesive first It is a schematic diagram which shows 2 spraying processes. It is a side view which shows the other Example of the conveyance conveyor of the manufacturing apparatus of the puffed food of this invention. It is a side view which shows the other Example of the food adhesive application apparatus of the manufacturing apparatus of the puffed food of this invention. It is a front view which shows the other Example of the food adhesive application apparatus of the manufacturing apparatus of the puffed food of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which charts and shows the Example of 1-7 of the puffed food of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which charts and shows the Example of 8-14 of the puffed food of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which illustrates 15-20 Examples of the puffed food of this invention in a graph. It is explanatory drawing which shows the sensory test result of the Examples 1-7 of the puffed food of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the sensory test result of 8-14 Examples of the puffed food of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the sensory test result of 15-20 Examples of the puffed food of this invention. It is a top view which shows the other Example of the cutting device of the manufacturing apparatus of the puffed food of this invention. It is a figure which shows 2nd Embodiment of the puffed food of this invention, and is a perspective view which shows three types of aspect (a) (b) (c) of puffed food. It is a figure which shows 3rd Embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus of the puffed food of this invention, and is a side view of the manufacturing apparatus of puffed food. It is a figure which shows 3rd Embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus of the puffed food of this invention, and is a side view which shows a conveyance means and a twist molding machine. It is a figure which shows 3rd Embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus of the puffed food of this invention, and is a front view which shows a conveyance means. It is a figure which shows 3rd Embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus of the puffed food of this invention, and is a top view which shows a conveyance means and a twist molding machine. It is a figure which shows 3rd Embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus of the puffed food of this invention, and is a front view which shows a cutting device. It is a figure which shows 2nd Embodiment of the manufacturing method of the expanded food of this invention, and is a schematic diagram which shows each process of the manufacturing method of expanded food.

  Hereinafter, taking the embodiment shown in the drawings as an example, (1) a device for producing puffed food, (2) a method for producing puffed food, and (3) a puffed food will be described in detail in this order.

(1) Apparatus for producing puffed food (see FIGS. 2 to 6, FIGS. 12, 21 and FIGS. 23 to 27)
The expanded food production apparatus 21 of the present invention is basically configured by including an extrusion molding machine 23, a conveying means 20, and a cutting apparatus 27. Moreover, in (A) 1st Embodiment, (B) 2nd Embodiment, and (C) 3rd Embodiment which are explained in full detail below, the dry crushed material above the support member 25 of the cutting device 27 is shown. A spraying device 29 and one or two food adhesive application devices 31 are provided. (C) In the third embodiment, a twist forming machine 22 is provided between the conveying means 20 and the support member 25. Is further provided.
Hereinafter, the three embodiments of (A) the first embodiment, (B) the second embodiment, and (C) the third embodiment will be described as examples. The constituent members will be specifically described.

(A) 1st Embodiment (refer FIGS. 2-5, FIG. 12, 21 and FIG.1 (b)).
The expanded food manufacturing apparatus 21A according to the first embodiment is an apparatus capable of manufacturing the expanded food 1B shown in FIG. 1B, and is located upstream of the support member 25 as shown in FIG. A spray nozzle 31A for forming the adhesive layer 13 on the surface of the puffed food 1 is provided, and a crushed material distribution feeder 29 for sprinkling the dried crushed material 9 is provided at a downstream position of the spray nozzle 31A. . In the case of an apparatus capable of producing the expanded food 1A shown in FIG. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which is provided and is not used.

As the extruder 23, an extruder can be used as an example. There are one-axis and two-axis extruders, and either one can be used, but in this embodiment, a one-axis extruder is used. The single-screw extruder is small and suitable for high-mix low-volume production, and is advantageous in that it can be replaced in a short time.
The extrusion molding machine 23 is provided with a rectangular box-shaped raw material charging port 35 having an open upper surface for charging the additive-impregnated raw material 7 at the upper part of the housing 33. In addition, a cylindrical body 37 is provided inside the housing 33 so as to extend in the front-rear direction A, and the added additive-impregnated raw material 7 is stirred at the center of the cylindrical body 37. A screw 39 that is conveyed toward the tip while mixing is provided in a rotatable state.

In addition, a heater 41 for heating the added additive-impregnated raw material 7 is provided around the cylindrical body 37. Some extruders are heated by frictional heat without using a heater for heating the additive-impregnated raw material 7 that has been charged, and this can also be used. A pressurizing portion 43 that pressurizes the heat-mixed additive-impregnated raw material 7 that has been conveyed to the tip portion is provided at the tip portion of the cylindrical body 37.
In addition, a die 47 having a discharge port 45 having a predetermined shape for discharging the additive-impregnated raw material 7 pressurized by the pressurizing unit 43 to the outside at once is expanded. Yes.

And the conveyance conveyor 24 is provided as an example of the conveyance means 20 mentioned above in the downstream position of the said die | dye 47 of the front-end | tip part of the extrusion molding machine 23 provided with such a structural member.
An example of the conveyor 24 is a belt conveyor 24A. The belt conveyor 24A includes a drive motor that is a drive source, a speed reducer, a pair of pulleys connected to the output shaft of the speed reducer, and a conveyor belt. The belt conveyor 24A supports and conveys the unexpanded intermediate expanded material 17 discharged from the die 47 over a predetermined length. On the upper surface of the belt conveyor 24A, there is provided a pair of guide plates 24B arranged in parallel so as to be directed in the belt conveyor conveyance direction, and the intermediate expanded material 17 before being cured is sandwiched between the pair of guide plates 24B. By being conveyed by, it is formed in a straight line shape. Although not shown, the guide plate 24B may be provided on the conveyor belt side, or may be formed in a groove shape.
In addition, as the conveyance conveyor 24, as shown in FIG. 12, you may comprise by the roller conveyor 24C. The roller conveyor 24C includes a drive motor that is a drive source, a speed reducer, a roller drive mechanism connected to the output shaft of the speed reducer, and a plurality of rollers. The roller conveyor 24C supports the unexpanded intermediate expanded material 17 discharged from the die 47 over a predetermined length and conveys the roller by rotating it. On the upper surface of the roller conveyor 24C, there is provided a pair of guide plates 24B arranged in parallel so as to be directed in the roller conveyor traveling direction, whereby the intermediate expansion material 17 before curing is sandwiched between the pair of guide plates 24B. It is pulled out in the state that was pulled out.

