JP2020028325A - Rice cooker and rice cooking method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a rice cooker capable of effectively removing glutinous rice generated when cooking rice, and thereby capable of cooking glutinous rice-collected boiled rice that makes deglutition easy and is tasty, and provide a rice cooking method.SOLUTION: A rice cooker includes an inner pot for receiving rice to be cooked, heating means for heating the inner pot, a glutinous rice collector for collecting the generated surplus glutinous rice from the rice to be cooked, and a control device capable of executing a cooking rice sequence for controlling the heating means. The control device is capable of executing a glutinous rice collection course having a glutinous rice generation step of imparting a heating amount for generating the glutinous rice from the rice to be cooked by the heating means as the cooking rice sequence, and a glutinous rice collection step of collecting the surplus glutinous rice in the glutinous rice collector by making the rice to be cooked boil by the heating means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker and a rice cooking method capable of cooking rice that is easy to swallow and has good taste.

  Patent Document 1 below discloses that, for elderly people, persons with disabilities, etc., who have a reduced swallowing function, they hardly remain in the mouth and throat, are easily swallowed, and have a nutritional value per unit amount. Rice cookers provided with oneba collecting tools for collecting surplus oneba (a sticky liquid in which starchy rice is eluted in water) have been proposed for the purpose of providing a good-tasting cooked rice that does not lower the water content.

JP 2017-153536 A

  The oneva collecting tool is useful for removing surplus oneva generated at the time of cooking rice and cooking rice that is easy to swallow. However, how oneba can be removed is greatly affected by the rice cooking sequence.

  In view of the above circumstances, there has been a demand for a rice cooker and a rice cooking method capable of effectively removing Oneva generated during rice cooking, and capable of cooking oneva-collected rice with good taste and easy to swallow.

Rice cooker according to the present invention,
An inner pot containing cooked rice,
Heating means for heating the inner pot,
Oneva collecting tool for collecting surplus Oneva generated from cooked rice,
A control device capable of executing a rice cooking sequence for controlling the heating means,
The control device, as the rice cooking sequence, an oneva generating step of applying a heating amount to generate oneva from the rice to be cooked by the heating means, and the heating means to boil the rice to be cooked and generate an excess in the oneba collecting tool. A oneva collecting course having oneva collecting step for collecting oneva.

  According to the present invention, by executing the Oneba collection course, onene is sufficiently generated from the rice contained in the cooked rice in the oneba generation step, and then the oneva is generated by boiling the cooked rice in the oneba collection step. Excess Oneva is collected in the collection tool. Oneva-recovered cooked rice from which surplus oneva has been removed from the cooked food has a low-stickiness and a smooth finish, and is very easy to swallow. Furthermore, since the Oneva-recovered rice is obtained by removing only onene surplus, the umami and nutrients of the rice remain, and the rice is a delicious rice without reducing the nutritional value per unit amount.

  Therefore, with the rice cooker according to the present invention, it is possible to effectively remove Oneva generated at the time of rice cooking, and to cook Oneva-collected rice that is easy to swallow and has good taste.

In the above configuration,
The control device, as the rice cooking sequence, can execute a normal rice cooking course different from the Oneba collection course,
It is preferable that the control device is configured to execute a water absorption step for promoting water absorption of rice contained in the cooked rice in the Oneba collection course for a longer time than the water absorption step in the normal rice cooking course.

  According to this configuration, the water absorption time in the Oneba collection course is sufficiently long, so that water can be absorbed to near the core of the rice contained in the cooked rice, and the gelatinization of rice during heating is promoted. Can be done. Thereby, oneba can be leached from rice to generate a sufficient amount of oneba and excess oneba contained in rice can be suitably removed.

In the above configuration,
With boiling detection means capable of detecting the boiling of the cooked rice,
Preferably, the control device is configured to switch from the oneba generation step to the oneba collection step in the oneba collection course based on detection of boiling of the cooked rice by the boiling detection means in the oneba collection course.

  According to this configuration, the oneba generation process is switched to the oneba collection process on the condition that the cooked rice actually boiled. Oneba can be collected by the Oneba collection tool.

