JPS5849158B2 - Moisture fine adjustment device for koji rice and steamed rice - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device for micro-adjusting the moisture content of floor-malted rice, malted rice, and steamed rice.

More specifically, the present invention provides rice malt suitable for brewing sake, miso, soy sauce, miso, etc., particularly rice malt most suitable for producing topa-seime type or toraha-seime type koji suitable for sake brewing. The present invention relates to a device for preparing rice grain moisture.

The general method of making koji is to steam polished rice, spread it on bells or asamedo to evaporate moisture, lower the temperature, inoculate the resulting steamed rice with seed koji, and spread it on the floor in a thick layer. Draw it to around 20cm and leave it to rest for about 22 hours, then either pile it up in a small koji lid to a thickness of 4 to 5 cfn and stack it in six layers, or make koji in a large box with a thickness of 10 to 20 cfn. One method is to repeatedly perform complex operations such as changing, intermediate work, transshipment, finishing work, and caring for the koji layer to adjust the moisture content and average the temperature of the product.

These methods allow moisture to evaporate naturally and are extremely convenient methods for moisture adjustment.

In recent years, koji making has become mechanized and has become extremely efficient.

The commonly used mechanical koji production method involves steaming polished rice, cooling it in the air, inoculating it with seed koji, and drawing it into a mechanical koji production chamber, where it is piled up to a height of 30 to 50 cm and heated with temperature-controlled and humidified air. There is a method of consistently forcing ventilation during the koji making period, and 1.
A known method is to make koji by depositing 50 cm high and blowing temperature-controlled and humidified air alternately from above and below so that the highest temperature in the deposited layer moves back and forth to the bottom end of the deposit.

However, all of these mechanized koji production methods use forced ventilation, which means that hot air for heating and humidification is forced through the koji layer while bringing in fresh outside air, which reduces the moisture concentration inside and on the surface of the rice grains. By disrupting the principle of the ancient koji lid method of making koji and simply elongating the mycelium, we can obtain a top-filling or hatora-haze-type koji that is said to be the most suitable for producing sake. This was extremely difficult.

Furthermore, recently, in order to improve the quality of alcoholic beverages, conventional
．． Since the polishing level has been increased from 50% to 30% to 50%, the rice grains themselves absorb water more easily, which affects the process of making koji, and this increases the carbon dioxide concentration. Due to the synergistic effect of the confusion, the koji mold did not penetrate into the inside of the rice grains, resulting in the appearance of a lot of koji that had been applied with force.

The present inventor has focused on the fact that the quality of koji can vary greatly depending on the moisture content of steamed rice grains, and has solved this problem. As a result of intensive research to ensure that anyone can produce superior breakthrough koji using this method, they first dehumidify the circulating air.
We have developed a device for micro-adjusting the amount of water being heated.

However, even with this device, the humidity of the air during koji making may change slightly, which may cause the koji to mix poorly.

In order to improve this point, the inventor conducted further research and found that a single heat pump-type cooling device and heating device were installed in parallel, and circulating air was continuously passed through both. In particular, the temperature change in the air was kept to a minimum, and the moisture content was precisely controlled.

The moisture adjustment device for koji rice and steamed rice of the present invention can be used for koji rice, koji rice,
It can be used independently to adjust the moisture content of each type of steamed rice, or it can also be used successively as steamed rice → toko-koji rice → shiki-mai to complete koji production.

When using steamed rice, toko-koji rice, and koji rice, steamed rice should be dehydrated to the appropriate moisture content, and for toko-koji rice, dehydration and germination of the koji mold should be done at the same time. It is possible to perform insertion well.

When used continuously, all of these devices may be used in the same device, and the koji mold inoculation may be performed within this device.

