JP4105972B2 - Method for producing effervescent liquid food - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for producing an effervescent liquid food that efficiently performs sterilization and effervescence processes of effervescent liquid foods such as cider and beer.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In the production process of effervescent liquid food, a process of dissolving carbon dioxide (carbon dioxide gas) in a liquid food as a raw material and a process of sterilization are performed in separate processes.
The method of the liquid food contained carbon dioxide, a method of blowing carbon dioxide gas pressure of up to approximately 5 kg / cm ^2, a method of adding and mixing the carbonated water, utilizing a carbon dioxide produced by fermentation of liquid food itself Methods are known. For example, the first method is used in the production of carbonated beverages, and the method of combining the first and last methods is used in the case of beer and sparkling sake.
[0003]
On the other hand, sterilization treatment of liquid food is usually performed by heating. However, depending on the food, quality deterioration such as a decrease in flavor may occur due to heat treatment. For example, in the case of draft beer, heating cannot be performed. In such a case, sterilization processing by filter filtration or the like is performed. However, in filter filtration, the active ingredient contained in the liquid food is captured by the filter, and the quality may be similarly reduced. For this reason, a method of sterilizing using carbon dioxide without using heat treatment or filter filtration has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-7-170965 [0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in the production of the conventional foamable liquid food, in any case, the carbon dioxide dissolution (generation) step and the sterilization (sterilization) step are performed separately. However, if these can be performed continuously using one apparatus, productivity can be improved.
[0006]
The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and the object of the present invention is to be able to continuously perform the carbon dioxide-containing step and the sterilization step using one apparatus. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing effervescent liquid food that does not impair the quality of the food.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The effervescent liquid food manufacturing method according to the present invention, which has been made to solve the above problems, includes a first step of dissolving carbon dioxide in a liquid food in a supercritical or subcritical state, and the liquid food at a predetermined temperature. A second step of sterilizing the liquid food by holding it for a predetermined time; and by rapidly lowering the pressure of the liquid food to a predetermined value, the liquid food is sterilized and a desired amount of carbon dioxide is removed. And a third step of dissolving in the solution.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the first step, carbon dioxide is blown into a liquid food and dissolved to bring the carbon dioxide into a supercritical state or a subcritical state. At this time, it is desirable that a sufficient amount of carbon dioxide be blown into the liquid food and saturated in the liquid food.
[0009]
In the second step, the liquid food containing carbon dioxide in a supercritical or subcritical state is held at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time to sterilize the liquid food. The temperature and time at this time can be set to be advantageous in terms of quality (low temperature and short time treatment) as compared with conditions generally known in the past in the heat sterilization treatment process of liquid food. For example, the sterilization treatment can be performed by appropriately setting the temperature to 20 to 60 ° C. and the time within 30 minutes.
[0010]
In the third step, the pressure of the liquid food being pressurized as described above is rapidly reduced to a predetermined pressure. This process has two purposes, one is sterilization and the other is the dissolution of a certain amount of carbon dioxide in a liquid food. In order to achieve such an object, the pressure value is preferably set in the range of atmospheric pressure to 1.0 MPa.
Sterilization is performed by a mechanism in which when the pressure of the liquid food is rapidly reduced, the volume of carbon dioxide dissolved in the bacteria rapidly expands and the bacteria are physically destroyed.
Moreover, the dissolution of carbon dioxide makes it possible to dissolve a desired amount of carbon dioxide in the liquid food by appropriately setting the final pressure after decompression.
[0011]
There are various types of effervescent liquid food such as cider, cola, and beer, but the carbon dioxide content varies depending on these types. For example, in the case of an effervescent beverage, carbon dioxide is generally injected at a temperature of 20 ° C. at a predetermined gas internal pressure up to about 5.0 kg / cm ² determined by the product.
[0012]
In the method according to the present invention, the amount of dissolved carbon dioxide can be adjusted to an arbitrary value by adjusting the final pressure after the pressure reduction in the third step.
[0013]
In addition to adjusting the final pressure, the amount of dissolved carbon dioxide can be set more finely by adjusting the temperature of the liquid food at that time.
