JPH0116134B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a method for processing rice grains, and in particular, to a method for processing rice grains that can save labor in rice cooking work and provide uniform rice cooking properties (tasting taste). In this specification, "rice grains" and "milled rice grains" refer to "rice grains" that have been processed to remove the husk and further remove part of the bran layer on the surface. do. Furthermore, "polishing" refers not only to the so-called "rice polishing" process in which the entire bran layer is removed, but also to the process in which only a portion of the bran layer is removed.

(Prior Art) Many methods have been proposed for processing this type of rice grains. For example, the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 51-23 uses mechanical force, pneumatic pressure, electrostatic force, or a combination of these forces to separate the rice bran adhering to the polished rice grains, and separate the rice grains from the rice bran. This is a processing method to obtain so-called ``wash-free rice'' that does not require washing with water, by charging rice grains, absorbing the bran through the mesh of a basket with electrodes, and removing the rice grains without the bran.

In addition, a method for processing rice grains that has been "pre-cooked", which is called "parboiled rice" or "alpha-ized rice", is also well known.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) Although the above-mentioned conventional technology is excellent in obtaining rice grains that do not require washing with water ("wash-free rice") by separating the bran from the rice grains in advance, the so-called post-polishing treatment is Like the rice bran removal, it is mechanically and electrically "forced" so to speak.
Moreover, it is difficult to sufficiently remove very fine bran from rice grains, and if such forced bran removal is repeated, it is easy to damage the rice grains, and it is necessary to process even larger quantities of rice grains. This requires fairly large-scale equipment.

In addition, conventional "parboiled rice" and "alpha-ized rice" have some effectiveness in simplifying the rice cooking process, but
In terms of "flavor", it was still not good enough.

Therefore, in this invention, impurities such as bran, dirt, and soil powder (hereinafter collectively referred to as "impurities") from rice grains are
In order to remove water, the conventional ``washing'' is used as is, and the rice grains are made to absorb moisture, and then a special process is performed to prevent further damage to the rice grains. You can just add water and cook it.
The purpose is to provide a method for processing rice grains that can equalize the "cookedness" and improve the "flavor" on average.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention washes refined rice grains with water to remove adhering impurities, allows the rice grains to absorb water, and after draining, drains a predetermined amount of water. The idea is to vacuum-pack the entire rice grains and irradiate far-infrared rays to the rice grains as the contents of the vacuum-packed rice grains to produce a product.

(Function) Of course, most of the impurities from milled rice grains have been removed during the milling process, but there are still fine impurities attached to the rice grains, so these fine impurities are washed and polished with water. This method removes fine impurities from rice grains easily through water.

The rice grains then absorb moisture to ensure stability during cooking.

Next, the mixture is drained to remove excess moisture, and then vacuum packed in predetermined amounts. Known means can be used for the vacuum pack, which deaerates and seals a predetermined amount of rice grains in a synthetic resin bag. Furthermore, the rice grains as the contents of the vacuum pack are irradiated with far infrared rays to inactivate enzymes and sterilize them, and furthermore, the rice grains are partially turned into weak alpha. Through this series of treatments, impurities are almost completely removed from the rice grains, so there is no need for so-called "wet polishing" before cooking, and the necessary and sufficient amount of moisture is absorbed into the rice grains. After removing excess water, vacuum packing is performed to remove the air that would activate the rice grains, and by irradiating them with far infrared rays, the rice grains are inactivated, sterilized, and molded. It prevents the occurrence of ``, and at the same time it turns some of the rice grains into weak alpha, so even though the rice grains have already absorbed the water necessary for cooking, they can last a long time without getting damaged, and they are also a major factor in good taste when cooking. It is possible to easily obtain sufficient alphaning of the starch, which results in uniform "cooking".

In order to cook rice using these rice grains, it is possible to omit the normally required washing with water and directly add water to cook the rice, making it suitable as rice grains for commercial use. Therefore, in terms of the restaurant industry, the problem of sewage contamination caused by rice cookers discharging large amounts of rice polishing liquid will be solved at once.

In addition, since a portion of the rice is preliminarily made into a weak alpha, the "cooking" is uniform, the taste is improved on average, and it can greatly contribute to the expansion of "rice" consumption. This point can be even more effective in the case of "brown rice," which is being reconsidered due to the recent health food boom.

