JP7061780B2 - Pregelatinized brown rice powder, manufacturing method and system of pregelatinized brown rice flour, thickener containing pregelatinized brown rice powder, food using the thickening agent - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to pregelatinized brown rice flour, a method and system for producing pregelatinized brown rice flour, a thickener containing pregelatinized brown rice flour, and a food product using the thickener.

Rice flour foods, in which a part of wheat flour is replaced with rice flour, have been known for some time. Most rice flour is milled from polished rice, but some rice flour is made from brown rice. Rice flour made from brown rice, so-called brown rice flour, and a method for producing the same are known as follows.

For example, in the method for producing brown rice flour of Patent Document 1, after washing the brown rice as a raw material 2 to 4 times, the washed brown rice is immersed in water, treated with water, germinated, and then steamed or hot air is used as an appropriate method. Heat treatment to stop germination. Next, the germinated brown rice is discharged from the soaking / germination tank and dried by moist heat treatment. Specifically, in the moist heat treatment, the object is heated in a high humidity atmosphere, for example, an atmosphere having a humidity of 60% or more, using saturated steam, hot water, heated steam, or the like as a heat medium. As a condition, for example, dried germinated brown rice obtained by treating at a steam temperature of 98 to 180 ° C. for 3 seconds to 30 minutes is coarsely ground with a flour mill, and then main ground to be milled by an existing milling method. It is crushed into germinated brown rice powder.

In the method for producing brown rice flour of Patent Document 2, brown rice as a raw material is washed 2 to 4 times, and then the washed brown rice is immersed in water to be treated with water. After the water-containing treatment, the brown rice is heated and partially pregelatinized. The partial pregelatinization treatment conditions are preferably, for example, steam treatment at a steam temperature of 98 to 180 ° C. for 3 seconds to 30 minutes, and the degree of pregelatinization is preferably about 5 to 50%.

After the partial pregelatinization treatment step, the next drying step can be any of the convection drying method, the radiation drying method, the electric drying method, the uniform heat generation method by electromagnetic waves, the vacuum drying method, the freeze drying method, etc. The water content is 10 to 20%. The dried brown rice thus obtained is roasted and crushed without adding water again to produce brown rice powder.

The method for producing brown rice powder in Patent Document 3 is to immerse brown rice as a raw material, perform pre-germination treatment, and then heat-treat brown rice such as microwaves to dry pregelatinized brown rice, for example, by using a grinding type rotary roll grindstone. This is a method for efficiently producing brown rice flour, which is a high-concentration nutritional component, by means of selectively scraping off only about 20 to 30% (weight ratio) of the outer periphery of this processed brown rice using a refiner.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-345422 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-21818 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-47

The pregelatinized brown rice flour of the above-mentioned conventional technique is a technique using germinated brown rice as a starting material. In addition, brown rice flour obtained by crushing brown rice as it is is not suitable for long-term storage because its flavor deteriorates quickly. At room temperature, brown rice (raw) is fermented and needs to be refrigerated, resulting in high distribution costs. Therefore, most of the brown rice flour on the market is roasted, but the roasted brown rice flour has a problem that the water content is low, the nutrients are halved, and the labor of roasting is difficult to mass-produce.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, eliminates the need for a germination treatment step of brown rice, and further, by heating and pressurizing without roasting, sterilizes without damaging nutrients and desired moisture. To provide pregelatinized brown rice flour having a large amount, high degree of pregelatinization, at the same time not impairing aroma, flavor and stickiness, and capable of obtaining pregelatinized brown rice flour with high yield, a method for producing the same, and a production system thereof. It is the purpose.

The invention according to claim 1 is a moisture adjusting step of immersing brown rice in water to allow water to permeate the inside of the brown rice, and a puffing step of heating and pressurizing the moisture-controlled brown rice and then expanding and puffing the brown rice. A method for producing pregelatinized brown rice flour, comprising a crushing step of crushing the puffed brown rice into a pregelatinized brown rice flour.

The invention according to claim 2 is the pregelatinized brown rice powder production method according to claim 1, further comprising a coarse splitting step of coarsely splitting brown rice before the moisture adjusting step.

The invention according to claim 3 further comprises a rice washing step of washing brown rice before the moisture adjusting step, or a rice washing step of washing brown rice between the coarse splitting step and the moisture adjusting step. The method for producing pregelatinized brown rice flour according to claim 2.

The invention according to claim 4 is a moisture control device for immersing brown rice in water to allow water to permeate the inside of the brown rice, and a puffing device for heating and pressurizing the moisture-controlled brown rice and then expanding it to puff it. It is an pregelatinized brown rice powder production system including a crushing device for crushing the puffed brown rice with a rotor to make pregelatinized brown rice flour.

The invention according to claim 5 is the pregelatinized brown rice powder production system according to claim 4, further comprising a coarse splitting device for coarsely splitting brown rice in front of the moisture control device.

The invention according to claim 6 is a rice washing device for washing brown rice before being immersed in water by the moisture adjusting device, or a brown rice roughly divided by the coarsely splitting device before being immersed in water by the moisture adjusting device. The pregelatinized brown rice powder production system according to claim 4 or 5, further comprising a rice washing device for washing the brown rice.

The invention according to claim 7 is pregelatinized brown rice flour having a water content of 15% or less and a degree of pregelatinization of 70% or more.

The invention according to claim 8 is a thickener containing pregelatinized brown rice powder as a main component.

The invention according to claim 9 is a food product using a thickener containing the pregelatinized brown rice powder.

