JP5549317B2 - rice cooker - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker that promotes water absorption of brown rice to shorten rice cooking time.

  Conventionally, this type of rice cooker cooked rice after sufficiently promoting water absorption with the amount of water about twice the weight of brown rice and about twice the time of white rice, and sufficiently softening the seed coat part peculiar to brown rice. There is also a preheating step for holding a predetermined temperature at a predetermined temperature before boiling to advance water absorption before boiling to shorten the boiling state (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 8 shows a temperature characteristic diagram of each rice cooking step in the conventional rice cooker described in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the preheating process hold | maintained for 30 minutes at 60 degreeC is provided before the boiling process.

JP 2008-206541 A

  However, in the above conventional configuration, by providing a preheating step or lengthening the rice cooking time, the seed coat part unique to brown rice is damaged by heat and cracks, water absorption into the brown rice is promoted, and the seed coat part etc. However, it is impossible to shorten the cooking time to the same level as that of white rice. In addition, water absorption is still insufficient and the grain texture unique to brown rice remains.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, promotes water absorption of brown rice, shortens the rice cooking time to a level equivalent to the rice cooking time of white rice, reduces the texture of grains unique to brown rice, and is close to white rice It aims at providing the rice cooker which can get a feeling.

In order to solve the conventional problems, a rice cooker according to the present invention includes a pan in which brown rice and water are placed, a heating device that heats the food to be cooked in the pan, and the food to be cooked in the pan. A temperature detection unit that detects the temperature of the rice, a rice cooking control unit that controls the heating operation of the heating device based on the detection temperature of the temperature detection unit, and performs a rice cooking process including at least a pre-cooking process and a heating process, and the pan The rice cooking control unit is added with water by the hydration means in the heating step, compared with the case of not adding water by the hydration means, the water absorption rate of the brown rice in the pan A rice cooker with increased
The heating process includes a cooking process in which water and brown rice are heated to a boiling temperature from the end of the pre-cooking process, a boiling maintaining process in which heating is performed from boiling to a temperature higher than the boiling temperature, and gelatinization of the brown rice is further promoted to excess moisture. It consists of a cooking process that evaporates
In the boiling maintaining step, water is added after the temperature of the brown rice becomes higher than the boiling temperature, a second cooking step for heating the water and the brown rice to the boiling temperature, and heating from boiling to a temperature higher than the boiling temperature. It has a 2nd boiling maintenance process and the 2nd additional cooking process which further promotes gelatinization of brown rice and evaporates excess water .

  As a result, water is added to brown rice at a high temperature of about 100 ° C, the seed coat of brown rice is broken by heat shock, water penetrates into brown rice, and water absorption and gelatinization of brown rice further progresses, so it is about the same as white rice Water absorption and gelatinization can be promoted in a short period of time, which leads to shortened cooking time.

  In addition, since the water is absorbed and gelatinized by aggressively breaking the seed coat, a texture close to that of white rice can be obtained.

  In the rice cooker of the present invention, the seed coat of brown rice is broken by heat shock, water penetrates into the brown rice, and water absorption and gelatinization of the brown rice further develops. People who are able to proceed and lead to a shortening of the cooking time, as well as being able to obtain a texture close to that of white rice by aggressively breaking the seed coat to promote water absorption and gelatinization. But you can easily add brown rice to your diet.

Sectional drawing of the rice cooker in Embodiment 1 of this invention. Temperature characteristic diagram of each step of the rice cooking process in Embodiment 1 of the present invention, the brown rice cooking process in conventional rice cooking, and the white rice cooking process Comparison of taste between brown rice cooked by the rice cooking method in Embodiment 1 of the present invention, brown rice cooked by the conventional rice cooking method, and white rice Temperature characteristic diagram in the rice cooking process depending on the amount of water added in the heating process in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Taste comparison chart according to the difference in the amount of water added in the heating step in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Accumulated electric energy characteristic diagram in the rice cooking process, the normal brown rice cooking process, and the conventional short-time brown rice cooking process in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Comparison of taste of brown rice according to difference in temperature of water added in heating step in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Temperature characteristics of each rice cooking process in conventional rice cookers

