JP5214089B2 - Plant powder and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a plant powder and a method for producing the same, and more particularly to improvement of water dispersibility of the plant powder.

With the recent westernization of eating habits, vegetable shortages have become a problem. The target vegetable intake set by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare is 200g / day for light-colored vegetables and 100g / day for green-yellow vegetables in adults, and it is difficult to take this amount every day. Therefore, attempts have been made to incorporate vegetables in various forms in foods, but dried and powdered vegetables are the most convenient and preferred because of their preservability, portability, and wide range of use. Yes. These are ingested mainly in a form dispersed in water or milk.
However, since the powders bind to each other when dispersed in water and lumps are easily formed, they are not easy to take, and are also problematic in the manufacturing process when processed into food.

In order to prevent the formation of lumps at the time of dispersion, starch and saccharides such as dextrin, lactose and oligosaccharide are generally added to the powder. However, there is a disadvantage that the relative vegetable content decreases accordingly.
Therefore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-17114 discloses a technique for improving water dispersibility by adding a relatively small amount of a polysaccharide thickener such as guar gum to vegetable powder. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-218964 discloses a technique for granulating kale powder.
JP 2001-17114 A JP 2002-218964 A

However, in the former, about 0.05 parts by weight of a thickener is added to 1 part by weight of the powder, and there is still room for improvement. Moreover, although the latter does not become lumps, it took a long time for the granulated material to disintegrate, and it was not practical to disperse in water.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and the object thereof is a plant powder that does not contain lumps when dispersed in water, and that does not contain any secondary material that makes the dispersion instantaneously smooth to the touch. It is to provide a manufacturing method.

As a result of investigations by the present inventors in order to achieve the above object, the present inventors have found that the water dispersibility is improved by a simple operation of drying again after hydration and the present invention has been completed.
The first subject of the present invention is a plant powder characterized in that the moving distance of water measured by the following method is 5.0 mm or more.
(Measurement method of water movement distance)
A plastic tube having an inner diameter of 25 mm and a length of 60 mm was vertically divided into two, and both ends were processed so that water did not leak. A removable slit was attached at a position 25 mm from one side. 2 g of the powder to be measured was placed on the 25 mm side, and the tube was lightly tapped 10 times to settle the powder flat. On the other side, 4 mL of water was added. Thereafter, the slit was removed and the powder and water were brought into contact with each other, and the distance at which the water soaked into the powder was measured after 3 minutes and 30 seconds. The average value of the longest distance and the shortest distance was taken as the water movement distance.

The plant powder preferably has an average particle size of 50 to 500 μm and a bulk specific gravity of 0.35 to 0.70.
In the plant powder, it is preferable that the plant is one or more selected from the group consisting of kale, barley young leaves, mulberry leaves, ashitaba, tea and bamboo leaves.

The second subject of the present invention is a method for producing a plant powder comprising the following steps (A) to (C).
(A) A preliminary powder preparation step for drying and pulverizing a plant.
(B) A water adding step in which water is added to the preliminary powder after the step (A) so that the water content of the powder is 20 to 50 mass%.
(C) A drying step of drying the pre-hydrated powder after the step (B).
In the manufacturing method, in step (B), it is preferable to add water while keeping the preliminary powder in a fluid state.

  According to the present invention, the dried powder is once hydrated under specific conditions and then dried again, so that even when no secondary material is added, no lumps are formed when dispersed in water, and the dispersion is instantly smooth to the touch. Can be obtained.

The plant powder of the present invention is a plant powder characterized in that the distance of water movement measured by the following method is 5.0 mm or more.
(Measurement method of water movement distance)
A plastic tube having an inner diameter of 25 mm and a length of 60 mm was vertically divided into two, and both ends were processed so that water did not leak. A removable slit was attached at a position 25 mm from one side. 2 g of the powder to be measured was placed on the 25 mm side, and the tube was lightly tapped 10 times to settle the powder flat. On the other side, 4 mL of water was added. Thereafter, the slit was removed and the powder and water were brought into contact with each other, and the distance at which the water soaked into the powder was measured after 3 minutes and 30 seconds. The average value of the longest distance and the shortest distance was taken as the water movement distance.