And the cutting device 27 mentioned above is provided in the downstream position of the conveyance means 20, such as the said conveyance conveyor 24. As shown in FIG.
The cutting device 27 is first provided with a support member 25. For example, the support member 25 is a member having a V-shaped cross-section as shown in FIG.

As an example of cutting the intermediate expanded material 17 by acting on the cured intermediate expanded material 17 protruding from the end of the support member 25 at a downstream position of the support member 25, a cutting blade 49 and the cutting blade 49 are provided. A cutting machine 28A including a motor 50 to be rotated is provided.
The cutting machine 28 is configured to rotate or lift a circular saw-like rotary blade such as a round knife or a cutting machine 28B of a third embodiment described later instead of the cutting blade 49 of the cutting machine 28A. It is also good. In this case, there is an effect that a clean cut surface can be obtained.
Further, when the processing capability of the cutting device 27 increases, the intermediate expanded material 17 comes into strong contact with the abdominal surface 49a of the cutting blade 49 and the like, and the intermediate expanded material 17 discharged from the extruder outlet loses its place and bends upward. . For this reason, as shown in FIG. 21, the cutting blades 49 and the like are cut while moving at a speed at which the expanded food 1 is manufactured in the traveling direction of the intermediate expanded material 17 by a cylinder 51 or a motor (not shown) and returned to the original state. It is preferable to adopt a configuration. Thereby, there exists an effect which can manufacture the linear puffed food 1 which is not a hump shape or a mountain shape.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the support member 25 is formed long in the transport direction of the transport means 20, and a food adhesive application for applying the food adhesive 11 to the surface of the intermediate expanded material 17 is provided upstream of the support member 25. A device 31 is provided, and a dry crushed material spraying device 29 for sprinkling the dry crushed material 9 on the surface of the intermediate expanded material 17 is provided at a downstream position of the food adhesive application device 31. Further, the support member 25 is partially perforated, and a tray 30 for collecting and reusing the food adhesive and the dried crushed material is disposed below.

As the food adhesive application device 31, a spray nozzle 31A is provided as an example. The spray nozzle 31A is of an air type and is connected to a compressor (not shown) or a tank of the food adhesive 11 and sprays the food adhesive 11 on the surface of the intermediate expanded material 17 in the middle of curing, so that the intermediate expanded material 17 An adhesive layer 13 is formed on the surface. An airless type can be used instead of the air type.
The food adhesive applicator 31 is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be constituted by a roller applicator 32 as shown in FIGS. The roller coating device 32 can be used as an example having a structure including a hopper 32 </ b> A that accommodates the food adhesive 11 on the upper side and a sponge roller 32 </ b> B that applies the food adhesive 11 on the lower side.
While the sponge roller 32B rotates, the food adhesive 11 is applied to the surface of the intermediate expanded material 17 in the middle of curing to form the adhesive layer 13 on the surface of the intermediate expanded material 17.

  In addition, as the food adhesive application device 29 above the support member 25, a parts feeder 29A can be cited as an example. The parts feeder 29A includes a circular bowl for storing the dried crushed material 9 and a vibration unit that vibrates the crushed material 9A. The dry crushed material 9 is taken out in a certain amount and dried on the surface of the intermediate expanded material 17 through a ridge. It has a structure in which the coarsely crushed material 9 is sprinkled. The food adhesive applicator 29 is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, although not shown, the food adhesive applicator 29 includes a hopper that accommodates the dried crushed material 9 in the upper portion and sprays the dried crushed material 9 in the lower portion. It is also possible to use a crushed material distribution feeder equipped with a distribution screw.

And according to 21 A of expanded food manufacturing apparatuses which concern on 1st Embodiment comprised in this way, the curling tendency of the intermediate expanded material 17 is prevented by providing the said conveyance conveyor 24, and existing conventionally The rod-shaped intermediate expanded material 17 having a length exceeding 20 mm that has not been formed can be formed.
Further, the use of the above-described additive-impregnated raw material 7 as a raw material to be fed into the extrusion molding machine 23 prevents color unevenness and taste unevenness of the expanded food 1 caused by uneven distribution of the additive.

Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the puffed food 1B shown in FIG. 1B in which the dry crushed material 9 is attached to the surface of the puffed food 1 can be produced. Not only flavors such as vegetables and fruits but also a texture and color feeling are imparted by the dried crushed material 9, and a new type of expanded food 1 that has never existed before can be provided.
Further, by providing the adhesive layer 13, adhesion of the dried crushed material 9 to the surface of the puffed food 1 becomes strong.

(B) Second embodiment (see FIG. 6)
The expanded food manufacturing apparatus 21B according to the second embodiment is an apparatus capable of manufacturing the expanded food 1C shown in FIG. 1 (c), and an upstream position above the support member 25 as shown in FIG. A spray nozzle 31 </ b> A for forming the adhesive layer 13 on the surface of the expanded food 1 is provided as a food adhesive first application device.
Further, a parts feeder 29 is provided as a dry crushed material spraying device downstream of the spray nozzle 31A, and a coating 15 is applied to the surface of the puffed food 1 as a food adhesive second coating device downstream of the parts feeder 29. A spray nozzle 31B for forming is provided.

Note that, except for the spray nozzle 31B for forming the coating film 15 provided at the downstream position above the support member 25, the other configuration is the same as that of the expanded food manufacturing apparatus 21A according to the first embodiment. Here, a description will be given focusing on the configuration, action, and effect of the spray nozzle 31B for forming the coating film 15 that is different from the first embodiment.
As the spray nozzle 31B for forming the coating film 15, a spray nozzle having the same structure as the spray nozzle 31A for forming the adhesive layer 13 can be adopted, and the adhesive layer 13 is also formed as the food adhesive 11 sprayed by the spray nozzle 31B. The same thing as the food adhesive 11 used with the spray nozzle 31A can be used.

Since the food adhesive 11 is a food adhesive 11 used for the purpose of forming the coating film 15, the surface of the expanded food 1 is glossed, flavored, or adhered to the surface of the expanded food 1. There is also an effect of improving the color development of the dried coarse product 9.
And the expanded food manufacturing apparatus 21B according to the second embodiment configured as described above can also exhibit the same operations and effects as the expanded food manufacturing apparatus 21A according to the first embodiment. Furthermore, in the case of the present embodiment, it becomes possible to arrange the appearance of the puffed food 1 or make it look beautiful, and it is possible to improve the storage stability of the puffed food 1 and increase the commercial value.

