JPH11318375A - Production of dry vegetable or fruit product - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for producing a dry vegetable or fruit product by adding both an edible oil or fat and a diglycerol fatty acid monoester to a vegetable or fruit and subsequently drying the mixture, capable of producing the product whose drying contraction is controlled and which is quickly restored, when restored in hot water. SOLUTION: This method for producing a dry vegetable or fruit product comprises adding (A) an oil or fat composition in an amount of e.g. about 0.005-5 wt.% to (B) a vegetable or fruit and subsequently drying the mixture. The oil or fat composition contains (A1 ) an edible oil or fat (for example, an animal or vegetable oil or fat such as rape seed oil or fish oil, their hydrogenation products, fractionated oils, transesterification oils or an oil or fat reconstructed from a fatty acid and glycerol) and (A2 ) a diglycerol fatty acid ester having a monoester content of >=50 wt.% [for example, the diglycerol fatty acid ester containing an 8-22C (un) saturated fatty acid as a constituting fatty acid] as active ingredients. The ester A2 is contained in an amount of e.g. >=0.3 wt.% based on the total amount of the edible fat or oil A1 and the ester A2 .

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to the production of dried vegetable and fruit products. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for producing dried vegetables and fruits, in which shrinkage due to drying is suppressed and excellent in resilience upon reconstitution of water.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Dried foods are indispensable in our eating habits because they have good preservability and are easy to use. Among them, dried vegetables and fruits are instant noodles,
It is used in large quantities as instant miso soup and instant soup ingredients. These dried vegetables and fruits are not only sun-dried, but also Air-Dry (hereinafter referred to as AD products) such as hot air drying and cold air drying, Freeze-Dry (hereinafter referred to as FD products) such as freeze drying and vacuum freeze drying, or vacuum drying. And so on.

In each manufacturing method, for example,
AD products have low merits and are suitable for inexpensive products, and FD products have high merits but have little change in flavor and color tone. However, a common problem irrespective of the production method is that a long time is required for shrinkage during drying and restoration when water or hot water is returned, or restoration is incomplete. To solve such problems, there are known a method of adding a paste to vegetables and then cutting and drying the vegetables into a predetermined shape, and a method of treating the vegetables with saccharides such as monosaccharides, disaccharides, and dextrins. However, these methods are not satisfactory for suppressing shrinkage during drying and for shortening the restoration time during hot water reconstitution.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-285254 discloses that
A method has been proposed in which a polyglycerin fatty acid ester having an average degree of polymerization of 5 or less is used in combination with a saccharide. According to this method, the resilience of the dried vegetables is considerably improved as compared with the above-mentioned method using only the paste and the saccharide, but it has not yet been sufficiently satisfied.

[0005]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides a method for producing dried vegetables and fruits which can suppress shrinkage during drying and obtain dried vegetables and fruits which can be quickly restored upon hot water reconstitution. It is an object to provide

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems The inventors of the present invention have conducted intensive studies on a method for producing dried vegetables and fruits which have a small shrinkage upon drying and can be quickly restored upon reconstitution with hot water. The inventors have found that an excellent improvement effect is exhibited by adding a diglycerin fatty acid monoester in combination and drying the monoester, thereby completing the present invention.

[0007] That is, the present invention comprises adding an appropriate amount of edible oil and fat and diglycerin fatty acid monoester to a vegetable or fruit cut to an appropriate size, dusting the mixture uniformly, and then drying.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The production of dried vegetables and fruits according to the present invention, in which shrinkage during drying is suppressed and the resulting dried product has good resilience upon hot water reconstitution, comprises the use of edible oil and fat and diglycerin fatty acid monoester. This can be achieved by co-addition.

Edible oils and fats used in the present invention include rapeseed oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, palm oil,
Use of animal or plant fats and oils such as palm kernel oil, coconut oil, fish oil, beef tallow, lard fat, milk fat, and their hydrogenated products, fractionated oils, transesterified oils, or fats or oils reconstituted from fatty acids and glycerin, or a mixture thereof it can.

The diglycerin fatty acid monoester (diglycerin fatty acid ester having a monoester content of 50% by weight or more) used in the present invention is obtained by an esterification reaction between diglycerin and a fatty acid or a reaction between diglycerin and triglyceride. A product obtained by a transesterification reaction and purified and concentrated by a method such as molecular distillation as necessary is used. The kind of the fatty acid constituting the diglycerin fatty acid monoester of the present invention may have 8 to 22 carbon atoms.
Of saturated or unsaturated fatty acids can be used. The monoester purity is preferably at least 50% by weight of the ester composition to be constituted. If the amount is less than 50% by weight, the dispersibility of the oil / fat composition in vegetables and fruits to be dried is poor, and a sufficient improvement effect cannot be obtained.