1st invention is the pan in which brown rice and water are put, the heating apparatus which heats the to-be-cooked object put in the said pan, the temperature detection part which detects the temperature of the to-be-cooked object in the said pan, Controlling the heating operation of the heating device based on the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit, comprising at least a pre-cooking step, a rice cooking control unit that performs a rice cooking step including a heating step, and a hydration unit that adds water into the pan, The rice cooking control unit is a rice cooker that increases the water absorption rate of brown rice in a pan by adding water by the hydration means in the heating step, as compared with the case of not adding water by the hydration means ,
The heating process includes a cooking process in which water and brown rice are heated to a boiling temperature from the end of the pre-cooking process, a boiling maintaining process in which heating is performed from boiling to a temperature higher than the boiling temperature, and gelatinization of the brown rice is further promoted to excess moisture. It consists of a cooking process that evaporates
In the boiling maintaining step, water is added after the temperature of the brown rice becomes higher than the boiling temperature, a second cooking step for heating the water and the brown rice to the boiling temperature, and heating from boiling to a temperature higher than the boiling temperature. By having a second boiling maintenance step and a second additional cooking step that further promotes gelatinization of brown rice and evaporates excess water , the seed coat of brown rice is broken by heat shock and water penetrates into the brown rice. Since water absorption and gelatinization of brown rice will progress further, water absorption and gelatinization can be promoted in as short a time as white rice, leading to shortened rice cooking time and more water absorption by actively breaking the seed coat. Since the pasting process has been promoted, a texture close to that of white rice can be obtained, and even those who have traditionally eaten only white rice can easily add brown rice to their diet.

In addition, the rate of brown rice seed coat being broken by heat shock is increased because water is added after the temperature of the brown rice is reliably raised to 100 ° C or higher, and the brown rice grains and seed coat cooked without breaking the seed coat by heat shock are broken. As well as being able to prevent the deterioration of texture due to the mixing of cooked brown rice grains, water can penetrate into the brown rice reliably and further promote water absorption and gelatinization of the brown rice, which part after cooking Even if you eat brown rice, you can get a texture that is similar to white rice.

In addition, since water is added after the brown rice has been heated to a temperature higher than 100 ° C., the rate at which the brown rice seed coat is broken by heat shock increases, and there is almost no residual water before adding water. Can increase the effect of heat shock on brown rice seed coat without a sudden rise, and the mixture of brown rice grains cooked without the seed coat being broken by heat shock and brown rice grains cooked with the seed coat broken It can prevent the deterioration of the texture caused by the rice, and the water will surely penetrate into the brown rice, further promoting the water absorption and gelatinization of the brown rice, and even if you eat the brown rice in any part after cooking the rice, it will be even white rice A close texture can be obtained.

Moreover, the gelatinization of brown rice is further promoted by adding a rice cooking process after adding water, and a texture and good taste close to non-uniform white rice can be obtained.

In the second aspect of the invention, in particular, in the boiling maintaining step of the first aspect of the invention, the brown rice is added by adding water when the temperature of the brown rice is higher than the boiling temperature and lower than the highest temperature at which the brown rice does not burn. Since the amount of residual water can be minimized without scorching, the effect of heat shock on the brown rice seed coat can be strengthened, and the brown rice grains and seed coat cooked without the seed coat being broken by the heat shock are cooked. In addition to preventing the deterioration of the texture caused by the mixing of brown rice grains, water can penetrate into the brown rice and the water absorption and gelatinization of the brown rice can be further promoted. Even if it does, the texture close | similar to white rice and the favorable taste can be obtained.

In the third invention, in particular, the amount of water added in the heating step of the first or second invention is not more than the amount of water at the start of rice cooking, so that it is added to the brown rice and water at the start of rice cooking and after adding water. Since the amount of heat can be optimized, the water absorption and heating gelatinization of brown rice can be further promoted, and there is no risk of becoming a watery texture like porridge due to excessive water absorption, Since it does not take time to make it boil again, the promotion of gelatinization is temporarily stopped and temperature unevenness does not occur. Therefore, even if it eats the brown rice of which part after cooking, the texture near white rice and the good taste can be obtained.