(C) Third embodiment (see FIGS. 22 and 23 to 27)
The expanded food manufacturing apparatus 21C according to the third embodiment is an apparatus capable of manufacturing the expanded food 101B shown in FIG. 22B described later, and the expanded food according to the first embodiment described above. A twist forming machine between the conveying means 20 and the support member 25, and a separate conveying means 20 using a driving pulley 26A and a driven pulley 26B instead of the conveying conveyor 24 employed in the manufacturing apparatus 21A of FIG. 22 is different from that of the first embodiment in that a cutting machine 28B using a rotary blade 28a is adopted as the cutting machine 28 of the cutting device 27.

Therefore, the description of the same configuration as the first embodiment is omitted here, and the three configurations unique to the third embodiment will be mainly described.
(I) Configuration of transport means (see FIGS. 24 to 26)
In the present embodiment, a plurality of drive pulleys 26A and driven pulleys 26B, which convey the intermediate expansion material 17 pushed out from the above-described extrusion molding machine 23 by the conveying means 20, with an appropriate interval in the feed direction. It is configured by arranging in groups.

Specifically, as an example, a pulley frame 105 and a motor frame 107 are disposed on the upstream side of the vertical frame 103A with respect to the support frame 103 including a vertical frame 103A and a horizontal frame 103B that are L-shaped in side view. The four drive pulleys 26A are disposed below the pulley frame 105 at an appropriate interval, and the three driven pulleys 26B are disposed above these intermediate positions.
In the center of the outer peripheral surfaces of the driving pulley 26A and the driven pulley 26B disposed above and below, as an example, circumferential grooves 109A and 109B cut out in a semicircular cross-sectional shape are formed, respectively. When these circumferential grooves 109A and 109B are viewed from the carry-in side or the carry-out side, a conveyance restriction space S having a circular cross section is formed as an example between them as shown in FIG.

Incidentally, in the present embodiment, since the intermediate expanded material 17 having a rectangular cross section is pushed out from the shape of the discharge port 45 of the die 47 of the extrusion molding machine 23 while being inclined at 45 °, the inclined posture inclined at 45 ° is maintained. In this state, the intermediate expansion material 17 advances in the conveyance restriction space S.
A motor 111 is attached to the motor frame 107, and the rotation of a motor pulley 113 attached to the output shaft of the motor 111 is, for example, the four driving pulleys 26A via a pulley belt 115 having a circular cross section. Are transmitted as rotations in the same direction and at the same speed.

(Ii) Configuration of torsion molding machine (see FIGS. 24 to 26)
Further, a support post 117 is raised above the horizontal frame 103B of the support frame 103, and as an example attached to the upper part of the support post 117, a rectangular plate-like support plate 119 is twisted. Machine 22 is attached.
The torsion molding machine 22 is an example of a cylindrical rotating cylinder 121 extending in a state where the axis is aligned with the feeding direction of the intermediate expansion material 17, and the rotating cylinder 121 is rotatably arranged on the support plate 119. A bearing 123 for installation, a rotating pulley 125 attached to one end of the rotating cylinder 121, a motor pulley 129 connected to the rotating pulley 125 via a belt 127, and a motor that rotationally drives the motor pulley 129. 131 is provided as an example.

(Iii) Configuration of the cutting machine (see FIG. 27)
In the present embodiment, the support member 25 described above is disposed downstream of the torsion molding machine 22, and a cutting machine 28 </ b> B including a rotary blade 28 a is disposed downstream of the support member 25.
As an example, the cutting machine 28B has a support frame 133 including a single vertical frame 133a having a low height and a horizontal frame 133b serving as a base frame, and an elevating base 135 is provided on the upper portion of the vertical frame 133a having a low height. Is arranged.

A swing frame 141 is swingably connected to the upper portion of the elevating base 135 via a swing fulcrum 139, and a circular saw is rotated as an example by a motor (not shown) relative to the swing frame 141. A blade-like rotary blade 28a is rotatably mounted.
The base of the lift base 135 is connected to the main body of the lift cylinder 143, and the tip of the cylinder rod of the lift cylinder 143 is connected to the swing frame 141.

  Also, the puffed food manufacturing apparatus 21C according to the third embodiment configured as described above can exhibit the same operations and effects as the puffed food manufacturing apparatus 21A according to the first embodiment. Furthermore, in the case of the present embodiment, the inner peripheral surface of the rotary cylinder 121 of the torsion molding machine 22 with respect to the feeding end of the intermediate expanded material 17 whose base end posture is held by the conveyance restriction space S is By making frictional contact, it becomes possible to produce a puffed food 111B shown in FIG. 22 (b) in which the intermediate puffed material 17 is twisted and twisted.

(2) Method for producing puffed food (see FIGS. 7 to 11 and FIG. 28)
The method for producing a puffed food of the present invention includes (A) an additive-impregnated raw material generation step 61, (B) an intermediate puffing material generation step 63, (C) a rod-shaped forming step 65, (D) a cutting step 67, Is basically configured.
In addition, the said structure is a structure required when manufacturing the expanded food 1A shown to Fig.1 (a), and when manufacturing the expanded food 1B shown to FIG.1 (b), it shows to (E) in FIG. The food adhesive spraying step 69 and the (F) dry crushed material spraying step 71 are required.

Moreover, when manufacturing the expanded food 1C shown in FIG.1 (C), (G) food adhesive 1st spreading | diffusion process 73 shown in FIG. 11, (H) dried coarsely crushed material spreading process 75, (I) Food adhesive second spraying step 77 is required, and in the case of manufacturing puffed foods 101A, 101B, 101C shown in FIG. 22 to be described later, the same rod-shaped forming step 65 ′ and cutting step 67 ′ as described above are performed. A twist forming process 66 is required between them.
Each of these steps will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, divided into [I] the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 to 11 and [II] the second embodiment shown in FIG. . 7 shows the overall configuration of each of the steps constituting the method for producing a puffed food according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 8 and 9 show the production of the additive-impregnated raw material. The specific aspect of the process 61 is divided into a first aspect 61A and a second aspect 61B.

In FIG. 10, the food adhering material spraying process 69 and the dry crushed material spraying process 71, which are executed in parallel with the rod-shaped forming process 65, are illustrated.
Further, in FIG. 11, the above-described food adhesive first spraying step 73, dry coarse product spraying step 75, and food adhesive second spraying step 77 that are executed in parallel with the rod-shaped forming step 65 are performed. It is shown in the figure.
Moreover, in FIG. 28, the whole structure of each said process which comprises the manufacturing method of the puffed food of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention is illustrated.