(Example) After milling, rice grains that have been subjected to normal bran removal treatment and removal treatment of impurities, broken rice, etc. using a color sorter are washed with water. Washing with water can be done with regular water polishing to sufficiently remove fine impurities from the rice grains. When a large amount of rice grains is washed with water, the washing liquid (sharpening liquid) contains a considerable amount of bran, so if the bran is separated and extracted from the washing liquid, it can be reused as fertilizer, animal feed, etc.

Then, during or after washing the rice, the rice grains are allowed to absorb a necessary and sufficient amount of water. In order to absorb water, rice grains may be soaked in water, preferably at 27% water content, or at saturation point 30% water content. Absorbing water in this way has the advantage of allowing rice to be cooked immediately, and by knowing the amount of absorbed water, it is possible to estimate how much water should be added when cooking rice. If the value is displayed in the pack (described later) as the amount of water to be added when cooking rice, the rice cooker has the advantage of simply adding the displayed amount of water and the stability of the rice is always guaranteed during cooking. .

Next, perform a draining process. This is to remove the water droplets (moisture) adhering to the outside of the rice grains by using a centrifuge to prevent the protein in the rice from decomposing. At this time, water droplets may be removed from the rice grains using far infrared rays.

Furthermore, a vacuum packing process is performed to first eliminate conditions that would easily activate the rice grains from around the rice grains. For this reason, the vacuum pack may be a sealed pack filled with inert gas.

Next, a predetermined amount of rice grains, for example 10 kg, will be placed in a resin bag using a vacuum pack, and this will also be irradiated with far infrared rays. The rice grains are then exposed to far infrared rays to inactivate the enzymes and sterilize them. Normally E. coli is at 45°C.
It is known that general bacteria die at 60℃.
The center temperature of the rice grains in the vacuum pack is 70℃ to 80℃.
Irradiation of far infrared rays for about 7 minutes is sufficient for sterilization. At around 60 degrees Celsius, some of the rice grains turn into a weak alpha (alpha) state, making them easier to cook. If you do not wish for this alpha-ization to occur any longer, you can quickly cool the rice grains by soaking them in cold water while still vacuum-packing them after applying far-infrared rays. According to experiments, rice grain products subjected to these series of treatments can be stored without damage for more than 2 months, and after that, the rice grain products can be stored by 30% of the above.
When the rice was cooked by adding the remaining amount of water to the saturation point compared to the amount of water absorbed in advance, there was no strange odor and no deterioration in taste was observed.

(Effects of the Invention) Since the method for processing rice grains according to the present invention has the contents as described above, many effects can be expected, and the main ones are listed below.

(A) First, rice grains are washed with water to remove the bran, so even the smallest impurities can be thoroughly removed from the rice grains, eliminating the need for ``wet polishing'' before cooking, which saves labor in the rice cooking process.

(B) Since the rice grains are allowed to absorb water in advance, it is possible to shorten the preliminary water absorption before cooking, and to ensure the stability of the rice cooking state during cooking, which further reduces the labor required for rice cooking.

(C) Vacuum packing is performed after draining the rice grains, so by removing air from around the rice grains and placing them under conditions that make it difficult to activate them, the effects and effects of the next far-infrared ray irradiation can be expected more fully. (D) The rice grains are inactivated and sterilized by irradiation with far infrared rays, so bacteria and mold will not grow inside the vacuum pack, and even though the rice grains have been washed with water, they will last forever. It will not get damaged for a long time.

(E) Furthermore, as this far-infrared ray irradiation partially turns the rice grain into a weak alpha, it is easy to obtain a sufficient amount of alpha in the starch, which is a major factor in good taste, and the "cookedness" becomes uniform. , the average taste can be improved. This point is especially true for brown rice.
It is more effective in cases where improved taste is desired, such as in

(F) In addition, since minute impurities are removed by washing with water, the rice grains are not subjected to the same force as in mechanical bran removal, and there is no damage to the rice grains, which prevents deterioration in flavor due to damage to the rice grains. It turns out.

(G) Furthermore, as shown in the examples, there is an additional effect that if the bran is extracted from the liquid from the initial rice washing, it can be used as a raw material for secondary products such as fertilizer and feed.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Wash the milled rice grains with water to remove adhering impurities, allow the rice grains to absorb moisture, drain the water, and then vacuum pack a predetermined amount of rice grains. Some of the rice grains as the contents of this vacuum pack are slightly α-ized. A method of processing rice grains to produce products by irradiating them with far infrared rays to the extent that this occurs.