JPS5832864B2 - Continuous Hatsu fermentation aging method and equipment for miso - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for continuous fermentation and aging of miso, etc., and more specifically, it is capable of efficiently fermenting and aging a large amount or various types of miso, etc., continuously and simultaneously in a small space, and
The present invention relates to a continuous fermentation and ripening method and an apparatus therefor, in which a storage container for the charged mixture can be safely and efficiently brought in, transferred, and taken out during this fermentation and ripening.

Conventionally, miso is made by putting a mixture of steamed soybeans, rice koji, salt, etc. into a container made of wood, FRP, steel plate, stainless steel plate, etc., and then fermenting and aging the container in a fermentation and aging room. It's brewed.

The brewing period varies depending on the type of miso, with short ones taking a week and long ones taking over a year.

In addition, by fermenting and maturing a large amount of this miso, etc.,
It is necessary to streamline production and save labor, and to reduce the cost of miso, etc. However, in terms of achieving the fermentation and maturation reaction of the preparation mixture, increasing the size of the container is inherently limited, and in particular, it is necessary to reduce the cost of miso. When it comes to simultaneous fermentation and aging of items such as miso, it is nearly impossible to streamline the process.

That is, the fermentation and aging of miso and the like is normally carried out by arranging storage containers for the preparation mixture in a two-dimensional manner in a brewing chamber.

This method is usually referred to as a stationary method, and requires space to place the miso etc. in proportion to the amount of miso produced.Also, even if the storage container is made longer and larger, it takes time and effort to carry it in and out. .

Another method has been proposed in which the mixture is charged from the top of a vertically long container and the mixture is fermented and aged as it descends under its own weight. It is difficult to flow like this.

Therefore, miso of uniform quality cannot be mass-produced.

The purpose of the method of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, and specifically, it is possible to maximize the mass production of miso, etc. in a minimum space, and also to provide a method and apparatus for fermenting and aging a wide variety of miso, etc. simultaneously and continuously. propose.

That is, the present invention sequentially moves and retains containers containing a preparation mixture such as miso in a straight line on a moving track disposed from one end of at least one fermentation and ripening chamber to the other end. (storage), and during this movement and residence (storage), the charge mixture is aged.

The apparatus of the present invention also includes a fermentation and ripening section including at least one fermentation and ripening chamber, an inclined track disposed from one end of the fermentation and ripening chamber to the other end, and miso, etc. arranged on the inclined track. at least one container containing a charged mixture, and a rolling surface such as a roller is formed on the inclined track, and each container is configured to move on this rolling surface by its own weight. Features.

The present invention will be described below, focusing on illustrated examples.

Note that FIG. 1 is a plan view of an example of a continuous fermentation and aging apparatus for carrying out the method of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along line -A, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the continuous fermentation and aging apparatus.

First, in FIG. 1, numerals 1 and 2 are fermentation and ripening chambers (hereinafter simply referred to as ripening chambers).

), each of the ripening chambers 1 and 2 is maintained at the desired temperature depending on the type of miso to be fermented and matured, and the ripening chamber 1 is usually used for the primary fermentation and ripening (the ripening chamber 1 is maintained at around 30°C and The ripening chamber 2 carries out secondary fermentation and ripening (the ripening chamber 2 is maintained at around 15° C. to carry out the secondary fermentation and ripening).

Next, in each of the ripening chambers 1 and 2, from one end to the other, an inclined trajectory 3 a * 3 is provided as a moving trajectory.
containers 4 are arranged in sequence on each of these inclined tracks 3a and 3b, and each container 4 is caused to flow from one end to the other end by its own weight.

In this case, it is preferable that the container 4 is made small, for example, about 1.5 to 0.97 tons of the charged mixture, and that the small container 4 is made to flow sequentially and continuously.

As is generally known, miso is manufactured from raw materials such as soybeans, rice, and salt. Among these raw materials, the soybeans are steamed in advance and the rice is steamed to make koji. The mixture is mixed and charged into a container, and this charged mixture is fermented and matured in the container, and after quality adjustment as desired, it is supplied to the market.

