JPH08332024A - Method for keeping color tone of dry vegetable or dry fruit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain dry vegetables and dry fruits capable of keeping excellent color tone even after the storage over a long period. CONSTITUTION: Dry vegetables or dry fruits are produced by treating raw vegetables or fruits with a color-keeping liquid containing 0.01-5.0wt.% of lecithin, 0.005-0.5wt.% of vitamin E, 0.005-0.5wt.% of L-ascorbic acid, erythorbic acid or their salts and 0.001-0.5wt.% of a vegetable polyphenol preferably under reduced pressure or positive pressure and drying the treated vegetables, etc.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method for maintaining the color tone of dried vegetables or dried fruits, and more specifically, dried vegetables or dried fruits that can be suitably used for ingredients such as instant noodles and instant soups, toppings, seasonings, snack foods and the like. At the time of manufacturing, it relates to a method for maintaining the color tone performed before the drying treatment of vegetables and fruits, and in particular, the obtained dried products have the original good texture and flavor of vegetables and fruits and are excellent. The present invention relates to a method for maintaining the color tone of dried vegetables or dried fruits, which is capable of retaining the color tone for a long period of time.

[0002]

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, vegetables and fruits (hereinafter referred to as vegetables) have been distributed as fresh products or processed into dried products or frozen products and distributed. In, there were some problems.
For example, fresh products have problems that their prices are likely to fluctuate depending on the season, or that they are difficult to transport while maintaining their freshness, and frozen products are fresh products. Although the storability is improved more than that of the conventional one, it has a problem that it is discolored during freezing and the quality is deteriorated.

Therefore, the demand for highly preserved dry products is further increasing. Even with such dry products, they are in contact with air for a longer period than frozen products and the like. Since it is often stored under such conditions, a change in color tone may be caused during the storage, which greatly affects the commercial value. More specifically, the color tone of dried vegetables is such that as the dried products are manufactured, they become thinner or discolored over time, resulting in poor appearance and reduced commercial value. It becomes. For example, in dried green vegetables containing chlorophyll as a pigment, the green color becomes lighter and gradually changes color to hay, while in dried white vegetables, white is gray or yellowish brown. In addition, in the case of dried vegetables containing carotenoids as a pigment, the color changes to brown or reddish brown.

Therefore, various methods have been conventionally used to prevent such discoloration of vegetables. One of them is generally hot water of 80 ° C. or higher, or sodium chloride, carbonic acid. A heat treatment (branching treatment) in which an ordinary vegetable is treated for 3 to 5 minutes with an aqueous solution of sodium hydrogen or a polymerized phosphate or the like, and a vegetable with a thick texture is treated for 15 to 20 minutes. ). This blanching treatment is carried out for the purpose of deactivating the enzyme possessed by vegetables and thereby preventing discoloration of vegetables and decomposition of components. However, even with vegetables subjected to such a blanching treatment, when stored for a long period of time, its color tone cannot be sufficiently retained, and such blanching treatment alone is sufficient. The effect of maintaining the color tone was not obtained. For example, in the production of dried vegetables, when this blanching treatment is applied before the drying treatment, discoloration of vegetables and decomposition of the components during and after the drying treatment are advantageously suppressed. However, it also discolors after long-term storage.

As described above, since the color tone cannot be sufficiently retained only by the above-mentioned blanching treatment, metal ions can be used instead of this blanching treatment or in combination with this blanching treatment. An anti-browning method for retort treatment using citric acid, phytic acid, and pyrophosphoric acid having a blocking action (JP-A-60-6).
2943), a method for preventing discoloration of cut vegetables using kojic acid (JP-A-2-273140), or a method for preventing discoloration of green-yellow vegetables with an aqueous solution of protamine (JP-A-6-7083), etc. In addition, a freshness keeping method (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-24152) in which fruits and vegetables are treated with an aqueous dispersion of lecithin is also carried out.