[I] First embodiment (see FIGS. 7 to 11)
(A) Additive-impregnated raw material generation step (see FIGS. 7, 8 and 9)
The additive-impregnated raw material generation step 61 is a step of generating the additive-impregnated raw material 7 by impregnating the grain raw material 3 with the liquid additive 5.
Specifically, any one of (i) the first mode 61A shown in FIG. 8 and (ii) the second mode 61B shown in FIG. 9 can be taken.
(I) 1st aspect (refer FIG. 8)
In the additive impregnation raw material generation step 61A according to the first aspect, the grain raw material 3 is immersed in a container B containing the liquid additive 5 for a predetermined time, dehydrated after the immersion, and dried with hot air until a predetermined moisture content is obtained. This is a step of producing the additive-impregnated raw material 7.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the grain raw material 3 is immersed in a container B containing the liquid additive 5 for about a day and night. After the immersion, the grain raw material 3 is drained and lightly dehydrated, and then applied to the hot air dryer 81.
The additive-impregnated raw material 7 is obtained by drying with a hot air dryer 81 until the water content becomes about 13 to 15% and drying.
The seasoning state of the additive-impregnated raw material 7 is appropriately set by adjusting the concentration and immersion time of the liquid additive.

(Ii) Second mode (see FIG. 9)
In the additive-impregnated raw material generation step 61B according to the second aspect, the liquid additive 5 and the grain raw material 3 are put in a container B, boiled until gelatinized, and then dehydrated and dried with hot air until a predetermined moisture content is reached. This is a step of producing the additive-impregnated raw material 7.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the liquid additive 5 and the grain raw material 3 are put into a container B and boiled to such an extent that it is gelatinized. After boiling, water is drained and lightly dehydrated, and then applied to a hot air dryer 81. .

The additive-impregnated raw material 7 is obtained by drying with a hot air dryer 81 until the water content becomes about 13 to 15% and drying.
In addition, said "alpha-ized" generally means that starch is laked by heating. Here, it means that the mixed raw material of the liquid additive 5 and the grain raw material 3 is pasted by boiling. To do.
The seasoning state of the additive-impregnated raw material 7 is appropriately set by adjusting the concentration of the liquid additive.

(B) Intermediate expanded material generation step (see FIG. 7)
In the intermediate expanded material generation step 63, the additive-impregnated raw material 7 thus generated is put into the extrusion molding machine 23, heated and mixed, and released to the outside at once after pressurization to continuously generate the intermediate expanded material 17 in a fixed amount. It is a process to do.
This step 63 is a step that is also employed in the conventional method for producing puffed food. However, in the conventional method for producing a puffed food, the raw material of the grain and the solid additive are separately fed into the extruder 23 and mixed in the process of heating and stirring in the extruder 23.

On the other hand, in the method for producing a puffed food according to the present invention, in the additive impregnated raw material generation step 61 in which the grain raw material 3 is impregnated with the liquid additive 5 in advance as the raw material to be fed into the extrusion molding machine 23 in this step 63 The produced additive-impregnated raw material 7 is used.
Accordingly, the intermediate expanded material 17 produced in this step 63 is an intermediate expanded material in which the grain raw material 3 and the liquid additive 5 are uniformly mixed without color unevenness or taste unevenness.
Further, the cross-sectional shape of the intermediate expansion material 17 generated in this step 63 can be set to various shapes such as a round shape, a square shape, and a star shape by changing the shape of the discharge port 45 of the die 47. It is.

(C) Rod-shaped forming process (see FIG. 7)
The rod-shaped forming step 65 is a step of forming the intermediate expanded material 17 before being cured into a rod-shaped shape by curing it while being drawn out linearly by a conveyor.
That is, when the uncured intermediate expanded material 17 is discharged as it is from the extrusion molding machine 23, the expanded food 1 having a length exceeding 20 mm cannot be manufactured in the past because of curling. Then, the provision of this step 65 makes it possible to manufacture the bar-shaped expanded food 1 having a length exceeding 20 mm.

  Specifically, the sagging of the uncured intermediate expansion material 17 due to its own weight is prevented by being supported from below by the belt conveyor 24A. Accordingly, the intermediate expanded material 17 extruded from the extrusion molding machine 23 is conveyed while being supported by the lower belt conveyor 24A, and is gradually cured while being guided by the guide plate 24B and moving in the conveying direction of the belt conveyor 24A. Will be molded into.

(D) Cutting process (see FIG. 7)
The cutting step 67 is a step of cutting the cured intermediate expanded material 17 formed into a rod shape into a predetermined length.
This step 67 is a step that is also employed in the conventional method for producing puffed food. However, in the conventional method for producing puffed food, this process is applied to the uncured intermediate puffed material immediately after being discharged from the extrusion molding machine 23, whereas in the method for producing puffed food of the present invention, This step 67 is configured to be applied to the bar-shaped intermediate expanded material 17 after being cured through the rod-shaped forming step 65.

Therefore, the puffed food 1 manufactured through this step 67 is a bar-shaped puffed food 1 having a length exceeding 20 mm, which could not be manufactured conventionally, and contributes to product development of a new type of puffed food 1 You can expect a lot to do.
In addition, the puffed food 1 cut into a predetermined length in this step 67 is packaged in several pieces, for example, by a horizontal pillow wrapping machine or the like, and further, the packed ones are packed in cartons and shipped. The

(E) Food adhesive application process (see FIG. 10A)
The food adhesive application process 69 is a process executed subsequent to the rod-shaped molding process 65 and is a process of forming the adhesive layer 13 by spraying the food adhesive 11 on the surface of the intermediate expanded material 17.
Specifically, the adhesive layer 13 is formed on the surface of the intermediate expanded material 17 by spraying the food adhesive 11 on the intermediate expanded material 17 being cured using the spray nozzle 31A as the food adhesive application device. To do.

(F) Dry crushed material spraying step (see FIG. 10B)
The dry crushed material spraying step 71 is a step executed after the food adhesive applying step 69 and is a step of sprinkling the dry crushed material 9 on the surface of the intermediate expanded material 17 on which the food adhesive 11 is sprayed.
Specifically, the dry crushed material 9 accommodated in the circular bowl of the parts feeder 29 is sprinkled on the surface of the intermediate expanded material 17 that moves downward by vibrating the vibrating portion, and is formed in the previous step 69. Adhering to the adhesive layer 13.

