JPH0799909A - Production of instant food - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a method for producing an instant food whose starch component has been converted into the alpha-form, such as instant noodle or instant macaroni, capable of reducing energy consumed in a steaming process and in a drying process and also of reducing the cost and setting space of a production installation. CONSTITUTION:A steaming section 3 and a drying section 4 are disposed in the order from the upstream side of a conveyer 1 for carrying the produced instant foods, and a system of steam is allowed to flow from the drying section 4 to the steaming section 3 to utilize the steam containing moisture absorbed from the food in the drying section 4 for the alpha-starch formation treatment (steaming treatment) of the food in the steaming section 3, thus enabling to perform both the drying treatment and the steaming treatment in a process using a system of steam.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

The present invention relates to instant noodles, instant macaroni,
The present invention relates to a method for producing instant food such as.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, demand for instant noodles has shifted from fried noodles to so-called non-fried noodles due to the increasing taste of consumers. As a method for producing this non-fried noodle, the noodles formed into a predetermined shape are guided to a steamer by a conveyor, and the starch in the noodles is converted into α (alpha) by passing steam through the formed noodles, and the noodles are simply reconstituted for edible use Make it available.

Further, the steamed noodles are transferred to a drier, where they are dried by passing a high temperature gas such as heated air into dry noodles, and the finished molding and packaging steps are sent out as a product as a product.

As a means for drying the noodles, Jikho Sho 56-39
The means proposed in No. 339 comprises a first drying chamber in which a noodle transfer belt is incorporated and a second drying chamber in which a noodle transfer belt arranged in a spiral shape is incorporated, and is subjected to a gelatinization treatment. Hot noodles are passed through the noodles to dry them in both the drying chambers.

The means proposed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 17995/1990 is that the instant macaroni which has been subjected to the α-treatment in the steamer is transferred on a conveyor having a net-like structure or a large number of small holes. Hot air is jetted from the reversing jet nozzle provided in the lower part to dry the macaroni.

[0006]

As described above, in the method for producing non-fried noodles which is produced by gelatinizing the starch component by the steaming step and then drying by hot air or the like, the steaming step is varied. A large amount of heat is required to dry the noodles, and the drying cost is usually higher than that of conventional fried noodles.

In the conventional method for producing non-fried noodles as described above, the steaming step and the drying step are separate steps, and in the steaming step, the formed noodles are steamed by evaporation to be subjected to the gelatinization treatment, In the drying step, this noodle is dried with heated air.

That is, in the conventional manufacturing method, energy and equipment for heating and raising the temperature of air to obtain heated air for drying noodles are required, and the air used for drying is directly discarded to the outside. This leads to wasteful consumption of energy and increases the cost of drying equipment.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to efficiently use energy in the production of instant foods such as non-fried noodles produced by subjecting to a gelatinization treatment in a steaming process and then to a drying treatment, and An object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing method in which equipment costs are reduced.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is directed to manufacturing instant foods, in which steam is used to absorb moisture by drying after drying the instant foods by passing superheated steam through the instant foods. Is transferred to the steaming section provided on the upstream side of the conveyor from the drying section, and the instant food transferred to the section is subjected to the gelatinization treatment by passing this steam.

A second feature is that auxiliary steam is supplied to the steaming section in addition to the steam from the drying section to smooth the steaming step of the instant food.

[0012]

The superheated steam heated to about 120 ° C. by the heating steam generated by the boiler, steam compressor, etc. is first passed through the conveyor to the drying section and passed through the instant food after the gelatinization treatment. dry.

The steam after the drying treatment is steam that has absorbed the moisture in the food, and this steam is transferred to the steaming section provided on the upstream side of the drying section and passed through the instant food in the steaming section. Steaming and alpha processing are performed. As a result, one type of steam can be efficiently used in both the steaming step (alpha conversion treatment) and the drying step.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be illustratively described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, unless otherwise specified, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative positions, etc. of the structural components described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention thereto, but are merely illustrative examples. Nothing more than.

FIG. 1 shows a system diagram of a system for producing instant noodles according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a conveyor for transfer, and 2 is instant noodles that are stacked on the conveyor 1 and are connected and transferred in the direction of the arrow Z in the figure. The conveyor 1 is provided with a large number of small holes so that steam, air and the like can pass therethrough.

The processing room 100 of the manufacturing factory is constructed as a closed room which is shielded from the outside air. Above the conveyor 1,
A steaming chamber 3 and a drying chamber 4 are provided in this order from the upstream side of the conveyor 1. Then, the instant noodles 2 loaded on the conveyor 1 are subjected to the required processing treatment (details will be described later) in the steaming chamber 3 and the drying chamber 4 in this order, and then taken out to the finishing process section. There is.

Reference numeral 5 is a boiler for generating steam for heating, 6 is a heater, 7 is an air blower for circulating steam, 8 is a steam main pipe, 9 is a heating steam pipe, 10 is an auxiliary steam pipe, and 11 is steam. This is a circulation path, and the superheated steam generated in the boiler 5 is diverted from the steam main pipe 8 to the heating steam pipe 9 and the auxiliary steam pipe 10.

