JPH08140618A - Processing of vegetable/fruit by making use of steam heating - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain highly preservable vegetable/fruit with a low level of harmful microorganisms attached thereto, having fresh quality similar to those of raw vegetables/fruits. CONSTITUTION: Vegetables/fruits are heated at steam temperatures of 45-70 deg.C for 10-60min and then cut to desired shape to remove the moisture on the surface thereof or directly season themselves.

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 cut vegetables and seasoned vegetables.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, as a method for sterilizing microorganisms attached to fruits and vegetables, a method of boiling in hot water of about 80 ° C. or higher, 9
A method of steaming with steam at around 0 ° C., a method with pressurized steam at 100 ° C. or higher, and the like are adopted. Since these methods treat at a high temperature, most of the microorganisms other than the thermostable spore-forming bacteria are killed, which is a very effective means. However, at the same time, the tissue cells of vegetables are completely killed, discoloration occurs, and the nutrient components are decomposed and eluted to the outside.

[0003]

The present invention avoids the above-mentioned drawbacks and sterilizes microorganisms adhering to vegetables while maintaining freshness as close to fruits and vegetables as possible. The objective is to produce cut vegetables and seasoned vegetable products that have little sticking to the vegetables and have good shelf life after shipping.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, a steam having a function of being able to be set to a predetermined temperature under a high humidity of 70 to 90% and having a function of accurately maintaining the temperature for a certain period of time. Using a heat generator, the relationship between temperature, time and humidity at which attached microorganisms are killed was examined. As shown in Fig. 1, food poisoning bacteria (E. coli, E. coli) attached to cabbage were killed by heating at 50 ° C steam for 10 minutes or more, while general bacteria were killed by slightly hot steam at 55 ° C. It became clear that it would die by heating for 15 minutes or more. Treatment at high temperature for a long time is more effective for sterilizing microorganisms, but heat treatment as mild as possible is desirable in view of the limitation that it does not change the cell structure and quality of fruits and vegetables. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the optimum steam heating condition for various fruits and vegetables, in which the quality of the fruits and vegetables is raw and the microorganisms on the surface can be sterilized.

[0005]

The optimum steam temperature and time obtained by the above means are related to the shape, but in the range of 50 to 58 ° C., cabbage 20 to 30 minutes and cucumber 15 to 2 are used.
5 minutes, Japanese radish 25-30 minutes, carrot 25-30
It was a minute. Although the quality of fruits and vegetables heat-treated under such conditions was almost the same as that of raw fruits, the survival rate of the attached microorganisms was 10% or less. The processed fruits and vegetables are cooled, cut into various shapes and sizes, dried with a centrifuge to remove water drops, packaged into cut vegetable products, and seasoned cut vegetables into seasoned vegetable products.
And the refrigerated storage period can be extended several times longer than usual.

[0006]

[Examples] When the present invention was applied to various fruits and vegetables, the cabbage, cucumber, carrot, radish, kaiware, tomato, lettuce, etc. were cut vegetables, and onions, ginger were used under the respective optimum steam heating conditions. , Mushrooms, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, etc. have been successfully processed into seasoned vegetables, and commercialization has been confirmed. Among them, processing examples of cut vegetables of cabbage and seasoned vegetables of onion will be shown.

Generally, in the production of cut vegetables, microorganisms adhering to vegetables are washed with water or immersed in a chemical solution to disinfect and sterilize. However, in the present invention, this step is performed by steam heating treatment. is there. The cabbage cut into 1/4 to 1/8 pieces was washed, and the steam temperature was 57 ° C. for 30 minutes and the humidity was 9 as shown in FIG.
Approximately 2% after cooling with cold water after steam heating under the condition of 0%
It was cut into cm ² square pieces, washed with cold water, removed from vegetable surface water by a centrifuge, dried, filled in a container, and refrigerated. At this time, the surface of the cabbage was heated to about 2 ° C at a steam temperature of 57 ° C by steam heating.
Heated for 5 minutes to sterilize, product temperature is about 1 from the start
The temperature reached 50 ° C. after 5 minutes and 55 ° C. after another 15 minutes, but this degree of heating had no effect on the quality of the cabbage. There was no difference in scent, color, and texture when compared with the raw one. The number of general bacteria in the cut vegetables refrigerated after all the steps was somewhat different depending on the contamination during the steps of cooling and centrifugation, but was about 10 ² per gram on average. This value is far smaller than 10 ⁵ or less per several grams of general bacteria, which is the voluntary standard in the cutting industry, and the effect of steam heating treatment was sufficiently exhibited.

[0008] The seasoned vegetables are steam-heated as in the case of the above-mentioned cut vegetables, but after that, the processed vegetables and seasoning liquid are filled in a synthetic resin bag, soaked in the seasoning liquid, and seasoned while refrigerated. Manufactured by the method. The steam heat treatment of onions was carried out in consideration of the sterilization of adhering microorganisms and the effect on partial tissue cell death. Cell death helps to quickly penetrate the onion into the onion during subsequent immersion in the seasoning solution, but this point has a slightly different meaning than in the case of cut vegetables. As shown in FIG. 3, the halved onion was treated at a steam temperature of 60 ° C. for 40 minutes at a humidity of 93%. The sterilizing effect by steam temperature is sufficient, but the product temperature during that period is about 1
The temperature was raised to 50 ° C. in 5 minutes and then raised to 58 ° C. in 25 minutes. The steam heating condition was stronger than that of the cut vegetables, and the effect on the quality of the onions was slightly recognized in the texture and aroma, but there was no problem in the evaluation of the overall freshness. Next, slice the onion into slices with a thickness of about 0.3 mm and add 0.1 g of sodium glutamate.
%, Sugar 6%, sorbit 1.5% sodium ascorbate 0.2%, malic acid 0.2% amino acid seasoning (total nitrogen 2%) 4% made of synthetic resin in a seasoning liquid of 1: 1 It was filled in a bag and refrigerated at 5 ° C. Seasoned onions of refrigerated products maintain freshness close to that of raw foods, and by sterilizing microorganisms adhering to the vegetable surface, refrigerating storage period is usually 2 to 2 times.
I was able to extend the number of days to three times.

[0009]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, the present invention succeeds in sterilizing harmful microorganisms adhering to the surface of vegetables by steam heating while maintaining the freshness of fruits and vegetables. It is possible to produce cut vegetables and seasoned vegetables that have high quality, are hygienic, have very few microorganisms, and have excellent preservability without damaging the ingredients. These products have enabled the development of a large number of new products by combining the types of fruits and vegetables, the shapes, and the types of seasonings.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the relationship between steam heat treatment and microbial killing.

FIG. 2 is a progress chart of steam heating treatment of cabbage.

FIG. 3 is a process chart of steam heating treatment of onions.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Survival of microorganisms 2 Death of microorganisms 3 General bacteria 4 Escherichia coli 5 Steam temperature 6 Vegetable temperature 7 Humidity%

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Vegetables and vegetables are steamed at 45 to 70 ° C. for 10 to 10.
A method for producing a processed fruit or vegetable product, which comprises heating for 60 minutes to sterilize microorganisms adhering to the fruit and vegetables, cutting into arbitrary shapes, and then removing or seasoning water on the vegetable surface.