According to the method for producing pregelatinized brown rice flour according to claim 1, a moisture control step of immersing brown rice in water to allow water to permeate the inside of brown rice and heating and pressurizing the moisture-controlled brown rice to α Since it is equipped with a puffing step of expanding and puffing after puffing and a crushing step of crushing the puffed brown rice into a pregelatinized brown rice powder by rotor crushing, brown rice is used as a raw material to produce germinated brown rice. Since it is not used, the germination process of brown rice becomes unnecessary.

By heating and pressurizing brown rice, the attached bacteria can be sterilized. Puffing brown rice instead of roasting suppresses the loss of nutrients, pregelatinized brown rice has the desired moisture content, is highly pregelatinized, maintains aroma, flavor and stickiness, and yields. Has the effect of being high.

According to the method for producing pregelatinized brown rice flour according to claim 2, a coarsely splitting step of coarsely splitting brown rice is further provided before the moisture adjusting step, so that water can be discharged from the fracture surface of the coarsely split brown rice. Since it penetrates inside, it has the effect of shortening the time required to control the water content of brown rice.

According to the method for producing pregelatinized brown rice flour according to claim 3, the rice washing step of washing brown rice before the moisture adjusting step, or the washing of brown rice between the coarse splitting step and the moisture controlling step. Since the process is further provided, by washing the brown rice, it is possible to remove stains and the like adhering to the brown rice, which has the effect of improving the quality of the product.

According to the pregelatinized brown rice flour production system of the invention according to claim 4, a moisture control device for immersing brown rice in water to allow water to permeate the inside of brown rice and the moisture-regulated brown rice are heated and pressurized to be pregelatinized. After that, it is equipped with a puffing device that expands and puffs, and a crushing device that crushes the puffed brown rice with a rotor to make pregelatinized brown rice powder, so brown rice is used as a raw material and germinated brown rice is used. Since it does not, there is no need to germinate brown rice.

By heating and pressurizing brown rice, the attached bacteria can be sterilized. By puffing brown rice instead of roasting, the loss of nutrients is suppressed, and the pregelatinized brown rice has a desired amount of water, has a high degree of pregelatinization, and has a high yield.

According to the pregelatinized brown rice flour production system of the invention according to claim 5, since the coarsely splitting device for roughly splitting the brown rice before being immersed in water by the moisture adjusting device is further provided, the coarsely cracked brown rice is broken. Since water permeates the inside of brown rice from the cross section, it has the effect of shortening the time required to control the water content.

According to the pregelatinized brown rice powder production system of the invention according to claim 6, the brown rice roughly divided by the rice washing device or the coarsely split device before being immersed in water by the moisture adjusting device is said to have the moisture content. Since the rice washing device for washing the brown rice before being immersed in water by the adjusting device is further provided, by washing the brown rice, stains and the like adhering to the brown rice can be removed, which has the effect of improving the quality of the product.

According to the pregelatinized brown rice flour of the invention according to claim 7, since the water content is 15% or less and the pregelatinization degree is 70% or more, the aroma is excellent and the flavor is well digested as compared with the conventional brown rice flour. It can be used as an excellent pregelatinized brown rice flour, and can also be used as a thickener as a substitute for wheat flour.

According to the thickener of the invention according to claim 8, since pregelatinized brown rice flour is contained as a main component, the flavor is increased as compared with the thickener containing rice flour. Further, since it has a desired water content and a high degree of pregelatinization, the thickening function is improved, and the viscosity of the food raw material to which the thickening agent is added is further increased.

According to the food product of the invention according to claim 9, since the thickener according to claim 8 is contained, the amount of additives can be reduced, and the brown rice powder as the thickener increases the food repertoire and newly. It has the effect of developing new demand.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of a production system for pregelatinized brown rice powder according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1A is a moisture control device for immersing brown rice in water to allow water to permeate inside the brown rice. (B) shows a puffing device that heats and pressurizes and pregelatinizes brown rice whose moisture has been adjusted, and then expands and puffs it. (C) shows puffed brown rice that is crushed by a rotor and pregelatinized. An example of a crushing device for making brown rice powder is shown. FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional side view of a puffing device constituting the pregelatinized brown rice flour production system of FIG. 3A and 3B are cross-sectional side views of a cylinder of a puffing device constituting the pregelatinized brown rice powder production system of FIG. 1, where FIG. 3A shows a state in which brown rice is being heated and pressurized, and FIG. 3B is a puffing device. It shows the state where the brown rice is extruded from the extrusion port. 4A and 4B are views showing an example of a crushing device constituting the pregelatinized brown rice powder production system of FIG. 1, FIG. 4A is a front view of the crushing device, and FIG. 4B is a plan view of a main part of the crushing device. Is. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a method for producing pregelatinized brown rice powder according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a pregelatinized brown rice powder production system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a method for producing pregelatinized brown rice powder according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, the same or corresponding elements are designated by the same reference numerals, and the duplicated description thereof will be omitted.

(Embodiment 1)
This embodiment illustrates a mode in which the pregelatinized brown rice flour production system includes a moisture control device, a puffing device, and a crushing device.

<Pregelatinized brown rice powder production system>
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a pregelatinized brown rice powder production system according to the present embodiment. In FIGS. 1A to 1C, the arrows indicate the transfer of brown rice.
As shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C, the pregelatinized brown rice flour production system 100 includes a moisture control device 1, a puffing device 2, and a crushing device 3.
Referring to FIGS. 1 (a) to 1 (c), the pregelatinized brown rice powder production system 100 of the present embodiment includes a moisture control device 1 for immersing brown rice in water to allow water to permeate into the brown rice, and the moisture control. It is provided with a puffing device 2 that heats and pressurizes the puffed brown rice to pregelatinize it, and then expands it to puff it, and a crushing device 3 that crushes the puffed brown rice with a rotor to make pregelatinized brown rice powder. ..