In the above configuration,
Preferably, the control device is configured to switch from the oneba generation step to the oneba collection step after a lapse of a set time since the detection of boiling of the cooked rice by the boiling detection means in the oneba collection course. It is.

  According to this configuration, the cooked rice is boiled for a while and then switched from the oneba generating step to the oneba collecting step. Therefore, after the oneba is sufficiently leached in the oneba generating step, the oneba collecting tool in the oneba collecting step. Oneba can be recovered.

Further, the rice cooking method according to the present invention,
Oneva generating step of applying a heating amount to generate oneva from the cooked rice housed in the inner pot by the heating means, and collecting oneva which collects excess oneva in the oneva collecting tool by boiling the cooked food by the heating means. And a step.

  According to the rice cooking method of the present invention, as in the rice cooker described above, oneva produced during rice cooking is effectively removed, and it is possible to cook oneva-recovered rice that is easy to swallow and has good taste.

It is a figure which shows the longitudinal section of a rice cooker typically. It is a perspective view which shows an Oneva collection tool. It is a figure which shows an example of the sequence of a Oneba collection course which a rice cooker performs. It is a figure showing an example of the processing flow in Oneva collection course. It is a figure which shows an example of a temporal change in a Oneva collection course. It is a figure which shows an example of a temporal change in a normal rice cooking course.

Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The rice cooker includes an inner pot 30 for accommodating the rice to be cooked, a housing 32 in which the inner pot 30 is stored, an inner lid 34 for sealing an upper opening of the inner pot 30, an outer lid 36 for supporting the inner lid 34, and an inner pot. A heating means 38 for heating 30, a dish-shaped oneba collecting tool 10 disposed in the inner pot 30 and collecting surplus oneba generated from the cooked rice are provided.

  In addition, the rice cooker has a pot bottom sensor 40 that contacts the bottom of the inner pot 30 as a temperature sensor for grasping the temperature inside the inner pot 30, and a lid sensor 42 provided inside the inner lid 34 (on the inner pot 30 side). "An example of a boiling detection means"). The lid sensor 42 can detect the boiling of the cooked food by detecting the temperature of the steam of the cooked food. In addition, the rice cooker includes a control device 50 that receives signals from the pan bottom sensor 40 and the lid sensor 42 and can execute a rice cooking sequence for controlling the heating means 38.

  The rice cooker is provided with an operation panel (not shown) for instructing an overall operation and displaying a current state. The operation panel is installed on, for example, the housing 32 or the outer lid 36. The housing 32 is provided with a power cord (not shown) so as to be wound up.

  Each component such as the inner pot 30, the housing 32, the inner lid 34, the outer lid 36, and the heating means 38 can use the same configuration as a conventional rice cooker. The inner lid 34 and the outer lid 36 have a structure for releasing steam when steam is generated inside the inner pot 30 and the internal pressure is increased.

  Oneva collecting tool 10 includes fixing means 11 for fixing inside of inner pot 30. To add an explanation, the oneva collecting tool 10 is provided with a flange portion that can be hooked on the edge of the inner pot 30 as the fixing means 11. Further, the oneva collecting tool 10 is provided with a handle 33 that can swing around the swing axis X.

  Oneva collecting tool 10 is provided with a bottom surface 12 and a side wall 14. On the bottom surface 12, a cylindrical oneva collecting hole 20 for collecting oneva blown up in the inner pot 30 is provided. Oneva collecting holes 20 are, for example, fan-shaped in cross section, and two are provided. Further, the bottom surface 12 is provided with a cylindrical oneva return hole 21 for returning overrecovered oneva to the cooked food side. A cylindrical body extends from the edge of the hole in the oneva collecting hole 20. The cylindrical body is formed upward from the bottom surface 12 of the oneva collecting tool 10.

  The oneva return hole 21 has, for example, a circular cross section and is provided two in number. The cross-sectional area of the oneva return hole 21 is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the oneva collection hole 20.

  In the inner pot 30, when the boiling state occurs, the oneva blows up together with the steam, and blows up from the oneva collecting hole 20, and is stored in the storage space 16 of the oneva collecting tool 10. Oneba that has been excessively collected returns to the cooked food through the oneba return hole 21.