The heating steam that has passed through the heating steam pipe 9 is sent to the superheater 6, where the steam that is circulated in the steam circulation path 11 is heated by the blower 7.
The steam becomes superheated steam and is sent to the drying chamber 4. A steam extraction port 12 is connected to the boiler 5, and is provided with a check valve that opens when the pressure in the steam circulation path 11 becomes a certain value or more.

The production cycle of instant noodles in the process for producing instant noodles configured as described above will be described. The noodles 2 are mixed with wheat flour and additives such as seasonings, and shaped into a predetermined shape by the steps of linear, cutting and cutting, and then shaped into a predetermined shape, and then transferred to the steaming chamber 3 by the conveyor 1.

In the steaming chamber 3, the noodles 2 are cooked by the moist steam flowing through the steam circulation path 11 and the auxiliary steam sent from the boiler 5 to the auxiliary steam pipe 10 and then to the auxiliary steam pipe 10. By steaming, the starch component is converted to α (alpha).
The gelatinized noodles 2 are sent to the drying chamber 4 on the conveyor 1, where they are dried by passing superheated steam flowing through the steam circulation path 11 and sent to the next finishing.

The operation of the steam flowing through the circulation path 11 will be described. The steam sent to the superheater 6 by the blower 7 is the same as the high-temperature superheated steam supplied from the boiler 5 in the superheater 6 and heat. After being exchanged, the temperature is raised to become superheated steam having a temperature of about 120 ° C., which is sent to the drying chamber 4 through the circulation path 11.

In the drying chamber 4, the superheated steam comes into contact with the noodles 2 which have been subjected to the gelatinization treatment in the steaming chamber 3 to dry them. In this case, the drying steam is
Since the small holes are provided in the conveyor 1, the noodles 2 come into contact with the noodles 2 from above and below, so that the noodles 2 can be efficiently dried.

The steam having a diameter in the drying chamber 4 absorbs the water content of the noodles 2 and thus becomes moist (water vapor). This moist air is sent to the steaming chamber 3, where it joins with the auxiliary steam to steam the noodles 2 and gelatinize the starch component.

Since the steam that has left the steaming chamber 3 has been given moisture to the noodles 2 in the steaming process, it becomes steam with a high degree of wetness and is sucked into the blower 7 as described above.
Cycle 1 When the pressure in the steam circulation path 11 exceeds a certain pressure, the check valve of the extraction port 12 opens, and a part of the steam is extracted to the boiler 5 side.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a steam compressor 21 is provided as a source of generating auxiliary steam and heating steam. The steam compressor 2
1 is a steaming part 3 having a diameter of about 100 ° C., which is sucked in through a bleeding pipe 122 through a bleeding port and a pressure of 2.4 kg / cm 2.
² (abs) Pressurized to a temperature of about 125 ° C. and sent to the superheater 6 and the auxiliary steam pipe 10. Other configurations are similar to those of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

As is apparent from the above-mentioned embodiments, according to the present invention, the noodles 2 are pregelatinized in the steaming chamber 3 by utilizing the steam containing the water absorbed from the noodles 2 in the drying chamber 4 to obtain 1 Drying and steaming with system steam (alpha conversion)
Can be done in one step.

Although the above examples describe the case of producing instant noodles, they can be applied to other instant foods such as instant macaroni.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, the steam containing moisture absorbed from the instant food in the drying section is used to perform the pregelatinization treatment on the food in the steaming section, whereby the steam is dried with one system of steam. The treatment and the steaming treatment (alpha conversion treatment) can be performed in one step.

As a result, the energy can be effectively used in the steaming process and the drying process, the facility cost and the installation space for the drying process and the steaming process can be reduced, and the manufacturing time can be shortened. Further, since the processing chamber can be configured so as to be shielded from the outside air, it is possible to prevent deterioration of food quality due to oxidation or the like.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram of an instant noodle manufacturing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a response diagram of FIG. 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100 Processing Room 1 Conveyor 2 Instant Noodle 3 Steaming Section 4 Drying Section 5 Boiler 6 Superheater 7 Blower 9 Heating Steam Pipe 10 Auxiliary Steam Pipe 11 Steam Circulation Line 21 Steam Compressor

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A starch component such as instant noodles or instant macaroni is α
In producing (alpha) -ized instant food, superheated steam is passed through the instant food that has been transferred to a drying section on a conveyor to dry the food, and the steam that absorbs moisture in the food by the drying is A method for producing an instant food, which comprises introducing a steam into a steamer disposed upstream of a conveyor with respect to a drying unit, passing the steam through the food processed into a predetermined shape, and subjecting the food to a gelatinization treatment. 2. The starch component of instant noodles, instant macaroni, etc. is α
In producing the (alpha) -ized instant food, superheated steam is passed through the instant food that has been transferred to a drying section on a conveyor to dry the food, and the steam that absorbs moisture in the food by the drying is Guide to the steaming section arranged on the upstream side of the conveyor than the drying section, steam the food processed into a predetermined shape through the steam and auxiliary steam supplied from a steam generation source, and subject it to an α-treatment. A method for producing an instant food characterized by the following. 3. A steam compressor (VRC) as the vapor
The method for producing an instant food according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the steam generated by the method is used.