JPH04253704A - Instantly soluble konjak mannan and its production - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide konjak mannan which can be instantly dissolved in water to form an aqueous solution having uniform viscosity and a process for producing the same. CONSTITUTION:A purified konjak powder is ground on a grinder to produce a fine powder of 200-300 mesh. This powder is immersed in an aqueous alcohol solution and kneaded and dried under agitation to obtain granulate konjak mannan.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for producing konjac mannan which is instantly soluble in water.

0002

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Glucomannan, which is the main component of polysaccharides contained in the rhizome of konjac, a perennial crop belonging to the family Araceae, is generally known as konjac mannan. Konjac mannan has traditionally been used exclusively as a raw material for konjac, but recently its usefulness as a dietary fiber has been recognized, and attempts have been made to add it to various foods.

Conventionally, this konjac mannan was made by slicing and drying konjac potatoes (rough powder), pulverizing the light particles containing starch (flying powder), and collecting the remaining heavy particles to make fine powder. obtained as. This refined konjac flour has relatively large particles of 50 to 80 mesh, and the particles are surrounded by mesh fibers, making it extremely hard and highly elastic.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, as is well known as a problem in the manufacturing process of konjac, this refined konjac powder has an extremely slow dissolution rate in water, and usually
．． It has the property of requiring a dissolution time of about 5 to 4 hours. Furthermore, when konjac flour is dissolved, the viscosity of the aqueous solution improves, but it takes time to develop viscosity due to poor solubility. Therefore, when konjac flour is added to food, it takes a lot of time to dissolve and develop viscosity, which poses a big problem in the food manufacturing process. Moreover, the fact that such a work time is required may make the addition itself impossible depending on the nature of the food.

Furthermore, the fact that it takes time to develop viscosity means that unless the viscosity is left to stabilize, the viscosity will increase as the food manufacturing process progresses, making it difficult to manufacture uniform products. It means that.

[0006] For these reasons, conventional konjac flour can only be used in a very small amount when added to food, making it unsuitable for use as a raw material for health foods containing a large amount of dietary fiber. .

The present invention was proposed to solve the problems of the prior art as described above. That is, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a ready-to-dissolve konjac mannan that can be used in a wide range of fields such as food products, industrial products, and medical products by improving its solubility in water, and a method for producing the same. It's about doing.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] As a means for achieving the above object, the immediately soluble konjac mannan according to claim 1 is prepared by forming fine powder of fine konjac powder into 200 to 300 mesh into granules. It is characterized by being formed.

[0009] Furthermore, the method for producing immediately soluble konjac mannan according to claim 2 includes pulverizing konjac fine powder into a fine powder of 200 to 300 mesh using a pulverizer, and immersing this fine powder in an aqueous alcohol solution and mixing it. It is characterized in that it is dried while stirring to form granules.

0010

[Action] The instant soluble konjac mannan of the present invention having the above-mentioned structure has a
The particles are much smaller, and the fibers that used to surround the fine konjac powder particles in a network have been pulverized, so solubility is greatly improved. At the same time, since the fine powder particles are in the form of granules, the fine powder does not condense into beads during dissolution, and is dispersed and uniformly dissolved in water.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0012] First, as a raw material for the konjac mannan of the present invention, konjac flour produced by a conventional method is prepared. This refined konjac powder may be commercially available, but choose one that has been thoroughly removed from impurities such as starch attached to the surface of the particles.

[0013] This refined konjac powder is put into a rotary grindstone type pulverizer 1 and pulverized to a size of 200 to 300 mesh. Add water and alcohol to this fine powder at 1:5 to 1:9.
Soak in alcohol aqueous solution 2 mixed at the ratio of 2 and mix well. Once the alcohol aqueous solution has wetted the entire fine powder particles, excess aqueous solution is removed and the particles are dried with hot air from the hot air dryer 3 while stirring occasionally using the stirrer 4. In this way, the granular konjac mannan particles of the present invention in which several to several hundred fine particles pulverized to 200 to 300 mesh are bound together can be obtained.

[0014] Next, 10 cc of water was placed in each of three test tubes, and the konjac mannan of the present invention produced as described above, conventional konjac flour, and non-granulated konjac were added to these test tubes. With fine powder of konjac flour,
0.1 g of each was added and their solubility was compared.

The konjac mannan of the present invention was easily dissolved in water, and most of the granular particles were dissolved in water by the time they reached the bottom of the test tube. In addition, the viscosity of the aqueous solution developed immediately, and became uniform just by gently shaking the test tube.

[0016] In the case of conventional refined konjac powder, the particles settle at the bottom of the test tube, forming a layer of particles and water. When left as is, the particles swelled after about 30 minutes, but even in that case, the boundary between the swollen gel-like konjac flour and the water was clear, and simply shaking the test tube did not allow it to spread evenly into the water. It was difficult to dissolve.

[0017] When the fine powder of konjac flour, which was not made into granules, was put into water, the particles dissolved in the water adhered to the periphery of the undissolved fine powder and condensed in the form of beads on the surface of the water. In the konjac industry, this is called ``mamako naru''. After about 10 minutes, the entire condensed particles swelled and became gel-like. Simply shaking the test tube in this state did not allow for uniform dissolution in the entire aqueous solution.

[0018]

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the immediately soluble konjac mannan of the present invention, the dissolution rate is significantly improved compared to conventional konjac flour or konjac flour that is simply made into fine powder. Since the viscosity of the dissolved aqueous solution becomes uniform easily, when added to foodstuffs, it is possible to improve manufacturing workability and product uniformity.

In addition, due to such excellent solubility, the amount added to foods can be greatly increased compared to conventional konjac flour, so it is possible to increase the amount added to foods, which was previously thought to be impossible with konjac mannan. It will also be possible to produce health foods that are high in fiber.

In addition, due to such excellent solubility and uniformity of viscosity, it can be used not only as a food additive in the form of dietary fiber, but also as a thickener, binder, and stabilizer for processed foods in general. It has a wide range of uses, including as a quality improver for fish paste products and livestock meat products.

Furthermore, by taking advantage of its ability to instantly dissolve to form a colloid, it can also be used in industrial and medical products as a thickener, thickener, binder, or stabilizer.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a process diagram showing an example of the method for producing konjac mannan of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1　Crusher 2 Alcohol aqueous solution 3 Dryer 4 Stirrer

Claims (2)

[Claims] Claims: 1. Immediately soluble konjac mannan, characterized in that fine powder of konjac flour ground to 200 to 300 mesh is formed into granules. [Claim 2] Using a grinder, grind konjac powder to 200~
A method for producing immediately soluble konjac mannan, which comprises pulverizing it into a 300-mesh fine powder, immersing the fine powder in an aqueous alcohol solution, mixing it, and drying it while stirring to form granules.