[About control configuration]
The control device 50 includes a storage unit that stores various types of information, a timer that measures elapsed time, an arithmetic processing unit that performs arithmetic processing, a control unit that controls the heating unit 38, and the like. The control device 50 can be constructed by appropriately combining hardware and software. The arrangement position or the like of the control device 50 may be set at an arbitrary position. It is preferable that the control device 50 be able to execute the Oneba collection course as a rice cooking sequence, and to be able to selectively execute the oneba cooking course.

  The control device 50 is configured to roughly execute a water absorption step, a first heating step, a second heating step, a cooking step, and a steaming step in a normal rice cooking course.

  The control device 50 is configured to roughly execute a water absorption step, a oneba generation step, a oneba recovery step, and a steaming step in the oneba collection course. To add an explanation, the rice cooking method in the oneba collection course includes, at least, a oneba generation step of giving a heating amount for generating oneba from the rice cooked in the inner pot 30 by the heating means 38; A oneva collecting step of collecting excess oneva in the oneva collecting tool 10 by boiling the thing.

  In the oneva generating step, a heating amount for generating oneva from the cooked rice by the heating means 38 is provided. In the oneva collecting step, the cooked rice is boiled by the heating means 38 to collect the surplus oneva in the oneva collecting tool 10.

  The control device 50 is configured to execute a water absorption process for promoting water absorption of rice contained in the cooked rice in the Oneba collection course for a longer time than the water absorption process in the normal rice cooking course.

  The control device 50 is configured to switch from the oneba generation process to the oneba recovery process based on detection of boiling of the cooked rice by the lid sensor 42 in the oneba recovery course.

  In addition, the control device 50 is configured to switch from the oneba generation process to the oneba collection process after a lapse of a set time after the detection of boiling of the cooked rice by the lid sensor 42 in the oneba collection course.

  FIG. 3 relates to the Oneva collection course. FIG. 4 shows a flow of the control device 50. FIG. 3 also shows two graphs having the same time axis as the horizontal axis. In the upper graph in FIG. 3, the vertical axis represents temperature, and shows changes in the output of the pan bottom sensor 40 and the output of the lid sensor 42. In the lower graph in FIG. 3, the vertical axis indicates the ratio of the control target value of the power (heating amount) supplied to the heating means 38 (1.0 is the maximum). In each step, the power (heating amount) may be a constant value or may be intermittently applied so that the average value becomes the control target value.

  First, a predetermined amount of polished rice and 1.8 to 2 times the weight of polished rice in water are put into the inner pot 30. White rice may have been washed beforehand. In the Oneba collection course, more water is supplied than in the normal rice cooking course. In a normal rice cooking course, water is added at a weight ratio of about 1.5 times that of white rice. In addition, the amount of water in the Oneba collection course is lower than when cooking soft-boiled rice or porridge. In the case of soft rice or porridge, about 2 to 5 times as much water as the white rice is added by weight.

  When the Oneva collection course is started (Step S100), a water absorption step with a predetermined temperature profile is performed (Step S102). In the water absorption step, for example, the temperature is adjusted so that the output from the pan bottom sensor 40 becomes about 35 ° C. The water absorption step ends when the elapsed time t1 from the start reaches the preset water absorption set time Abt, and shifts to the next step.

  In the Oneba collection course, a water absorption step having a longer water absorption time than that of the normal rice cooking course is executed. By ensuring a long water absorption time, water is absorbed up to the vicinity of the core of white rice, so that gelatinization of rice is easily promoted during heating, and as a result, the amount and concentration of Oneva can be increased. More specifically, in the water absorption step of the Oneva collection course, it is preferable to provide a water absorption time of 30 minutes or more, preferably 40 minutes or more.

  In addition, the water absorption step of the oneba collection course is a time control step, and the heating means 38 may be controlled so that the temperature of the inner pot 30 is kept substantially constant. The input power may be a ratio of about 0.1 to 0.3.

  When the water absorption set time Abt has elapsed (Y branch in step S104), the output of the heating means 38 is increased, the inner pot 30 is further heated, and the inside of the inner pot 30 is heated. This is called an oneva generation step (step S106). In the oneva generating step, the temperature in the inner pot 30 is controlled to increase with time. That is, the temperature in the inner pot 30 is not kept constant for a certain period of time, and the temperature is not lowered midway.