The transfer of brown rice between each of the devices 1 to 3 of the pregelatinized brown rice powder production system 100 is performed by a well-known appropriate transfer means. Examples of such transfer means include feeders, conveyors, chutes, pipes, hoses, transfer vehicles, and the like.

Further, the devices 1 to 3 of the pregelatinized brown rice flour production system 100 may be integrated or may be installed separately from each other and connected to each other by the above-mentioned brown rice flour transfer means.
As the moisture control device 1, any known device can be used as long as the brown rice can be immersed in water to allow water to permeate the inside of the brown rice.

<Puffing device>
As the puffing device 2, any known one can be used as long as it can heat and pressurize the moisture-controlled brown rice to pregelatinize it and then expand it to puff it.
FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing an example of the configuration of the puffing device of FIG. In FIG. 2, a part of the puffing device 1 is omitted for easy viewing, and a part of the puffing device 2 is schematically shown for easy understanding. Further, in FIG. 2, for convenience, the top and bottom of the figure are the top and bottom of the puffing device 2, the left and right of the figure are the front and back of the puffing device 2, and the front and back of the figure are the left and right of the puffing device 2, respectively.
FIG. 3A shows a state in which brown rice is pressurized and heated (a pressure of about 150 kg / cm ² and a temperature of about 150 ° C.) inside the cylinder to puff the brown rice, and FIG. 3B shows the puffed state. It shows the state where brown rice is extruded from the extrusion port.

Referring to FIG. 2, the puffing device 2 includes a hopper 11. The hopper 11 extends in the vertical direction, has a brown rice input port at the upper end, and has a discharge port at the lower end. The brown rice that has absorbed water is thrown in from the inlet, and it is discharged from the outlet. A feeder 12 is provided below the hopper 11. The feeder 12 supplies (transfers) the brown rice discharged from the discharge port of the hopper 11 to the supply cylinder 13. This supply amount is controlled to an appropriate amount. The supply cylinder 13 extends in the vertical direction, and brown rice falls from the supply port at the lower end.

An extruder 14 is provided below the supply cylinder 13. The extruder 14 includes a spindle 15 and a cylinder 16. The cylinder 16 is formed in a cylindrical shape. An extrusion port 16a is provided at the tip of the cylinder 16. Further, the extruder 14 is provided with a receiving cylinder 14a so as to be located below the supply cylinder 13. The receiving cylinder 14a communicates with the internal space of the cylinder 16.

A screw is provided on the front half of the spindle 15, and the screw is rotatably fitted into the cylinder 16. The tip of the screw is formed in a substantially columnar shape. The screw is provided with a spiral groove (or blade). The latter half of the spindle is connected to the rotational power transmission mechanism 17. The rotational power transmission mechanism includes a motor (not shown), which is configured to transmit the rotational power of the motor to the spindle 15 by a belt and a pulley.

The cylinder 16 is heated by a heater (for example, an electric heater) (not shown), and by controlling the amount of heating thereof, the temperature of the material extruded from the extrusion port 16a (here, the absorbed brown rice) can be controlled. .. Further, the pressure of the material (here, brown rice absorbed in water) extruded from the extrusion port 16a can be controlled by controlling the rotation speed of the screw (main shaft 15).

The brown rice that has fallen from the supply cylinder 13 and entered the cylinder via the receiving cylinder 14a is heated by the cylinder while being transferred by the screw. Then, it is pressurized at the cylindrical tip of the cylinder 16 and extruded into the atmosphere from the extrusion port 16a. At this time, brown rice is gelatinized. Then, the extruded and pregelatinized brown rice is expanded and puffed by decompression.

Around the tip of the cylinder 16, an annular cooling cylinder 18 is provided concentrically with the cylinder 16. The cooling cylinder 18 is configured to supply air from the blower 20 via a hose (not shown). A large number of ventilation holes are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the cooling cylinder 18, and air is blown from the ventilation holes to the puffed brown rice extruded from the extrusion port 16a. This cools the puffed brown rice.

The cooling cylinder 18 is covered with a hood 19. The hood 19 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and an opening 19a is formed on the bottom surface. Further, a large number of ventilation holes are formed on the side surface of the hood 19, and the air blown to the brown rice is exhausted to the outside from the ventilation holes.

A cutter (not shown) is provided in front of the extrusion port 16a of the cylinder 16. The cutter has a rotation axis parallel to the rotation axis of the screw (main shaft 15) and separated in the left-right direction, and has a plurality of blades. The cutter is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown). The pressurized brown rice is extruded into a cylindrical shape from the extrusion port 16a to be puffed, and is cut into pieces by a cutter. This piece of puffed brown rice falls from the opening 19a of the hood 19.

<Crushing device>
As the crushing device 3, any known crushing device 3 may be used as long as it can crush the puffed brown rice.
4A and 4B show an example of the configuration of the crushing device of FIG. 1, FIG. 4A shows a front view of the crushing device, and FIG. 4B is a plan view of a main part of the crushing device.
Referring to FIG. 4, in the crushing device 3, the fan 32 and the rotor 31 mounted on the upper part in the housing 34 are rotated at high speed by one motor 41 or two other motors (not shown). , A swirling air flow is generated in the housing 34, and the air introduced from the air introduction port 39 (same as the raw material introduction port) is a plurality of peaks (hereinafter referred to as liner 35) on the inner surface of the housing 34 and the plurality of rotors. It is introduced into the upper part of the housing 34 through a gap between the outer peripheral surface and the outer peripheral surface of the housing 34, and is exhausted from the discharge port 40 provided in the upper part of the housing 34.

