JPH0324186B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

This invention relates to an improvement in a simple white rice humidifier that controls the humidity of white rice immediately before cooking to produce high-moisture white rice. In general, the more water content in polished rice, the more gelatinized the rice becomes after cooking, that is, the more viscous it becomes and the softer it becomes. Therefore, the higher the moisture content of white rice, the more sticky and flavorful the rice will be, which suits the tastes of Japanese people. However, on the other hand, the higher the moisture content, the lower the shelf life. In other words, when the moisture content increases, the oxidation rate increases, making it easier for mold to grow and rot. Therefore, when purchasing rice, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Forestry has established inspection standards and has set an upper limit on the moisture content of both brown and white rice. However, in order to pass this regulation,
Farmers adjust the moisture content to a lower level to ensure safety, so as not to fail the inspection, so the moisture content is generally lower than the inspection standard. Furthermore, due to the heat generated during the rice milling process and the wind separation process, the moisture content decreases by 0.5% to 1%. As a result, it was found that 2.
% to 3% lower. In recent years, as a countermeasure to this problem, that is, as a measure to improve taste, systems have become popular in which a humidification process is set up at the final stage of the rice milling process to adjust the moisture content of polished rice. Even though we humidified the rice due to concerns about its shelf life before cooking, the moisture content after the adjustment was 14.5% to 14.8%.
%, the high moisture range will really improve the taste.
It is very difficult to humidify above 16%. Therefore, if you want to humidify to a high moisture range that has the effect of seriously improving taste, you should do it at home or in a rice cooker for commercial use.
If you can humidify the rice just before cooking, you can achieve this purpose. If the rate of humidification of polished rice is high, cracks will occur, which will reduce the effectiveness of humidifying polished rice to prevent cracking during soaking. Furthermore, as shown in the table below, it has been experimentally known that the higher the moisture content of polished rice, the higher the viscosity of the cooked rice after cooking, and the softer the hardness of the cooked rice.

[Table] The higher the moisture content of white rice, the more sticky it will be when cooked, and the softer the consistency will be.In other words, the rice will have a good taste that suits Japanese tastes. Therefore, the present invention aims to develop and provide a white rice humidifier that easily and safely humidifies high-moisture white rice at a high rate immediately before cooking in general households and commercial rice cookers. . The present invention will be explained with reference to embodiment figures. Reference numeral 1 denotes a nearly airtight machine frame with a lid 2 removably attached to its upper part, and inside the machine frame 1 is a polished rice humidity control tank 4 whose bottom wall is a porous wall 3. A hanging fitting 5 of the tank 4 is freely hung on a suspension device 6, and a humid air generating device 9 consisting of a water adder 7 and a fan 8 is provided at the bottom of the machine frame 1. A water supply tank provided on one side of the frame 1, 11 a drain valve at the bottom of the water heater 7, 12 an electric motor for rotating the fan 8, 13
is the polished rice layer formed in the humidity control tank 4. With the above-mentioned configuration, when a predetermined amount of polished rice is supplied to the humidity control tank 4 and the device is started, the rotation of the fan 8 causes moist air to rise from the water surface of the water heater 7 and blow into the porous wall 3. Flows into the polished rice humidity control tank 4 from the surface,
The wet air descends along the inner wall surface of the machine frame 1 and rises again through the water surface of the water adder 7 as the fan 8 rotates. This moist air is circulated through the circulation process several times to humidify the polished rice to a predetermined high moisture content,
Moreover, the humidity control tank 4 is taken out of the machine frame 1, and has the effect that the white rice can be immediately cooked and processed into delicious, high-quality cooked rice. In the second aspect of the present invention, the fan 8 of the humid air generator 9 is connected to a motor 12A for forward and reverse rotation. The upper half of the polished rice layer 13 with a small amount of added water is moved downward from the upper surface of the polished rice layer 13 by the reverse rotation of the electric motor 12A. The water flows down to humidify the white rice. Therefore, by switching the electric motor 12A at appropriate intervals to rotate the rice in the forward and reverse directions, it is possible to uniformly humidify all the grains in the polished rice layer without unevenness, thereby completely eliminating moisture unevenness. In claim 3, the polished rice humidity control tank 4 is equipped with a weight scale 14 for measuring its weight, so that the suspension device 6A suspending the humidity control tank 4 can move up and down. Then, the change in weight value is measured on scale 1.
4. Therefore, by measuring the weight of polished rice and its moisture content before humidity conditioning, it is possible to easily and quickly ensure humidity-conditioned white rice with the desired high moisture content by changing the displayed value on the weighing scale 14. It has the effect of improving the humidity control work efficiency. In claim 4, the water heater 7 of the humid air generator 9 is equipped with a water meter 15 for measuring the amount of water, so the weight is, for example, 500 g.
If you want to humidify white rice with a moisture content of 13% by 3% to make white rice with a moisture content of 16%, add 15g of water using the water meter 15 to the water supply valve 1.
6 to measure the water and supply it to the water adder 7.
When the fan 8 is rotated, when the water in the water heater 7 runs out, 15 g of water is added to the polished rice and the humidity control process is completed, making the process of humidity control extremely simple and easy for women and girls to perform. It can be implemented in many countries, and has effects such as benefits for use in general households, etc.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings are embodiments of the present invention, and are side sectional views of the device. 1... Machine frame, 2... Lid body, 3... Porous wall, 4...
...White rice humidity control tank, 5...Hanging fittings, 6,6A...Suspension device, 7...Water adder, 8...Fan, 9...Damp air generator, 10...Water supply tank, 11...Discharge Valve, 12, 12A...Electric motor, 13...White rice layer,
14... Weight scale, 15... Water meter, 16... Water supply valve.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A polished rice humidity control tank with a porous bottom wall is installed in a machine frame that is formed in a substantially airtight manner so that it can be freely accessed and removed, and a water heater and a fan are installed in the machine frame. 1. A simple polished rice humidifier, characterized in that a humid air generator is provided, and the humid air is transmitted through the porous wall into the polished rice layer of the humidity control tank to humidify the polished rice. 2. The simple polished rice humidifier according to claim 1, wherein the fan of the humid air generator is connected to a motor for forward and reverse rotation. 3. The simple polished rice humidity conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the polished rice humidity conditioning tank is equipped with a scale for measuring its weight. 4. The simple polished rice humidifier according to claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein the water adder of the humid air generator is equipped with a water meter for measuring the amount of water.