  If the temperature in the inner pot 30 rises with time, the rate of temperature rise may change. Further, in order to raise the temperature of the inner pot 30 at a substantially constant rate, temperature control may be performed, and there may be a small temperature rise and fall caused by the temperature control. In particular, when PID control or similar control is performed with the temperature of the pan bottom sensor 40, the value of the pan bottom sensor 40 may rise while providing a falling portion even if the temperature of the cooked rice rises at a substantially constant rate. is there. It should be noted that, in the oneva generating step, the time for keeping the temperature rising rate of the inner pot 30 approximately constant is provided for about 5 minutes, thereby promoting the gelatinization of the cooked rice.

  If the output St of the lid sensor 42 does not reach the boiling temperature Tp2, the heating is continued (N branch of step S108), and if the output St reaches the boiling temperature Tp2 (Y branch of step S108), the boiling temperature Tp2 is generated. Then, it is determined whether or not the elapsed time t2 has reached the set time Act (step S109). Until the elapsed time t2 exceeds the set time Act, heating by the heating means 38 is continued (N branch of step S109). When the elapsed time t2 reaches the set time Act, the process proceeds to the next step (Y branch of step S109). That is, the oneva generating process is continued at least until it is determined that the inside of the inner pot 30 is appropriately boiled (steps S108 and S109).

  To add a description, in the oneva generating step, the temperature in the inner pot 30 is raised to the boiling temperature Tp2. For example, an electric power (heating amount) of about 0.7 to 1.0 is supplied to the heating means 38.

  In the case of the ordinary rice cooking course, when the inside of the inner pot 30 boils, the power is weakened and the boiling state is maintained. However, in the oneba collection course, heating is further continued after the inside of the inner pot 30 boils, and this step is referred to as oneba collection step (step S110). The heating in the oneva collecting step is used not only as energy for maintaining the boiling state in the inner pot 30 but also as energy for work for blowing the oneva to the oneva collecting tool 10. For this reason, in the oneva collecting step, electric power (heating amount) which is equal to or higher than the oneva generating step is continuously supplied to the heating means 38. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the heating amount in the oneva collecting step is maximized in all the steps in the oneva collecting course.

  The oneba collecting step (step S110) is continued until the output Sb of the pan bottom sensor 40 exceeds the boiling temperature Tp2 and reaches the cooking temperature Tp3. When the water in the inner pan 30 evaporates substantially, the temperature of the inner pan 30 rises above the boiling temperature Tp2, so that the temperature detected by the pan bottom sensor 40 also rises. When the output Sb of the pot bottom sensor 40 reaches the cooking temperature Tp3 (Y branch of step S112), the process proceeds to the next step.

  In addition, in step S112, if the output Sb of the pan bottom sensor 40 has not reached the cooking temperature Tp3 (N branch of step S112), the oneba collecting step (step S110) is continued to reach the cooking temperature Tp3. If yes (Y branch of step S112), the oneva collecting step is ended.

  When the oneva collecting step is completed, a steaming step is subsequently performed (step S114). The steaming process is controlled by time. If the elapsed time t3 since the start of the steaming step has not exceeded the steaming set time Stt (N branch of step S116), the steaming step is continued, and if elapsed (Y branch of step S116), the steaming step ends. Then, the Oneva collection course ends (step S118).

  In the early stage of the steaming process, electric power (heating amount) for maintaining the temperature in the inner pot 30 for a certain period of time may be supplied. The temperature in the steaming step may be controlled to the set temperature Tp4 by the output Sb of the pan bottom sensor 40. In the steaming step, a certain range of the temperature adjustment range is allowed.

  Next, an example which is a specific example of the above embodiment will be described. The rice cooker used was a 10-cooker. The oneva collecting tool 10 was provided with two oneva collecting holes 20 having a fan-shaped cross section (having a cross-sectional area of about 7 square cm), and used a storage space 16 of about 200 ml. The heating means 38 is of the IH type, and the maximum power that can be supplied to the IH coil is about 1200 W. This rice cooker also has a rice cooking sequence for a normal rice cooking course in addition to a rice cooking sequence for the oneba collection course.

