JPH0376554A - Apparatus for automatic and continuous preparation of bean curd - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To carry out uniform coagulation of soya milk transferred in a coagulation tank by covering the top of a trough-shaped coagulation tank with a lid in a state to ensure the free movement of a partition plate, providing a heating means at the upper part in the tank and heating the soya milk at a controlled temperature with hot water supplied to the coagulation tank. CONSTITUTION:A number of partition plates 3 are attached at a constant pitch to a chain 4 circulating over the whole length of a trough-shaped coagulation tank 2. The coagulation tank 2 has double-walled structure at both sides and the bottom and hot water is supplied to or circulated in the double-wall spaces. The upper opening of the double-walled tank 22 is covered with a lid 5 to cover the tank top part except for the gap to enable the motion of the partition plates 3. A heating means 9 is placed above the double-walled tank 22 covered with the lid 5. The partition plates transferred in the tank and the soya milk to be coagulated are heated with the heating means 9. The soya milk transferred in the coagulation tank 2 is heated at a controlled temperature with heating means 22, 23, 9 placed in the outer side walls of the tank and at the upper part in the tank to effect uniform coagulation of the soya milk.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to an automatic continuous production device for tofu.

[Conventional technology]

Add an appropriate amount of i! to soy milk obtained by soaking soybeans in water for a specified period of time, crushing and boiling the soybeans, and separating the okara. Inject and mix the solid agent,
It is coagulated to produce tofu. Generally, soy milk is made by coagulating soy milk, crushing it, placing it in a mold, dehydrating it under pressure, and shaping it into the desired shape.This is relatively coarse-grained tofu, so-called cotton tofu.It is coagulated with a coagulant and then directly cut into regular shapes. There is a type of tofu with a fine texture, the so-called silken tofu.

After solidifying firm tofu, it is crushed and recombined under pressure, so there is no risk of chipping of the solidified tofu during the coagulation process.
There is no problem even if the tofu cracks. However, with silken tofu, the coagulated product is directly cut into a regular shape and the product cracks, so even during the coagulation process, chips and cracks may occur in the tofu. The product may not work properly or even reduce the value of the product. Therefore, in the conventional production of silken tofu, soy milk mixed with a coagulant is placed in a large coagulating box and allowed to coagulate, then slowly taken out of the box so as not to miss any coagulated tofu, and cut into regular shapes. to obtain the desired silken tofu. All of this work relies on manual labor by workers. Furthermore, I manually put each one into my bag as needed.

[The invention tries to solve i! IIJ) The production method using a fixed coagulation box requires most of the work to be carried out manually by workers, resulting in poor production efficiency and also being unhygienic as the food comes into direct contact with the hands. To solve this problem, automatic manufacturing methods have been proposed. For example, JP-A-50-1
There is one shown in Publication No. 2282.

The trough-shaped coagulation tank is divided into sections at regular intervals by a number of chain-driven partition plates, and the soymilk that is supplied in fixed quantities between the partition plates is transferred within the trough by the movement of the partition plates. It solidifies. However, when producing silken tofu, defects such as defects during the coagulation process are not allowed as described above. In the conventional manufacturing method, where a partition plate is moved inside the trough and the soymilk is coagulated using only the temperature of the soymilk put into the trough, the temperature of the soymilk is absorbed by the inner surface of the trough and the partition plate, causing the outer layer of the coagulated tofu to coagulate. A portion of the tofu adheres to a partition plate or the like, and if the tofu is forcibly moved, the coagulated tofu will chip at this adhered portion. This is because separation of the partition plates, etc., so-called peeling phenomenon (II water) does not occur.

In addition, the coagulation temperature of soymilk is extremely delicate, and if the temperature is low, the coagulation temperature may change, causing the structure of the ε-yellow substance that increases the mixing ratio of each liter of beans to change, making the tofu taste bad or causing uneven coagulation. There are some disadvantages such as it takes a long time. In particular, when the trough-shaped coagulation tank is widened to be suitable for mass production, the heating of the soymilk in the coagulation tank is high at the bottom part in contact with the inner wall of the coagulation tank, and the upper central part is not heated sufficiently and is heated at a low temperature.

Furthermore, due to the heat dissipation from the open stacked portion, the upper surface layer and center surface layer of the soymilk are insufficiently heated, making it difficult to uniformly heat and coagulate the soymilk over the entire trough-shaped coagulated shoulder.