Further, the dried coarsely pulverized product 9 used in this step is obtained by roughly pulverizing a product which has been dried using a microwave vacuum dryer 83 until a predetermined moisture content is obtained.
Thereafter, when the process proceeds to the cutting step 67 and is cut to a predetermined length, a puffed food 1B in which the dry crushed food 9 is coated on the surface of the puffed food 1 shown in FIG. 1 (b) is obtained. Shipped after packing and packing form.

In addition, when manufacturing the expanded food 1C shown in FIG.1 (c), (E) food adhesive application | coating process 69 shown to Fig.10 (a) mentioned above, and (F) drying shown in Fig.10 (b) 11 (a), (b), and (c) in place of the coarsely crushed material spraying step 71, (G) a first food adhesive first application step 73, (H) a dry crushed material spraying step 75, and (I) food adhesive. A second material application step 77 is applied.
(G) Food adhesive first application step (see FIG. 11A)
The food adhesive first application step 73 is the same as the food adhesive application step 69 shown in FIG. That is, this step 73 is a step executed subsequent to the rod-shaped forming step 65 and is a step of forming the adhesive layer 13 by applying the food adhesive 11 to the surface of the intermediate expanded material 17.

(H) Dry crushed material spraying step (see FIG. 11B)
The dry crushed material spraying step 75 is the same as the dry crushed material spraying step 71 shown in FIG. That is, this step 75 is a step executed after the first food adhesive first application step 73 and is a step of sprinkling the dried coarse crushed material 9 on the surface of the intermediate expanded material 17 to which the food adhesive 11 is applied. .

(I) Food adhesive second application step (see FIG. 11C)
The food adhesive second application step 77 is a step executed after the dry crushed material spraying step 75, and the food adhesive 11 is applied to the surface of the intermediate expanded material 17 on which the dried crushed material 9 is sprinkled. This is a step of forming the film 15.
Specifically, using the spray nozzle 31 </ b> B as the food adhesive application device, the food adhesive 11 is sprayed on the intermediate expanded material 17 in the middle of curing, and the dried coarse product 9 is applied to the surface of the intermediate expanded material 17. A covering film 15 is formed.

Then, the intermediate expanded material 17 on which the coating film 15 is formed is conveyed to a downstream cutting step 67 while being cured, and is cut into a predetermined length by the cutting device 27, whereby the expanded food 1 shown in FIG. The dried coarsely crushed material 9 is coated on the surface, and the puffed food 1C having the film 15 formed on the surface is obtained, and shipped through the above-described packaging and packing form.
And according to the manufacturing method of the puffed food which concerns on such 1st Embodiment by this invention, as shown to Fig.1 (a) (b) (c) which was not seen in the conventional puffed food The puffed food 1 having a novel shape can be provided. Moreover, the puffed food 1 manufactured in this way is provided to the market as a puffed food having a high commercial value with no color unevenness or taste unevenness throughout.

[II] Second embodiment (see FIG. 28)
The method for producing a puffed food according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes (A) an additive-impregnated raw material production step 61 similar to the first embodiment described above, as shown in FIG. 28, and (B). An intermediate expanded material generating step 63, (E) a food adhesive applying step 69, and (F) a dry crushed material spraying step 71, and (C) a rod-shaped forming step 65 and (D) a cutting step 67. Are applied as (C ′) rod-shaped forming step 65 ′ and (D ′) cutting step 67 ′ in which some of these configurations are changed.
Further, a (J) torsion molding process 66 is newly added between the (C ′) rod-shaped molding process 65 ′ and the (D ′) cutting process 67 ′, and the above-described (A), (B), ( C ′), (D ′), (J), (E), and (F) are sequentially executed to constitute the method for producing a puffed food according to the present embodiment.

Accordingly, the description of the four steps (A), (B), (E), and (F) that are common to the first embodiment is omitted here, and is different from the first embodiment. The description will focus on the three steps (C ′), (D ′), and (J).
(C ′) Rod-shaped forming process (see FIG. 28)
The rod-shaped forming step 65 ′ is a step in which the generated intermediate expansion material 17 before being cured is linearly pulled out while being held between the driving pulley 26A and the driven pulley 26B, and is formed into a rod-shaped shape.

That is, when the uncured intermediate expanded material 17 is discharged as it is from the extrusion molding machine 23, the expanded food 1 having a length exceeding 20 mm cannot be manufactured in the past because of curling. Then, by providing this step 65 ′, it is possible to manufacture the bar-shaped expanded food 1 having a length exceeding 20 mm.
Specifically, when the uncured intermediate expansion material 17 hangs down due to its own weight, the expansion end of the intermediate expansion material 17 is advanced into the conveyance restriction space S formed by the drive pulley 26A and the driven pulley 26B. The intermediate expanded material 17 is gradually cured and formed into a bar shape while moving in the conveyance regulation space S, while maintaining the posture of the material 17.

(J) Torsion forming process (see FIG. 28)
The torsion forming step 66 is a step for imparting a torsional rotation to the feeding end of the intermediate expansion material 17 that is being cured and formed into a rod-like shape to form a torsional shape.
That is, the intermediate expansion material 17 in the middle of curing formed into the rod shape by the (C ′) rod-shaped forming step 65 ′ has its feeding end in a state where the base end side is held by the driving pulley 26A and the driven pulley 26B described above. Enters the rotary cylinder 121.

The rotating cylinder 121 is rotated by a motor 131 through a motor pulley 129, a belt 127, and a rotating pulley 125 in a predetermined direction at a predetermined rotation speed, and the intermediate expansion material 17 that has entered the rotating cylinder 121 is fed out. The end is twisted a predetermined number of times in a predetermined direction by a frictional force with the inner wall surface of the rotating cylinder 121.
In addition, since the hardening of the intermediate expanded material 17 proceeds even when the twisting is being performed, the intermediate expanded material 17 having a twisted shape is sent to the next (D ′) cutting step as it is.

(D ′) Cutting step (see FIG. 28)
The cutting step 67 ′ is a step of cutting the cured intermediate expanded material 17 that has been twisted into a predetermined length.
That is, the intermediate expanded material 17 cured in the shape twisted by the (J) twist forming step 66 is conveyed in the feeding direction while being horizontally supported by the support member 25 and reaches the end of the support member 25. The elevating cylinder 143 contracts at a predetermined timing to swing the swing frame 141 downward, and the rotary blade 28a mounted on the swing frame 141 is applied to the intermediate expansion material 17 from above to determine the predetermined. Cut to length.