Therefore, if the purpose is to mass produce miso, for example, 10
It is conceivable to ferment and ripen the mixture by storing it in a ~1001-inch large container, but this would take up a lot of space in the aging room, and carrying in and out of the large container would be extremely labor-intensive.
There is a problem with fermentation and aging in large containers.

To explain in more detail, fermentation and maturation of miso is carried out by harmonizing the aerobic and anaerobic functions of yeast, as is well known.

Therefore, during fermentation and ripening, it is necessary for the charged mixture to be appropriately exposed to the atmosphere, and at other times to be appropriately shielded from the atmosphere, and the size of the container is important.

However, if it is a large container, it is difficult to ferment and ripen uniformly inside the container. Especially when fermenting and maturing is carried out in a large vertical container, even if a moderate degree of fermentation can be achieved in the upper part, the fermentation in the lower part is difficult. Almost no fermentation takes place,
I can't get good quality miso.

In contrast, in the present invention, small containers are sequentially arranged and moved on each inclined track, so that the mixture in each container is moderately fermented during this movement, and when it passes through one ripening chamber. , the charged mixture in the container is fermented and matured uniformly, and there are no problems as described above.

In addition, in the present invention, it is not necessary to mass-produce the same type of miso by putting the same preparation mixture in each container, but by putting a separate preparation mixture in each container, it is possible to rationally produce small amounts of each type of miso. can be manufactured.

Moreover, each of the above-mentioned inclined orbits 3a, 3b has a container 4 on it.
Any structure can be used as long as the container 4 can flow automatically without meandering due to its own weight, but a pair of transfer surfaces 5 are formed on each inclined track, and the container 4 rolls on this transfer surface 5. Preferably, it is configured to move.

Each rolling surface 5 is usually provided with rollers 6 arranged in a rotatable manner (see FIG.
It is enough to roll it up and let it flow.

Additionally, while each container 4 is sequentially rolled on this transfer surface 5, the container 4 may get wedged in each roller 6, and the temperature and humidity of the ripening chamber, the moisture content of the prepared mixture in the container, The rolling resistance between the container 4 and the rollers 6 changes depending on properties such as hardness, and the container 4 may meander along the way or not roll smoothly.

From this point of view, on each transfer surface 5, the rollers 6 are arranged with as little spacing as possible, and each roller 6 is divided into multiple pieces in order to equalize the load on the contact surface and prevent digging. There is.

(See Figures 4a and b).

To explain in more detail, when the rollers 6 are laid out to form the transfer surface 5 as shown in FIG.
The load is divided and supported evenly.

Therefore, the load supported by one roller 6 is kept to a minimum, and the load supported by each roller is equalized, so that the container 4 flows smoothly on the transfer surface 5.

In addition, as mentioned above, the container 4 is caused by its own weight to move along the inclined trajectory 3.
As the container 4 moves to the lower end along the tracks 3a and 3b, it is gradually accelerated, causing a collision on the way and causing damage to the container, falling off the inclined track 3a and 3b, and eventually causing a jam. .

For this reason, in the container 4, for example, a guide plate such as a runner is attached to the contact surface with the rollers 6 to prevent digging or meandering on the contact surface of the container. It is preferable that a braking device, such as a mechanical brake, be installed at a required interval between the container 4 and the container 4, so that the braking device absorbs the acceleration of the container 4 midway and causes it to roll at a stable speed.

In addition, this braking device stops the container 4 on each transfer surface 5 of the inclined track.
Any type that can adjust the acceleration of the container may be used, but it is generally preferable to use a type that applies a braking force to the container depending on the moving speed of the container.

Further, it is preferable to install a separating device at the lower end or the other end of the inclined track to separate the preceding container from the following container.

