JP5754839B2 - Steaming device - Google Patents

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a steaming apparatus that cooks boiled food by heating the broth and ingredients for boiled food contained in a treatment tank with saturated steam.

  There is a steaming device that heats food by storing the food in a treatment tank and supplying saturated steam into the treatment tank. When this steaming apparatus contains boiled broth and ingredients for boiled food and is heated, the boiled food can be cooked. However, this steaming apparatus has a problem that it is difficult to stir the food because the inside of the treatment tank is sealed to supply steam. Therefore, Japanese Patent No. 4581846 proposes stirring by changing the pressure in the treatment tank. When steam is discharged from the inside of the processing tank filled with saturated steam and the pressure in the processing tank is reduced, the saturated steam pressure in the food material portion is higher than the saturated steam pressure in the processing tank. In that case, it will boil violently in the broth portion, and thereby the ingredients can be stirred. If this invention is used, even if it is a cooking device without a stirring device, it becomes possible to stir during cooking of boiled food, but the strength of stirring cannot be adjusted, and stirring is performed excessively. Conversely, there is a problem that even if stirring is not performed at all, this cannot be detected.

Japanese Patent No. 4581846

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to detect the state of agitation and ensure proper agitation in a steaming device that heats boiled juice and ingredients for boiled food contained in a treatment tank with saturated steam. An object of the present invention is to provide a steaming apparatus that can be used.

A processing tank capable of pressurizing the inside, a steam supply control means for controlling supply of steam into the processing tank, an exhaust control valve for controlling discharge of steam from the processing tank, and the steam based on the temperature or pressure in the processing tank By having an operation control device that controls the operation of the supply control means and the exhaust control valve, containing the ingredients for simmered food consisting of solid ingredients and liquid soup in the processing tank, and introducing saturated steam into the processing tank A steaming device that heats ingredients, and maintains the inside of the treatment tank at a predetermined steaming temperature, and during the cooking process where the ingredients are cooked, the pressure in the treatment tank is temporarily higher than the saturated steam pressure at the steaming temperature. In the steaming device that is capable of performing a reduced pressure stirring operation for boiling the inside of the food material and stirring the food material, a product temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the food material in the treatment tank is provided, Operation control equipment Detects that boiling in the food by detecting a change in the food temperature is detected by the product temperature sensor during decompression stirring operation occurred, to detect the end timing of the decompression.

  In a state where the ingredients are not agitated, temperature variations occur in the ingredients. However, when boiling occurs in the food and stirring is performed in the food, the temperature in the food is not dispersed and the temperature becomes uniform, and the temperature of the food detected by the product temperature sensor changes accordingly. To do. Since the temperature change at this time is relatively steep, the presence or absence of boiling can be detected by detecting the temperature of the food. If the occurrence of boiling is detected and the end time of decompression is judged, it is possible to prevent the ingredients from being agitated or, on the contrary, from being excessively agitated and to ensure proper agitation. it can.

Flow diagram of steaming apparatus in one embodiment of the present invention Explanatory drawing of the temperature and pressure change in the processing tank in one Example of this invention Explanatory drawing of temperature change in foodstuff in one Example of this invention

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a flow of a steaming apparatus embodying the present invention. The steaming apparatus accommodates the food 5 in a cylindrical processing tank 1 placed horizontally, and heats the food 5 by introducing steam into the processing tank 1. A door 2 is provided on one side of the processing tank 1, the food 5 is put in and out of the processing tank 1 by opening the door 2, and the processing tank 1 is sealed by closing the door 2. The food 5 is placed on the cart 3 in a state where it is put in the food container 4, and is accommodated in the processing tank 1 by pushing the cart 3 into the processing tank 1. A steam supply path 6 for supplying steam into the processing tank 1 is connected to the bottom of the processing tank 1, and the amount of steam supplied to the processing tank 1 is controlled in the middle of the steam supply path 6. Steam supply control means 7 is provided. The steam supply control means 7 is preferably capable of increasing or decreasing the steam supply amount. For example, the steam supply amount can be adjusted by combining a plurality of valves having different diameters. A drainage path 10 for discharging water from the processing tank 1 is provided at the bottom of the processing tank 1, and the steam supply path 6 is also connected to the drainage path 10. The steam is condensed so that the drainage path 10 is provided to return to the liquid. However, the steam is not leaked from the drainage path 10 by closing the drainage path 10 during cooking.

