JP2535006B2 - Plasma food processing method - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a food processing method, and more particularly to a food processing method in which various gases are turned into plasma and irradiated on food products.

[Conventional technology]

The heating method is generally used as a food processing method, but the method of applying heat to the food is classified into a method using heat conduction, a method using radiation such as light and a method using gas convection. Those that use radiation or convection are roughly divided into electromagnetic wave irradiation and gas irradiation. For the irradiation of electromagnetic waves, a method of processing food by microwave irradiation such as a microwave oven, visible light such as charcoal burning, infrared rays or far infrared rays has been mainly used. On the other hand, as an example of gas irradiation, there is a method of attaching smoke such as carbon to foods as in the case of smoked salmon.

On the other hand, among foods, new foods that have never been seen before have been developed, and one of them is lemon-flavored sugar. This is a one-time use sugar and lemon flavored fragrance packed in an aluminum bag so that the scent does not escape, and the bag is cut and used at the time of use. By using this sugar, without using the actual lemon,
You can drink tea with the scent of lemon.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In the case of conventional sugar with a lemon flavor, the labor of ripping an aluminum pack each time it was used was necessary.

Further, since sugar has hygroscopicity, there is a problem that if left for a long time, it will absorb water in the air and harden.

On the other hand, in the case of conventional charcoal grilling or iron plate grilling, the surface of the meat receives heat, which slowly conducts heat to the inside. Therefore, a considerable amount of heat is applied to the surface, and a layer having a considerable thickness on the surface is solidified, so that there are few unsolidified portions that have a so-called effect.

In order to increase the tasteful area, how to rapidly and thinly solidify the surface and create an area with poor heat conduction was important for deliciously grilling meat, but the conventional method That was difficult to achieve.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention solves conventional problems by irradiating plasma with food by plasma discharge or plasma torch, thereby performing heat treatment, adding a substance to food, or forming a compound on the surface of food. It was done.

[Action]

In order to generate plasma by glow discharge, it is necessary to introduce the gas to be irradiated into an evacuated vacuum container and ionize the gas to turn it into plasma. There are many methods for this ionization: 1. Glow discharge 2. Microwave discharge including electron cycloton resonance 3. Arc discharge 4. Electron beam discharge 5. Laser beam discharge 6. Thermal ionization and contact ionization 7. Various types Examples include plasma guns.

The ionized gas becomes a plasma composed of electrons and ions, and the velocity of each plasma is controlled when the plasma collides with food. The control of the speed is important for the quality control of foods, and the control methods are roughly classified into those in which the speed is given during plasma generation and the method in which the bias potential of the food is changed to control the speed.

The following phenomenon occurs when food is irradiated with plasma. When electromagnetic waves from plasma are applied to food, energy is given to the surface and inside of the food. Depending on the intensity of the energy, the spectrum and the irradiation time, (a) the state in which the atom or molecule is excited and (b) the state in which the bonding state of the crystal or molecule changes can be set.

Further, when plasma electrons are applied to food, energy is applied to the surface and inside of the food as in the case of electromagnetic waves, so that the above phenomena (a) and (b) occur.

Therefore, when a food in such a state is irradiated with neutral gas or plasma ions, a physical change and a chemical reaction occur on the surface and inside of the food, and a new substance is generated as a result of the reaction, and the surface of the food is surfaced. By forming a layer or adding a substance to a food, a new food which has never existed can be obtained.

Further, since the temperature of the plasma reaches 10,000 degrees, when the meat is grilled by the plasma torch, only the surface is instantly baked and a solidified portion having a low thermal conductivity is formed on the surface. This prevents the savory broth from leaking to the outside and keeps the inside of the meat soft, which makes it possible to achieve ideal baking.

Example of Invention

FIG. 1 shows Example 1 in which food is plasma-irradiated using a plasma generation method by glow discharge. A gas reservoir 4, a gas introduction leak valve 3, an introduction system, an exhaust vacuum pump 2, a glow discharge anode 7, a vacuum measuring element 5, a food holder 21, and an observation glass window 14 are attached to the vacuum container 1. is there. A temperature controller is installed in the food holder 21. A glow discharge power source 8 and a bias power source are provided outside the vacuum container 1.
11, temperature control power supply 12, vacuum measuring device 6 and the like.

The irradiation operation is performed by placing the food 20 in the food holder 21, placing it in the vacuum container 1, activating the exhaust system to evacuate the container 1, and confirming the degree of vacuum with a vacuum gauge. After that, the leak valve 3 is opened from the gas introduction system 4 to introduce the target gas, and the state of the required gas pressure is confirmed by the vacuum gauge 6.
The glow discharge power source 8 to the discharge electrode 7 and the vacuum container 1
A voltage is applied to start glow discharge. The gas pressure, type, discharge current, discharge time, food bias voltage, and temperature are changed according to the purpose.

