JP2782543B2 - How to make konjac - Google Patents

Description

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for producing konjac which has a soft and palatable texture by freezing.

`` Conventional technology '' Konjac is a mixture of grated konjak powder or konjac potato with water, adding lime milk, sodium carbonate, an alkaline solution such as sodium hydroxide, forming into a predetermined shape, and heating to gel. It is manufactured by
Kinds of konjac potatoes are made by crushing without removing the skin of potatoes. Calling. Others
It is also known to add blue glue, sesame, chili, etc. and harden it to change the color. Konjac is used for oden, boiled food, sukiyaki, pot food, and cooked rice.

"Problems to be Solved by the Invention" However, the conventional konjac has an elastic and uniform gel structure, and has little change in texture.

Further, even when boiled in a seasoning solution containing soy sauce, miso, and the like, the taste is difficult to permeate, and it is difficult to season the inside.

On the other hand, frozen konjac has a sea-like texture due to the freezing treatment, but has a problem that the texture is not smooth and the palatability is poor.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for producing konjac, in which the tissue structure is changed by freezing treatment so that a soft and palatable texture can be obtained.

"Means for Solving the Problems" In the method for producing konjac of the present invention, a paste containing konjac mannan was prepared, alkalis and fats and oils were added to the paste, and the paste was frozen in a state where it did not gel completely. Thereafter, heat treatment is performed.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to preferred specific examples.

Preparation of a paste containing konjac mannan is performed by kneading grated konjac flour or konjac potato with water. The amount of water added depends on the amount of water to konjac flour (or konjac mannan component).
It is preferable to add and mix so that the amount becomes 25 to 45 times (weight ratio). If the amount of water added is less than the above, the konjac mannan concentration will be high, so the texture will be hard, and if the amount of water added is more than the above, the konjac mannan concentration will be low, so the gel will be unstable and a paste-like product Tend to be.

In addition, you may add and mix auxiliary components other than konjac mannan to the said paste. As these auxiliary components, for example, seasonings or ingredients such as blue seaweed, sesame, hijiki, spices, soy sauce, animal and plant proteins such as egg white, soy protein, milk, starches, alginic acid, other polysaccharides, etc. And the like.

The paste thus prepared is mixed with an alkali as a coagulant. As the alkali, for example, an aqueous solution of calcium hydroxide, calcium carbonate, sodium carbonate, sodium hydroxide or the like can be used. In this case, the alkali concentration of the aqueous solution is about 10% by weight, and this aqueous solution may be added to the paste at about 1 to 1.5% by weight. When sodium alginate is added to the paste,
In order to gel alginic acid, it is preferable to add calcium hydroxide as an alkali.

Further, fats and oils are added to this paste. By adding fats and oils, the effect of softening the texture and improving the palatability can be obtained. As the oils and fats, various edible oils and fats such as vegetable oils such as soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, rice seed oil, safflower oil, and animal oils such as fish oil and butter can be used. Also, emulsified fats and oils such as milk, soy milk and shortening can be used. The fats and oils are added to the paste and mixed so as to be uniformly dispersed. It is necessary to mix the fats and oils appropriately, and if the mixing is insufficient, the fats and oils will be separated, and if the mixing is performed excessively, the konjac mannan will not sufficiently gel, resulting in a paste-like product. The amount of fats and oils added is 1
It is preferably 0 to 45 parts by weight. 15 fats and oils added
When the amount is less than 5 parts by weight, the texture improving effect is poor. The addition of the fat may be performed before the addition of the alkali or simultaneously with the alkali.

The paste thus obtained is formed into an appropriate shape as needed. The molding may be performed by filling a bag-shaped or cup-shaped casing, or by using an extruder, a drum molding machine, or the like.

Next, the paste is frozen without being completely gelled. In order to effectively change the tissue structure due to freezing, it is preferable that freezing is performed by slow freezing at, for example, about -10 to -30 ° C. Thus, by freezing in a state that is not completely gelled, flaky or needle-like ice crystals are formed, and when thawing, a flaky or fibrous tissue is formed. In addition,
Ice crystals grow over time in the frozen state,
The flaky or fibrous tissue is more effectively formed. For this reason, it is preferable that after thawing, at least one day or more is followed by thawing.

Although this paste gels to some extent even by freezing, it is subjected to a heat treatment after thawing or in a frozen state in order to further gel and sterilize. As the heat treatment, various methods such as immersion in hot water, steaming, frying, microwave heating, and gas heating can be adopted. By performing the heat treatment in this manner, the konjac according to the present invention can be obtained.

"Action and Effect" In the method of the present invention, a paste containing konjac mannan is prepared, alkalis and fats and oils are added to the paste, mixed, frozen in a state where gelation is not completely performed, and then heated. As described above, konjac having a flaky or fibrous structure can be obtained. In addition, by adding fats and oils, it is possible to obtain a soft and palatable mouthfeel-like texture. In addition, since the obtained konjac becomes white by addition of fats and oils, it is an unusual product which does not seem to be konjac in appearance.