[0014]
【The invention's effect】
According to the method of the present invention, the step of containing carbon dioxide and the sterilization step can be performed continuously using one apparatus, and the quality of food is not impaired. Further, since the carbon dioxide content can be finely adjusted, various effervescent liquid foods such as liquor and juice can be produced.
[0015]
【Example】
The sterilization / carbon dioxide dissolution treatment of effervescent food using the method according to the present invention will be described using the apparatus shown in FIG.
The processing apparatus of the present embodiment includes a carbon dioxide supply unit 10, a raw material supply unit 20, a carbon dioxide dissolution unit 30, a heating unit 40, a recovery unit 50, a carbon dioxide recycling unit 60, and a control unit 70 that controls the operation of the entire apparatus. Prepare.
[0016]
The carbon dioxide supply unit 10 includes a carbon dioxide cylinder 11 in which liquid carbon dioxide is sealed, a line filter 12, a cooling unit 13 for cooling the liquid carbon dioxide emitted from the cylinder 11, and carbon dioxide in the carbon dioxide dissolving unit 30. The pump 14 for sending, the valve | bulb 15 provided in each place, etc. are provided.
[0017]
The raw material supply unit 20 includes a tank 21 for storing liquid food, a pump 22 for feeding the liquid food to the dissolution tank 31 of the carbon dioxide dissolution unit 30, and the like.
[0018]
The carbon dioxide dissolution unit 30 is a dissolution tank 31 for dissolving carbon dioxide in a liquid food, a microfilter 32 for making carbon dioxide into microbubbles and introducing it into the dissolution tank 31, and a liquid level in the dissolution tank 31 is substantially constant. A liquid level sensor 33, a drain 34 having an on-off valve, a pressure sensor 35, and the like. Further, a carbon dioxide discharge port 36 is provided in the lid portion of the dissolution tank 31.
[0019]
The heating unit 40 includes a heating pipe 41 through which liquid food in which carbon dioxide is dissolved passes over a predetermined time, a heating coil 42 that heats the liquid food to a predetermined sterilization temperature, and a temperature at which the temperature of the liquid food is detected. The sensor 43 etc. are provided.
[0020]
The recovery unit 50 includes pressure regulating valves 51 and 56 for reducing the liquid food to a predetermined pressure, a separation tank 52 for separating the liquid food and carbon dioxide, pressure sensors 53 and 57, and the like. The pressure at the time of depressurization is set in the range of atmospheric pressure to 1.0 MPa according to the amount of carbon dioxide dissolved in the liquid food, and is controlled by the controller 70 as such. The separated gaseous carbon dioxide is returned to the recycling flow path 63 via the valve 54.
[0021]
The carbon dioxide discharge port 36 is connected to the recycle tank 62 via the pressure control valve 61 by the carbon dioxide recovery channel 37.
[0022]
The control unit 70 includes an operation unit 71 (keyboard, mouse, etc.) for an operator to input operation parameters and commands, a command signal from the operation unit 71, a liquid level sensor 33, a temperature sensor 43, a pressure sensor 35, A control device 72 is provided for controlling operations of the pumps 14 and 22, the heating coil 42, the pressure regulating valves 51, 56, and 61 in accordance with output signals from 53 and 57.
[0023]
By the apparatus comprised as mentioned above, the sterilization process of a liquid food and a carbon dioxide dissolution process are performed continuously as follows.
[0024]
First, the liquid food to be processed is stored in the tank 21. The operator inputs operation parameters such as the pressure, temperature, and processing time of the liquid food from the operation unit 71. In response to this, the control device 72 performs the following control according to a predetermined program.
[0025]
First, the pump 22 is driven, and the liquid food stored in the tank 21 is fed into the dissolution tank 31 at a predetermined pressure. On the other hand, by driving the pump 14, the liquid carbon dioxide in the cylinder 11 is sent to the dissolution tank 31 at a predetermined pressure. Meanwhile, in order to increase the operating efficiency of the pump 14, the liquid carbon dioxide is once cooled by the cooling unit 13 in front of the pump 14. Carbon dioxide is introduced into the dissolution tank 31 in the form of fine bubbles by the microfilter 32 provided at the inlet to the dissolution tank 31. The reason why carbon dioxide is introduced in the form of fine bubbles is to increase the dissolution efficiency of carbon dioxide in liquid food.
