JP3294540B2 - Method of making cooked rice - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for producing cooked rice. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for producing cooked rice having better flavor, texture and appearance than conventional rice stored at room temperature for a long time.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, rice products of normal temperature storage type, which are cooked and eaten with hot water or a microwave oven while stored in a container, have been sold. As a method for producing such a product, rice cooked by a conventional method is generally filled in a heat-resistant container, sealed, and subjected to a heat and pressure sterilization treatment. However, this method has a problem that sticky odor is attached to cooked rice, texture is reduced, individual cooked rice grains are broken, and furthermore, cooked rice is bound to each other. As a result, it was not possible to obtain high-quality cooked rice.

[0003] First, as a method for preventing sticking smell, a boiled immersed rice is filled in a heat-resistant container, then subjected to heat and pressure sterilization, and hermetically sealed to produce processed rice. (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-3)
No. 70081) has been proposed. However, in this method, after boiling the immersed rice, and further applying pressure and heat sterilization, an enormous amount of heat is applied to the rice, causing significant softening of the grain structure of the rice. That is, in this method, cooked rice with good texture could not be obtained.

[0004] As a method for improving the texture of cooked rice,
A method of immersing steamed rice, which has been pregelatinized with low moisture by steaming the immersed rice, in hot water, and further steaming to obtain cooked rice of uniform quality (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-74553);
The water content of the rice is adjusted using hot water and / or steam at 60 ° C or higher, and then the water content of the rice is adjusted using hot water, steam and / or a pressure cooker at 80 ° C or higher. Molded cooked rice foods (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-146553) have been proposed.

[0005] However, the above-mentioned method has not led to obtaining cooked rice having a satisfactory texture. That is, the rice grains tended to be softened or swelled, so that the rice grains often collapsed and the appearance was poor. Further, the problem that the rice grains are bound together by the starch that has flowed out of the broken rice grains and the chopsticks are poor, that is, the rice that has poor looseness has not been solved yet. As described above, the present inventor knows that the prior art has succeeded in producing cooked rice which has good flavor, texture and appearance, and is particularly suitable for long-term storage at room temperature. Could not.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

Therefore, the present inventor has proposed that cooked rice having high storability, particularly suitable for long-term storage at room temperature, has no scent, has good shape and texture of cooked rice grains, and In order to provide a good method for producing cooked rice by Choppo-dori, we conducted intensive research and development and obtained the following findings.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

That is, in a general rice cooking method, rice is heated while immersed in water. The rice starch is turned into α by this heating, and at the same time, the rice swells by absorbing water. The present inventor has noted that the above method has a problem that unnecessary heat is applied to rice before the water in which the rice is immersed rises to a certain temperature. When unnecessary heat is added to the rice, the rice starch is excessively pregelatinized, which increases the water absorption and makes the rice cooked. For example, when cooking rice under pressure in order to cook rice in a single hour or to sterilize cooked rice, the above-described problem becomes particularly noticeable. The present inventor puts immersed rice in a pressurized atmosphere without immersing it in water, a seasoning liquid, etc., and while maintaining the pressurized state, with respect to the immersed rice, for example, hot water at a temperature of about 120 ° C. Was found to be able to obtain cooked rice capable of solving all of the above-mentioned problems by directly contacting with rice for a certain period of time to rapidly gelatinize rice starch.

According to the present invention based on the above-mentioned knowledge, the immersion rice or the mixture of the immersion rice and the ingredients is put in a pressurized atmosphere without heating while being immersed in water, and then 105 ° C. in the pressurized atmosphere. ~ 135 ℃ hot water for 10 seconds ~ 3
A method for producing cooked rice characterized by directly contacting for 0 minutes.

In the present invention, first, rice is soaked by a conventional method. In immersion, it is preferable to use room temperature water. Examples of the rice include, for example, rice bran, rice bran, milled rice, milled rice, polished rice, brown rice, etc., and the type is not limited. The moisture content of the immersed rice is
Suitably it is between 28% and 35% by weight. If the moisture content of the immersed rice is less than 28% by weight, the cooked rice finally obtained has a firm texture and tends to leave a core. Conversely, if the water content exceeds 35% by weight, the cooked rice tends to have a fluffy, sticky texture.

The temperature of room temperature water used for immersing rice is preferably 5 ° C. to 40 ° C., more preferably 10 ° C. to 35 ° C. If it exceeds 40 ° C., cooked rice tends to be remarkably softened by hot water treatment in a pressurized atmosphere described later. Conversely, if water at less than 5 ° C. is used, the immersion time will be long and the production efficiency will be reduced.