In the fourth invention, in particular, the total water amount of the water amount at the start of rice cooking and the amount of water added in the heating step of any one of the first to third inventions is the case where brown rice is cooked without adding water in the heating step. By reducing the amount of water at the start of rice cooking, the power in the pre-cooking process and boiling maintenance process can be reduced by adding water in the heating process. Since the brown rice seed coat is broken, the water absorption of brown rice is promoted and the amount of evaporated water is reduced, so the power does not increase.By efficiently transmitting the power required for gelatinization to the brown rice, the rice cooking time can be increased. No matter which part of the brown rice after cooking the rice is eaten while shortening, it is possible to obtain a texture and a good taste similar to that of plain white rice.

In particular, the fifth invention has a water temperature adjusting means that can adjust the temperature of water added in the heating step of any one of the first to fourth inventions according to the finished state of the brown rice after cooking. By setting the temperature of the water added in the heating process high, the temperature difference between the brown rice and the water to be added is small, so the extent to which the brown rice seed coat is broken by heat shock can be reduced, and the water absorption into the brown rice does not progress too much and swells It is possible to cook hard brown rice with a small amount of heat, and by setting the temperature of the water to be added in the heating process low, the temperature difference between the brown rice and the added water is large, so the extent to which the brown rice seed coat is broken by heat shock is increased. Can be cooked and soft brown rice that has been fully swollen and can be cooked to the user's desired finish. .

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1: shows sectional drawing of the rice cooker in the 1st Embodiment of this invention.

  In FIG. 1, a main body 1 of a rice cooker includes a detachable pan 2. The main body 1 is provided with a lid 3 covering its upper surface so as to be freely opened and closed. In the present embodiment, the pot 2 is induction-heated by the method described later, and the brown rice and water that are to-be-cooked items in the pot 2 are heated and cooked. In addition, it may replace with the pan heating apparatus which heats the pan 2, and the system which irradiates the to-be-cooked item in the pan 2 with a microwave and carries out dielectric heating may be sufficient, and the point is to heat the to-be-cooked item in the pan 2. Any heating device can be used.

  The main body 1 includes a pot heating means 4 (which is an induction heating coil) for induction heating the bottom of the pot 2, a pot temperature detection means 5 for detecting the temperature of the pot 2, a hydration means 6 (a water container 7, a water heating means 8, And a control means 10. The lid 3 further includes a heating plate 11 covering the opening of the pan 2, a heating plate heating means 12 (which is an induction heating coil) for induction heating the heating plate 11, and a heating plate temperature detection means 13 for detecting the temperature of the heating plate 11. The pump 14 for guiding the water of the hydration means 6 into the pan 2 and the water path 15 are provided. Instead of detecting the temperature of the cooking object in the pan by the pan temperature detecting means, an infrared sensor for detecting the temperature of the cooking object in the pan 2 may be provided directly from above the pan 2, Any configuration that can detect the temperature of the object to be cooked may be used. The infrared sensor is attached to the lid 3 so that the object to be cooked can be seen from above the pan 2, receives infrared light generated from the object to be cooked, and detects the temperature of the object to be cooked based on the amount of received infrared light. ing.

  The heating plate 11 is a detachable heating plate with a heating plate seal packing 16 attached to the lower surface of the lid 3. The heating plate 11 has a steam hole 17 at the center and a water inlet 18 at the end. The heating plate temperature detecting means 13 is pressed against the heating plate 11 and detects the temperature of the heating plate.

  The control means 10 has a microcomputer mounted on a circuit board (not shown). The control means 10 (microcomputer) is input from the operation command input by the user via an operation panel (not shown), pan temperature detection means 5, water temperature detection means 9, and heating plate temperature detection means 13 by software. Based on the signal, the heating control of the pan 2, the hydration means 12, and the heating plate 11 is performed by a rice cooking program stored in advance in the microcomputer. The control means 10 controls the heating amount of the pot heating means 4, the water heating means 8, and the heating plate heating means 12 according to the energization rate and / or the energization amount of each heating means. The control means 10 controls the operation of the pump 14 based on a signal input from the water temperature detection means 9 by a rice cooking program stored in advance in a microcomputer.