  An exhaust path 8 for discharging air and steam in the processing tank 1 is connected to the upper part of the processing tank 1, and an exhaust control valve 9 is provided in the middle of the exhaust path 8. The operation control device 13 controls the operation of supplying steam into the processing tank 1 and depressurizing the processing tank 1. The operation control device 13 detects the pressure in the processing tank 1 through the pressure detection device 11 that detects the pressure in the processing tank 1, and the temperature in the processing tank 1 through the temperature detection device 12 that detects the temperature in the processing tank 1. The steam is supplied and discharged based on the pressure and temperature in the processing tank 1. In addition, a product temperature sensor 14 for detecting the temperature of the food 5 is provided, and the temperature detected by the product temperature sensor 14 is also sent to the operation control device 13, which is detected by the product temperature sensor 14. The end timing of stirring is detected based on the food temperature.

  The steaming process will be described. The ingredients to be cooked in the present embodiment are boiled dishes in which solid ingredients and liquid soup are cooked, and ingredients consisting of ingredients and soup are placed in the ingredients container 4. The food container 4 containing the food is placed on the carriage 3, and the door 2 of the processing tank 1 is opened and the entire carriage 3 is accommodated in the processing tank 1. After the carriage 3 is accommodated, the door 2 is closed to seal the inside of the processing tank 1. The door 2 is fixed by a clutch ring so that the door does not open even if the pressure in the processing tank 1 rises. In the temperature raising step for raising the temperature in the processing tank 1, the steam supply control means 7 is first opened with the exhaust control valve 9 opened, and steam is supplied. The inside of the initial treatment tank 1 is filled with air, and if there is air, the heating of the food 5 becomes an obstacle, so the air in the treatment tank 1 is vaporized by exhausting through the exhaust path 8 while supplying the steam. Replace with. When the temperature in the processing tank 1 detected by the temperature detection device 12 rises to a predetermined temperature for stopping the exhaust, the operation control device 13 closes the exhaust control valve 9 and further supplies steam so that the temperature in the processing tank 1 is increased. And increase the pressure. By supplying steam into the processing tank 1 in a sealed state, the temperature and pressure in the processing tank 1 rise, and when the temperature in the processing tank 1 reaches the cooking temperature (for example, 120 ° C.), the heating process is changed to the cooking process. On the other hand, the operation control device 13 supplies steam so as to maintain the cooking temperature.

  In normal cooking, the cooking temperature is maintained until a predetermined cooking time has elapsed. When the cooking time is over, the supply of steam is stopped, the steam in the processing tank 1 is discharged, the door 2 is opened after the inside of the processing tank 1 returns to atmospheric pressure, and the cooked food is processed into the processing tank. Remove from 1 However, in the present invention, the cooking liquid is boiled by changing the pressure in the treatment tank 1 during the cooking process, and the ingredients are stirred.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing changes in temperature and pressure in the treatment tank when a vacuum stirring operation is performed during the cooking process, and FIG. 3 is a temperature change in the foodstuff when the vacuum stirring operation is performed during the cooking process. It is explanatory drawing which showed the condition. The operation control device 13 measures an elapsed time after entering the cooking process. Control of the steam supply control means 7 so as to keep the temperature in the treatment tank 1 detected by the temperature detection device 12 at the steaming temperature of 120 ° C. until a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes) for performing the vacuum stirring operation elapses. I do. When a predetermined time has passed, the operation of stirring under reduced pressure is started. When entering the vacuum stirring step, the operation control device 13 reduces the pressure toward the lower limit pressure value (for example, 0.07 MPa) at the time of vacuum stirring set to a value lower than the saturated steam pressure value at the cooking temperature. The valve 9 is operated. When the cooking temperature is 120 ° C., the saturated steam pressure value at 120 ° C. is 0.10 MPa, so the pressure in the treatment tank 1 during cooking is 0.10 MPa. When the exhaust control valve 9 is opened in this state, the steam in the processing tank 1 is exhausted through the exhaust path 8, and the pressure in the processing tank 1 decreases.

When steam is discharged from the processing tank 1, the pressure and temperature in the processing tank 1 decrease in a short time, but the temperature change of the food 5 is slower than the pressure change in the processing tank, so that a temperature difference occurs.
If the saturated vapor pressure in the food part determined from the temperature of the food 5 is higher than the saturated vapor pressure in the treatment tank determined from the temperature in the treatment tank 1, boiling occurs inside the food. When boiling occurs, stirring occurs due to rising bubbles in the food, and the temperature of the portion of the food detected by the product temperature sensor 14 changes due to the stirring of the food.

  In FIG. 3, the temperature of the processing tank and the food material before the vacuum stirring, the temperature of the processing tank and the food material during the vacuum stirring, the temperature of the processing tank after the vacuum stirring and the temperature of the food material are sequentially described. When stirring is not performed, temperature unevenness may occur inside the food. In the figure, the upper part of the food is 120.0 ° C., but the lower part of the food is 119.6 ° C. If the temperature at the temperature detection part of the product temperature sensor 14 is 120.0 ° C., the operation control device 13 recognizes that the food material temperature is 120.0 ° C.

