JP2747200B2 - Film food molding method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for forming a film-shaped food, and more particularly, to a method for continuously forming a film-shaped food of several tens of microns (hereinafter referred to as a film-shaped food) from a food material mainly containing starch or protein. It relates to a new improvement to obtain a target.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, when a food material is heat-treated in an extruder, the food extruded from the extruder is foamed, expanded, and so on due to moisture contained in the food material itself and water added in the extruder. Bubbles are generated. Therefore, a cooling die using water as a cooling medium is used to suppress such foaming, expansion and generation of bubbles. Among the cooling dies, those that produce a sheet-like food include those generally called a slit die and a cylindrical die. The former slit die is a die having a material flow path in the shape of a flat plate or a sheet. During extrusion, cooling is performed from both upper and lower surfaces of the flat plate or the sheet. In addition, the latter, called a cylindrical die (cooled hollow cylindrical die),
For example, JP-A-63-303605, JP-A-2-385
65, JP-A-1-286655, JP-A-3-14555
8, etc., all of which are extruded once into a pipe shape, and a part of the pipe-shaped extrudate is continuously cut open in the extrusion direction to produce a wide flat or sheet-like extrudate. The cooling is performed from both the inside and outside surfaces of the extruded pipe.

[0003]

Since the conventional flat plate or sheet food forming method and apparatus have been configured as described above, the following problems exist. That is, when manufacturing a flat or sheet-like extrudate in which foaming, expansion, generation of bubbles, and the like are not observed, the above-described slit die or cylindrical die may be used. mm-thick sheets were the limit, wide, and thin, tens of micron thick films could not be extruded uniformly. In addition, the present inventors attempted to stretch the extruded sheet-shaped food to make it even thinner, but the sheet-shaped food cooled to the extent that it did not foam was too soft and stretched by being sandwiched by a chuck. could not. On the other hand, when the cooling of the die was increased and the sheet-shaped food was cooled until it was sandwiched by the chuck, the sheet-shaped food became too hard and could hardly be stretched. Further, although the extruded sheet-like food could be slightly stretched under an ambient temperature of about 130 ° C.,
There were problems such as the loss of flexibility due to evaporation of water. From these results, when the food material is formed into a film, the food material becomes extremely poor in fluidity when cooled, so the die has a simple structure and performs cooling to suppress foaming and the like in a short flow path. It was found that the food was still hot and needed to be stretched by applying a force having a cooling function in a soft state.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and in particular, obtains a film-shaped film food having a thickness of several tens of microns from a food material mainly containing starch or protein. An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for forming a film-shaped food as described above.

[0005]

The method for forming a film-like food according to the present invention comprises forming a food material mainly composed of starch or protein kneaded and melted in an extruder (1) into a cylindrical die (4). A cylindrical nozzle having a gap of 0.4 to 1.0 mm
Extruded as a tubular body (30) through (17), this tubular body (30)
Is a separator (5) disposed below the cylindrical die (4).
The first air flow path (14) of the cylindrical die (4) and the second air flow path (20) of the separator (5) are joined to the cylindrical body (30). After the air is blown into the tubular body (30) from the second air flow path (20) side and stretched in a state where they are in communication with each other, the cutter is cut by the cutter blade (22) of the separator (5). This is a method of obtaining a film-like food (10) having a thickness of several tens of microns, and the cylindrical body (30) is cooled to a temperature that suppresses foaming in the cylindrical die (4). Further, the film-like food molding apparatus according to the present invention is an extruder (1) for kneading and melting a food material containing starch or protein as a main component.
A cylindrical die (1) provided at the tip of the extruder (1), having a first air flow path (14) penetrating the center, and having a cooling jacket (18) around a cylindrical nozzle (17) ( 4) and the cylindrical die (4)
Is provided at a distance from the cylindrical nozzle (17), has a conical portion (21) at the distal end, and has a distal end surface (2) of the conical portion (21).
1a) comprising a separator (5) having a second air flow path (20) having an outlet (20a) in an air pump (6) connected to the first air flow path (14). The channels (14, 20) are configured to communicate with each other by a tubular body (30) discharged from the tubular nozzle (17), and the gap between the tubular nozzles (17) is 0.4 to 1. 0 mm, and a winding machine (9) is provided downstream of the separator (5).

[0006]