The present invention aims to uniformly heat the soybean milk in the trough-shaped coagulation tank over its entire area, and to promote water separation using the partition plate to ensure continuous and uniform coagulation without destroying the coagulated tofu. purpose.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has been made to achieve the above object, and includes a trough-shaped coagulation tank whose outer surface except the top surface is covered with a heat insulating material, and which is attached to a chain driven along the entire length of the tank. In a tofu manufacturing apparatus, a large number of partition plates are provided at a constant pitch, and the soybean milk divided by the partition plates is sequentially transferred and coagulated into a tank by moving the partition plates through the chain. The coagulation tank is connected to both sides and the bottom 4:,iI! ! A double tank is used to supply or circulate hot water to be heated, and a bud is provided to cover the top of the tank except for a gap that does not hinder the movement of the partition plate on the upper opening surface of the double tank. A partition plate to be transferred in the tank and a heating means for heating the upper surface layer of the coagulating soybean milk are installed in the upper part of the second type tank covered with this lid, so that the soybean milk transferred in the trough-shaped coagulation tank is heated. The heating means provided inside the outer wall of the tank and the upper part of the tank are used to heat the product at a controlled temperature to uniformly solidify it.

〔Example〕

Next, the present invention will be explained with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the entire apparatus.

1 shows the entire 01g continuous production device, which includes a coagulation tank 2 which is a trough-shaped double tank, a large number of partition plates 3 arranged at a constant pitch within this coagulation tank 2, A driving chain 4 supports the partition plate 3 at a constant pitch and is disposed above the coagulation tank 2 in the longitudinal direction to be driven. A lid 5 is provided to sandwich a chain with a partition plate.

The drive chain 4 is adjustable and driven by a drive means (not shown), partition plates 3 protrude from the chain 4 at a constant pitch, and partition plates 3 for the coagulation tank 2. One compartment is constituted by the inner plates on both sides, and when the partition plate 3 moves within the trough, this compartment also moves by the same number.

A fixed amount of soybean milk mixed with an appropriate amount of coagulant is introduced into the compartment between the partition plates 3 and 3 of the coagulation tank interior information plate.

In order to prevent uneven coagulation, the temperature of the soymilk added at this time is such that immediately after mixing the coagulant with the soymilk, the temperature is such that the coagulation reaction does not occur yet, that is, the temperature at which coagulation becomes slow, e.g. 65
It is mixed between °C and 72 °C. Therefore, in order to uniformly coagulate soymilk at this temperature within a set time quotient, in the present invention, the trough-shaped coagulating tank 2 is shaped as shown in FIG. 1, and the temperature is controlled and humidified.

The trough-shaped coagulation tank 2 is sized to have the required cross-sectional area inside, and is U-shaped with an open top.
A trough-shaped double tank 22 is disposed inside the tank. When the outer plate 22a of this double tank 22 is formed in contact with the inner bottom surface and inner surface of the heat insulating material 21, the inner plate 22b is formed in the same square U-shape in cross section, which is smaller than the outer plate 22a. , a required space 22e is formed between the inner and outer drawing boards, and both the inner and outer drawing boards 2
The space 22C between 2a and 22b is completely sealed, and hot water at a preset temperature is supplied into the double tank 22.

Therefore, only the central part of the top surface of this double tank 22 is open,
The bottom surface and both side surfaces are covered and have a U-shaped cross section, and a partition plate 3 supported by a chain is inserted into the double tank through the opening at the top surface. However, this partition plate 3 is As shown in the figure, the bottom surface and inner surfaces of both sides of the inner plate 22b of the double tank are in contact with each other, and the upper end is fixed to the f1 lever 41 supported by a chain.

In order to heat the coagulation tank 2 at a controlled temperature, a plurality of steam pipes 23 are inserted into the double tank, and steam is passed through the steam pipes to heat the hot water (or water) filled in the double tank. This can be done either by heating the water or by installing a heating device 8 outside the tank. When a heating device 8 is provided outside the tank, a circulation pipe 6 is used to connect the inside of the double 1II 22 of this coagulation tank and the heating device r118 provided outside the tank.

At this time, heat it up! A circulation pump 7 is disposed in the circulation pipe 6 so that hot water heated to a predetermined temperature is circulated between the i&5e double tanks 2, and a circulation circuit is thus constructed.

The heating device 8 is equipped with heating means. This heating method uses a heat exchanger heated by steam to heat the hot water flowing through the heating device to the required temperature, but this can also be done using other methods such as electric heaters, gas heaters, etc. can. Furthermore, if the trough-shaped coagulation tank 2 is long, or if it is necessary to control the heating temperature during soybean milk transfer, the double tank 22 of this coagulation tank is divided into two or more in the longitudinal direction, and each block is divided into two or more sections. The above circulation circuit is installed, and each block is heated at a controlled temperature, so that the soymilk transferred in the trough-shaped coagulation tank is heated from three sides, the inner side surface and the inner bottom surface, to a temperature suitable for coagulating soymilk. You can also do it.