The present invention provides a moisture adjustment chamber with a halftone screen inside, an air inlet on one side and an air outlet on the other, an air inlet pipe in the air inlet, and an air outlet in the air outlet. An air circulation path is provided by connecting these pipes, and a heat pump type cooling device and heating device using a refrigeration cycle are installed in parallel in the middle of the air circulation path to cool, dehumidify, and heat the circulating air. This is a device for micro-regulating the moisture content of koji rice and steamed rice, which are continuously processed to make it look like a maiden.

An embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is a moisture adjustment chamber which also serves as a koji making chamber;
2 is a mesh screen installed inside, which allows air to flow through the rice grain layer 2.
- be able to pass through a.

Reference numeral 3 denotes an air inlet section, to which an air inlet pipe 5 is connected, and further air is sent in by a blower 5-b.

An air exhaust port and a fresh air intake port may be provided here as appropriate.

4 is an air exhaust part, to which an air exhaust pipe 6 is connected,
This is where the passing air is discharged.

The air exhaust pipe 6 and the air inlet pipe 5 are connected to form an air circulation path.

Air circulation at this time may be from either the top or bottom direction, or may be alternately ventilated from the top and bottom.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a heat pump type cooling, dehumidifying, and heating device, and a single compressor 9 performs cooling and heating.

10 cools with a drain pipe and removes generated water droplets.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a part of the air discharge pipe, which discharges part of the air when the carbon dioxide concentration in the koji becomes high, and brings in fresh air through the inlet pipe 12 to adjust the carbon dioxide concentration to a concentration suitable for koji production. It is designed to be adjusted to

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cooling, dehumidifying and heating device 8,
The whole thing is covered with insulation material.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a dehumidifying chamber, in which an evaporator 14 is provided, in which the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 9 and passed through the heating tube 18 evaporates, cools the fins 15, and condenses moisture in the air to form water droplets. The water is stored in a water tank 16 and drained from a drain pipe 10.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a heating room, in which a heat pump type warmer 18 using a refrigeration cycle is provided, and a refrigerant compressed and heated by a refrigerant cycle compressor 9 is passed through this to heat the room.

Here, it is heated by the previously cooled temperature and rises to the original temperature.

20, 21, 22, 23, 24 are the respective valves, 25
．． 26.27 is a bypass, each valve operates as appropriate,
Each tube can be opened and closed.

Bypasses 25, 26, and 27 can be used when dehumidifying the air is not necessary, when heating is not necessary, and when neither dehumidifying nor heating is necessary, which are unusual conditions.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the moisture microcontroller of the present invention installed in a three-stage koji-making chamber, in which 2 is constructed of three-stage mesh plates, into which koji raw material 2-a is fed from the inlet 28. The koji is charged into each stage and released from the outlet 29.

A major feature of the device of the present invention is that the temperature of the circulating air is changed by installing a cooling device and a heating device using a heat pump type using a refrigeration cycle in parallel in the middle of the air circulation path of a moisture adjustment chamber such as a koji chamber. The point is that the water content of koji rice and steamed rice can be minutely adjusted by dehumidifying the rice without letting it dry.

Since the device of the present invention is capable of constantly and properly retaining the moisture in floor koji rice, koji rice, and steamed rice, all koji produced using this device is of the toppa-sei type or toraha-sei type. This makes it possible to obtain the best koji for sake brewing.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of one implementation of the apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cooling, dehumidifying and heating device, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of another implementation. 1...Moisture adjustment room, 2...Net, 5...Air supply pipe, 6...Air discharge pipe, 8...Cooling dehumidification, heating device,
9... Compressor, 13... Dehumidification chamber, 17...
・Heating room.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Moisture adjustment room with a mesh board inside, an air inlet on one side and an air outlet on the other, an air inlet pipe in the air inlet, and an air outlet pipe in the air outlet. , an air circulation path connecting these, and a heat pump type cooling device and heating device using a refrigeration cycle installed in parallel in the middle of the air circulation path to continuously cool, dehumidify, and heat the circulating air. Moisture fine adjustment device for koji rice and steamed rice.