However, since all of these various methods are applied to raw vegetables, even if they are applied to dried vegetables as the object of the present invention, the effect of maintaining sufficient color tone is obtained. Cannot be obtained. That is, in raw vegetables, the effect on the color tone is not so great because the period of storage before consumption is short, but on the other hand, in dried vegetables, the preservation is The period is usually 6 months or more from the time of manufacture, and in some cases nearly one year, which is very long, and the storage condition is often such that it can be directly contacted with air, so that the color tone is The impact will be enormous. As described above, raw vegetables and dried vegetables differ in the degree of the color retention effect required for each, therefore, the color retention method used for raw vegetables was applied to the dried vegetables as they were. By the way, it is quite natural that a sufficient effect cannot be expected. And, as described above, a method for maintaining a color tone for a dried product, which is easily affected by a color tone during storage, has not yet been developed, and a method for providing dried vegetables capable of advantageously retaining the color tone for a long period of time. The current situation is that there is a longing for.

[0007]

The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances as described above, and its object is to obtain a dried product obtained after drying for a long period of time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for maintaining the color tone of dried vegetables or dried fruits, which can advantageously provide the dried vegetables having the original color tone of the above.

[0008]

The present inventors have sought a color tone retaining method in which the obtained dried product has a color tone originally possessed, and the color tone can be advantageously retained even after long-term storage. Then, as a result of intensive research, they found that the above problems can be solved by treating vegetables with an aqueous solution containing a combination of certain specific color tone-retaining components, and completed the present invention. It was.

That is, according to the present invention, in the production of dried vegetables or dried fruits, 0.01% by weight to 5.0% by weight of lecithin is used as a raw material before the drying treatment. 0.005% to 0.5% by weight of Vitamin E and 0.005% to 0.5% by weight of L-
A dried vegetable characterized by being treated with a color-retaining solution comprising an aqueous solution containing ascorbic acid and / or erythorbic acid and / or salts thereof and 0.001% by weight to 0.5% by weight of plant polyphenol. The gist of the present invention is a method for maintaining the color tone of dried fruits.

Further, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an aqueous solution containing an inorganic acid and / or an organic acid having a sequestering effect and / or salts thereof is added before the treatment with the color-retaining solution. To process.

Further, according to another preferred aspect of the present invention, the treatment with the color-retaining liquid is performed under reduced pressure and / or pressure.

[0012]

Specifically, in the present invention, when producing dried vegetables, the raw material vegetables are treated with a specific color retention component,
That is, it is characterized in that it is treated with a color-retaining solution comprising an aqueous solution containing lecithin, L-ascorbic acid and / or ersorbic acid and / or salts thereof, vitamin E, and plant polyphenol in respective predetermined amounts. Therefore, by treating with such a color retaining liquid, the obtained dried vegetables retain their original color tone even after long-term storage.

More specifically, the color-retaining components contained in the color-retaining liquid of the present invention synergistically exert an antioxidant effect or an antioxidant effect of other color-retaining components even when used alone. It has the effect of increasing the However, when they are used alone, they cannot be expected to be practically used because they have a weak effect of retaining the color tone. In addition to these, since these color tone retaining components do not have an excellent color tone retaining action for all dyes, the color tone retaining action obtained by a single color tone retaining component is limited. Specifically, for example, plant polyphenols extracted from sunflower seeds have a high antifading effect on carotenoids, but have no antifading effect on safflower red pigments, and also corn pigments, red cabbage pigments, or gardenia. The anti-fading effect is low for the dye. Under these circumstances, as a result of various studies on the color-retaining action of dried vegetables or dried fruits, a color-retaining solution containing all of the above-mentioned four types of color-retaining components exerts an excellent color-retaining effect. Find that
The present invention has been completed.