The plant powder of the present invention preferably has an average particle diameter of 50 to 500 μm and a bulk specific gravity of 0.35 to 0.70, particularly an average particle diameter of 50 to 300 μm and a bulk specific gravity of 0.4 to 0.5. It is preferable that If the average particle size is less than 50 μm, there may be lumps during dispersion, and if the average particle size exceeds 500 μm, the touch of the dispersion may be deteriorated.
If the bulk specific gravity is less than 0.35, lumps may be formed during dispersion. On the other hand, when the bulk specific gravity exceeds 0.70, the touch of the dispersion may be deteriorated.

The manufacturing method of the plant powder concerning this invention is demonstrated.
(A) Preliminary powder preparation process The mud and dust adhering to the first harvested plant are washed away, dried and pulverized.
In the present invention, examples of the plant include leaf vegetables, root vegetables, potatoes, seaweeds, and beans. In particular, kale, young barley leaves, mulberry leaves, ashitaba, tea and bamboo leaves are preferred. Plants may be used alone or in combination of two or more.
Depending on the plant, drying is preferably performed after cutting into an appropriate size and thickness. Drying is performed so that the water content of the plant is 10% by mass or less, preferably 5% by mass or less. If the water content exceeds 10% by mass, the effects of the present invention may not be obtained even if the following steps are performed. As the drying method, conventional methods such as natural drying, hot air drying, high-pressure steam drying, electromagnetic wave drying, freeze drying and the like can be used.

  Next, the dried plant is pulverized using a crusher, a mill, a blender, a stone mill, a freeze pulverizer or the like, and sieved as necessary. In this invention, it grind | pulverizes so that an average particle diameter may be 10-50 micrometers. In addition, as the preliminary powder, a commercial dry powder having the above particle diameter and water content can be used.

(B) Water adding step Next, water is added to the preliminary powder, so that the water content of the powder is 20 to 50% by mass. In particular, the content is preferably 25 to 35% by mass. When the water content is less than 20% by mass, the effects of the present invention may not be sufficiently obtained. On the other hand, if it exceeds 50% by mass, the effect is obtained, but the next drying step takes time, which is not preferable.
The hydration method is preferably a spray or steam hydration method, but is not limited to these as long as it can be uniformly hydrated into powder. Moreover, it is preferable to keep the preliminary powder in a fluid state and add water so that it can be uniformly added.
Specifically, a method of spraying water on the preliminary powder held in a fluid state and adding water so that the water content is 25 to 35% by mass is preferable.

(C) Drying step Next, the hydrated preliminary powder is dried again. Drying is performed until the water content of the plant powder is 10% by mass or less, preferably 5% by mass or less. When the water content exceeds 10% by mass, the storage stability is deteriorated. As the drying method, conventional methods such as natural drying, hot air drying, high-pressure steam drying, electromagnetic wave drying, freeze drying and the like can be used.
Furthermore, if necessary, the particle diameter of the plant powder is reduced by sieving or crushing with a crusher, mill, blender, stone mill or the like.

The plant powder of the present invention alone has good water dispersibility, but as long as the effect of the present invention is not hindered, an excipient, a binder, a bulking agent, a thickener, an emulsifier, and a coloring agent are necessary. , Flavorings, food additives, flavoring agents, flavoring agents, sweeteners, seasonings, amino acids, vitamins, stabilizers, and the like can also be added. Moreover, it can also shape | mold into forms, such as a granule, a tablet, a capsule, according to a use.
Furthermore, the plant powder of the present invention can be used for various foods such as fats and oils (salad oil, butter, margarine, lard), seasonings, creams, dairy products, meats, seafood, processed meat foods (ham, sausage, etc.), It can also be ingested by adding it to processed fishery products (kamaboko, chikuwa, etc.), eggs, confectionery, beverages, bread, health foods, processed foods and the like. This powder is suitable because of its good water dispersibility even in the food production process.
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples. The present invention is not limited to these examples. Unless otherwise specified, the blending amount indicates mass%.

<Preliminary powder>
Hereinafter, this is used as a preliminary powder unless otherwise specified.
Kale leaves were cut into 1 cm squares after washing with water. This was dried with hot air at 60 ° C. for 10 hours and then pulverized using a freeze pulverizer to obtain a preliminary powder having an average particle diameter of 35 μm and a water content of 5 mass%.

First, the following plant powders were tested for the presence of lumps and the texture of the dispersion.
Evaluation 1 (Dama formation)
10 g of powder was put into 100 mL of water, and the presence or absence of formation of lumps was observed.
○: Dama is not formed.
X: Dama was formed.
Evaluation 2 (Taste of dispersion)
10 g of powder was put into 100 mL of water, stirred 6 times at a speed of 2 times / second with a spoon, and the touch when drinking was evaluated.
○: The touch is good.
X: The tongue feels bad.