  First, about 1620 g of water was added to 6 go white rice (about 900 g), and the mixture was put into the inner pot 30. That is, about 1.8 times the weight of water was added to the white rice. Oneba collection tool 10 was housed in inner pot 30, and after closing outer lid 36, the rice cooking sequence of the oneba collection course was started.

  FIG. 5 shows a rice cooking sequence and a temperature profile of the implemented Oneba collection course. In the water absorption step, the water absorption set time was about 30 minutes. The water absorption temperature (the temperature detected by the pan bottom sensor 40) of the inner pot 30 in the water absorption step was set to about 35 ° C.

  When the water absorption step is completed, the process proceeds to the oneva generation step. Here, the temperature of the inner pot 30 was increased with time. The Oneva generation process was composed of two sections. The section of the first heating step was about 8 minutes. The power input to the IH coil during this time was set to about 890 W (input power: 0.74). During the first three minutes, the temperature of the inner pan 30 was raised to 60 ° C. A section where the rate of temperature increase was constant when the temperature of the inner pot 30 was between 60 ° C and 80 ° C was made. In the section of the second temperature raising step, a power of approximately 1200 W (approximately 1.0 power) of substantially full power was supplied, and it took about 6 minutes to boil. Therefore, in the oneva generating step, electric power (heating amount) was supplied at a rate of about 0.85 on average.

  In the Oneva recovery process, power of about 1200 W was maintained as it was. It took about 5 minutes for the temperature of the pan bottom sensor 40 to reach about 120 ° C. Therefore, in the Oneva recovery process, electric power (heating amount) was supplied at an average rate of 1.0.

  Next, as a comparative example, rice was cooked in a normal rice cooking course with the same white rice and water as in the example. In the comparative example, rice was cooked with the Oneva collecting tool 10 attached. FIG. 6 shows a sequence of a normal rice cooking course and a temperature profile. The water absorption step was set at about 45 ° C. using the output of the pan bottom sensor 40, and was performed for about 20 minutes. In the first temperature raising step, the electric power (the amount of heating) was set to about 1150 W, and heating was performed until the output of the pan bottom sensor 40 became about 90 ° C. This took about 7 minutes.

  Next, as a second temperature raising step, electric power of about 1000 W was supplied until boiling (until the output of the pan bottom sensor 40 became about 95 ° C.). It took about 3 minutes to boil. In the cooking process after boiling, about 950 W of electric power was supplied to maintain the boiling. It took about 7 minutes for the pan bottom sensor 40 to reach about 120 ° C.

  In the Oneba collection course, electric power (heating amount) was supplied at an average rate of about 0.85 in the Oneba generation process (the first heating process and the second heating process). In the temperature raising step and the second temperature raising step, power (heating amount) was supplied at an average ratio of about 0.89.

  Then, steaming was performed while supplying electric power (heating amount) so that the output of the pan bottom sensor 40 was about 100 ° C. to about 110 ° C. (first step), and then the power of the IH coil was turned off (second step). 2 steps). The steaming step including the first step and the second step was performed for about 12 minutes as a whole. As described above, rice was cooked in the normal rice cooking course.

  Table 1 below shows a comparison between the oneba collection course of the above example and the normal rice cooking course of the above comparative example. Table 1 summarizes the results of the volume, weight, specific gravity, and concentration of Oneba collected by the Oneba collection tool 10 in each course. Each of these values is a value obtained by performing the test 10 times and calculating the average. The concentration was determined from a Brix value measured using a pocket reticulometer PAL-1 manufactured by Atago Co., Ltd. The refractometer measures the sugar content (concentration) of the measurement target based on the refractive index of the measurement target. The higher the Brix value, the higher the density.

  Referring to Table 1, the amount of Oneba collected in the Oneba collection tool 10 was 97 ml in the ordinary rice cooking course, and was large at 115 ml in the Oneba collection course. In addition, the weight of the collected Oneva was 76 g in the case of the normal rice cooking course, and 93.2 g in the case of the Oneba collection course. Therefore, the specific gravities were 0.78 g / ml and 0.81 g / ml, respectively, and the oneva collection course recovered oneva with a higher specific gravity.