By the way, as the lecithin which is one of the color tone maintaining components used in the present invention, liquid soybean lecithin (lecithin content: about 60% by weight) is usually used. Lecithin such as plant-derived lecithin such as rapeseed, corn, or safflower, or animal-derived lecithin such as egg yolk is used. Further, not only unpurified lecithin but also purified lecithin and fractionated lecithin may be used. Further, the mixing ratio of lecithin in the color-retaining liquid is usually as it is,
0.01% to 5% by weight, preferably 0.05
% By weight to 1% by weight. This is because if the blending ratio of lecithin is less than 0.01% by weight, the effect is not sufficiently exhibited, and if the blending ratio is more than 5% by weight, the lecithin heated during the drying treatment is This is because the discoloration will adversely affect the color tone.

As the vitamin E, which is one of the color tone retaining components used in the present invention, synthetic ones, concentrated ones extracted from plants and the like can be used. Since these vitamin Es are usually oil-soluble, when they are used in the present invention, rather than being used as they are, water-soluble or water-dispersed materials can be obtained by using the vitamin E as a raw material by various conventionally known methods. It is preferable to use a sex-based formulation. In the present invention, the blending ratio of vitamin E in the color-retaining liquid is usually
The amount is 0.005% by weight to 0.5% by weight, preferably 0.01% by weight to 0.2% by weight. This is because if the blending ratio is less than 0.005% by weight, no sufficient effect can be expected, and if the blending ratio is more than 0.5% by weight, no further effect can be obtained. Is.

Further, L-ascorbic acid, erythorbic acid, and salts thereof, which are other color tone-maintaining components used in the present invention, are L-ascorbic acid itself, erythorbic acid itself, or their sodium salts and potassium. It represents a salt such as a salt, a calcium salt, or a magnesium salt, and these salts may be used alone or in combination in combination without any problem. The blending ratio in the color-retaining liquid is 0.005% by weight to 0.5% by weight, and preferably 0.01% by weight to 0.2% by weight, in total. This is because if the blending ratio is less than 0.005% by weight, a sufficient effect cannot be obtained.
This is because if the amount is more than 0.5% by weight, the effect cannot be obtained.

Furthermore, the plant polyphenol, which is another one of the color-retaining components used in the present invention, is an aromatic hydrocarbon extracted from a plant, in which two or more hydrogens are substituted with hydroxyl groups. Represents a group of compounds, which are generally commercially available from tea leaves and sunflower seeds. And the compounding ratio of the plant polyphenol in the color retention liquid is usually 0.001
% To 0.5% by weight, preferably 0.01 to 0.1% by weight. This is because, if the blending ratio is less than 0.001% by weight, the effect cannot be expected, and even if the blending ratio is more than 0.5% by weight, further effects can be obtained. Because not.

The color-retaining liquid used in the color-retaining method of the present invention contains the above-mentioned four kinds of color-retaining components in combination as essential components, and the color-retaining components are contained in the above-mentioned predetermined amounts. The compounding ratio is an aqueous solution obtained by dissolving or dispersing in an aqueous solvent such as water. In addition to the above-mentioned four components, various sugar solutions may be added to the color-holding solution for the purpose of preventing damage to the dried product and improving swelling / restoring property upon returning to hot water. No, and spice extracts such as rosemary,
Furthermore, it does not matter even if other antioxidants such as sugar / amino acid mixture, BHT, BHA are added.

In addition, the vegetables as the raw material targeted in the color tone maintaining method according to the present invention are not particularly limited, and various vegetables and fruits can be targeted. Specific examples thereof include spinach, cabbage, carrots, perilla, trefoil, vegetables such as parsley, and fruits such as apple, pineapple, persimmon, and pear, or orange, lemon,
The fruit skin of a citron etc. can be mentioned.

The vegetables are appropriately sliced for use depending on the form of the product in which the desired dried product is used. For example, small vegetables are used in the whole form, and thick ones are sliced into about 5 to 10 mm and used. In addition, these vegetables are optionally subjected to a blanching treatment before the color tone maintaining method according to the present invention is applied. This blanching treatment is carried out for the purpose of maintaining the color of the dried product by deactivating the enzyme and improving the flexibility by breaking the tissue of vegetables. More specifically,
Generally, it is carried out by immersing in hot water, salt solution, sodium bicarbonate solution or the like at a temperature of 80 ° C. or higher and treating for a predetermined time.

