JPH02135049A - Apparatus for preparation of yogurt - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily prepare yogurt having unique taste and flavor at a low cost even in common home by charging milk into a vessel provided with a stirring apparatus, attaching a cell charged with immobilized lactobacillus to the vessel and stirring the content. CONSTITUTION:A stirring rotor 8 is set as a stirring apparatus at the bottom of a vessel 3 via a partition 9 and milk is poured into the vessel 3. A biocatalyst 6 consisting of so-called immobilized lactobacillus is charged in an immobilized lactobacillus cell 7 having a mesh form and the cell is attached to the above vessel 3. A timer 13 is set, a switch is turned on and the milk in the vessel is heated and, at the same time, stirred by the rotation of the rotor 8. The stirring of the content in the vessel is stopped by a controlling device 15 to easily obtain the objective yogurt.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a yogurt maker for home use, and more specifically to a yoghurt maker that repeatedly uses immobilized lactic acid bacteria.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, a household yogurt maker is simply a container that has heating and heat retention functions, and it is not possible to make yogurt simply by pouring milk into the container and turning on the switch. Buy commercially available yogurt and use some of it as a starter.
Alternatively, yogurt can only be made by adding freeze-dried lactic acid bacteria to milk as a starter.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, in order to use commercially available yogurt as a seed culture, it is necessary to purchase the yogurt on the spot or always store the commercially available yogurt in a refrigerator, etc., and it is necessary to purchase a yogurt making machine. It becomes less meaningful. Another drawback is that the stored yogurt must be fresh.

On the other hand, freeze-dried lactic acid bacteria are not generally commercially available, and although some yogurt makers manufacture them in some cases, they cannot be used for boat fishing.

Moreover, even if it is available, it becomes an expensive yogurt.

The present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to solve the trouble of obtaining seed bacteria by repeatedly using immobilized lactic acid bacteria.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve this object, the yogurt maker of the present invention is configured such that immobilized lactic acid bacteria loaded in, for example, mesh-like cells are easily installed in and removed from a yogurt production container, and the production container Equipped with a stirring device to stir the milk inside.

[Function] In the yogurt maker of the present invention having the above configuration, the stirring device promotes the diffusion of lactic acid bacteria contained in the immobilized lactic acid bacteria into milk during the initial stage of yogurt production, and fermentation progresses and the milk is heated. Stirring is operated to stop when the pH reaches a value of 6.0 to 5.0.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example embodying the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, the overall structure of the yogurt maker of the present invention will be explained based on FIG. The inner wall 2 is made of a material with good thermal conductivity such as metal. A heater 4 is attached as a heating means in contact with the outer wall side surface of the inner wall 2, and uses a signal from a temperature sensor 5 to adjust the temperature of the milk in the yogurt production container 3 to a temperature suitable for fermentation (in the range of 40 to 43 degrees Celsius). energization is controlled so that

A mesh-like immobilized lactic acid bacteria cell loaded with immobilized lactic acid bacteria 6 is attached to the production container 3, and a stirring rotor 8 as a stirring device is housed in the bottom of the container with a partition 9 interposed therebetween. Regarding the attachment of the selfie, in this embodiment, a through hole is provided in the inner wall 17, and the selfie with the flange 7a is inserted into the hole.

Of course, the shape, attachment form, and attachment device of the self-container are not limited to those of this embodiment; for example, attachment to the side or bottom surface of the container 3 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is also conceivable.

However, it is necessary to devise a way to ensure that there is no problem in taking out the finished yogurt.

The partition 9 is made of rough mesh or the like so as to sufficiently transmit the rotation of the rotor 8 to the milk, and is used to prevent the rotor 8 from getting mixed in when taking out the yogurt. At the bottom of the inner wall 2, a motor 12 having a rotary plate 10 and a magnet 11 is installed in close proximity to the bottom as shown in the figure, and is stopped by a signal from a control section (control device) 15.

Needless to say, the rotor 8 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the magnet 11. In addition, in the figure, 16 is an outer lid, and 17 is an inner lid.

Next, we will explain the steps to actually produce yogurt.