[0026]
In the dissolution tank 31, liquid food and carbon dioxide flow upward in the dissolution tank 31, while carbon dioxide dissolves in the liquid food. The carbon dioxide that could not be dissolved in the liquid food is discharged from the carbon dioxide discharge port 36 at the top of the dissolution tank 31 to the carbon dioxide recovery channel 37. Even if carbon dioxide is introduced excessively, insoluble carbon dioxide is merely discharged in this way, so the amount of carbon dioxide introduced into the dissolution tank 31 should be about 20% of the weight of the liquid food. desirable.
[0027]
The liquid food in which carbon dioxide is dissolved is sent from the dissolution tank 31 to the heating pipe 41. Here, the liquid food is heated to a predetermined temperature by the heater 42 and sterilized while flowing through the heating pipe 41.
[0028]
The pressure of the liquid food between the pump 22 and the pressure regulating valve 51, the heating temperature in the heating pipe 41, and the circulation time (holding time) are appropriately set according to the type of liquid food, the purpose of sterilization, and the like. For example, when sterilizing carbon dioxide in a supercritical state, the pressure is 20 MPa and the temperature is 40 ° C. Here, regarding the heating temperature and holding time, it is necessary to consider the influence on the degradation of the flavor of the object to be processed and the decomposition of the active ingredients. Considering them, for example, in the case of sparkling beverages, it is appropriate to set the processing temperature at room temperature and the processing time within a few minutes. As described above, in the method according to the present invention, carbon dioxide is not necessarily in a supercritical or subcritical state, and a sterilizing effect and a carbon dioxide dissolving effect can be obtained even in a high-pressure carbon dioxide state. it can. In this case, although it is necessary to lengthen the processing time, the processing temperature may be as low as about 30 ° C. or lower.
[0029]
After passing through the heating pipe 41 for a predetermined time, the liquid food is depressurized between atmospheric pressure and 1.0 MPa by the pressure regulating valve 51 and introduced into the separation tank 52. The liquid food returned to the pressure of atmospheric pressure to 1.0 MPa is gas-liquid separated here, and a large amount of carbon dioxide is returned to the recycle channel 63 via the valve 54. A predetermined amount of carbon dioxide is dissolved in the gas-liquid separated liquid food, but the amount of carbon dioxide in the liquid food is further adjusted by the pressure regulating valve 56, and thus the liquid food in which the target amount of carbon dioxide is dissolved. Is transferred to the product tank 55. The product tank 55 is provided with a pressure sensor 57, and the carbon dioxide released into the tank 55 is appropriately returned to the recycle channel via the valve 58.
[0030]
At the time of this decompression, sterilization is also performed by carbon dioxide dissolved in the cells of the fungus rapidly expanding and destroying the cell membrane. Therefore, it is desirable that the speed of this decompression is sufficiently high. For example, when the pressure in the dissolution tank 31 is 20 MPa, the speed is set within a time of about several seconds to return it to the above pressure.
[0031]
The excess carbon dioxide discharged from the carbon dioxide discharge port 36 at the top of the dissolution tank 31 is decompressed by the pressure control valve 61 and collected in the recycle tank 62. The carbon dioxide is returned to the carbon dioxide supply flow path through the check valve 64 and the valve 65 together with the carbon dioxide separated in the separation tank 52, and is charged into the dissolution tank 31 again.
[0032]
Next, various characteristics of the foamed liquid food produced by the above method will be described.