Further, the method for maintaining the color tone of dried vegetables or dried fruits according to the present invention is carried out before the drying treatment when producing dried vegetables or dried fruits. Actually, it is manufactured as follows. That is, first, vegetables that are sliced or cut as necessary as described above are prepared as a raw material, and then, if necessary, blanching treatment is performed.
Then, such a vegetable is treated with a predetermined color tone retaining liquid according to the present invention, and then dried to obtain a desired dried product.

In the process for producing such dried vegetables, the treatment with the predetermined color tone maintaining solution in the color tone maintaining method according to the present invention includes, for example, a method of immersing the vegetables in the color tone maintaining solution, Various methods such as a method of washing with a retentive solution, a method of spraying, spraying, and applying the color-retaining solution onto vegetables are adopted, but from the viewpoint that treatment can be easily carried out, the vegetables are reconstituted with a retentive solution. It is preferable to adopt the method of immersing in.

The treatment conditions for the treatment with the color-retaining solution should be appropriately determined according to the treatment method employed. For example, a method of immersing vegetables in the color-retaining solution is used. When adopted, the immersion time is usually about 10 minutes to 300 minutes, and the immersion temperature is about 10 ° C to 50 ° C.

Further, in order to dry the vegetables to which the color tone maintaining method according to the present invention has been applied, various conventionally known drying treatments such as hot air drying, microwave drying, infrared ray drying and the like may be used alone or in combination. It can be applied, and by doing so, it is possible to obtain the desired dried vegetables by drying the vegetables treated with the above-mentioned color retention liquid.

By the way, the method of maintaining the color tone according to the present invention is
When applied to vegetables that do not have chlorophyll, such vegetables are generally treated with 0.01
% By weight to 1.0% by weight, preferably 0.05% by weight
The pretreatment with a sequestering agent containing 0.3% by weight of a component having a sequestering effect such as citric acid, phytic acid, phosphoric acid or the like can exert a more excellent color tone retaining effect. Becomes That is, vegetables may contain free metal ions that promote fading, but by pretreatment with a sequestering agent,
Such undesired free metal ions can be effectively removed, which can advantageously prevent discoloration of the resulting dried product. By the way, when the pretreatment with the sequestering agent is applied to vegetables containing chlorophyll as a pigment,
Due to the action of the sequestering agent, the magnesium contained in chlorophyll is captured, and on the contrary, the color tone of the obtained vegetables is lowered.

The treatment with the sequestering agent is carried out before the color retention method according to the present invention.
Kashidashi, rather than treating the vegetables treated with the color retention liquid according to the present invention with a sequestrant, it is better to treat the vegetables not treated with the color retention liquid with a sequestrant.
This is because more free metal ions can be captured.

In the above description, the treatment with the color-retaining solution according to the present invention is carried out under normal pressure, but in particular, it is carried out under reduced pressure and / or pressure, in other words under reduced pressure. Or under a pressured state, or under a state in which a depressurized state and a pressurized state alternately act. When the dipping treatment is carried out under reduced pressure and / or pressure, the color-retaining liquid according to the present invention uniformly penetrates into vegetables, and the fineness of the liquid makes it possible to shorten the treatment time. This is because the condition of the blanching treatment can be made milder, and the texture and flavor of the obtained dried product will be excellent.

The depressurized state here means 50 to 1
It represents a state under a pressure of about 00 Torr, and the pressurized state represents a state of being pressurized up to about 3 kgf / cm ² . Of course, if the pressure is further reduced or increased, that is, if the atmospheric pressure is lower than 50 Torr or higher than 3 kgf / cm ² , the effect can be further enhanced. However, it is not practical because it requires a large-scale and special mechanical device to realize it.

[0029]

EXAMPLES In order to clarify the present invention in more detail, some examples of the present invention will be shown below.
It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited by the description of such embodiments. In addition, in addition to the following examples, the present invention, in addition to the above-described specific description, various changes, corrections, and modifications based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It should be understood that improvements can be made.