  In this state, when steam is discharged from the processing tank and the pressure in the processing tank is reduced to 0.08 MPa, the temperature in the processing tank 1 becomes 116 ° C., which is the saturation temperature at 0.08 MPa. However, the temperature change in the food part is slower than the steam part in the treatment tank. Therefore, the temperature of the food part will be higher than 116 ° C. of the temperature in the treatment tank, and when the saturated vapor pressure in the food part becomes higher than the saturated vapor pressure in the treatment tank 1, boiling occurs inside the food, The ingredients are stirred by this boiling. When boiling occurs in the food material and the food material is stirred, the temperature of the food material becomes uniform. At this stage, the temperature of the upper portion of the food material is 119.8 ° C. In the operation control device 13, the temperature of the food 5 measured by the product temperature sensor 14 is monitored, and the change of the temperature of the food 5 is detected to detect the end timing of the reduced pressure stirring. Since the change in the temperature of the food due to the stirring changes rapidly in a short time, the operation control device 13 can detect that the boiling in the food has occurred by detecting the change in the temperature of the food. finish. Thereafter, the operation control device 13 operates the steam supply control means 7 to supply steam into the processing bath 1 so that the temperature in the processing bath detected by the temperature detection device 12 becomes the steaming temperature (120 ° C.). And raise the temperature to the cooking temperature.

  Note that the decompression operation is completed even based on the pressure value in the processing tank detected by the pressure detector 11 as a backup. Even if the product temperature sensor 14 cannot detect the end of the decompression operation because the food material temperature cannot be accurately detected, the treatment tank pressure detected by the pressure detection device 11 is the lower limit pressure value (0 When the pressure decreases to 0.07 MPa), the decompression operation is terminated.

  Thereafter, in this example, the vacuum stirring operation is performed once more during the cooking process. If stirring is performed a plurality of times during the steaming step, the amount of stirring per time can be reduced, and the permeability of the soup to the ingredients is also improved. Since the operation of the vacuum stirring operation has already been described, the description thereof is omitted here. When the cooking process is completed, the operation control device 13 performs a pressure reduction / exhaust process for discharging the steam in the processing tank 1, and discharges the steam through the exhaust path 8 to reduce the pressure in the processing tank 1. When the inside of the processing tank 1 returns to the atmospheric pressure, the door 2 is opened, and the ingredients that have been cooked for boiled food are taken out of the processing tank 1 to complete all the steps.

  By performing the above process, the foodstuff in the sealed processing tank 1 can be stirred. When the reduced pressure width at the time of stirring under reduced pressure is increased and the shape of the food is excessively collapsed due to excessive stirring by boiling, the commercial value is lowered. However, if monitoring the food temperature and detecting that boiling has started, the depressurization is terminated to prevent excessive stirring. In addition, the stirring intensity can be adjusted by adjusting the time from the detection of boiling of the food to the stop of decompression. If the food is better to stir strongly, the stirring can be strengthened by increasing the time from the detection of the start of boiling to the stop of decompression, and the intensity of stirring can be adjusted by adjusting the delay time.

1 treatment tank
2 doors
3 Cart 4 Food container 5 Food 6 Steam supply path 7 Steam supply control means 8 Exhaust path 9 Exhaust control valve 10 Drain path 11 Pressure detection device 12 Temperature detection device 13 Operation control device
14 Product temperature sensor

Claims (1)

A processing tank capable of pressurizing the inside, a steam supply control means for controlling supply of steam into the processing tank, an exhaust control valve for controlling discharge of steam from the processing tank, and the steam based on the temperature or pressure in the processing tank By having an operation control device that controls the operation of the supply control means and the exhaust control valve, containing the ingredients for simmered food consisting of solid ingredients and liquid soup in the processing tank, and introducing saturated steam into the processing tank A steaming device that heats ingredients, and maintains the inside of the treatment tank at a predetermined steaming temperature, and during the cooking process where the ingredients are cooked, the pressure in the treatment tank is temporarily higher than the saturated steam pressure at the steaming temperature. In the steaming device that is capable of performing a reduced pressure stirring operation for boiling the inside of the food material and stirring the food material, a product temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the food material in the treatment tank is provided, Operation control equipment And wherein it is intended to boil in the food by detecting a change in the food temperature is detected by the product temperature sensor during decompression stirring operation is detected that occurs, for detecting the end timing of the decompression Steaming equipment.

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