In the method and apparatus for forming a film-shaped food according to the present invention, the first air flow path and the cooling while the molten food material extruded from the extruder main body is fed through the tube-shaped material flow path of the cylindrical die. The jacket is cooled by a flowing cooling medium to a temperature that does not cause foaming, and extruded into a tube. The food extruded in the form of a tube reaches the conical portion at the front end of the separator facing the tube. The tube-shaped food that reaches the separator tip from the tube die discharge portion flows air blown from the separator tip surface into the inside, swells in a hot and soft state immediately after being discharged from the tube die due to the pressure of the air, and in three-dimensional direction And then cooled and dried to reach the separator. Air blown out from the tip of the separator removes heat from the tubular food,
Moisture is taken, the tubular food is expanded near the discharge portion of the cylindrical die, and passes through the first air flow path of the cylindrical die to remove heat from the food material in a molten state and is released. Subsequently, the stretched tubular food is cut into a film food by a cutter attached to the separator, and is wound by a winder via a roll. Therefore, it is possible to continuously and stably produce a film food as a homogeneous edible film from a food material. In addition, since the extruded food material is stretched in a three-dimensional direction by air to form a thin film, it is not necessary to keep the gap of the material flow path of the food material thin in the die with high precision, and the die is manufactured at low cost. be able to. Furthermore, the extruded food material is dried by continuously flowing air for stretching to prevent sticking between the wound films, and because the extruded food material is stretched in three-dimensional directions. Thus, the produced film becomes extremely thin, tough and flexible.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the method and apparatus for forming a film-like food according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a state of an embodiment of an apparatus applied to the method for forming a film-like food according to the present invention, and FIG.
3 is a front view of the die of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is an upper side view of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the separator of FIG.

1 and 2, a cylinder 2A having a screw 2 and a die holder 3
And a cylindrical die 4 is provided in a die holder 3 of the extruder 1. A separator 5 is provided near the lower part of the cylindrical die 4, and the separator 5 and the die 4 are provided with an air pipe 7 from an air pump 6 via valves 23 and 24, respectively. The cylinder die 4 may be any of a cylinder, a square cylinder, a triangular cylinder, and a polygonal cylinder.

A winder 9 is provided downstream of the separator 5 via a guide roller 8, and the winder 9 is configured to wind a film food 10 as a final product. .

The cylindrical die 4 is configured as shown in FIG. That is, the flange portion 11 a of the hollow box-shaped body 11 constituting the cylindrical die 4 is fixed to the die holder 3 via the die mounting bolt 12, and the hollow box-shaped body 11
The inlet 13 of the material flow path 13 which is formed inside and has a substantially T-shape
a communicates with the outlet 3 a of the die holder 3, and has a substantially T-shaped cross-section in the material flow path 13 and the first air flow path 1.
A cylindrical body 15 having a central portion 4 penetrating therethrough is provided.

The cylindrical body 15 is fixed to the hollow box-shaped body 11 via mounting bolts 16.
“a” hangs downward, and a cylindrical nozzle 17 is formed below the cylindrical body 15 at a position below the material flow path 13 of the hollow box-shaped body 11.

At the lower outer peripheral position of the hollow box-shaped body 11,
Cooling jacket 18 for guiding air as refrigerant
The cooling jacket 18 cools the lower part of the hollow box-shaped body 11.

An exhaust port 15b of the first air flow path 14 formed on the upper part of the cylindrical body 15 has a valve 19 for adjusting a flow rate.
Is installed. The jacket 18 has an air inlet 18
a and an air outlet 18b, and the air inlet 18a is connected to the air pump 6 via the valve 24 by the air pipe 7 as shown in FIG. The separator 5 has a second air flow path 20 formed of an L-shaped pipe.
Is connected to the air pump 6 via the valve 23 by the air pipe 7. As shown in FIG. 1, the first air flow path 14 and the second air flow path 20 are configured to communicate with each other by a cylindrical body 30 hanging down from a cylindrical nozzle 17. Is formed with a conical portion 21 having a conical shape, a cutter blade 22 is integrally formed on the outer periphery of a lower portion of the conical portion 21, and an upper end 20a of the second air passage 20 is It is open facing the upper surface 21a of the shape part 21.

Next, the operation will be described. The above-mentioned food material (not shown) containing starch or protein as a main component extruded from the extruder 1 passes through an inlet 13a and passes through a material flow path 13
To be pumped. While this food material is being fed through the material flow path 13, the cylindrical body 30 cooled to a temperature at which it does not foam by the jacket 18 and extruded downward from the cylindrical nozzle 17.
Is joined to the conical portion 21 of the separator 5, and the air passages 14 and 20 are tightly connected to each other by the cylindrical food 30. Next, when air is continuously fed from the upper part of the second air flow path 20 of the separator 5 to the first air flow path 14 through the tubular body 30 by the operation of the air pump 6, the valve 19 Pressure is generated in the cylindrical body 30 between the die 4 and the separator 5 by the pressure adjusting action, and the cylindrical body 30
Is stretched in a three-dimensional direction (FIG. 1 shows a state after stretching). At this time, the degree of stretching is adjusted by opening and closing the valve 19.

The stretched cylindrical body 30 is wound on the winding machine 9.
It is pulled when it is wound by
The film food 10 in the form of a film is cut by the cutter blade 22 of the separator 5, and is wound by the winding machine 9 via the roll 8. Further, it is also possible to stretch the tubular body 30 by increasing the winding speed of the winding machine 9 and pulling and winding the film-shaped food 10. Further, the amount of air supplied from the air pump 6 to the separator 5 and the cooling jacket 18 is adjusted by valves 23 and 24, respectively, and the properties such as temperature, humidity and cleanliness of the air are adjusted as necessary. It is also possible to control.