  About the rice cooker comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement and an effect | action are demonstrated below.

  A user puts brown rice to be cooked and water corresponding to the amount of the brown rice into the pan 2 and decorates the main body 1. Further, when the user selects a desired rice cooking menu and operates a rice cooking start switch (not shown), the rice cooking process is performed.

The rice cooking process includes a pre-cooking process in which brown rice absorbs water and a heating process that promotes gelatinization of the brown rice, and the heating process is roughly divided into a cooking process, a boiling maintenance process, and a follow-up cooking process in time order. The

  In the pre-cooking step, the control means 10 controls the pot heating means 4 so that the temperature of the pot 2 becomes a temperature suitable for absorbing brown rice (60 ° C.), induction heating the pot 2, Heat cooked brown rice and water.

  Next, in the cooking step, the control means 10 heats the pot 2 with a predetermined amount of heat by the pot heating means 4 until the temperature of the pot 2 reaches a predetermined value (100 ° C.). The amount of cooked rice is also determined based on the temperature rise rate at this time.

  In the boiling maintenance step, the control means 10 runs out of the water in the pot 2 until the temperature in the pot 2 reaches a predetermined value (for example, 130 ° C.) exceeding 100 ° C. at which the brown rice does not burn. The heating plate heating means 16 is energized to continue heating the brown rice and water.

  The control means 10 controls the water heating means 8 based on the signal from the water temperature detection means 9 so that the user can obtain the desired brown rice cooked state in each step of pre-cooking, cooking, and boiling maintenance. The temperature of the water in the water container 7 is controlled to a predetermined temperature.

  In the boiling maintenance step, after the pot temperature detecting means 5 detects that the water in the pot 2 has run out and the temperature of the pot 2 has reached a predetermined value exceeding 100 ° C., the rice cooking program stored in the microcomputer in advance By operating the pump 14, the water in the water container 7 whose temperature is controlled by the water heating means 8 is poured into the pan through the water path 15 from the water spout 18.

  By putting water in the pot 2, the pot 2 is filled with water, the temperature in the pot is lowered, and a pre-cooked state is obtained again. Therefore, the second cooking step is performed, and the pan 2 is heated with a predetermined amount of heat by the pan heating means 4 until the temperature of the pan 2 reaches a predetermined value (100 ° C.).

  In the second boiling maintenance step, the pot heating means 4 and the heating plate heating means 16 are energized until the water in the pot 2 runs out and the temperature in the pot 2 reaches a predetermined value exceeding 100 ° C. at which the brown rice does not burn. Heat brown rice and water.

  Finally, in the additional cooking step, heating (cooking) by the pan heating unit 4 and the heating plate heating unit 12 according to the amount of cooked rice and the stop (pause) of heating are repeated a plurality of times during a fixed time.

  FIG. 2 shows the temperature characteristic diagram of each step of the rice cooking process in the first embodiment of the present invention, the brown rice cooking process in conventional rice cooking, and the rice cooking process of white rice, a pre-cooking process, a cooking process, It consists of a boiling maintenance process and a cooking process. An example of heating in each step is shown with the horizontal axis representing elapsed time and the vertical axis representing brown rice temperature. The rice cooking process in the present embodiment is shown by a solid line, the brown rice cooking process in conventional rice cooking is indicated by a long broken line, and the rice cooking process of white rice in conventional rice cooking is indicated by a short broken line. Moreover, each process of the pre-cooking process in this Embodiment, a cooking process, a boiling maintenance process, and a follow-up cooking process is also shown in the figure.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, water is added to brown rice at a high temperature exceeding 100 ° C. in the boiling maintenance process, and the temperature is drastically lowered. By doing so, water penetrates into the brown rice, and the water absorption and gelatinization of the brown rice further progresses.

  Furthermore, since there is almost no residual water before adding water, the temperature of the added water does not rise rapidly, and the effect of heat shock can be enhanced.

