JPS60196163A - Method and apparatus for preparation of bean curd - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the automatic addition of a coagulant, uniformly at a constant rate, by using a granular coagulant for soya milk, and adding the coagulant to soya milk while exposing to hot air. CONSTITUTION:The granular coagulant in the tank 1 is transferred through the transfer zone 5 to the extrusion zone 4 by the aid of the motor 2 and power transmission system 3 while being heated with the heater 9, and is added uniformly and automatically to the soya milk 8 in the soya milk tank 7 through the guide pipe 11 by the aid of the hot air heated at 40-110 deg.C and sent by the fan 10 of the hot-air generator 6. The coagulant is selected from magnesium chloride, magnesium sulfate, calcium chloride and glucono-delta-lactone.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Background of the Invention] The present invention relates to a method for producing tofu with an improved method of adding a coagulant, and an apparatus therefor.

Conventionally, tofu is produced by adding an aqueous solution of a coagulant such as magnesium chloride, calcium sulfate, or glucono delta-lactone to soymilk obtained from soybeans to coagulate the protein in the soymilk. A commonly used method is to make tofu by cooking. For example, the so-called bittern method uses bittern as a coagulant.
(a) A method in which a fixed amount of a concentrated aqueous solution of bittern is first added to soymilk kept at 10 to 70°C, and then the bittern solution is added in several portions until just before the supernatant becomes clear, or, (b) The conventional method is to add a specified amount of a concentrated solution of bittern to soymilk of 70~pro'c at a time, stir it by moving a perforated plate up and down several times in the soymilk, and then leave it to stand still to obtain tofu. ing.

However, the conventional method as described above has the following problems.

In other words, in the conventional method of adding a coagulant to soymilk in the form of a solution, the reaction between the coagulant solution and soymilk is extremely rapid, making it difficult to appropriately control the coagulation reaction of soymilk proteins. .

Therefore, in the conventional method, it is difficult to set operating conditions such as temperature conditions, concentration and amount of coagulant solution added, stirring method (particularly strength of stirring) and number of times during the process of adding coagulant to soymilk. If done incorrectly, the quality of the tofu will deteriorate, such as aggregates becoming too fine. This process is called ``yose'' and is said to require skill in the process of making tofu. Further, such difficulty in setting conditions when adding a coagulant poses a problem not only when producing Momengoshi tofu but also when producing Kinugoshi tofu.

As a result of research to solve the problems of the conventional method described above, the present inventors found that adding a coagulant to soybean milk in the form of powder rather than in solution slows down the coagulation reaction and facilitates the production of tofu. It has been found that this method is extremely effective in achieving further improvement in quality.

However, since coagulating agents such as bittern have strong hygroscopic properties, they tend to clump together due to moisture in the air.

In particular, when the coagulant is made into powder, the surface area increases;
This makes it more likely to clump, making it difficult to continuously and quantitatively add the coagulant to soymilk in its powder form. This becomes a major obstacle when trying to mechanize or automate the tofu manufacturing process.

[Purpose and outline of the invention]

The present invention was made in view of the various problems of the conventional tofu manufacturing method described above, and aims to ease the tofu manufacturing conditions, simplify the manufacturing process, and further improve quality and yield. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing tofu and an apparatus therefor.

In order to achieve such an object, the tofu manufacturing method of the present invention uses a powdery coagulant as the coagulant when adding a hygroscopic coagulant to soymilk to coagulate the proteins in the soymilk, and A feature of this method is that this powdery coagulant is added to soymilk while being exposed to hot air.

Further, the tofu manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, which is directly used for carrying out the above method, is a tofu manufacturing apparatus having a coagulant supply device for adding a powdery coagulant to soymilk, wherein the coagulant discharge of the coagulant supply device is The apparatus is characterized in that the part is equipped with a hot air supply device for feeding hot air and exposing the coagulant to the hot air.

The above method and apparatus of the present invention can be applied to the production of all kinds of tofu, such as momengoshi tofu and soft tofu.

[Detailed description of the invention]

The present invention will be explained in more detail below.

Coagulant The coagulant used in the present invention is mainly bittern, but
Calcium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, calcium chloride,
All conventionally used solid coagulants, such as glucono-delta-lactone, can be used. The coagulant is used in the form of powder or granules, and the particle size is preferably 0.03-2 arts, more preferably (approximately 71+π.1, Q,
It may be in the form of flakes with a thickness of 3w or less.

Soybean milk Soybean milk to which the above-mentioned coagulant is added is prepared according to a conventional method. For example, by pulverizing soybeans that have been soaked in water for a certain period of time,
It is obtained by adding water to this ground soybean material, heating it, and then filtering it through a rice noodle bag.