Then, under a pressurized atmosphere, the above-mentioned immersed rice or a mixture of immersed rice and ingredients (hereinafter referred to as immersed rice etc.)
Hot water at 105 ° C to 135 ° C is brought into direct contact. A feature of the present invention is that hot water is brought into direct contact with immersed rice or the like under a pressurized atmosphere to rapidly gelatinize the starch of cooked rice grains and cook the cooked rice. On the other hand, in a general rice cooking method in which rice is heated while being immersed in water or hot water, the rice is remarkably softened by the heat received during the cooking and becomes a non-crispy rice rice.

In the present invention, a seasoning liquid containing a seasoning component may be used as the hot water. Ingredients include vegetables such as radish, carrots, Chinese cabbage, green onions, and vegetables, meats, and the like, and these may be used arbitrarily.

The pressure of the above pressurized atmosphere is 0.40 kg / cm ^{2 to} 2.2 kg / c, in that cooked rice having suitable elasticity specific to freshly cooked rice can be obtained.
m ² , and further 0.68 kg / cm ^{2 to} 1.4 kg / cm
It is preferably ² . It is to be noted that all pressures in this specification are expressed in gauge pressure.

In the above pressurized atmosphere, the temperature of hot water when contacting with immersed rice or the like is 105 ° C. to 135 ° C.
More preferably, it is 115 ° C to 125 ° C. When the temperature of the hot water is lower than 105 ° C., it takes an enormous amount of time for the immersed rice to absorb the hot water, and does not have a favorable effect on the texture of the cooked rice. Conversely, the temperature of hot water is 135 ° C
If it exceeds, softening of the surface layer of cooked rice grains becomes remarkable, and the texture is impaired.

The time for bringing the above hot water into contact with the immersed rice or the like is as follows:
10 seconds to 60 minutes, preferably 15 seconds to 30 minutes,
More preferably, it is for 20 seconds to 10 minutes. If the time is less than 10 seconds, cooked rice with a core tends to be produced. Conversely, when the contact time between the hot water and the immersed rice is longer than 60 minutes, the cooked rice has a tendency to be significantly softened and softened and has a reduced texture.

The method of bringing hot water into contact with immersed rice or the like is optional as long as the requirements of the above-mentioned features of the present invention are satisfied. For example, as a first method, an upper opening container having a plurality of holes having a diameter on the bottom surface through which immersed rice or the like does not pass is filled with the immersed rice or the like,
A method of injecting hot water at the above-described temperature after the surroundings of the immersed rice or the like are set to a pressurized atmosphere. As a second method, there is a method in which a container having no opening at the bottom is filled with immersed rice or the like, the surroundings of the immersed rice or the like are pressurized, and then hot water at the above temperature is injected into the container. No. When the surrounding atmosphere such as immersed rice is pressurized, the atmosphere may be filled with steam. As a result, it is possible to carry out a sterilization treatment of immersed rice or the like, and it is possible to produce aseptic rice that can withstand long-term storage at room temperature.

In the present invention, it is preferred that the soaked rice or the like is subjected to a steaming treatment before or after the contact between the soaked rice and the hot water, or before or after the contact. By performing the steaming treatment on the immersed rice or the like, it is possible to obtain cooked rice that has a better texture and is less likely to collapse in appearance. In particular, by performing the steaming treatment before and after the hot water treatment step, the effects of the present invention described above become more remarkable.

If the above-mentioned steaming step is introduced, 8
0 ° C to 105 ° C, preferably 95 ° C to 101 ° C
Is used to steam the soaked rice for 1 minute to 30 minutes, more preferably 5 minutes to 15 minutes. In the present invention, when steaming treatment is performed on immersed rice or the like, it must be performed in a state where the rice does not come into contact with water, a seasoning liquid, or the like, similarly to the above-mentioned hot water treatment.

Here, an example of producing sterilized cooked rice in a container by using a sterile filling device in which the steam sterilizing device, the rice filling device, and the sealing device are connected in a state capable of maintaining an aseptic condition. The above steps will be described.

First, rice is immersed in room temperature water to obtain immersed rice. Next, the immersed rice is filled in an upper opening retainer having a plurality of holes on a bottom surface. At this time, if necessary, a solid material such as vegetables and meat may be filled in addition to the immersed rice. Next, steam of 98 ° C. to 101 ° C. is brought into contact with this to obtain steamed rice. Thereafter, a plurality of retainers containing the steamed rice are carried into a steam sterilizer.

After carrying the retainer into the steam sterilizing apparatus, the apparatus is sealed. Next, the inside of the steam sterilizer is pressurized while steam is injected from a steam supply port provided in the steam sterilizer. The pressure inside the sterilizer is 0.68 kg /
After adjusting cm ² ~1.4kg / cm ^2, from the hot water injection port provided in the upper portion of the sterilizing apparatus, towards a steaming rice housed in the retainer, the hot water of 105 ° C~135 ° C 1
Boiled rice can be obtained by showering for 0 to 60 minutes and bringing steamed rice into direct contact with hot water.