In addition, one or more steam pipes 9, 9, etc. are arranged in a row in the upper part of the coagulation tank 2, which is covered with a lid, over almost the entire length of the pipe.

This steam pipe 9! ′! When several hospitals are lined up, they are arranged in parallel with the required interval, and steam at the required temperature is passed through each pipe, and the heat generated by the steam pipes heats the upper part of the tank, and this convection heat radiation heat, etc. The partition plate and the upper layer of soymilk transferred in the tank are heated to a required temperature. In this case, the movement of the partition plate causes the air in the upper part of the tank to be agitated even if slowly, and as mentioned above, the soymilk is transferred by the cooperative action of the means for directly heating the tank by heating the upper layer of soymilk. The entire area is heated evenly, and the partition plate is also heated, promoting syneresis and preventing the transferred soymilk from adhering to the partition plate when solidifying. Immediately after being put into the tank, the temperature of the soymilk is relatively low at 65°C to 72°C.The temperature of the soymilk is then brought to a temperature of 74°C to 80°C, which is suitable for coagulation, in as short a time as possible. Hot water that has been heated at a controlled temperature is circulated in the double tank so that it can be heated, and steam is passed through the steam pipe in the improvement section to heat it from inside and outside the tank. The temperature can be controlled to maintain an almost uniform temperature throughout the interior. At this time, since the top of the trough-shaped coagulation tank is covered with a lid, heat is prevented from escaping from the top of the tank, and the heating mixture of soymilk is evened out at the bottom and top of the soymilk in the double tank. Coagulation will be uniform.

〔Effect of the invention〕

In the present invention, the top surface of the trough-shaped coagulation tank is covered with a lid so as not to interfere with the movement of the partition plate, and a heating means such as a steam pipe is disposed in the upper part of the tank, and a temperature control device is installed inside the trough-shaped coagulation tank. The soymilk coagulation tank that is transported in the trough-shaped double tank is made by supplying heated hot water and heating it at a controlled temperature to uniformly coagulate the soymilk that is transferred in the trough-shaped double tank. In addition to being able to heat and coagulate uniformly from the bottom to the surface, the temperature can be controlled reliably, the coagulation is uniform, and the water repelling action of the partition plate prevents tofu from sticking to the partition plate, preventing damage to the coagulated tofu. It has the advantage of being able to coagulate and transport the tofu without any need for coagulation, thereby improving the quality of tofu.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a trough-shaped coagulation tank, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the entire manufacturing apparatus. 1 is a manufacturing device, 2 is a trough-shaped coagulation tank, 21 is a heat insulating material, 2
2 is a double tank, 23 is a steam pipe, 3 is a partition plate, 4 is a drive chain, 8 is a heating device, and 9 is a steam pipe.

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) The outer surface of the trough-shaped coagulation tank except for the top surface is covered with a heat insulating material, and a chain that is driven along its entire length is provided with a large number of partition plates at a constant pitch. In a tofu manufacturing apparatus in which soymilk is sequentially transferred and coagulated in a compartment divided by partition plates, the trough-shaped coagulation tank is provided with hot water heated at a controlled temperature to be supplied or circulated to both sides and the bottom of the trough-shaped coagulation tank. A double tank is installed in the tank, and a lid is installed on the upper opening surface of the double tank to cover the top of the tank except for a gap that does not hinder the movement of the partition plate, and a lid is installed on the upper part of the double tank covered with this lid. A heating means is provided to heat the partition plate transferred in the tank and the upper surface layer of the coagulating soymilk, and the soymilk transferred in the trough-shaped coagulation tank is heated inside the outer wall of the tank and the upper part of the tank. An automatic continuous production device for tofu, characterized in that it uniformly coagulates tofu by heating at a controlled temperature. (2) The heating means installed in the upper part of the coagulation tank covered with a lid and above the partition plate includes a plurality of steam pipes arranged in the tank width direction over almost the entire length of the coagulation tank to allow steam to flow. 2. The automatic continuous tofu production apparatus according to claim 1, which is constructed as follows. (3) An automatic continuous production apparatus for tofu, wherein the heating means according to claim 1 or 2 is an infrared heater. (4) An automatic continuous production device for tofu using a steam pipe as the heating means provided in the double tank according to claim 1 or 2, and circulating steam through the pipe.