The puffed brown rice charged from the raw material introduction port 39 is a gap between the outer peripheral surface of the first rotor 31a and the liner 35, which are arranged from the lower part of the housing 34 to the lowermost stage of the inner surface of the housing 34 by the swirling air flow. It is introduced into the space between the first rotor 31a and the second rotor 31b above the first rotor 31a, and centrifugal force is applied by the blade 36 to collect the second rotor 31b in the outer peripheral direction of the liner 35 and the above. The gap between the outer peripheral surface of the second rotor 31b leads to the space between the second rotor 31b and the third rotor 31c above the second rotor 31b.

Centrifugal force is applied by the blade 36 to collect the third rotor 31c in the outer peripheral direction, and the third rotor 31c and the upper portion thereof are collected from the gap between the liner 35 and the outer peripheral surface of the third rotor 31c. Guided to the space between the 4 rotors 31d, centrifugal force is applied by the blade 36 to collect them in the outer peripheral direction of the 4th rotor 31d, and from the gap between the liner 35 and the outer peripheral surface of the 4th rotor 31d. Guided to the space between the fourth rotor 31d and the fifth rotor 31e above it, centrifugal force is applied by the blade 36 to collect the fifth rotor 31e in the outer peripheral direction, and the liner 35 and the fifth rotor 31e are collected. The pregelatinized brown rice powder and air are finally discharged from the discharge port 40 together with the pregelatinized brown rice powder, which is guided to the space above the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the rotor 31e and the outer peripheral surface of the rotor 31e.

By making the gap between the blade 36 protruding from the rotor 31 toward the liner 35 and the mountain portion on the inner surface of the housing 34 2 mm to 4 mm, the puffed brown rice can be crushed to an appropriate particle size, and the pregelatinized brown rice powder is damaged. It is possible to reduce the rate and suppress the deterioration of the flavor and color of the pregelatinized brown rice powder. The reason is that if the gap is less than 2 mm, the grain size of the pregelatinized brown rice powder becomes too small, and the puffed brown rice is easily crushed directly by the blade 36, resulting in an increase in the damage rate of the pregelatinized brown rice powder and pregelatinization. The flavor and color of brown rice flour deteriorates. On the contrary, when the gap exceeds 4 mm, the particle size of the pregelatinized brown rice powder becomes large, which is not desirable in either case.

Since the number of blades 36 in the housing 34 is 6 to 16, a vortex airflow is generated in the housing 34 between the rotor 31 having each stage and the blade 36 and the mountain portion on the inner surface of the housing 34. Efficiently generated, the puffed brown rice efficiently collides with the fold-shaped portion on the inner surface of the housing 34 and is crushed. Further, the puffed brown rice is finely crushed by efficiently repeating crushing and friction between particles caused by the high-speed rotation of the rotor 31.
The number of blades 36 is more preferably 8 to 12 from the viewpoint of manufacturing cost and miniaturization / complexity of the apparatus.

If the number of blades 36 is 5 or less, the efficiency of generating eddy currents will deteriorate and the centrifugal force applied to the puffed brown rice will decrease, so the rate at which the puffed brown rice hits the folds on the inner surface of the housing 34. In addition, the efficiency of crushing and friction between particles also deteriorates. As a result, the particle size of the pregelatinized brown rice powder becomes large.
By increasing the number of blades 36 to 17 or more, it is unlikely that the crushing capacity will be improved, and the burden of manufacturing costs and the complexity of the equipment will become problems.

According to this crushing device, even if the diameter of the rotor 31 of the crushing device is 150 mm or less and the rotation speed of the rotor 31 is 6000 rpm or less, the crushing processing capacity can be 3 kg / h or more. As a result, the space of the device can be saved without increasing the noise during crushing.
When the rotor 31 and the fan 32 are driven by different drive sources and the rotation speed of the rotor 31 is smaller than the rotation speed of the fan 32, the amount of air introduced and discharged is larger, and the pulverization efficiency is improved. It is desirable because it does.

When the rotation speed of the rotor 31 is smaller than the rotation speed of the fan 32, the amount of air introduced and discharged increases, the discharge of the pulverized brown rice powder is promoted, and the rotation speed of the rotor 31 is reduced. Even in this case, the crushing efficiency of the puffed brown rice can be improved.
Since the above-mentioned crushing is a self-crushing method in which raw materials collide with each other and crushed, the impact force at the time of crushing is small and the crushing is performed in a short time, so that the pregelatinized brown rice powder is extremely unlikely to be damaged.
According to this crushing device, a large amount of air is generated, and since the air also serves as a crushing medium, the temperature rise is small and the flavor and color of the pregelatinized brown rice powder can be maintained.
According to this crushing apparatus, pregelatinized brown rice powder having a particle size of 10 μm to 100 μm can be stably supplied. Moreover, since there is no collision portion between metals, metal powder is unlikely to be mixed.

In the process of crushing puffed brown rice, a vortex airflow is generated between the rotor 31, the blade 36, and the liner 35 having a plurality of stages, and the puffed brown rice collides with the liner 35 and is crushed. Furthermore, the puffed brown rice is finely crushed by repeating crushing and friction between particles caused by high-speed rotation.

In order to suppress the deterioration of pregelatinized brown rice powder due to the heat of crushing, the mixing ratio of the feed material (puffed brown rice) and the amount of air that passes through the inside of the machine is determined. That is, when the raw material (puffed brown rice) is pulverized by this vortex type pulverizer, the weight Wa of the raw material supplied to the vortex type pulverizer per minute and the per minute passed through the inside of the vortex type pulverizer. By adjusting the ratio of air to the weight Wb and Wb / Wa to 0.05 to 0.1, deterioration due to pulverization heat is suppressed.