Example 1
180 kg of the preliminary powder was put into a fluidized bed granulator (NFLO-300 manufactured by Freund Sangyo Co., Ltd.), and water was sprayed while flowing at an air supply temperature of 35 ° C. to adjust the water content to 30% by mass. Thereafter, warm air of 80 ° C. was blown in and dried for about 2 hours until the water content became 5% by mass (average particle diameter 180 μm, bulk specific gravity 0.42).
(Comparative Example 1-1)
Pre-processed powder without treatment.
(Comparative Example 1-2)
The preliminary powder was extruded and granulated using an extrusion granulator (manufactured by Kikusui Seisakusho). That is, water was added to the preliminary powder to knead the water content at 30% by mass. After applying pressure to this and extruding from a 1 mm mesh die and granulating, it was dried with hot air at 95 ° C. until the water content became 2% by mass using a continuous fluidized bed dryer (average particle size 0.7 mm). , Bulk specific gravity 0.32).

(Table 1)
Example 1 Comparative Example 1-1 Comparative Example 1-2
Formation of lumps ○ × ○
Dispersion texture ○ × ×
The powder before the treatment (Comparative Example 1-1) was lumped when put in water, and the treatment of the present invention was performed while the texture was poor and the drinking comfort was poor due to lumps. The powder (Example 1) was not damped and had a smooth tongue feel similar to kale juice.
In Comparative Example 1-2, no lumps were formed, but the touch of the dispersion was poor. This is considered to be due to the fact that the diameter of the granulated product is large and the powder particles are firmly fused to each other by the kneading / extrusion process and are not easily disintegrated. In extrusion granulation, it was not possible to extrude from a small mesh of less than 1 mm.

The presence or absence of lumps and the texture of the dispersion are also considered to be related to the ease of compatibility of the powder with water, that is, the hydrophilicity of the powder surface. In this example, the hydrophilicity of the powder surface was evaluated by measuring the moving distance of water by the following method. At the same time, the presence or absence of lumps and the feel of the dispersion were also evaluated by the above method.
Evaluation 3 (hydrophilicity of powder surface; measuring method of water movement distance)
A plastic tube having an inner diameter of 25 mm and a length of 60 mm was vertically divided into two, and both ends were processed so that water did not leak. A removable slit was attached at a position 25 mm from one side. 2 g of the powder to be measured was placed on the 25 mm side, and the tube was lightly tapped 10 times to settle the powder flat. On the other side, 4 mL of water was added. Thereafter, the slit was removed and the powder and water were brought into contact with each other, and the distance at which the water soaked into the powder was measured after 3 minutes and 30 seconds. The average value of the longest distance and the shortest distance was taken as the water movement distance (FIG. 1).

(Example 2)
180 kg of the preliminary powder was put into a fluidized bed granulator (NFLO-300 manufactured by Freund Sangyo Co., Ltd.), and water was sprayed while flowing at an air supply temperature of 35 ° C. to adjust the water content to 30% by mass. Thereafter, warm air of 80 ° C. was blown in and dried for about 2 hours until the water content became 5% by mass (average particle diameter 180 μm, bulk specific gravity 0.42).
(Comparative Example 2)
80 kg of the preliminary powder was put into a fluidized bed granulator (Flow coater manufactured by Freund Sangyo Co., Ltd.) and sprayed with 1 L of water per minute for 40 minutes while flowing at an air supply temperature of 60 ° C. and an exhaust temperature of 35 ° C. The water content was 15% by mass. Thereafter, warm air of 60 ° C. was blown in, and dried for about 60 minutes until the water content became 5% by mass (average particle diameter 100 μm, bulk specific gravity 0.3).

(Table 2)
Example 2 Comparative Example 2
Hydrophilic (moving distance) 6.0mm 1.5mm
Dama formation ○ ×
Dispersion texture ○ ×
The powder treated with the present invention (Example 2) did not get lumpy and had a smooth texture similar to kale juice, whereas the powder of Comparative Example 2 had lumps when placed in water. It was made, and because of lumps, it was unpleasant to touch and uncomfortable to drink.
From the above, it is predicted that the effect of improving the dispersibility of the powder is related to the water content of the powder after the hydration process. In the method of Comparative Example 2, since the supply air temperature was high and drying was performed simultaneously with spraying, the water content did not exceed 15% by mass even when the spraying time was extended.