  The Brix value indicating the concentration of the collected Oneva was 0.65 in the case of the normal rice cooking course, whereas it was 1.31 in the Oneba collection course, and the concentration of the Oneba collection course was lower. Was recovered, and the efficiency of collecting oneva was remarkably excellent.

  From the above, when rice is cooked in the oneba collection course, oneba having a high concentration and a high specific gravity is appropriately removed from the cooked food, and as a result, it is possible to obtain a dry oneba collected rice that is less sticky and easy to swallow. it can. In addition, since the amount of collected Oneba in the Oneba collecting tool 10 is limited, the nutritional value per unit amount is not extremely reduced as compared with the normal rice cooked in the normal rice cooking course.

  In the above embodiment, for example, various changes may be made as described below. Each change can be appropriately combined as long as no contradiction occurs.

  (1) In the above embodiment, a rice cooking sequence including a oneba collection course and a normal rice cooking course is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, another course other than the Oneba collection course and the normal rice cooking course may be provided as the rice cooking sequence. Also, for example, only the Oneba collection course may be provided as the rice cooking sequence.

  (2) In the above embodiment, the lid sensor 42 is exemplified as the “boiling detection means”, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in place of the lid sensor 42, another “boiling detection unit” that detects the boiling of the cooked rice based on a decrease in the rate of increase in the temperature detected by the pan bottom sensor 40 may be provided.

  (3) In the above-described embodiment, one of the oneba collecting courses in which the heating amount in the oneba collecting step is maximized in all the steps is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the total number of cooked items is small (for example, in the case of 1 or 2 units), boiling of the cooked items can be maintained with a relatively small amount of heating. The heating amount may be equal to or slightly smaller than the generation step.

  (4) In the above-described embodiment, the oneba generating step is terminated after a set time has elapsed after the detection of boiling of the cooked rice, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the oneva generating step may be terminated as soon as boiling of the cooked rice is detected.

  (5) In the above embodiment, the oneva collecting tool 10 is a dish-shaped one provided with two oneva collecting holes 20 and the like, but the shape of the oneva collecting tool 10 can be variously changed. Oneva collecting tool 10 only needs to have oneva collecting hole 20 and storage space 16 for storing oneva. For example, other shapes having one Oneva ejection hole in the center may be used.

  (6) In the above embodiment, an electric rice cooker is illustrated, but other rice cookers such as a gas rice cooker may be used.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The rice cooker and the rice cooking method according to the present invention can be suitably used, for example, for cooking rice to be provided to elderly people with reduced swallowing functions, persons with disabilities, and the like.

10: Oneba collection tool 30: Inner pot 38: Heating means 42: Lid sensor (boiling detection means)
50: Control device

Claims (5)

An inner pot containing cooked rice,
Heating means for heating the inner pot,
Oneva collecting tool for collecting surplus Oneva generated from cooked rice,
A control device capable of executing a rice cooking sequence for controlling the heating means,
The control device, as the rice cooking sequence, an oneva generating step of applying a heating amount to generate oneva from the rice to be cooked by the heating means, and the heating means to boil the rice to be cooked and generate an excess in the oneba collecting tool. A rice cooker capable of executing an Oneva collection course having an Oneva collection step of collecting Oneba. The control device, as the rice cooking sequence, can execute a normal rice cooking course different from the Oneba collection course,
2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control device is configured to execute a water absorption step of promoting water absorption of rice contained in the cooked rice in the Oneba collection course for a longer time than the water absorption step in the normal rice cooking course. 3. Rice cooker. With boiling detection means capable of detecting the boiling of the cooked rice,
3. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the oneba collection course is configured to switch from the oneba generation process to the oneba collection process based on detection of boiling of the cooked rice by the boiling detection means in the oneba collection course. 4. The described rice cooker.   The control device is configured to switch from the oneba generation step to the oneba collection step after a lapse of a set time from the detection of boiling of the cooked food by the boiling detection means in the oneba collection course. 3. The rice cooker according to 3.   Oneva generating step of applying a heating amount to generate oneva from the cooked rice housed in the inner pot by the heating means, and collecting oneva which collects excess oneva in the oneva collecting tool by boiling the cooked food by the heating means. And a rice cooking method.