A sample solution was prepared by inoculating yeast to 10 ³ / mL in a syrup solution adjusted to have a sugar content: Brix 10, acidity: 0.5% pH 3.5, vitamin C: 30 mg / 100 mL. Using the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the sample liquid was sterilized and carbon dioxide dissolved by the method according to the present invention to obtain a sparkling beverage. The processing conditions were: processing pressure: 10 MPa, carbon dioxide supply amount: 20% with respect to the weight of the sample solution, holding temperature: 50 ° C., holding time: 5 minutes, and pressure after decompression: 0.2 MPa. The sparkling liquid beverage thus obtained had zero bacterial count and a carbon dioxide concentration of 2.000 ppm.
[0033]
Next, using the apparatus shown in FIG. 2, a fine carbonated orange juice was produced by the method according to the present invention. The apparatus of FIG. 2 does not have an independent dissolution tank as shown in FIG. 1, and is configured such that carbon dioxide is introduced into the liquid food in a pipe through which the liquid food as a raw material is sent to the heating unit 40. The processing conditions were as follows: processing pressure: 10 MPa, carbon dioxide supply amount: 20% with respect to the weight of the juice, holding temperature: 55 ° C., holding time: 5 minutes. Further, the pressure after depressurization was set to atmospheric pressure, and the product temperature was set to 30 ° C. Molds and yeast were not detected from the fine carbonated fruit juice drink thus obtained, and the concentration of carbon dioxide contained was 500 ppm.
[0034]
Furthermore, the sterilization treatment and the carbon dioxide dissolution treatment according to the present invention are performed on the raw liquor produced by the usual method using the apparatus having the schematic configuration as shown in FIG. Effervescent sake was used. The apparatus shown in FIG. 3 has a structure in which a plurality of dissolving units 30 and heating units 40 are provided so that a large amount of liquid can be processed at a time. In addition, valves 23a and 23b are provided immediately before the respective melting portions 30a and 30b, and one or both of the melting / processing units are selected as operating units by opening and closing the valves appropriately according to the purpose of processing. can do. In the apparatus of FIG. 3 as well, as in the apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2, surplus carbon dioxide is returned to the recycle channel (not shown) and reused. Using the apparatus in FIG. 3, pressure: 15 MPa, carbon dioxide supply amount: 20% of the weight of fresh liquor, holding temperature: 50 ° C., holding time: 5 minutes, pressure after decompression: atmospheric pressure, product after decompression In the sparkling fresh liquor obtained under the treatment conditions such that the temperature was 10 ° C., all the enzymes that caused the loss of fire-fung bacteria and flavor were deactivated, and the concentration of carbon dioxide contained was 700 ppm.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an apparatus for sterilizing liquid food and dissolving carbon dioxide using a method according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a sterilization / carbon dioxide dissolution treatment apparatus that does not have an independent dissolution tank, which is used in another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a sterilization / carbon dioxide dissolution treatment apparatus having a plurality of dissolving portions and heating portions used in still another embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Carbon dioxide supply part 11 ... Carbon dioxide cylinder 12 ... Line filter 13 ... Cooling units 14, 22 ... Pump 20 ... Raw material supply part 21 ... Raw material tank 30 ... Carbon dioxide dissolution part 31 ... Dissolution tank 32 ... Micro filter 40 ... Heating Part 41 ... Heating pipe 42 ... Heating coil 50 ... Recovery part 51, 56, 61 ... Pressure regulating valve 52 ... Separation tank 60 ... Carbon dioxide recycling part 62 ... Recycling tank 63 ... Recycling flow path 70 ... Control part 71 ... Operation part 72. Control device

Claims (4)

A first step of dissolving carbon dioxide in a liquid food in a supercritical or subcritical state; a second step of sterilizing the liquid food by holding the liquid food at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time; and A third step of sterilizing by rapidly lowering the pressure to a predetermined value and dissolving a predetermined amount of carbon dioxide in the liquid food, and a method for producing an effervescent liquid food . The said temperature in a 2nd process is 20-60 degreeC, and the said time is less than 30 minutes, The manufacturing method of the foamable liquid food of Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. The method for producing a foamable liquid food according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pressure value in the third step is in the range of atmospheric pressure to 1.0 MPa. The method for producing an effervescent liquid food according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein in the third step, the dissolved amount of carbon dioxide in the liquid food is adjusted by adjusting the temperature of the liquid food.

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