Test example 1
Water was added to the preliminary powder to adjust the water content to the values shown in Table 3, and then dried. The hydrophilicity of each powder surface, the presence or absence of lumps, and the touch of the dispersion were evaluated by the above measuring methods.
(Table 3)
Water content of powder Hydrophilicity (movement distance) Formation of lumps Tongue of dispersion Test example 1-1 5% by mass (before water addition) 0.5 mm × ×
Test Example 1-2 15% by mass 1.5 mm × ×
Test Example 1-3 20% by mass 5.0 mm
Test Example 1-4 25% by mass 6.0 mm
Test Example 1-5 35% by mass 6.0 mm
Test Example 1-6 50% by mass 6.0 mm
From Table 3 above, it was confirmed that the effect of improving the dispersibility of the powder was related to the water content of the powder after the hydration step. When the water content was less than 20% by mass, lumps were formed, and because of lumps, the tongue was not good and the drinking comfort was poor. Therefore, the water content in the hydration step is preferably 20 to 50% by mass, particularly preferably 25 to 35% by mass.

Water was added to the following dry powder according to the above method to a water content of 20% by mass, and then dried. The hydrophilicity of each powder surface was evaluated by the above measuring method.
Example 4-1: Commercial kale dry powder.
Example 4-2: Commercially available green tea dry powder.
Example 4-3: Commercially available barley young leaf dry powder.
Example 4-4: Commercial mulberry leaf dry powder.
Example 4-5: Commercially available Ashitaba dry powder.
(Table 4)
Water dispersibility (water travel distance) Before treatment After treatment
Example 4-1 Kale 0.5mm 5mm
Example 4-2 Matcha tea 0mm 5mm
Example 4-3 Barley Wakaba 2.5mm 6mm
Example 4-4 Mulberry Leaf 3.5mm 7mm
Example 4-5 Ashitaba 0.3 mm 5.5 mm
In any plant powder, it was confirmed that the method of the present invention improves hydrophilicity and facilitates dispersion in water.

  The dried powder was thinly spread in steam, treated with steam until the water content was 30% by mass, and then dried with a thermostatic device (DKN601 manufactured by Yamato) set at 50 ° C. The obtained dried product was pulverized with a mill (IFM-100 manufactured by Iwatani Co., Ltd.) for several seconds (average particle size 200 μm, bulk specific gravity 0.45). A kale powder with good water dispersibility was obtained.

  180 kg of the dry powder was put into a fluidized bed granulator (NFLO-300 manufactured by Freund Sangyo Co., Ltd.) and sprayed with 60 kg of water (water content was 25% by mass). Hot powder at 80 ° C. was blown into the powder after spraying and dried for about 2 hours (average particle size 170 μm, bulk specific gravity 0.40). A kale powder with good water dispersibility was obtained.

It is the figure which showed the measuring method of the hydrophilic property of the plant powder surface in this invention.

Claims (2)

(A) preparation step of a preliminary powder for drying and pulverizing a plant consisting of one or more selected from the group consisting of kale, barley young leaves, mulberry leaves, ashitaba, tea, bamboo leaves;
(B) After the step (A), while maintaining the preliminary powder in a fluid state, water is added to the preliminary powder, so that the water content of the powder is 20 to 50% by mass;
(C) After the step (B), a drying step of drying the hydrated preliminary powder;
A plant raw material powder obtained by a method comprising the above, comprising no auxiliary material for preventing the formation of lumps, having an average particle size of 50 to 500 μm and a bulk specific gravity of 0.35 to 0.70 Plant raw material powder. Production of plant raw material powder having an average particle diameter of 50 to 500 μm and a bulk specific gravity of 0.35 to 0.70, which contains the following steps (A) to (C) and does not contain secondary materials for preventing formation of lumps Method.
(A) A step of preparing a preliminary powder for drying and pulverizing a plant consisting of one or more selected from the group consisting of kale, young barley leaves, mulberry leaves, ashitaba, tea and bamboo leaves.
(B) After the step (A), water is added to the preliminary powder while keeping the preliminary powder in a fluid state, and the water content of the powder is adjusted to 20 to 50% by mass.
(C) A drying step of drying the hydrated preliminary powder after the steps (B).

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