JPS6125351B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for producing a frozen product in granular form from a liquid product.

Conventionally, in order to produce frozen products in granular form, the stock solution is first frozen into blocks, then the frozen products are crushed with a crusher, and the resulting crushed products are sorted to produce granules in the desired size range. or get
Alternatively, a method is known in which granules are obtained by injecting a stock solution into a granule mold and freezing it.

However, in the former method, the working process is complicated, the yield of the product is inevitably reduced, and it is difficult to obtain frozen granules having a smooth surface. Furthermore, the latter method is extremely inefficient and is not suitable for industrial scale production.

The present inventor has discovered that if a liquid material is dropped into a liquid refrigerant such as liquid nitrogen using a dropwise method and rapidly frozen, a granular frozen material of a desired size can be obtained extremely efficiently, and in this case, the liquid material is dropped into a liquid refrigerant such as liquid nitrogen and frozen rapidly. The present invention was made based on the knowledge that if the particles formed in the above are removed from the refrigerant when approximately 60% of the particles are frozen, the resulting frozen granules do not have cracks and have a smooth surface. Ivy.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for effectively producing frozen granules having a desired size and a smooth surface in a mass production manner.

The present invention will be explained in detail below.

The liquid materials used as raw materials in the present invention can include a wide range of materials, such as water, oils, or those obtained by adding and mixing proteins, sugars, colorants, flavorings, thickeners, emulsifiers, etc. to these as appropriate. Examples include aqueous liquids and oily liquids. In particular, liquid products such as mixed drinks and fruit juices are suitable raw materials from the viewpoint of use as frozen products.

In the present invention, these liquid substances are rapidly frozen by dropping them into a liquid refrigerant using a dropping method, but various methods can be used for this dropping method. For example, devices such as those illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings may be applied. The illustrated device shown in FIG. 1 has a rotary sliding disc 2, which also has an appropriate number of holes in its bottom, fitted into a fixed circular disc 1, which also has an appropriate number of holes in its bottom. It consists of a raw material liquid dropping means arranged so that the holes of the two are intermittently aligned with each other as the rotary disk rotates, and a liquid refrigerant storage tank 3 arranged below the dropping means. In addition, 4 in the figure is a screw conveyor disposed in the storage tank 3, and is for collecting frozen granules formed in the tank 3. 5
indicates the screw conveyor motor.

In addition, the illustrated apparatus in FIG. 2 includes a raw material liquid dropping means 1 equipped with a first stage liquid volume adjustment pot 2 and a second stage liquid volume adjustment pot 3 for adjusting the dropped liquid volume, and a lower part thereof. It is composed of a liquid refrigerant storage tank 4 arranged in a. In the figure, numerals 5 and 6 respectively indicate a screw conveyor and its motor similar to the one illustrated in FIG.

In each of the above-mentioned devices, when the raw material liquid is supplied to the respective dripping means and dripped into the liquid medium storage tank disposed below the means, the droplets of the liquid immediately come into contact with the liquid refrigerant, and the cooling heat of the refrigerant is generated. It is rapidly frozen from the outside and becomes a granular solid. At this time, the particle size of the frozen granules can be adjusted by the size of the holes in the dropping means, the viscosity of the raw material liquid, and its surface tension.

Furthermore, when freezing droplets of a liquid substance into a granular form in a liquid refrigerant, if the formed particles are immersed in the refrigerant until the entire formed particle is completely frozen, significant cracks tend to occur in the entire particle system. Therefore, care should be taken to remove the particles from the refrigerant system when approximately 60% of the entire particle system has frozen. In this case, the unfrozen portion taken out from the refrigerant is frozen over time due to the cold energy possessed by the grain system.

The above-mentioned freezing state can be adjusted by adjusting the transport speed of the screw conveyor disposed in the refrigerant tank, the distance between the refrigerant liquid level in the tank and the screw conveyor, etc.

The liquid refrigerant used in the present invention may be any one as long as it is harmless in terms of food hygiene and can quickly freeze droplets of liquid material, and examples thereof include liquid nitrogen, liquid air, and liquid carbon dioxide. From this point of view, liquid nitrogen is preferable. In addition, during actual work, it is necessary to devise measures to prevent the refrigerant in the liquid refrigerant tank from escaping, but sealing the tank will cause high pressure inside the tank due to vaporization of the liquid refrigerant. It is a danger.

The granular frozen product obtained by the present invention has a smooth particle surface and exhibits a jewel-like appearance, and is also more difficult to melt than those produced by conventional methods, so it can be used for various purposes. obtain.

Examples are illustrated below.

Example: Drinking water is cooled to 5℃, and it is heated to a diameter of 1.7m.
The frozen material is dropped into liquid nitrogen from the nozzle of m, and after 5 to 30 seconds after dropping, the transportation speed is adjusted by the screw conveyor, which has about 60% of the total frozen material inside the liquid nitrogen tank. Then, remove it from liquid nitrogen and collect it. The obtained frozen material has a diameter of 2~
The ice has a grain size of 7m/m and has a beautiful light selection. The yield of ice cubes obtained reaches 70%.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIGS. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings each schematically illustrate an apparatus used for carrying out the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1... fixed perforated constant disk, 2... rotating perforated sliding disk, 3... liquid refrigerant tank, in FIG. Refrigerant tank.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a method of manufacturing a granular frozen product by dropping a liquid material into a liquid refrigerant and rapidly freezing it, the transport speed of a screw conveyor disposed in a refrigerant tank is adjusted. A method for producing frozen particles in a granular form without cracking, characterized in that the particles formed in the refrigerant are removed from the refrigerant when about 60% of the entire particles are frozen. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the liquid is an edible aqueous liquid. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the liquid is an edible oily liquid. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the liquid refrigerant is liquid nitrogen.