Therefore, the puffed food 1 manufactured through this step 67 ′ is a bar-shaped puffed food 1 having a length exceeding 20 mm, which could not be manufactured in the past, and the (J) twist forming step 66. Therefore, it is provided as a new type of puffed food 1 that did not exist in the past.
Then, the expanded food 1 having a twisted shape that has been cut to a predetermined length in this step 67 ′ is packaged in several pieces by, for example, a horizontal pillow wrapping machine, and further packed in several cartons. Packaged and shipped.

(3) Puffed food (see FIGS. 1, 22 and 15 to 20)
The puffed food 1 of the present invention is manufactured using an additive-impregnated raw material 7 obtained by impregnating a grain additive 3 with a liquid additive 5, and the diameter or length of one side is 5 to 15 mm as an example. The length exceeds 20 mm, and has a rod-like shape of 20 to 200 mm as an example.

  As the grain raw material 3, various grains such as brown rice, black rice, glutinous rice, glutinous rice, red beans, black beans, mochiawa, corn, corn, amaranth, black sesame, barley, buckwheat rice, white sorghum, etc. can be used. These cereals may be used alone, or a plurality of types of cereals may be blended and used. In this embodiment, brown rice is used as an example.

Examples of the liquid additive 5 include dilute extracts such as bonito, diluted juice of tea, vegetables, fruits, etc., boiled juice (extract) of tea, vegetables, fruits, etc. The seasoning liquid etc. which added the seasoning can be used.
Moreover, in order to produce the additive-impregnated raw material 7 obtained by impregnating the grain raw material 3 with the liquid additive 5, there is a method of drying after dipping or boiling the grain raw material 3 in the liquid additive 5 described later. It is applicable as an example.

FIG. 1 shows a puffed food 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. A puffed food such as puffed food 1A shown in FIG. It may be cut into pieces, or it may be one obtained by covering the surface of the expanded food 1 with the dried crushed material 9 like the expanded foods 1B and 1C shown in FIGS.
Incidentally, in the expanded food 1B shown in FIG. 1B, an adhesive layer 13 formed by the food adhesive 11 is provided on the surface of the expanded food 1, and the dried crushed material 9 is attached to the surface of the adhesive layer 13. In the expanded food 1C shown in FIG. 1C, a mode in which a film 15 formed of the food adhesive 11 is further provided on the expanded food 1B shown in FIG. ing.

Further, FIG. 22 discloses a puffed food 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The puffed food 101A shown in FIG. The material 17 may be cut to a predetermined length at the end, or the dried coarsely crushed material 9 is coated on the surface of the expanded food 1 like the expanded foods 101B and 101C shown in FIGS. It may be a thing.
Incidentally, in the expanded food 101B shown in FIG. 22 (a), the adhesive layer 13 formed by the food adhesive 11 is provided on the surface of the expanded food 1, and the dried crushed material 9 is adhered to the surface of the adhesive layer 13. In the expanded food 101C shown in FIG. 22 (C), a mode in which a coating 15 formed by the food adhesive 11 is further provided on the expanded food 101B shown in FIG. 22 (b) is shown. ing.

Further, as the dried crushed material 9, dried bonito, tea, vegetables, fruits, etc. using a microwave vacuum dryer 83 or the like until the water content becomes 10% or less, for example, and then crushed after drying Can be used.
Further, as the food adhesive 11, natural edible paste or the like mainly composed of sugar liquid or starch can be used, and as an example, “Aralelac” (trade name) manufactured by Yamaha Corporation can be suitably used. This edible paste is made from sweet potato starch, is colorless and transparent, has a slight sweetness, is quick-drying and enables efficient food adhesion.

And as an Example of the puffed food 1 of this invention comprised in this way, Examples 1-20 shown to FIGS. 15-17 can be mentioned as an example.
Of these, Examples 1 to 7 shown in FIG. 15 were prepared by dipping brown rice in a boil or seasoning liquid with a seasoning liquid for about a day and then drying to produce brown rice grains with color and flavor, and using this as a raw material. It is a plain-type puffed snack manufactured with a ruder.
That is, Example 1 exemplifies the koji-based expanded food (1) using, as the additive-impregnated raw material 7, brown rice that has been boiled and dried with a diluted solution of koji extract.
Moreover, Example 2 exemplifies tea-based puffed food (2) using, as the additive-impregnated raw material 7, brown rice that has been boiled and dried with an extract of green tea.

  Moreover, in Examples 3-7, what used the brown rice dried after boiling with the diluted liquid of fruit and vegetable juice as the additive impregnation raw material 7 was used, the orange-based swollen food (3), Tomato base Puffed food (4), blueberry-based puffed food (5), ginger-based puffed food (6), and strawberry-based puffed food (7) are illustrated.

In Examples 8 to 14 shown in FIG. 16, brown rice is soaked in a boil or seasoning liquid with a seasoning liquid for about a day and then dried to produce a brown rice grain with color and taste, which is produced by using an extruder as a raw material. This is a coating-type product in which food paste (trade name Ararelac) is sprayed on the surface of the puffed snack and sprayed with crushed products such as bonito, tea, vegetables and fruits. Use the one of the system.
That is, in Example 8, the additive-impregnated raw material 7 was obtained by boiled and dried brown rice with a diluted solution of koji extract, and the dried kneaded material 9 was a koji-based koji-based koji product. The puffed food (8) is illustrated.
Moreover, in Example 9, the additive-impregnated raw material 7 was obtained by boiling and drying brown rice with a green tea extract, and the dry crushed product 9 was a green tea crushed product dried in a microwave under reduced pressure. A tea-based puffed food (9) is illustrated.

  Moreover, in Examples 10-14, what was dried after boiling boiled brown rice with the diluted liquid of fruit and vegetable juice as the additive impregnation raw material 7 was used, and the fruit dried under reduced pressure by microwave as the dried coarse product 9 Tangerine-based puffed food (10), tomato-based puffed food (11), blueberry-based puffed food (12), ginger-based puffed food (13), strawberry-based puffed food (14) is illustrated respectively.