It is possible to install the orifice plate 33 between the uppermost rotor 31e and the fan 32 in the housing 34. By adjusting the diameter of the orifice plate 33, it is possible to prepare the particle size of the pregelatinized brown rice powder to be processed. The orifice plate 33 can control the temperature inside the housing 34 and prevent deterioration of the pregelatinized brown rice powder due to heating.

The housing 34 has a lid on the upper part and has an opening, so that cleaning is easy. Further, the fan 32, the orifice 33 and the liner 35 are inserted and installed through the opening, and are designed to be removable so that cleaning is easy.

The larger the number of stages of the rotor 31, the larger the diameter of the rotor 31, and the smaller the gap between the rotor 31 and the liner 35). That is, it is possible to classify by the particle size of the pregelatinized brown rice powder for each rotor of each stage, and the classification function that allows only a certain particle size to pass due to the difference in centrifugal force caused by the difference in the particle size of the pregelatinized brown rice powder. I have. Further, in this classification function, the degree of classification can be adjusted by the velocity of the air flow in the housing 34. That is, the particle size of the pregelatinized brown rice powder processed can be adjusted by the rotation speed of the rotor.

Since this crushing device has a mechanism in which the puffed brown rice continues to stay in the housing 34 until the puffed brown rice is crushed to the set particle size, the median diameter of the crushing distribution is as fine as 10 μm to 100 μm, and the particle size distribution is sharp. Is. The sieving machine (screen) for particle size sorting is not an essential configuration.

According to this crushing apparatus, even if the diameter of the rotor 31 is 150 mm or less and the rotation speed of the rotor 31 is 6000 rpm or less, the crushing processing capacity can be 3 kg / h or more. As a result, the space of the device can be saved without increasing the noise during crushing.

The shape of the blade 36 is such that the gap between the blade 36 and the liner 35 is wider at the lower part. This prevents the puffed brown rice before crushing from being clogged between the blade 36 and the liner 35.

The distance between the blade 36 protruding from the rotor 31 in the liner 35 direction and the mountain portion on the inner surface of the housing 34 is 2 to 4 mm. This can prevent the grain size of the crushed pregelatinized brown rice flour from becoming too small or too large. Further, since the puffed brown rice is less likely to be directly crushed by the blade 36, the damage rate of the pregelatinized brown rice powder can be reduced, and the deterioration of the flavor and color of the pregelatinized brown rice powder can be suppressed.

The rotor 31 and the fan 32 can be driven by different drive sources. As a result, the rotor 31 and the fan 32 can be driven at different rotation speeds, and the conditions for crushing the puffed brown rice can be set more finely.
When the rotation speed of the rotor 31 is made smaller than the rotation speed of the fan 32, the amount of air introduced and discharged increases and the discharge of pregelatinized brown rice powder is promoted, and even when the rotation speed of the rotor 31 is small, α It is possible to improve the crushing efficiency of the chemical brown rice flour.

<Manufacturing method of pregelatinized brown rice powder>
In the first embodiment, an embodiment in which the pregelatinized brown rice powder production method includes a moisture control step, a puffing step, and a crushing step is exemplified.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a method for producing pregelatinized brown rice powder according to the present embodiment. This pregelatinized brown rice powder production method is carried out by operating the above-mentioned pregelatinized brown rice powder production system.

Referring to FIG. 5, in the method for producing pregelatinized brown rice powder of the first embodiment, the water content adjusting step S1 in which the brown rice is immersed in water to adjust the water content inside the brown rice and the brown rice in which the water content is adjusted are heated. It is provided with a puffing step S2 of pressurizing and pregelatinizing and then expanding and puffing, and a crushing step S3 of crushing the puffed brown rice with a rotor to make pregelatinized brown rice powder. Hereinafter, the method for producing pregelatinized brown rice powder will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.
(Moisture adjustment process)
In the water content adjusting step S1, water is added to the brown rice in order to adjust the water content of the brown rice to around 16%. As shown in FIG. 1, a certain amount of brown rice is charged into the moisture adjusting device.
When the water content of the brown rice charged into the water control device 1 is 13%, assuming that the target water content is 16%, 0.036 kg of water is added to the water control device for 1 kg of brown rice. After adding water, the water content of brown rice becomes about 16% all day and night.

(Puffing process)
In the puffing step S2, the brown rice after adjusting the moisture content is put into the hopper 11 of the puffing device 2. Then, the puffing device 2 is controlled so as to pressurize the charged brown rice at a pressure of 150 kg / cm ² and heat it to 150 ° C. As a result, brown rice is pregelatinized and then expanded to puff. The puffed pregelatinized brown rice is cut into pieces by a cutter, and the pieces of puffed pregelatinized brown rice are obtained from the opening 19a of the hood 19. This flake-shaped puffed pregelatinized brown rice has a higher degree of pregelatinization as compared with the prior art (see Examples described later).

(Crushing process)
In the crushing step S3, the puffed pregelatinized brown rice is charged into the raw material introduction port 39 of the crushing device 3. As a result, the puffed pregelatinized brown rice is crushed by the rotation of the rotor 31 and collides with each other, and is discharged as pregelatinized brown rice powder from the discharge port 40.
As a result, pregelatinized brown rice powder is obtained.

(Embodiment 2)
The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a rough splitting step and a rice washing step are provided before the water content adjusting step of the first embodiment, and the other embodiments are the same as those of the first embodiment. Hereinafter, this difference will be described.