Next, after the inside of the steam sterilizer is once returned to normal pressure, the cooked rice stored in the retainer is heated to 80 ° C to 1 ° C.
A steaming treatment is performed by bringing steam of 05 ° C. into contact for 1 minute to 30 minutes. After that, the cooked rice remains in the retainer,
It is transferred to a rice filling device provided downstream of the steam sterilizer, and is transferred to a product container that has been previously sterilized. Next, the cooked rice stored in the product container is transferred to a sealing device provided on the downstream side of the cooked rice filling device,
In the same device, a hermetically sealed seal is applied to the opening of the product container to produce sterilized cooked rice in the container.

[0023]

EXAMPLE 1 First, 104 parts by weight of glutinous rice was immersed in water at 25 ° C. for 1 hour, and the immersed rice 13 having a water content of 30% by weight was used.
5 parts by weight were obtained. Next, 135 parts by weight of the immersed rice is filled in a bottomed cylindrical retainer having an upper opening having a plurality of small holes on the bottom surface, and is directly contacted with steam at 100 ° C. for 40 seconds, so that the immersed rice is subjected to the first steaming treatment. To give 145 parts by weight of steamed rice.

Thereafter, 145 parts by weight of the steamed rice was placed in a pressure and heat sterilizer, and the sterilizer was sealed. Then, steam was introduced into the sterilizer to pressurize the interior of the sterilizer to 1.2 kg / cm ² . While maintaining the pressure in the sterilizer at 1.2 kg / cm ² , hot water of 121 ° C. was showered from the hot water injection port provided at the upper part of the sterilizer to the steamed rice in the retainer. 210 parts by weight of cooked rice was obtained. The hot water shower at this time was performed three times every 70 seconds. The amount of hot water per serving is 10 times for steamed rice.
It was 50 parts by weight of hot water / second × 10 seconds with respect to 0 part by weight.

Next, the pressure in the sterilizing apparatus is returned to normal pressure, and steamed at 100 ° C. is directly sprayed on the cooked rice obtained through the above-described processing for 10 minutes to perform a second steaming treatment. It was transferred to a filling device connected to the downstream side of the sterilizing device together with the retainer. After the cooked rice in the retainer is transferred to the product container in the filling device, the opening of the product container is sealed while the sterilized state of the cooked rice is maintained, and then the rice is put out of the filling device to obtain cooked rice in the container. Was.

The rice cooked in the container obtained by the above method is stored at room temperature for 6 months, then heated in a microwave oven until the temperature reaches the eating temperature, the container is opened, and the appearance of the rice stored in the container, Quality evaluation was performed on three points of flavor and texture. As a result, the appearance of the cooked rice was very good without any collapse of the cooked rice grains. The cooked rice did not have any unpleasant odor peculiar to retort cooked rice. Furthermore, the cooked rice had a suitable chewyness unique to cooked rice, and had a very excellent texture.

[0027]

Example 2 A rice cooked in a container was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the steaming treatment was not performed before and after the hot water treatment step. After being stored for a month, the product was heated in a microwave oven until the temperature reached the eating temperature, the container was opened, and the quality of the appearance, flavor and texture of the cooked rice stored in the container was evaluated.
As a result, the appearance of the cooked rice showed a good appearance as a whole, although broken rice grains were slightly observed. Further, like the product of Example 1, no unpleasant odor was felt. Further, in the texture, although the hardness was slightly left as compared with the product of Example 1, there was no sticky feeling and the texture was favorable.

[0028]

The cooked rice obtained by the production method of the present invention has an excellent flavor without odor that is characteristic of retort cooked rice. Furthermore, the elasticity peculiar to freshly cooked rice is well maintained, and the texture is also excellent.
In addition, the shape of the cooked rice grains was well maintained in appearance. When eating, the rice grains do not stick together, and the chopsticks are in good condition.

In the production method of the present invention, cooked rice is produced in a sterile atmosphere such as a steam atmosphere, and the cooked rice is aseptically filled and sealed.
Aseptic rice with no deterioration in flavor, texture and appearance can be obtained.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An immersed rice or a mixture of the immersed rice and the ingredients is put in a pressurized atmosphere without heating while being immersed in water, and then put in the pressurized atmosphere at 105 ° C. to 1 ° C.
A method for producing cooked rice, wherein 35 ° C. hot water is brought into direct contact for 10 seconds to 30 minutes. 2. The method for producing cooked rice according to claim 1, wherein a steaming treatment is performed before and / or after the hot water is brought into direct contact with the soaked rice or the mixture of the soaked rice and the ingredients. .