In Examples 15 to 20 of 15 to 20 shown in FIG. 17, brown rice is dipped in a boil or seasoning liquid for a whole day and night with a diluted solution of koji extract and dried to produce a brown rice grain with color and flavor. This is a coating-type product in which food paste (trade name Aralelac) is sprayed on the surface of the puffed snack made with the extruder from the raw material, and then crushed products such as tea, vegetables and fruits other than bonito are sprinkled. Use a different crushed product to be coated.
That is, in Example 15, as the additive-impregnated raw material 7, brown rice was used after being boiled with a diluted solution of koji extract and dried, and as a dry crushed product 9, a green tea crushed product dried in a microwave under reduced pressure was used. The bonito-based puffed food (8) is illustrated.
Moreover, in Examples 16-20, as the additive impregnation raw material 7, the brown rice was used after being boiled with a diluted solution of koji extract and then dried, and as a dry crushed product 9, a green tea crushed product dried in a microwave under reduced pressure Bonito-based swollen food using potato (16), bonito-based swollen food using microwave-dried dried Tomato crushed product (17), bonito-based food using blueberry-based crushed dried microwave oven Puffed food (18), bonito-based puffed food (19) using microwave-dried dried ginger-based crushed food, bonito-based puffed food (microwave-dried strawberry-based crushed food ( 20) are illustrated respectively.
In addition, about the coating goods of the said Example 8-20, there is also a goods which formed the membrane | film | coat 15 by re-spraying food paste on the surface of the dry crushed material 9. FIG.

Next, the contents and results of a sensory test conducted to test the effect of the puffed food produced according to the present embodiment will be described.
First, in this test, a sensory test of the appearance, texture, smell, taste, and comprehensive evaluation was performed on the expanded foods of the above 1 to 20 examples by a five-point evaluation method. The evaluation was performed in “5-level evaluation +2: very good, +1: good, 0: normal, −1: bad, −2: very bad”.
As a result, in the plain products of Examples 1 to 7, it was obtained that the bonito, tea, mandarin orange, ginger, and strawberry had an appearance, texture, smell, taste, and overall evaluation that were normal or better. Tomato and Blueberry were good in appearance and texture, but smelled and light in taste, and the overall evaluation was low.
In addition, in the coated products using the same materials of Examples 8 to 14, the appearance, texture, smell, taste and comprehensive evaluation of bonito, tea, mandarin orange, ginger and strawberry are higher than plain products. It was. Tomato and Blueberry had the same appearance and texture as plain products, but the smell and taste were light and the overall evaluation was slightly low.
In addition, in the coated products obtained by sprinkling crushed products other than bonito on the plain bonito products of Examples 15 to 20, for tea, mandarin oranges, ginger, the bonito taste and the crushed products match, and the appearance, texture, High evaluation was obtained for smell, taste, and overall evaluation. Tomato, Blueberry, and Strawberry have the same appearance and texture as plain products, but the smell and taste are light. In the overall evaluation, the taste and crushed products did not match, and the evaluation was low.
In addition, the sensory test was done about what applied the food adhesive again to the coating goods which sprinkled the coarsely crushed goods other than bonito on the coated goods which used the said raw material, or the plain taste goods of taste. As a result, when the food adhesive was applied again, the adhesion of the crushed product became stronger and a slight sweetness was felt, but there was no change in appearance, texture, smell, taste and the like.
From these results, it is possible to obtain a swollen food with an unprecedented shape in the form of sticks, which has a high commercial value and does not cause uneven color or taste, and natural products such as bonito, tea, vegetables and fruits. A swollen food with an unprecedented flavor can be obtained by food or its processed product, and a swollen food excellent in appearance, texture, smell, taste, etc. can be obtained if the same material is used as a dry crude product. There was found.

  Note that the puffed food 1, the puffed food production apparatus 21 and the puffed food production method of the present invention are not limited to those of the above-described embodiment, and can be changed within the scope of the invention. For example, the cross-sectional shape of the puffed food 1 is not limited to the quadrangular shape as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 12, but other various polygons such as a triangular shape, a pentagonal shape, a hexagonal shape, a circular shape, an elliptical shape, a star shape, and the like. The shape can be adopted. Further, the size and length of the puffed food 1 are not limited to those exemplified in the above embodiment, and various sizes and lengths can be adopted, and a bar-shaped product having a length of about 20 to 200 mm can be provided.

  In addition, the combination of the liquid additive 5 and the dry crushed material 9 is composed of a combination based on the same material (for example, bonito extract and crushed crushed material), and a combination of different materials (for example, bonito extract and It can be constituted by a combination of a plurality of materials (for example, a blend of bonito extract and kelp extract).

Further, the cross-sectional shape of the support member 25 may be various shapes such as a concave shape, a U shape, and a planar shape in addition to the V shape as in the above embodiment.
Further, when it is desired to uniformly adhere the dried crushed material 9 around the intermediate expanded material 17, the dried crushed material 9 is sprayed not only from above but also from other directions using a blower fan or compressed air. The support member 25 can be swung in the circumferential direction.

  In addition, for the above-described expanded food manufacturing apparatus 21C according to the third embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 23, the above-described expanded food manufacturing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. The spray nozzle 31B for forming the coating film 15 provided in the apparatus 21B is provided so that the puffed food 101C shown in FIG. 22 (C) can be manufactured, or from the third embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. It is also possible to omit the food adhesive applicator 31 and the dry crushed material spraying device 29 and to use a dedicated device capable of producing only the expanded food 101A shown in FIG.

  The puffed food, puffed food production apparatus and puffed food production method of the present invention can be used in the production, use, distribution site, etc. of puffed food, and in particular, non-existent stick-shaped or twisted shapes, uneven color and uneven taste. It has applicability when it is desired to manufacture and provide healthy puffed foods that are rich in flavor and texture.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Puffed food 3 Grain raw material 5 Liquid additive 7 Additive-impregnated raw material 9 Dry crushed material 11 Food adhesive 13 Adhesive layer 15 Coating 17 Intermediate expanded material 20 Conveying means 21 Puffed food manufacturing apparatus 22 Torsion molding machine 23 Extrusion molding machine 24 Conveyor 24A Belt conveyor 24B Guide plate 24C Roller conveyor 25 Bearing member 26A Drive pulley 26B Driven pulley 27 Cutting device 28 Cutting machine 28a Rotating blade 29 Dry coarse crushed material dispersion device (part feeder)
29A Crushed material distribution feeder 30 Tray 31 Food adhesive applicator 31A Spray nozzle 31B Spray nozzle 32 Roller applicator 32A Hopper 32B Sponge roller 33 Housing 35 Raw material inlet 37 Cylindrical body 39 Screw 41 Heater 43 Pressurizing unit 45 Discharge port 47 Die 49 Cutting blade 49a Abdominal surface 50 Motor 51 Cylinder 53 Hopper 55 Dispersing screw 61 Additive-impregnated raw material generating process 63 Intermediate expanded material generating process 65 Bar-shaped forming process 66 Torsion forming process 67 Cutting process 69 Food adhesive application process 71 Dry coarse crushed material distributing process 73 Food Adhesive First Application Step 75 Dry Crushed Material Application Step 77 Food Adhesive Second Application Step 81 Hot Air Dryer 83 Microwave Vacuum Dryer 101 Puffed Food 103 Support Frame 105 Pulley Frame 107 Motor Frame 109 Circumference 111 Motor 113 Motor pulley 115 Pulley belt 117 Support post 119 Support plate 121 Rotating cylinder 123 Bearing 125 Rotating pulley 127 Belt 129 Motor pulley 131 Motor 133 Support frame 135 Lifting base 137 Motor base 139 Swing fulcrum 141 Swing frame 143 Lifting cylinder A Front and rear Direction B Container S Transport restriction space