<Pregelatinized brown rice powder production system>
FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a pregelatinized brown rice powder production system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 6, the arrow indicates the transfer of brown rice.
Referring to FIG. 6, the pregelatinized brown rice powder production system 103 of the second embodiment has a coarsely split device 4 for coarsely splitting brown rice, a rice washing device 5 for washing the coarsely split brown rice, and the washed brown rice. A moisture control device 1 that adjusts the amount of water inside the brown rice by immersing it in water, and a puffing device 2 that heats and pressurizes the brown rice obtained from the moisture control device 1 to pregelatinize it, and then expands it to puff it. And a crushing device 3 for crushing the puffed brown rice with a rotor to make pregelatinized brown rice powder.

The transfer of brown rice between each of the devices 1 to 5 of the pregelatinized brown rice powder production system 103 is performed by a well-known appropriate transfer means. Examples of such transfer means include feeders, conveyors, chutes, pipes, hoses, transfer vehicles, and the like.

Further, the devices 1 to 5 of the pregelatinized brown rice flour production system 103 may be integrated or may be installed separately from each other and connected to each other by the above-mentioned brown rice flour transfer means.
As the coarse splitting device 4, any known one can be used as long as it can roughly grind brown rice.
As the rice washing device 5, any known one can be used as long as it can wash brown rice.
Wash this coarsely split brown rice for 1 minute.
The washed brown rice powder is supplied to the moisture adjusting device 1.

<Method for producing pregelatinized brown rice powder>
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a method for producing pregelatinized brown rice powder according to the present embodiment.
Referring to FIG. 7, the pregelatinized brown rice powder production method 103 of the present embodiment includes a coarsely split step S4 for coarsely splitting brown rice, a rice washing step S5 for washing the coarsely cracked brown rice, and the washed brown rice. A moisture adjusting step S1 for adjusting the amount of water inside the brown rice by immersing it in water, and a puffing step S2 for heating and pressurizing the brown rice obtained in the moisture adjusting step 1 to pregelatinize it and then expanding it to puff it. A crushing step S3 of crushing the puffed brown rice into a pregelatinized brown rice powder by a rotor is provided. Since the steps other than the rough splitting step S4 and the rice washing step S5 are the same as those in the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.
In the rough splitting step S4, brown rice is roughly cracked using the rough splitting device 4.
In the rice washing step S5, the coarsely divided brown rice is washed for 1 minute using the rice washing device 5.
After that, the moisture adjusting step 1 is carried out using the washed brown rice.

According to the pregelatinized brown rice powder production system and the pregelatinized brown rice powder production method of the second embodiment, the following effects are obtained. Since the rice is covered with a brown rice hull (bran), even if the brown rice is immersed in water, water does not permeate from the surface of the brown rice in a short time. However, by roughly splitting the brown rice, a fracture surface not covered with the brown rice outer skin (bran) is formed, and water can be absorbed from the fracture surface.

Therefore, according to the pregelatinized brown rice production system and the pregelatinized brown rice production method of the second embodiment, the effect of shortening the time required for controlling the water content of brown rice from one day and night to about 30 minutes to 2 hours can be obtained. In addition, it is possible to remove stains and the like adhering to brown rice, which has the effect of improving the quality of the product.
In the second embodiment, either the coarse splitting device 4 or the rice washing device 5 may be omitted. Further, either the rough splitting step S4 or the rice washing step S5 may be omitted.

(Embodiment 3)
Embodiment 3 of the present invention exemplifies pregelatinized brown rice flour.
The pregelatinized brown rice flour of the third embodiment has a water content of 5 to 15%, more preferably 6 to 10%. This pregelatinized brown rice flour can be produced, for example, by the pregelatinized brown rice flour production apparatus and the pregelatinized brown rice flour production method of the first embodiment or the second embodiment.
This pregelatinized brown rice flour has a water content of 6 to 10%, has a desired water content, and has a high degree of pregelatinization as compared with conventional brown rice flour (see Examples described later).

The pregelatinized brown rice flour according to the present embodiment preferably has a water content of 15% or less, more preferably 6 to 10%.
If the water content is less than 6%, the ease of processing such as water absorption and compatibility with oil may be impaired, which is not desirable.
When the water content exceeds 15%, microorganisms such as bacteria and molds are likely to grow, which may deteriorate the storage stability, which is not desirable.

Further, the pregelatinized brown rice flour according to the present embodiment has a degree of pregelatinization of 70% or more, and more preferably 80% to 95%.
If the degree of pregelatinization is less than 70%, the digestion of pregelatinized brown rice powder may deteriorate.
Further, since the stickiness of the pregelatinized brown rice flour is lowered, it may not be possible to provide a moist feeling to confectioneries and breads using the pregelatinized brown rice flour as a raw material, which is not desirable.

As described above, the pregelatinized brown rice flour according to the present embodiment has a water content of 15% or less and a degree of pregelatinization of 70% or more, so that it is easy to process such as water absorption and compatibility with oil. Because it is difficult for microorganisms such as bacteria and mold to propagate, it has good storage stability, is excellent in digestion, and has the stickiness that can provide a moist feeling to sweets and breads using pregelatinized brown rice flour as a raw material. Has an effect.
In addition, when the water content is 15% or less and the degree of pregelatinization is 70% or more, an excellent effect that the aroma is excellent and the flavor is good is also exhibited.