Example 1 First, spinach was prepared, the small ones were kept in the whole shape, and the large ones were cut into 1/2 size, and then the spinach was placed in hot water kept at 80 ° C. It was soaked for a minute and subjected to a blanching treatment. In addition, cabbage was prepared, and this was dipped in hot water kept at 80 ° C. for 7 minutes for blanching treatment. Next, various color-retaining components were dissolved or dispersed in water so as to contain various color-retaining components in the combinations shown in Table 1 below, to prepare various color-retaining liquids. However, in Comparative Example 1, as a control, water containing no color retention component was used in place of the color retention liquid.

With regard to lecithin, sodium L-ascorbate, vitamin E and plant polyphenols used as the color-holding component, soybean lecithin containing phospholipids in an amount of 95% by weight or more: SLP-white. (Trulecithin industry Co., Ltd.) 0.1% by weight (about 0.1% by weight as lecithin)
The amount of sodium L-ascorbate (taken by Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) is 0.02% by weight (0.018% by weight as L-ascorbic acid). Further, as the vitamin E, Fujimix E-20N (manufactured by Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) containing 20% by weight of vitamin E was used.
With a blending ratio of 1% by weight (0.02% by weight as vitamin E), and as a plant polyphenol, 0.1% by weight of sunfood aqueous solution (manufactured by Sankyo Co., Ltd.) containing 10% by weight of plant polyphenol (plant) The polyphenol was used in an amount of 0.01% by weight).

Then, the spinach and cabbage which had been subjected to the above-mentioned blanching treatment were dipped in the obtained various color-retaining solutions for 30 minutes under normal pressure. Then, the spinach and the cabbage, which had been subjected to the dipping treatment, were dried with hot air at 50 ° C. until the loss on drying became 5% by weight to obtain a desired dried product. The term "weight loss on drying 5%" as used herein means that the weight reduced by further drying is 5% when the weight of the obtained dried product is 1, and is used in the same meaning below. I will.

[0033]

[Table 1]

Then, the various dried products obtained above were subjected to a color tone retention test under the storage conditions shown in Table 2 below, and the results are also shown in the same table. In addition,
In Table 2, "Bright place" represents the case where the obtained dried product was placed near a window at a sunny place, and "Dark place" represents the case where it was placed in a cardboard box.

The evaluation of the color tone retention test is as follows: Evaluation 1: Discolored product is not valuable as a product, Evaluation 2: Poor color tone and low commercial value.
Evaluation 3: Color tone is a little bad, but product value is sufficient,
Evaluation 4: The original color tone of vegetables was maintained and the product value was high, and the evaluation was performed in four levels.

[0036]

[Table 2]

As is clear from the results of Table 2, the dried product of Inventive Example 1 retains its color tone effectively even after being stored in the dark for a long period of one year. On the other hand, in the dried product of Comparative Example, after long-term storage,
The color tone cannot be sufficiently retained and discoloration is caused. From this, it was confirmed that the excellent effect of the present invention is exhibited only when four kinds of the color-retaining components to be mixed in the color-retaining liquid are prepared.

More specifically, in the dried product of Comparative Example 1, since no color-holding component was blended, fading or discoloration after storage was remarkable, and there was almost no effect of holding the color tone. . In the dried products of Comparative Examples 2 to 4, L-ascorbic acid, vitamin E, or plant polyphenol, which has a synergistic effect with lecithin on the antioxidant action, was blended together with lecithin. Therefore, although the effect of maintaining the color tone is slightly improved as compared with the dried product of Comparative Example 1, the color tone cannot be sufficiently retained only by the combination of the two color tone retaining components. . Furthermore, even in the dried products of Comparative Examples 5 to 7, since any one of L-ascorbic acid, vitamin E, or plant polyphenol is not blended among the color-retaining components essential in the present invention, After storage, the dried product obtained is discolored or discolored.

As described above, in the color tone maintaining method according to the present invention, the color tone retaining liquid used therein contains lecithin,
By incorporating all of L-ascorbic acid and / or erythorbic acid and / or salts thereof, vitamin E, and plant polyphenol, its excellent effect is exhibited.