First, parts that come into contact with milk, such as the production container 3, rotor 8, partition 9, inner lid 17, selfie, etc., and milk are sterilized by boiling.If the immobilized lactic acid bacteria 6 are used for the first time, they are freeze-dried and vacuum-packaged. The grains are removed from the sterilized state and loaded into a sterilized self-container. From the second time onwards, it is loaded into a self-service machine, soaked in milk and stored in the refrigerator, then used repeatedly.

Milk is put into a production container 3 in which a rotor 8 and a partition 9 are set, and after the immobilized lactic acid bacteria cellar, an inner lid 17, and an outer lid 16 are set, a timer 13 is set and the switch is turned on. 'Then, the rotor 8 rotates to stir the milk, and the heater 4 operates to heat and keep the milk at a temperature of 40 to 43°C. In this way, the control unit 15 is set to stop stirring after about 4 hours. This is because after milk starts lactic acid fermentation, its pH starts to drop to 6.0-5.
It takes about an hour for the temperature to drop to about 0. Although this time varies somewhat depending on the amount and activity of the immobilized lactic acid bacteria used, it was set at about 4 hours here.

Of course, to be more precise, it would be ideal to install a PH sensor inside the manufacturing container 3 and stop the rotation of the stirring rotor 8 based on the signal from the PH sensor, but in order to reduce product costs, It was also confirmed that there were no practical problems with this control.

Even after the stirring has stopped, the heater 4 continues to operate and maintains the temperature until the timer set time is completed. During this time, the casein in the milk precipitates and coagulates, creating yogurt.

After completion, the immobilized lactic acid bacteria self is taken out, placed in another lactic acid bacteria storage container 14, and stored in the refrigerator. As shown in FIG. 2, the lactic acid bacteria storage container 14 should be large enough to accommodate the lactic acid bacteria cells, but not too large. In order to prevent airborne bacteria from entering, it is best to use a heat-resistant material with a lid that can be sterilized by boiling.

The milk used in the storage container 14 is sterilized by boiling and replaced with fresh milk every 3 to 4 days.

In addition, in the above structure, it is possible to continue stirring until the end of yogurt completion, and if a switching means for this purpose is provided, drink-type yogurt can also be made successfully.

Finally, regarding the method for producing immobilized lactic acid bacteria 6, an example carried out in the present invention will be briefly described. After obtaining lactic acid bacteria for yogurt and culturing them in liquid, the culture solution is concentrated approximately 30 times by centrifugation.

By mixing 1 part by weight of a 2.5% sodium alginate aqueous solution with 1 part by weight of this concentrated solution and dropping this mixture into a 1.5% lucium chloride aqueous solution with a pipette, lactic acid bacteria can be contained in a high concentration. A sodium alginate gel having a diameter of 2 to 3 mm, that is, immobilized lactic acid bacteria 6 was obtained.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the detailed description above, according to the present invention, when trying to make yogurt, it is possible to make yogurt without having to buy yogurt to use as a starter or constantly storing fresh yogurt in the refrigerator. As long as you have stored immobilized lactic acid bacteria, you can make yogurt at any time. In addition, the possibility of bacterial contamination during storage is much lower than when storing yogurt, making storage easier, and since it can be used repeatedly, yogurt can be made at a very low cost.

Furthermore, by using immobilized bacteria that is a combination of seed bacteria with various characteristics, it is possible to easily enjoy yogurt with a unique flavor not found in commercially available products at home.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 and 2 show an embodiment embodying the present invention. Figure 1 is a side sectional view showing the whole yogurt maker, and Figure 2 is a sloped view showing a lactic acid bacteria storage container. Figure, 3rd
4 and 4 are side views of main parts of a yogurt maker showing other embodiments, respectively. In the figure, 3 is a container, 4 is a heater as heating means, 6 is immobilized lactic acid bacteria, 8 is a rotor as a stirring device, and 15 is a control unit (control device).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a yogurt maker for home use, etc., which is equipped with a container (3) and a heating means (4) for heating or keeping milk contained in the container (3), the container (3) A biocatalyst with immobilized lactic acid bacteria, so-called immobilized lactic acid bacteria (6), which is removably installed inside, and a stirring device (8) for facilitating the diffusion of lactic acid bacteria from the immobilized lactic acid bacteria (6) into milk; A yogurt maker comprising a control device (15) for controlling the driving of the stirring device (8).