Example 1 Sugar crystals 20 were placed on a food holder 21, and the inside of the vacuum container 1 was evacuated to 1 × 10 ⁻⁶ Torr. After that, Ar gas was introduced into the vacuum container 1 from the gas reservoir 4, and the degree of vacuum inside the container was maintained at 1 × 10 ^-1 Torr. Then, a voltage of 300 V was applied between the discharge electrode 7 and the vacuum container 1 which was grounded to generate plasma 16. The discharge voltage at this time was maintained at 1A. In this way, by irradiating the sugar crystals 20 with plasma, a surface layer for preventing moisture absorption was formed on the surface thereof.

Example 2 Sugar crystals 20 were placed on a food holder 21, and the inside of the vacuum container 1 was evacuated to 1 × 10 ⁻⁶ Torr. Next, the fragrance was placed in a separate room connected to the vacuum chamber 1 (not shown). In this example, citrase, aldehyde C, linalool, and linalyl acetate were used as having a lemon scent. This fragrance is heated and gasified, mixed with Ar gas,
Plasma was formed under the same conditions as in Example 1. By exposing the sugar crystals 20 to the plasma 16, flavors are added to the sugar.

Then, the valve of the gas supply pipe is switched to flow the gas of the coating forming material into the vacuum chamber 1. Sugar ester or cyclodextrin was used as the coating forming material. These materials were gasified in a separate room connected to the vacuum chamber 1 at high temperature and high pressure. A coating film was formed on the surface of the sugar crystal 20 by exposing the sugar crystals 20 to the plasma by making the gasified coating forming material into plasma under the above-mentioned conditions.

As described above, in the first and second specific examples, the plasma food processing method for sugar crystals has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to any food such as bread, confectionery, meat, fish, vegetables, ham and cheese. The method can be applied.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment, which is an example of cooking food in the atmosphere. Here, an example of irradiating the meat 17 for beef steak with the high temperature plasma 16 ejected from the plasma jet will be described.

The meat 17 supported by the meat support rod 18 is placed between the supports 19 and from below the plasma of the plasma jet.
Baked by 16. A plasma jet is a high-pressure plasma blown out of the nozzle 15 into the atmosphere.
Its temperature reaches 10,000 degrees. The supporting table 19 is designed to move horizontally by a driving mechanism (not shown), passes through the plasma jet in a short time, and only the surface of the meat 17 is instantaneously baked.

Further, the plasma irradiation method shown in Examples 1 and 2 can be combined with other methods to make a new food cooking method. For example, by irradiating infrared rays or microwaves at the same time as this plasma irradiation or after the irradiation, it is possible to create a new cooking method which has not been available in the past.

In addition, performing some plasma irradiation in stages is a new cooking. For example, it is possible to form a complex substance on the surface of food by irradiating the gas of type A with plasma and then irradiating it with the gas of type B.

〔The invention's effect〕

Thus, according to the food processing method of the present invention, it is possible to obtain a new food that has never existed before. For example, specific example 1
Since the sugar crystals obtained by the method have a surface layer that prevents moisture absorption, it is possible to prevent the sugar crystals from absorbing water and sticking to each other and solidifying as in the conventional case.

In addition, since the flavor of lemon flavor is added to the sugar crystals obtained in Example 2 and a coating film is formed on the surface thereof, the lemon flavor never escapes. Moreover, unlike the conventional case, when drinking black tea, it is not necessary to cut the aluminum pack each time sugar is used, and it is only necessary to add the sugar to black tea.

Using the plasma jet of the second embodiment of the present invention,
Since the energy of the plasma is high, the surface is solidified before heat is transferred from the surface to the inside, so the thickness of the solidified part remains about 1 mm. Therefore, as compared with the conventional cooking method, the solidified portion is drastically reduced, and the portion containing the gravy is increased accordingly, and a delicious steak can be obtained.

In addition, since the oxidation and reduction can be controlled by changing the type of plasma gas, it becomes possible to control the carbonization that accompanies solidification and eliminate the so-called burns that have occurred in the conventional cooking method, so that there is no fear of cancer. There is also an effect that there is no need to do.

Further, since the energy of plasma is large, the food processing method of the present invention can process food in large quantities at high speed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an apparatus used in the food processing method according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a food processing method according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 1 ... Vacuum container, 2 ... Vacuum pump for exhaust 3 ... Leak valve for gas introduction 4 ... Gas reservoir 5 ... Vacuum measuring element 6 ... Vacuum gauge, 7 ... Discharge electrode 8 ... Discharge Power supply, 10 …… Gate valve 11 …… Bias power supply 12 …… Temperature control power supply 13 …… Gate valve, 14 …… Observation glass window 15 …… Nozzle, 16 …… Plasma 17 …… Meat, 18 …… Meat support bar 19 …… Supporting table, 20 …… Food 21 …… Food holder

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A food processing method using plasma, which changes the physical and chemical properties of food by irradiating the food with plasma. 2. The food processing method according to claim 1, wherein plasma generated by plasma discharge is used. 3. The food processing method according to claim 1, wherein plasma from a plasma torch is used. 4. The food processing method according to claim 1, wherein a substance forming plasma is attached to the surface of the food. 5. The food processing method according to claim 1, wherein a compound is formed on the surface of the food by a substance forming plasma. 6. The food processing method according to claim 1, wherein the food is irradiated with electromagnetic waves in addition to plasma irradiation.