That is, FIG. 5 is a front view of an example of a separating device installed at the lower end of each inclined track, and this separating device is composed of a roller lever 7 and a stop lever 8. The stop lever 8 is configured to protrude.

Therefore, when this separating device is provided at the lower end of the inclined track, when the container 4 approaches the lower end of the inclined track 3a as shown by the solid line, the roller lever 7 is pushed and therefore rolls over in the direction of the arrow.
The container 4 advances to the position indicated by the dashed line, and at this time, the stop lever 8 protrudes in response to the overturning of the roller lever 7.

Therefore, the following container 4 is stopped from advancing by the stop lever 8 as shown by the dashed line, and the preceding container 4 is separated from the following container 4. In this state, the preceding container 4 is moved by a forklift or the like. Can be easily transported.

In addition, as shown in Figure 1, when two ripening chambers are connected adjacently and the first ripening is performed in one of the ripening chambers, and the second ripening is performed in the other ripening chamber, these are connected. The ripening chambers can be further stacked three-dimensionally to form a multi-stage structure as shown in FIG.

In this case, an inclined track is attached to each ripening chamber, a transfer surface 5 is formed on this inclined track, and the desired fermentation and maturing is performed while the container 4 moves from one end of each inclined track to the other end. .

As explained in detail above, the present invention involves moving containers on a moving track such as an inclined track disposed from one end of at least one aging chamber to the other end, and during this movement. This is to ferment and ripen the mixture in the container.

Therefore, by connecting each ripening chamber, adjusting the temperature and humidity conditions of each ripening chamber to the required conditions, and moving the container, miso can be continuously and automatically grown without having to be carried in and out as in the conventional case. By stacking these aging chambers three-dimensionally, it is possible to rationally brew a large amount of miso, etc. in a small amount of space.

In addition, when forming an inclined trajectory as a moving trajectory, the container moves under its own weight, so no power is required for its movement, resulting in labor savings and improved space usage efficiency, which saves space for heating, etc. The amount of energy required to retain the amount of heat can be reduced, the work inside the ripening chamber can be omitted, unmanned operation can be achieved by introducing automatic stacker cranes, etc., and there is no contamination by foreign substances, which improves hygiene.

In addition, even in the case of mass production, the containers that are moved one after another can be made smaller, and the mixture can be properly fermented in small containers, making it possible to mass produce high-quality miso, etc. Even when brewing small amounts of miso, etc., all you need to do is change the mixture in the container, and quality control is easy.
First-in, first-out is possible, and furthermore, the product itself can be checked at the time of transition to secondary fermentation.In particular, by making the container smaller, not only quality is uniform, but the fermentation and maturing period is shortened.

In addition, although the above explanation focused on an inclined trajectory as a moving trajectory, the present invention can use a general moving means, and can be applied to general foods that are fermented and aged in addition to miso.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an example of a continuous fermentation and aging apparatus for carrying out the method of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along the arrow A-A line in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a continuous fermentation and aging apparatus shown in Fig. 1. A cross-sectional view of the device, FIG.
The figure is a perspective view of another example of a continuous fermentation and ripening apparatus that implements the present invention. Code, 1...Fermentation and ripening room, 2...Fermentation and aging room, 3a, 3b...Inclination orbit, 4...
... Container, 5 ... Rolling surface, 6 ... Roller, 7 ... Roller lever 8 ... Stop lever.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Containers containing a preparation mixture such as miso are sequentially moved in a straight line on a moving track arranged from one end of at least one fermentation and ripening chamber to the other end. A continuous fermentation and aging method for miso, etc., characterized in that the mixture is aged during this movement. 2. A fermentation and ripening section comprising at least one fermentation and ripening chamber, an inclined track disposed from one end of the fermentation and ripening room to the other end, and a preparation mixture such as miso arranged on the inclined track. at least one container;
An apparatus for continuous fermentation and ripening of miso, etc., characterized in that a transfer surface such as a roller is formed on the inclined track so that each container moves by its own weight on the transfer surface.