The konjac obtained according to the present invention can be used as a component of oden, boiled food, sukiyaki, pot food, cooked rice, and the like, similarly to conventional konjac. in this case,
Since it has a porous structure due to freeze denaturation, a seasoning liquid such as a broth penetrates into the inside, and good seasoning is achieved. Also, this konjac can be shredded and mixed with ordinary konjac for use. That is, the physical property improving effect can be brought about by mixing the above shredded material in the konjac paste at the time of producing ordinary konjac.

"Example" Example 1 Water was added to konjac powder in a 35-fold amount (weight ratio) and mixed to prepare a paste. 1% by weight of a 10% aqueous solution of calcium hydroxide was added to the paste and mixed. Further, 20 parts by weight of soybean oil was added to 100 parts by weight of the paste, and mixed until the oil was uniformly dispersed. This paste was filled in a container and placed in a freezer at −20 ° C. for freezing. After freezing, it was taken out of the freezer, immersed in hot water at 85 ° C., and heated for 40 minutes to gel.

FIG. 1 shows the surface texture of the konjac thus obtained. Thus, a flaky or fibrous tissue is formed by freezing. For comparison, the surface texture of a conventional konjac is shown in FIG. Conventional konjac has a glossy and smooth surface. When tasting the konjac of the present invention, it is soft and tasteful,
Moreover, it was rich in variety and had a texture similar to open mushrooms. In addition, the product became white due to the mixing of soybean oil, and was an unusual product that did not seem to be konjac in appearance.

Example 2 Water was added to konjac powder at the respective ratios shown in Table 1 and mixed to prepare a paste. 1.2% by weight of a 10% aqueous solution of calcium hydroxide was added to the paste and mixed. Further, 20 parts by weight of soybean oil was added to 100 parts by weight of the paste, and mixed until the oil was uniformly dispersed.
This paste was filled in a container and placed in a freezer at −20 ° C. for freezing. After freezing, it was taken out of the freezer, immersed in hot water at 85 ° C., and heated for 40 minutes to gel.

The properties of each konjac thus obtained were evaluated by a sensory test. Table 1 shows the results.

From Table 1, it was found that when the added amount of water was 20 times, the texture became hard, and when the added amount was 50 times, it became gelatinous and did not gel. Then, it was found that the addition amount of water was most preferably 35 times as much as possible in order to obtain a soft and pleasant mouthfeel-like texture.

Example 3 Water was added to konjac powder in a 35-fold amount (weight ratio) and mixed to prepare a paste. 1% by weight of a 10% aqueous solution of calcium hydroxide was added to the paste and mixed. Further, soybean oil was added to 100 parts by weight of the paste in the respective proportions shown in Table 2 and mixed until the oil was uniformly dispersed. This paste was filled in a container and placed in a freezer at −20 ° C. for freezing. After freezing, it was taken out of the freezer, immersed in hot water at 85 ° C., and heated for 40 minutes to gel.

The properties of each konjac thus obtained were evaluated by a sensory test. Table 2 shows the results. For reference, the properties in a paste state (partially gelled) before freezing are also described.

From Table 2, it was found that when the added amount of the oil was less than 10 parts by weight, the texture became hard and lumpy, and when the added amount of the oil exceeded 45 parts by weight, the oil was separated. Then, it was found that it is more preferable to add the oil in an amount of 15 to 40 parts by weight in order to obtain a soft and palatable texture like palm mushroom.

In addition, the physical properties of the product differ depending on the amount of oil and fat added.If the amount of addition is small, it will change from a gel to a paste when left for a while after addition, resulting in a texture like the fat of animal meat and a texture like milt of fish. It turns out that when this paste is frozen, thawed, and heated, each product can be obtained from a texture like soft frozen konjac to a soft texture according to the difference in the amount of fat and oil added. Was.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the surface texture of konjac obtained in one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the surface texture of conventional konjac.

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Mitsutoshi Sato 588-2 Kawadera, Hanno-shi, Saitama (56) References JP-A-1-256366 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. ⁶ , DB name) A23L 1/212

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method for producing konjak, comprising preparing a paste containing konjac mannan, adding an alkali and fats and oils to the paste, freezing the paste without completely gelling, and then heating. Method. 2. The method for producing konjac according to claim 1, wherein the heat treatment is immersion in hot water, steaming, frying, microwave heating, or gas heating. 3. The method for producing konjac according to claim 1, wherein the paste is prepared by adding 25 to 45 times the amount of water to konjac powder and mixing. 4. An oil or fat is added to 100 parts by weight of the paste.
The method for producing konjac according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein 0 to 45 parts by weight are added and mixed.