[0016]

[Experimental Example] A cylindrical die 4 of this experimental example was connected to a twin-screw extruder (Nippon Steel Works: TEX-L; screw outer diameter 30 mm, L / D = 1).
0) and extruded using a separated protein (Fuji Oil Fujipro SE) as a food material. Extruder 1
Then, 0.3 kg / h of the separated protein and 0.3 kg / h of water (glycerin: water = 1: 2) are supplied to the cylinder 2A at a rate of 0.3 kg / h.
While feeding to the tip of cylinder 2A with screw 2, cylinder 2
Kneading and melting while heating by A, die holder 3
The melted separated protein was extruded to the inlet 13a of the cylindrical die 4 through the through hole. The screw 2 was rotated at 200 rpm, and the screw 2 was shaped such that a reverse screw and a kneading screw (not shown) were combined in a heating portion, and the cylinder 2A was heated to 150 ° C. At this time, the material temperature at the tip of the cylinder 2A was 158 ° C., and the pressure was 26 kg / cm ² . The air for stretching and the air for cooling used a micro air pump 6 (MF-30), and the amount of air for the cooling air was adjusted by a valve (not shown) of the pump 6. As a result,
It was possible to continuously obtain the edible filmy food 10 of a yellow-brown transparent (thickness: 30 to 45 μ) soybean protein film. The cylindrical body 30 from the cylindrical nozzle 17 can be stretched in the range of 1 to 4 times in outer diameter and in the range of 0.5 mm to 15 μ in wall thickness by changing the amount of air by the valve 19. Was.

In order to easily and stably operate the extruder 1, the cylindrical nozzle 17 of the material flow path 13 of the cylindrical die 4 is required.
(The tubular portion 15a of the tubular body 15 and the hollow box-shaped body 1)
The gap between the inner walls 11a is preferably 0.4 mm or more and the range of 0.4 mm to 1.0 mm at the discharge end is good. 3 can be changed by the outer diameter, thickness and air amount. If the gap at the discharge end is smaller than 0.4 mm, the flow of the food material becomes unstable, and if it exceeds 1.0 mm, a temperature gradient occurs in the thickness direction of the food material, making subsequent stretching unstable and difficult. become. Also, in the die 4 of the present embodiment, the shape of the cylindrical body 15 after the intersection with the inlet 13a is simply conical, but one or more spiral grooves may be cut on the outer periphery of the cylindrical body 15, The inlet 13a and the material flow path 13 may be located in the same direction without making a right angle.

[0018]

The method and apparatus for forming a film-like food according to the present invention are configured as described above, and the following effects can be obtained. 1) An edible film (film-shaped food) manufactured by stretching a cylindrical food in three dimensions by air
Can be made extremely thin with excellent tensile strength and flexibility. 2) By continuously flowing air for stretching, the tubular food can be dried, and sticking after winding can be prevented. 3) The width and thickness of the edible film can be freely adjusted by adjusting the amount of air for stretching. 4) Since the structure and shape of the die were simple, the die could be manufactured at low cost. 5) Since an extruder was used to process food materials, it could be processed continuously, and a uniform and thin unfoamed edible film could be produced stably. Such remarkable effects could be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing one embodiment of an apparatus applied to a food molding method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the die of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an upper side view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the separator of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 extruder 4 cylinder die 5 separator 9 winder 10 film food 13 material flow path 14 first air flow path 15 cylinder 17 cylindrical nozzle 19 valve 20 second air flow path 22 cutter blade 30 cylinder

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cylindrical material having starch or protein-based food material kneaded and melted in an extruder (1) and formed in a cylindrical die (4) and having a gap of 0.4 to 1.0 mm. Nozzle (1
Extruded as a cylindrical body (30) through 7), and this cylindrical body (30) is joined to the conical portion (21) of the separator (5) disposed below the cylindrical die (4). The first air flow path of the cylindrical die (4)
(14) and the second air flow path (20) of the separator (5) are in communication with each other through the cylindrical body (30), the second air flow path
From the (20) side, air is blown into the tubular body (30) and stretched, and then cut by the cutter blade (22) of the separator (5) to obtain a film food (10) having a thickness of several tens of microns. A method for forming a film-shaped food, comprising: 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the tubular body (30) is cooled to a temperature at which foaming is suppressed in the tubular die (4). 3. An extruder (1) for kneading and melting a food material containing starch or protein as a main component, and a first air flow path provided at a tip end of the extruder (1) and penetrating through a central portion thereof. A cylindrical die (4) having a cooling jacket (18) around a cylindrical nozzle (17) having a (14), and a cylindrical die (4) provided at a distance from the cylindrical nozzle (17), A separator (5) having a second air flow path (20) having a conical portion (21) and a blowout port (20a) at a tip end surface (21a) of the conical portion (21); First air flow path
(14) connected to the air pump (6), and the respective air flow paths (14, 20) are configured to communicate with each other by a cylindrical body (30) discharged from the cylindrical nozzle (17). A film-like food molding apparatus, characterized in that: 4. The gap between the cylindrical nozzles (17) is 0.4 to 0.4.
1.0 mm, and a winder downstream of the separator (5).
5. The film-shaped food molding apparatus according to claim 4, wherein (9) is provided.