In addition, a second cooking process for heating water and brown rice to the boiling temperature, a second boiling maintenance process for heating from boiling to a temperature higher than the boiling temperature, and further promoting the gelatinization of the brown rice to evaporate excess water By adding the second additional rice cooking step and adding the second rice cooking step even after adding water, gelatinization of the brown rice is further promoted.
Further, since water is added at a temperature not exceeding the maximum temperature at which brown rice does not burn, the amount of residual water can be minimized without burning brown rice, and a good taste can be obtained.

  As a result, water absorption and gelatinization that has been performed over time as in the past can proceed with water absorption and gelatinization in a time as short as that of white rice, leading to a reduction in cooking time.

  FIG. 3 shows a comparison of the taste of brown rice cooked by the rice cooking method according to the first embodiment of the present invention, brown rice cooked by the conventional rice cooking method, and white rice (10 persons evaluated). Is. On the vertical axis, the case where the degree of softness and stickiness is greatest is shown as 100, and is shown in the range of 0 to 100.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the present embodiment, since the water absorption and gelatinization are further promoted by actively breaking the seed coat, a texture close to that of white rice can be obtained, and only conventional white rice is eaten. It is thought that brown rice can be easily added to the diet by people.

  Therefore, it turns out that the food texture close | similar to white rice can be obtained in the rice cooking time of a level equivalent to white rice cooking. In addition, it can prevent deterioration of texture due to mixing of brown rice grains cooked without breaking the seed coat by heat shock and brown rice grains cooked with seed coat broken, and water penetrates into the brown rice reliably. The water absorption and gelatinization of brown rice can be further developed. Therefore, even if it eats the brown rice of which part after cooking rice, the texture close to white rice without unevenness can be obtained.

  FIG. 4 is a temperature characteristic diagram in the rice cooking step due to the difference in the amount of water added in the heating step in the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is the difference in the amount of water added in the heating step in the first embodiment of the present invention. Shows the taste comparison. In addition, the sum total of the amount of water added at the time of both rice cooking start and the amount of water added at a heating process was made equivalent. The rice cooking process in the present embodiment is indicated by a solid line, and the rice cooking process in a comparative example is indicated by a broken line, and the comparative example increases the amount of water added in the heating process as compared with the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, when the amount of water added in the heating process is larger than the amount of water added at the start of rice cooking, when the seed coat is broken by heat shock, it absorbs too much water. It has a watery texture like porridge. In addition, if it takes a long time to boil again, the gelatinization is temporarily stopped and temperature unevenness is likely to occur, which adversely affects the taste.

  Therefore, the amount of water added in the heating process is equal to or less than the amount of water at the start of rice cooking, so even if you eat brown rice in any part after rice cooking, it has a texture that is close to white rice and a good taste It can be obtained.

  FIG. 6 shows the accumulated electric energy in the rice cooking process, the normal brown rice cooking process, and the conventional short-time brown rice cooking process in the first embodiment of the present invention. The horizontal axis represents elapsed time, and the vertical axis represents integration. An example of heating in each step is shown as the amount of electric power. The rice cooking process in this Embodiment is shown with a continuous line, the normal brown rice cooking process is shown with the short broken line, and the conventional short-time brown rice cooking process is shown with the long broken line.

As shown in FIG. 6, the integrated power amount of the rice cooking process in the present embodiment is less than the integrated power amount of the conventional brown rice cooking process, and is substantially equal to the integrated power amount of the normal brown rice cooking process. Recognize.

  Therefore, it turns out that it can be cooked without increasing electric power by making it equivalent to the amount of water used when cooking brown rice without adding water at a heating process. In conventional brown rice cooking for a short time, because there is no time to sufficiently absorb water in brown rice, the amount of electric power is large because it promotes water absorption and gelatinization by increasing the heating amount in the boiling maintenance process, In this embodiment, by reducing the amount of water at the start of rice cooking, the power in the pre-cooking process and the boiling maintenance process can be reduced, and the seed coat of brown rice is broken when water is added in the boiling maintenance process Thus, the water absorption of brown rice is promoted, the amount of evaporated water is reduced, and the power is not increased.