Claims (18)

An additive-impregnated raw material production step of impregnating the grain raw material with a liquid additive to produce an additive-impregnated raw material,
An intermediate expanded material generating step in which the additive-impregnated raw material thus produced is put into an extrusion molding machine, heated and mixed, and released to the outside at once after pressurization, and an intermediate expanded material is continuously generated in a fixed amount, and
A rod-shaped forming step in which the generated intermediate expanded material before curing is cured to a rod shape while being conveyed over a predetermined length by a conveying means;
A method for producing a puffed food, comprising: a step of cutting a cured intermediate puffed material formed into a rod shape into a predetermined length.   In the additive-impregnated raw material generating step, the grain raw material is immersed in a liquid additive for a predetermined time, dehydrated after completion of the immersion, and dried with hot air until a predetermined moisture content is generated, thereby generating the additive-impregnated raw material. The method for producing a puffed food according to claim 1.   In the additive-impregnated raw material production step, the grain raw material is placed in a liquid additive, boiled until it is gelatinized, then dehydrated and dried with hot air until the predetermined moisture content is reached, thereby producing the additive-impregnated raw material. The method for producing a puffed food according to claim 1.   The method for producing a puffed food according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the conveying means used in the rod-shaped forming step is a conveying conveyor.   The conveying means used in the rod-shaped forming step includes a plurality of sets of driving pulleys and driven pulleys that sandwich and convey the intermediate expanded material extruded from the extrusion molding machine with an appropriate interval in the feeding direction. It is comprised by doing, The manufacturing method of the puffed food in any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned.   2. The torsion forming step of applying a torsional rotation to the feed end of the intermediate expansion material formed into a rod shape after the rod forming step to form a torsion shape is performed. The manufacturing method of the puffed food in any one of -5. A food adhesive application step of forming an adhesive layer by applying a food adhesive on the surface of the intermediate expanded material following the rod-shaped molding step or the twist molding step;
The dried coarsely crushed material spraying step of sprinkling the dry crushed material on the surface of the intermediate expanded material to which the food adhesive has been applied is configured to be performed. The manufacturing method of the expanded food as described. A food adhesive first application step of forming a bonding layer by applying a food adhesive on the surface of the intermediate expanded material following the rod-shaped forming step or the twist forming step;
A dry coarse product spraying step of sprinkling the dry coarse product on the surface of the intermediate expanded material to which the food adhesive is applied;
A food adhesive second application step of forming a film by applying a food adhesive on the surface of the intermediate expanded material sprinkled with the dried crushed material is configured to be performed. Item 7. A method for producing a puffed food according to any one of Items 1 to 6. Raw material input port for adding an additive-impregnated raw material obtained by impregnating the grain raw material with a liquid additive, a screw for conveying the introduced additive-impregnated raw material toward the tip while stirring and mixing, and transporting to the tip A pressurizing unit that pressurizes the heated and mixed additive-impregnated raw material, and a die having a discharge port of a predetermined shape that discharges the pressurized additive-impregnated raw material to the outside at once and expands. An extrusion molding machine;
A conveying means that is provided at a downstream position of the die and conveys the intermediate expanded material before curing discharged from the die over a predetermined length;
A cutting device that is provided at a downstream position of the conveying means, and that cuts the cured intermediate expanded material protruding from the end of the support member to a predetermined length while supporting the intermediate expanded material unloaded from the transfer means by the support member; A device for producing puffed food, comprising:   10. The apparatus for producing a puffed food according to claim 9, wherein the transport means is a transport conveyor.   The conveying means is configured by arranging a plurality of sets of driving pulleys and driven pulleys that sandwich and convey the intermediate expanded material extruded from the extrusion molding machine at appropriate intervals in the feeding direction. The apparatus for producing a puffed food according to claim 9.   10. A torsion molding machine is provided between the conveying means and the support member to impart a torsional rotation by applying a torsional rotation to the feeding end of the intermediate expansion material carried out from the conveying means. The manufacturing apparatus of the puffed food in any one of -11.   A food adhesive applicator for applying a food adhesive on the surface of the intermediate expanded material is provided at an upstream position of the support member, and a dry coarse product on the surface of the intermediate expanded material at a downstream position of the food adhesive applicator. An apparatus for producing a puffed food according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein a spray device for spraying dried coarse crushed material is provided.   At the upstream position of the support member, a food adhesive first application device for applying a food adhesive on the surface of the intermediate expanded material is provided, and at the downstream position of the food adhesive first application device, the surface of the intermediate expanded material is provided. A dry crushed material spraying device for sprinkling the dried crushed material is provided, and a food adhesive second coating device for applying a food adhesive on the surface of the intermediate expanded material is provided at a downstream position of the dry crushed material spraying device. The apparatus for producing a puffed food according to any one of claims 9 to 12. A puffed food produced using an additive-impregnated raw material obtained by impregnating a grain additive with a liquid additive,
The puffed food has a rod-like shape having a diameter or a side length of 5 to 15 mm and a length of 20 to 200 mm.   The puffed food according to claim 15, wherein the liquid additive is an extract obtained from bonito, tea, vegetables, fruits or the like, a diluted solution or extract of juice, or a seasoning liquid obtained by adding a seasoning thereto. .   The puffed food according to claim 15 or 16, wherein a surface of the puffed food is coated with a dry crushed product obtained by drying and crushing bonito, tea, vegetables, fruits and the like.   The puffed food according to claim 15, wherein the puffed food has a twisted shape.

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