The temperature of soymilk is set depending on the properties of the tofu to be obtained, but is usually maintained within a range of 7°C to ♂j°C. Generally, the higher the temperature of soy milk during solidification, the firmer the resulting tofu will be. Moreover, the concentration of soymilk is also adjusted appropriately depending on the purpose.

Hot air aeration of coagulant The present invention is characterized in that the powdery coagulant is added to soybean milk while being exposed to hot air. By doing so, it becomes possible to always add the highly hygroscopic coagulant to soybean milk in a free-flowing state.

The temperature of the hot air applied to the coagulant is as follows:
The temperature may be any temperature that does not cause melting, but it is usually preferably yθ to /10°C, and even in the case of other coagulants, it may be within a temperature range that does not cause changes in properties such as melting.

Furthermore, by spreading the powdery coagulant over the soymilk while dispersing it with hot air, it can be uniformly added to the entire soymilk. The soybean milk may be stirred in advance or immediately after addition, thereby ensuring uniform diffusion of the coagulant within the soybean milk solution.

Furthermore, by supplying hot air from directly above the coagulant discharge section in the direction in which the coagulant falls, it is possible to prevent water vapor rising from the soy milk solution from coming into contact with the coagulant discharge section. Furthermore, by supplying hot air from multiple directions, it is possible to further improve the dispersion effect of the coagulated cutting powder.

Coagulant Supply Apparatus The coagulant supply apparatus according to the present invention will be specifically described with reference to an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

As shown in the figure, the coagulant supply device includes a tank 1 that stores the coagulant, and a motor and power transmission system 3 that serve as the power to crush and stir the coagulant in the tank or to transfer it to the discharge section. , a transfer section for continuously and quantitatively transferring the coagulant from the tank/to the discharge section! This essentially consists of a hot air supply device 6 that supplies hot air to the coagulant discharged from the discharge section. The coagulant discharged from the discharge part O is added to the soymilk male in the soymilk tank 7 while being exposed to hot air.

The transfer section ≠ is provided with a transfer means (not shown) such as a screen, and furthermore, a heating device surrounds the transfer section to prevent the coagulant from coagulating due to moisture. It is provided. The heating device may consist of any conventional heating means such as an electric heater, hot water or steam jacket. Further, this heating device 2 can automatically control the temperature within a range in which the coagulant does not undergo changes in properties such as melting.

The hot air supply device 6 includes a blower fan 10, a heating element (not shown) disposed in the middle of the blower flow path, and a guide pipe 7 for feeding the coagulant along with the hot air. The pipe // is arranged downward so as to open directly above the soy milk tank.

Note that the coagulant inlet of tank 1 is always sealed except when the coagulant is being introduced to prevent the coagulant from absorbing moisture from the outside. Further, if a shaking device is attached to the hot air supply device or the coagulant discharge portion, it is possible to mix the coagulant and hot air, make the contact uniform, and further improve the aeration efficiency.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As mentioned above, in the present invention, a granular material is used as a coagulant to be added to soymilk, and this is added to soymilk while being exposed to hot air, making it possible to uniformize, quantify and quantify the coagulant addition. Since automation is possible and the coagulation reaction of soymilk is easier to control than in conventional methods, the tofu manufacturing process can be simplified and the quality can be further improved and homogenized.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The figure is a schematic sectional view showing an embodiment of the tofu manufacturing apparatus of the present invention. !・°°tank, co...motor, 3...power transmission system, g...discharge section, j...transfer section, 6...hot air supply device, 7...soy milk tank, and...・・Soy milk, ri・・Heating device, IO・Blower fan, l/・・Guide tube, /
2...Coagulant inlet.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. When adding a hygroscopic coagulant to soymilk to coagulate the proteins in the soymilk, a powdery coagulant is used as the coagulant, and the powdery coagulant is blown into hot air. A method for producing tofu, which comprises adding the tofu to soymilk while exposing the tofu. h, the coagulant is magnesium chloride, calcium sulfate,
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the compound is selected from the group consisting of magnesium sulfate, calcium chloride and glucono delta lactone. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the powdery coagulant is dispersed in hot air and sprinkled on the soybean milk. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 3, wherein the temperature of the hot air is 0-/10°C. j. In a tofu manufacturing apparatus having a coagulant supply device for adding a powdery coagulant to soymilk, hot air is sent to a coagulant discharge part of the coagulant supply device to expose the coagulant to the hot air. characterized by being equipped with a hot air supply device for
Tofu manufacturing equipment. 6. The tofu manufacturing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the coagulant discharge section is provided with a heating device. 7. The tofu manufacturing apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the coagulant discharge section is provided at the end of a transfer section for continuously and quantitatively transferring the coagulant. ? 8. The tofu manufacturing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the coagulant transfer section is provided with a heating device.