  Therefore, the texture that is close to white rice, even if you eat brown rice in any part after cooking while shortening rice cooking time without increasing rice cooking power by efficiently transmitting the power necessary for gelatinization to brown rice And good taste can be obtained.

  FIG. 7 summarizes the taste of brown rice according to the difference in the temperature of water added in the heating step in the first embodiment of the present invention. Taste evaluation is compared between the present embodiment and a case where the hydration temperature is 20 ° C. lower than that of the present embodiment and a case where the hydration temperature is 20 ° C. higher.

  As shown in FIG. 7, it can be seen that the lower the hydration temperature, the higher the evaluation index for both softness and stickiness. That is, if the temperature of the water added in the heating process is high, the temperature difference between the brown rice and the water to be added is small, so the heat shock is small, the extent to which the brown rice seed coat is broken becomes small, the water absorption into the brown rice does not proceed too much, and there is little swelling Hard brown rice is cooked. On the other hand, if the temperature of the water added in the heating process is low, the temperature difference between the brown rice and the water to be added is large, so the heat shock is also large, the extent to which the brown rice seed coat is broken can be increased, and the water absorption into the brown rice is more advanced and sufficient. Boiled soft brown rice is cooked.

  Therefore, by allowing the temperature of water added in the heating process to be adjusted arbitrarily, it can be cooked separately to the brown rice preferred by the user. If you prefer hard brown rice, set the water temperature higher and soften it. If you prefer brown rice for cooking, you can set the water temperature low.

  The user may understand the correlation between the hardness of brown rice and the hydration temperature, and set the hydration temperature. However, on the display, the selection formula is "hard, normal, soft". It is more user-friendly to automatically set the water temperature according to the item selected by the user.

  As described above, the rice cooker according to the present invention can advance water absorption and gelatinization in a short time equivalent to that of white rice, leading to shortening of the rice cooking time and obtaining a texture close to that of white rice. Therefore, it can be applied to other cooking appliances.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body 2 Pan 3 Lid 4 Pan heating means 5 Pan temperature detection means 6 Water addition means 7 Water container 8 Water heating means 9 Water temperature detection means 10 Control means 11 Heating plate 12 Heating plate heating means 13 Heating plate temperature detection means 14 Pump 15 Water path 16 Heating plate seal packing 17 Steam hole 18 Water spout

Claims (5)

A pan in which brown rice and water are placed, a heating device that heats the food to be cooked in the pan, a temperature detector that detects the temperature of the food in the pan, and a temperature detected by the temperature detector The rice cooking control unit comprises a rice cooking control unit that controls the heating operation of the heating device based on the above, and performs a rice cooking process including at least a pre-cooking process and a heating process, and a water adding means for adding water to the pan, By adding water by the hydrating means in the heating step, compared to the case of not adding water by the hydrating means, a rice cooker that has increased the water absorption rate of brown rice in the pot ,
The heating process includes a cooking process in which water and brown rice are heated to a boiling temperature from the end of the pre-cooking process, a boiling maintaining process in which heating is performed from boiling to a temperature higher than the boiling temperature, and gelatinization of the brown rice is further promoted to excess moisture. It consists of a cooking process that evaporates
In the boiling maintaining step, water is added after the temperature of the brown rice becomes higher than the boiling temperature, a second cooking step for heating the water and the brown rice to the boiling temperature, and heating from boiling to a temperature higher than the boiling temperature. A rice cooker having a second boiling maintaining step and a second additional cooking step for further promoting gelatinization of brown rice and evaporating excess water . The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein in the boiling maintenance step, water is added when the temperature of the brown rice is higher than the boiling temperature and lower than the highest temperature at which the brown rice does not burn. The amount of water added in the heating step is equal to or less than the amount of water at the start of rice cooking. The total amount of water and amount of water added in amount of water and heating step at the start cooking the claim 1-3 which was set to be equivalent to the amount of water used when cooking the rice without the addition of water in the heating step Item 1. Rice cooker. The rice cooker of any one of Claims 1-4 which has a water temperature adjustment means which enabled it to adjust the temperature of the water added at a heating process according to the completion state of the brown rice after cooking.