The edible oil / fat and the diglycerin fatty acid monoester may be used in any combination as long as the ratio of the diglycerin fatty acid monoester is 0.3% by weight or more. The edible oil and the diglycerin fatty acid monoester can be used in the form of a mixture composition in which both components are dissolved and mixed, and a method in which each component is separately added. When the ratio of the monoester is small, the mixed composition is appropriate, and when the ratio of the diglycerin fatty acid monoester is large, a method that is easy to use can be selected. In addition, as long as the edible fat and oil and the diglycerin fatty acid monoester are used in combination, other emulsifiers such as glycerin fatty acid ester, sorbitan fatty acid ester, sucrose fatty acid ester or propylene glycol fatty acid ester and the like, or as an antioxidant for fats and oils It is possible to add tocopherol and the like.

The amount of the composition of the present invention to be used for drying vegetables and fruits ranges from 0.005% by weight to 5% by weight, preferably 0.01% by weight to 2% by weight of vegetables and fruits before drying. .
0% by weight, and is appropriately adjusted depending on the type of vegetables and fruits and the composition ratio of the added composition. Vegetables before drying are raw vegetables and fruits that have been washed and the unnecessary portions have been removed.

The vegetables and fruits applied to the present invention include:
For example, cabbage, spinach, Chinese cabbage, china,
Examples include, but are not limited to, carrots, onions, burdock, bamboo shoots, tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, apples, bananas, strawberries, melons, kiwis, and the like.

Although the cause of shrinkage during drying and deterioration of resilience during hot water reconstitution are not clear, the difference between the cellulose in the cell wall located in the outermost layer of the cells of vegetables and fruits and the cellulose in the cell wall of other cells is unknown. It is considered that a hydrogen bond is generated between the cells and the adjacent cells are tightly connected to each other, so that the gap between the cells is narrowed, and as a result, the dried product shrinks, and the hot water is deteriorated. Diglycerin fatty acid monoester has a property that is easily compatible with both water and oil especially among emulsifiers, inhibits the formation of hydrogen bonds between cellulose,
It is presumed that the rate of drying is adjusted by infiltrating into the cells and adjusting the osmotic pressure, or hydration at the time of reconstitution is promoted.

The added oil is adsorbed on the surface of the vegetables and fruits to be dried, and during drying, the rate of water evaporation is adjusted to suppress the surface shrinkage of the dried product. It is considered that it exhibits the effect of suppressing the change in physical properties and contributes to the improvement of the resilience upon hot water reconstitution. Diglycerin fatty acid monoester is considered to efficiently exert the role of assisting the adsorption of oil to the surface of vegetables and fruits.

[0016]

The present invention will be described below in more detail with reference to Examples and Comparative Examples.

Example 1 100 kg of cabbage cut into a suitable size except for washing and unnecessary parts was blanched by a conventional method, dehydrated, and then 14 kg of oligosaccharide, 4 kg of salt, 0.4 kg of sodium glutamate, and Spray 0.2kg of test oil composition
Left for hours. Next, centrifugal dewatering is performed, and 70
Dried at ° C. The test oil / fat composition is composed of 90% by weight of medium-chain fatty acid triglyceride (MCT) [Actor M-1: manufactured by Riken Vitamin Co., Ltd.] and 10% by weight of diglycerin monooleate [Poem DO-100: manufactured by Riken Vitamin Co., Ltd.]
Was mixed by heating and then cooled.

Comparative Example 1 A dried cabbage was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1, except that 0.2 kg of MCT [Actor M-1] was used instead of 0.2 kg of the oil and fat composition of Example 1.

Comparative Example 2 In the same manner as in Example 1 except that a fat composition using 10% by weight of diglycerin oleate having a monoester purity of 45% by weight was used instead of 10% by weight of Poem DO-100. A dried cabbage was obtained.

Comparative Example 3 A dried cabbage was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 0.02 kg of Poem DO-100 was used instead of 0.2 kg of the oil and fat composition.

Comparative Example 4 Example 1 except that 0.02 kg of the oil and fat composition was not used.
A dried cabbage was obtained in the same manner as described above.

Quality Evaluation The obtained dried cabbage was subjected to the following quality evaluations. I. Shrinkage degree after drying: A change in size due to shrinkage before and after drying was sensory evaluated. B. Leaf opening degree: The degree of leaf curling caused by drying was sensory evaluated. C. Hot water reversibility: 50% by weight of hot water was added to the dried product, and the tasting was evaluated 3 minutes later. The results are shown in Table 1.

[0023]

[Table 1]

[0024]

By using the oil / fat composition of the present invention for drying vegetables and fruits, shrinkage due to drying can be suppressed, and dried foods such as dried vegetables and fruits having excellent hot water reversibility can be obtained. become.

Claims (1)

[Claims] An edible oil and fat and a monoester content of 50
A method for producing a dried vegetable / fruit product, comprising adding an oil or fat composition containing a diglycerin fatty acid ester as an active ingredient in an amount of not less than 10% by weight and then drying.