In the production of freeze-dried spinach, the total amount of chlorophyll contained in the obtained freeze-dried spinach decreases when treated with L-ascorbic acid, as compared with the case where no treatment is performed. Have been reported, suggesting the fading-promoting effect of L-ascorbic acid treatment. In the method for maintaining color tone according to the present invention, L
-Ascorbic acid acts to effectively control fading and discoloration.

Example 2 Spinach and cabbage were sized in the same manner as in Example 1 and then subjected to blanching treatment. On the other hand, various color-retaining liquids were prepared by dissolving or dispersing various color-retaining components in water so as to contain the combinations shown in Table 3 below. The content of the color-holding component used is the same as in Example 1 above.
Then, the spinach and cabbage which had been subjected to the blanching treatment were mixed with 1
Immersion was performed under a reduced pressure of 00 Torr. Then, the spinach and cabbage that had been subjected to the immersion treatment in the color-retaining solution were dried with hot air at 50 ° C. until the loss on drying became 5% by weight, to obtain the desired dried product.

[0042]

[Table 3]

The thus obtained dried product was observed in the light in the light for a period shown in Table 4 below, and the change in color tone was observed. The results are also shown in the same table. The change in color tone was evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1 in four levels.

[0044]

[Table 4]

As is clear from the results of Table 4, the dried product of Inventive Example 2 retains its color tone very well, whereas the dried products of Comparative Examples 8 to 13 have a colored tone. Is not held sufficiently. More specifically, in the dried product of Example 2, since the vegetables are treated with the color-retaining liquid under reduced pressure, the color-retaining liquid quickly and uniformly permeates the vegetables. Therefore, as a result, rather than the dried product obtained by processing under normal pressure,
Although the color tone is retained, only the dried product of Inventive Example 2 obtained by treatment with the color tone retaining liquid containing the four components essential in the present invention is stored for 1 month in the light. Even after being stored under the harsh conditions of being left for a while,
It retains an excellent color tone, and such a dried product has not been marketed yet.

Although not shown here, even when the treatment with the above-mentioned color-retaining solution according to the present invention is carried out under pressure, the same result as when it is carried out under reduced pressure is obtained. It is recognized that

As described above, the treatment of vegetables with the color-retaining liquid according to the present invention is performed under reduced pressure and / or pressure, whereby a more excellent color-retaining effect is exhibited. And, such an excellent effect can be exhibited only when the used color tone retaining liquid contains the four components essential in the present invention.

Example 3 First, a citrus peel was prepared, sliced into 2 to 3 mm, and then dipped in a 0.2% phytic acid aqueous solution having a sequestering effect for 30 minutes. On the other hand, various color retention liquids were prepared by dissolving or dispersing various color retention components in water so as to contain the combinations shown in Table 5 below. The content of the color-holding component used is the same as in Example 1 above. After that, the citrus fruit of the above-mentioned citron was immersed in each of the obtained various color tone retaining liquids.
In addition, the treatment atmosphere conditions at the time of this immersion treatment are as follows:
Except for 4, the pressure was reduced to 100 Torr and Comparative Example 14
Only the normal pressure was applied. In addition, in Inventive Example 4, instead of immersing in a phytic acid aqueous solution having a sequestering effect for 30 minutes, citrus peels immersed in water for 30 minutes were used,
A color retaining liquid was applied to this. Then, the citrus peel of the citron which had been subjected to the immersion treatment in the color-retaining solution was dried with hot air at 50 ° C. until the loss on drying became 5% by weight, to obtain a desired dried product.

[0049]

[Table 5]

The dried products of the citrus peels thus obtained were stored under the conditions shown in Table 6 below, and the changes in the color tone and the taste were examined, and the results are also shown in the table. The change in color tone was evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1, and the flavor of the dried product was evaluated as follows: Evaluation 1: No flavor or odor, Evaluation 2: Very light flavor It was evaluated as having a taste or having a slight offensive odor, Evaluation 3: that the flavor is slightly diminished, but it can be used sufficiently, and Evaluation 4: that the original flavor remains as it is.