(Embodiment 4)
Embodiment 4 of the present invention exemplifies a thickener.
The thickener of the fourth embodiment contains pregelatinized brown rice powder as a main component. The pregelatinized brown rice flour can be produced, for example, by the pregelatinized brown rice flour manufacturing apparatus and the pregelatinized brown rice flour manufacturing method of the first embodiment or the second embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a known pregelatinized brown rice powder production method may be used.
According to this thickener, the flavor is increased as compared with the thickener containing rice flour. Further, since it has a desired water content and a high degree of pregelatinization, the thickening function is improved, and the viscosity of the food raw material to which the thickening agent is added is further increased.

(Embodiment 5)
Embodiment 5 of the present invention illustrates food.
The food of embodiment 5 contains the thickener of embodiment 4. According to this food, since the thickener of the fourth embodiment is contained, the additive can be reduced, and the brown rice flour as the thickener has the effect of increasing the food repertoire and developing new demand. Play.

Hereinafter, the production of pregelatinized brown rice powder using the pregelatinized brown rice powder production method according to the present invention will be described in detail.
The examples shown below are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to the following examples.
In this example, Kinuhikari (produced in Yatsuriyama) was used as brown rice.

<Example 1>
(Rough split process)
10 kg of brown rice was roughly split using a coarse splitting device (Mini Roll Mill manufactured by Nishimura Kikai Seisakusho Co., Ltd.).

(Moisture control process)
10 kg of washed brown rice was put into a tub. Since the water content of the added brown rice was 13%, 0.03 to 0.05 kg of water was added to the water control device with respect to 1 kg of the added brown rice, and the brown rice was immersed in water for 15 to 30 minutes. The water content of the brown rice soaked in water for 15 minutes was 16 to 18%.

(Puffing process)
Brown rice with adjusted water content was put into a puffing device (manufactured by Nishimura Kikai Seisakusho Co., Ltd., puff machine).
The brown rice put into the puffing device was pressurized at a pressure of 150 kg / cm ² and heated to 150 ° C. to be pregelatinized to produce pregelatinized brown rice.
By extruding the produced pregelatinized brown rice powder into the atmosphere under pressure and reducing the pressure, the pregelatinized brown rice was expanded to produce puffed pregelatinized brown rice.
This puffed pregelatinized brown rice was cut into pieces by a cutter in a puffing device to obtain a piece of puffed pregelatinized brown rice.

(Crushing process)
Fragmented puffed pregelatinized brown rice was put into a crusher (super powder mill manufactured by Nishimura Kikai Seisakusho Co., Ltd.).
By rotating the rotor of the crushing device, the puffed pregelatinized brown rice collided with each other and crushed to obtain pregelatinized brown rice powder.
The particle size of the obtained pregelatinized brown rice powder was 20 μm to 80 μm.

(Moisture content and degree of pregelatinization of pregelatinized brown rice powder)
The water content and the degree of pregelatinization of the pregelatinized brown rice flour obtained by the rough splitting step to the crushing step were tested.
The test (analytical test item: degree of gelatinization (pregelatinization)) was conducted at the Japan Food Research Laboratories. The test was performed by the second method of glucoamylase.
As a result of the test, it was found that the pregelatinized brown rice flour according to the present invention had a water content of 6 to 10% and a degree of pregelatinization of 95%. As described above, since the pregelatinized brown rice flour according to the present invention has a high degree of pregelatinization, it has an excellent aroma, a good flavor and excellent digestion, and has stickiness, so that it can be used as a substitute for wheat flour.
Therefore, by using the pregelatinized brown rice flour production method according to the present invention, the germination treatment step of brown rice is not required, and further, by heating and pressurizing without roasting, sterilization without damaging nutrients is desired. It was found that pregelatinized brown rice flour having a high water content, a high degree of pregelatinization, and a high yield can be obtained.

<Example 2>
(Rough split process)
10 kg of brown rice was roughly split using a coarse splitting device (Mini Roll Mill manufactured by Nishimura Kikai Seisakusho Co., Ltd.).

(Moisture control process)
10 kg of washed brown rice was put into a tub. Since the water content of the added brown rice was 12%, 0.03 to 0.05 kg of water was added to the water control device with respect to 1 kg of the added brown rice, and the brown rice was immersed in water for 15 to 30 minutes. The water content of brown rice soaked in water for 30 minutes was 17-18%.

(Puffing process)
Brown rice with adjusted water content was put into a puffing device (manufactured by Nishimura Kikai Seisakusho Co., Ltd., puff machine).
The brown rice put into the puffing device was pressurized at a pressure of 150 kg / cm ² and heated to 150 ° C. to be pregelatinized to produce pregelatinized brown rice.
By extruding the produced pregelatinized brown rice powder into the atmosphere under pressure and reducing the pressure, the pregelatinized brown rice was expanded to produce puffed pregelatinized brown rice.
This puffed pregelatinized brown rice was cut into pieces by a cutter in a puffing device to obtain a piece of puffed pregelatinized brown rice.

(Crushing process)
Fragmented puffed pregelatinized brown rice was put into a crusher (super powder mill manufactured by Nishimura Kikai Seisakusho Co., Ltd.).
By rotating the rotor of the crushing device, the puffed pregelatinized brown rice collided with each other and crushed to obtain pregelatinized brown rice powder.
The particle size of the obtained pregelatinized brown rice powder was 20 μm to 80 μm.

