JPS6221498B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for producing tofu by removing bubbles generated during the production of soymilk by vacuum suction and using the soymilk from which the bubbles have been removed.

Tofu contains a large amount of high-quality plant-based protein and is widely eaten as a natural food in the United States and other countries.However, young people tend to avoid tofu due to its unique bitter taste and odor, and it is becoming increasingly popular in Japan. So the demand hasn't increased that much.

Generally, tofu is produced by soaking raw soybeans in water and then grinding them while adding water to create a soybean soup, which is then heated and filtered to separate the okara to obtain soymilk.
The process is to add a coagulant to this soy milk and coagulate it to make tofu.

During this manufacturing process, a large amount of foam is generated in the boiling pot and in the resulting soymilk. The bubbles generated here form ``s'' on the tofu, which is a hindrance to the production of tofu. The cause of this foam is the foaming properties of saponin A contained in the raw soybean.
Conventionally, methods to eliminate foam generated during the production of soymilk and tofu include adding antifoaming agents such as silicone and glycerin fatty acid ester to suppress foaming, or controlling the temperature to add foam to the product. I tried not to be able to do that.

However, all of these methods are based on sealing the foam component into the tofu product.

The inventor previously discovered that this saponin A component is the cause of the bitter taste and unpleasant odor of tofu. Therefore, we focused on the fact that saponin A is not only the cause of bubbles during the production of soymilk, but also the cause of the bitterness and unpleasant taste of tofu. By allowing bubbles to rise freely without adding an antifoaming agent, and removing the bubbles just before making tofu from soy milk, saponin A is removed and the product is generally popular without bitterness or unpleasant taste. The present invention was developed with the aim of providing tofu.

Embodiments of the method and apparatus of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded sketch of a tofu manufacturing apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the apparatus. In the figure, raw soybeans (containing about 1.0% saponin) are placed in a soaking tank 2 to obtain soaked soybeans, the soaking water is then removed through a drain pipe 14, and then fresh water is added through a water supply pipe 13 while the soybeans are soaked in water. It is continuously supplied to a grinder 4 by a mold extrusion auger 3 and ground to produce raw soybean paste, which is then placed in a soybean receiving tank 5. Next, this soybean soup is transferred to a boiling pot 7 and heated to generate stable foam. The volume of the bubbles generated here is approximately equal to the volume of raw soybean paste. After this boiled soybean soup was pumped to the wringer 8 by the gear pump 17, the foam remaining in the boiling pot 7 was washed out with steam from the foam removing steam pipe 15' attached to the boiling pot, and the soybean soup was separated. Soybean milk is received in a container 9, and bubbles floating on the surface of the soymilk are suctioned under reduced pressure using a foam remover 10 connected to a vacuum suction pump 12. The foam sucked in this way is decompressed and its shape is broken into a liquid state, which is collected in the foam tank 11.

The soymilk in the container 9 from which the bubbles were removed in this manner contained less than 0.04% saponin and did not have any bitter or unpleasant taste. By adding a coagulant to this soymilk in a conventional manner, tofu with no bitterness or unpleasant taste was obtained. In addition, the soymilk obtained from the foam in the foam tank 11 contains 0.42% saponin A.
It has a strong bitter taste and is unsuitable for consumption as it is.

As described above, in the tofu production method of the present invention, the foam containing a large amount of saponin A, which causes unpleasant tastes such as bitterness and aftertaste, is removed by vacuum suction in the final step of the production process. You can get something with no bubbles inside. Furthermore, the foam taken out for suction under reduced pressure is broken and liquefied, and the obtained soymilk contains a large amount of saponin A, which has the advantage that it can be reused in other processes. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a frame, 6 is a water tank, and 13 is a water supply pipe. Further, 14 indicates a drainage pipe, and 15 indicates a steam discharge pipe. Therefore, even young people who dislike tofu can eat this tofu without any hesitation, and we believe that it greatly contributes to improving eating habits and health.

Example: 30kg of raw soybeans were placed in a soaking tank and heated to 20°C at 100°C.
Soybeans were soaked in water for 8 hours to obtain 80 kg of soaked soybeans. Next, remove the soaking water and add about 270 ml of fresh water.
The soybean soup is continuously fed from the auger to a grinder and ground to produce soybean soup, which is then boiled in a boiling pot.
Heat at 100℃ for 10 minutes to generate stable foam. After boiling, the soybean soup is sent to a squeezing machine, and the washing liquid that washes out the foam remaining in the boiling pot is also sent to the squeezing machine to separate it from the okara. Next, the foam from the soymilk obtained through separation and filtration is sucked with a vacuum bubble remover.
190 soy milk was obtained. This soymilk contained only 0.04% saponins and did not taste bitter even when ingested. Separately, soy milk produced using conventional methods contained 0.13% saponins.

A coagulant was added to the 190 pieces of soymilk obtained by this method in a conventional manner to obtain 390 pieces of silken tofu (400 g/piece). I made this tofu cold and ate it, but it didn't taste bitter or unpleasant at all.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings illustrate the method and apparatus for manufacturing tofu according to the present invention, with FIG. 1 showing a sketch of the manufacturing apparatus and FIG. 2 showing a side view of the entire manufacturing apparatus. 2...Immersion tank, 5...Kureke tank, 7...
Boiling pot, 8...wringer, 9...tub, 10...foam remover, 11...foam tank, 12...decompression suction pump.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In the process of grinding soaked soybeans to produce soybean soup, heating and filtering the soybean soup to produce soymilk, bubbles generated inside the boiling pot and in the soymilk are vacuum-suctioned. A method for producing tofu without bitterness, characterized by obtaining soymilk from which bubbles have been removed in this way. 2. In a tofu production device that is equipped with a soybean soaking tank, a grinder, a boiling pot, and a squeezing machine, the boiling pot is equipped with a steam pipe for removing foam and connected to the foam tank, and a separate vacuum removing machine is installed. 1. A tofu manufacturing device characterized in that the foam of soymilk obtained by a squeezing machine is separated into a foam tank.