[0051]

[Table 6]

As is clear from the results of Table 6, the color tone of the obtained dried product is advantageously retained because the treatment with the color tone retaining liquid is performed under reduced pressure in this example as well. However, among them,
The dried product of Example 3 of the present invention treated with the color maintaining liquid according to the present invention advantageously retains the color tone and also retains the excellent flavor. As a result, problems such as discoloration or loss of flavor in conventional dry products can be advantageously solved. That is, usually, the fine particles of the citrus peel are
It is bottled as a seasoning and is always placed on the dining table for use. Since it is stored in such an environment that is easily exposed to light, and also in an environment that is easily exposed to the air, with the passage of time, It has been a big problem that the dried product is discolored or its flavor disappears, but the dried product obtained according to the present invention advantageously retains its color tone and its flavor is well retained. Therefore, such a problem can be advantageously overcome.

The dried product of Inventive Example 4 was the dried product of Inventive Example 3 except that it was not treated with phytic acid having a sequestering effect before the color retention treatment of the present invention. It was produced in the same manner as the product, but comparing the dried product of Inventive Example 3 with the dried product of Inventive Example 4, it was confirmed that vegetables such as citron without chlorophyll were used as a color retention liquid. It is understood that the object of the present invention can be more advantageously achieved by treating with a sequestering agent containing phytic acid or the like having a sequestering effect before the treatment with.

Although not shown here, when the treatment with the color-retaining liquid according to the present invention was carried out under pressure as in the case of Example 2, it was similar to that under reduced pressure. Results were obtained.

[0055]

As is clear from the above description, the method of maintaining the color tone according to the present invention, that is, the combination of the predetermined color tone retaining components is essential as the method of retaining the color tone performed when producing dried vegetables or dried fruits. By adopting the method of treating with a color-retaining liquid, the change of the pigment contained in the raw materials vegetables, that is, its fading or discoloration can be effectively suppressed, and thus the dried product obtained is stored for a long period of time. After that, it was possible to maintain an excellent color tone.

When the raw material vegetables do not contain chlorophyll as a pigment, an inorganic acid and / or an organic acid and / or an organic acid having a sequestering action and / or an organic acid and / or an acid having a sequestering effect are provided before the color tone maintaining treatment according to the present invention. By treating with an aqueous solution containing these salts, free metal ions that promote fading or discoloration of the dried vegetables obtained are effectively trapped, and thus the retention of the color tone, which is the object of the present invention, is maintained. Can be achieved even more advantageously.

Furthermore, by carrying out such a color tone maintaining treatment according to the present invention under a reduced pressure condition and / or a pressurized condition, the color tone maintaining solution can be uniformly permeated into vegetables and fruits. Therefore, the effects as described above can be more advantageously exhibited, and in addition to that, it becomes possible to make the conditions of the blanching treatment mild, and therefore, the flavor and texture can be further improved. It is possible to obtain a dried product excellent in.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. When producing dried vegetables or dried fruits, the vegetable or fruits as a raw material is mixed with 0.01% by weight to 5.0% by weight of lecithin before the drying treatment.
0.005% to 0.5% by weight of vitamin E, and
0.005-0.5% by weight of L-ascorbic acid and / or erythorbic acid and / or their salts, and
A method for maintaining a color tone of dried vegetables or dried fruits, which comprises treating with a color tone maintaining solution comprising an aqueous solution containing 001% by weight to 0.5% by weight of a plant polyphenol. 2. The treatment with an aqueous solution containing an inorganic acid and / or an organic acid having a sequestering effect and / or salts thereof before the treatment with the color-retaining liquid is performed. A method for maintaining the color tone of dried vegetables or dried fruits. 3. The method for maintaining the color tone of dried vegetables or dried fruits according to claim 1, wherein the treatment with the color tone retaining liquid is performed under reduced pressure and / or pressure.