(Moisture content and degree of pregelatinization of pregelatinized brown rice powder)
The water content and the degree of pregelatinization of the pregelatinized brown rice flour obtained by the rough splitting step to the crushing step were tested.
The test (analytical test item: degree of gelatinization (pregelatinization)) was conducted at the Japan Food Research Laboratories. The test was performed by the second method of glucoamylase.
As a result of the test, it was found that the pregelatinized brown rice flour according to the present invention had a water content of 8 to 10% and a degree of pregelatinization of 80%. As described above, since the pregelatinized brown rice flour according to the present invention has a high degree of pregelatinization, it has an excellent aroma, a good flavor and excellent digestion, and has stickiness, so that it can be used as a substitute for wheat flour.
Therefore, by using the pregelatinized brown rice flour production method according to the present invention, the germination treatment step of brown rice is not required, and further, by heating and pressurizing without roasting, sterilization without damaging nutrients is desired. It was found that pregelatinized brown rice flour having a high water content, a high degree of pregelatinization, and a high yield can be obtained.

<Sensory test>
A sensory test was carried out using the pregelatinized brown rice powder of Examples 1 and 2 above.
Cookies were prepared using the pregelatinized brown rice flour of Examples 1 and 2.
A dough was prepared by mixing unsalted butter, eggs, granulated sugar, pregelatinized brown rice flour, brown rice flour, salt, and vanilla essence in the amounts shown in Table 1 below.
After letting the dough sit in a cool and dark place for 30 minutes, it was baked in an oven at 170 ° C. for 20 minutes to make cookies.

A sensory test was conducted by seven panelists on the aroma, flavor, and stickiness of the cookies obtained from the pregelatinized brown rice flour of Examples 1 and 2, and the following items were evaluated.

From the results of the above sensory test, by using the pregelatinized brown rice flour according to the present invention, confectioneries such as cookies having an excellent aroma and a good flavor and a moist feeling derived from the high stickiness of the pregelatinized brown rice flour can be used. It turned out that it is possible to make breads and the like.

Since the present invention is pregelatinized brown rice flour having high nutritional value and high degree of pregelatinization, it can be made into pregelatinized brown rice flour having excellent aroma, flavor and stickiness and excellent digestion, and can also be used as a thickener. Can be used as an alternative to flour. Further, the pregelatinized brown rice flour manufacturing method and the manufacturing apparatus thereof according to the present invention are methods and apparatus that do not go through a germination step and a roasting step, and therefore have high industrial applicability.

1 Moisture adjustment device 2 Puffing device 3 Crushing device 4 Roughing device 5 Rice washing device 11 Hopper 12 Feeder 13 Supply cylinder 14 Extruder 14a Receiving cylinder 15 Main shaft 16 Cylinder 16a Extrusion port 17 Rotating power transmission mechanism 18 Cooling cylinder 19 Hood 19a Opening 20 Blower 31 Rotor 31a 1st rotor 31b 2nd rotor 31c 3rd rotor 31d 4th rotor 31e 5th rotor 32 Fan 33 Offset plate 34 Housing 35 Liner 36 Blade 37 Raw material feeder 38 Collection container 39 Air inlet 40 Exhaust Outlet 42 Rotating shaft 43 Hopper 44 Cyclone 100 Pregelatinized brown rice flour manufacturing system 101 Pregelatinized brown rice flour manufacturing method 102 Pregelatinized brown rice flour manufacturing system 103 Pregelatinized brown rice flour manufacturing method S1 Moisture control step S2 Puffing step S3 Crushing step S4 Coarse split Process S5 Rice washing process

Claims (5)

A rough splitting process that roughly splits brown rice,
The water adjustment step of immersing the coarsely cracked brown rice in water to adjust the amount of water inside the brown rice, and
The puffing step of heating and pressurizing the brown rice with the adjusted water content using a puffing device to pregelatinize it , and then expanding it to puff it.
A method for producing pregelatinized brown rice powder having a water content of 15% or less and an pregelatinization rate of 70% or more, comprising a crushing step of crushing the puffed brown rice into a pregelatinized brown rice powder.
A method for producing pregelatinized brown rice powder, wherein the puffing device includes a heated cylinder and a screw rotatably inserted into the cylinder and provided with a spiral groove. The pregelatinized brown rice powder production method according to claim 1, further comprising a rice washing step of washing brown rice before the moisture adjusting step, or a rice washing step of washing brown rice between the coarse splitting step and the moisture adjusting step. .. A rough splitting process that roughly splits brown rice,
A water adjustment step of immersing the coarsely cracked brown rice in water for 15 minutes to adjust the amount of water inside the brown rice,
In the puffing step, brown rice whose water content has been adjusted is heated and pressurized at 150 ° C. and 150 kg / cm ² using the puffing device to be pregelatinized, and then returned to atmospheric pressure to be expanded and puffed . The puffing process comprises a heated cylinder and a screw rotatably inserted into the cylinder and provided with a spiral groove.
A crushing step of crushing the puffed brown rice with a rotor to obtain pregelatinized brown rice powder having a water content of 20 to 80 μm, a water content of 15% or less, and an pregelatinization rate of 70% or more.
The pregelatinized brown rice powder production method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising. A coarse splitting device that roughly splits brown rice,
A moisture control device that immerses the coarsely cracked brown rice in water to allow water to permeate the inside of the brown rice.
It is a puffing device that heats and pressurizes brown rice with adjusted water content to pregelatinize it, and then expands it to puff it. The puffing device can rotate into a heated cylinder and the cylinder. The puffing device, characterized in that it comprises a screw that is inserted and has a spiral groove.
A pregelatinized brown rice powder production system comprising the crushing device for crushing the puffed brown rice into a pregelatinized brown rice powder, and having a water content of 15% or less and an pregelatinization rate of 70% or more. A rice washing device that washes the brown rice before being immersed in water by the moisture adjusting device, or a rice washing device that washes the brown rice before immersing the brown rice roughly divided by the coarsely splitting device in water by the moisture adjusting device. The pregelatinized brown rice flour production system according to claim 4, further comprising.

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