JPS647742B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for producing instant cooked rice, and more particularly to a method for producing instant cooked rice that has the same flavor as freshly cooked rice.

In general, the moisture content of cooked rice varies considerably, and even though rice is said to be very delicious, its moisture content remains almost constant at about 65%. In this case, of course, it is necessary to be sufficiently steamed and have a degree of gelatinization of 90% or more, but even then the water content must be 60%.
If it is lower than ~63%, the rice will be hard, and if it is 67-70%, the rice will be too soft.

As described above, rice has not been found to have a suitable moisture content, and there has been no excellent instant rice that can be eaten as soon as it is heated.

In other words, instant retort rice is made by putting soaked non-glutinous rice together with a certain amount of water in a plastic container and heating it at high temperature for a long time to sterilize it while also steaming it, and then sell it directly as cooked rice. However, the water is not completely absorbed and good quality cooked rice is not always produced; some water remains at the bottom and that part becomes soft, while the top part lacks moisture and the rice grains become weak. The drawback is that the surface becomes hard and the flavor deteriorates.

In addition, even if you try to package cooked rice that has been completely steamed to a suitable moisture content into small bags, it will already become sticky, making it difficult to shape it into any desired shape, such as nigiri rice, and continuously mechanically pack it into bags. However, since the sticky material had to be stirred and packed into bags, there were drawbacks such as the sticky material forming into dumplings inside the bag.

The present invention was made for the purpose of producing cooked rice that has the same water absorption as well-cooked rice and has an excellent flavor, and that can be divided into small portions and packaged in bags.

The present invention is characterized in that non-glutinous rice that has been steamed with a low water content that does not cause stickiness between rice grains is immersed in an aqueous medium for a short time to absorb enough water, but before it becomes viscous, it is packed into bags. This is a method for producing instant rice.

A feature of the present invention is that nonglutinous rice that has been steamed at a moisture content slightly lower than the preferred moisture content of cooked rice is immersed in an aqueous medium. Low moisture content here refers to a moisture content lower than the approximately 65% moisture content of conventional cooked rice.
This means about ~63%, but if steaming is completed when non-glutinous rice has a moisture content of 50 to 62%, there will be less stickiness between the rice grains, and if immersed in an aqueous medium, the rice grains will loosen and become smooth. It becomes possible to pack a certain amount into bags. When rice grains are immersed in an aqueous medium, they begin absorbing enough water to reach saturated water, but when they have completely absorbed water, they do not yet become viscous, but they become viscous over time. Packing is carried out while the water has been completely absorbed but it is still not viscous. As a result, the rice that has been packaged has the same moisture content as conventional rice, and although the rice grains are stuck together, the rice grains are not crushed and are packaged properly.

In the present invention, non-glutinous rice is first soaked in water, but since the amount of water absorbed does not increase even if the rice is soaked for a long time, a soaking time of 2 hours is appropriate. As a result of this soaking process, non-glutinous rice absorbs approximately 35% of its water.

In the present invention, the soaked nonglutinous rice is steamed and water absorbed to a moisture content slightly lower than the preferred moisture content of cooked rice, but any method may be used for this steaming and water absorption.

A horizontal steamer, a vertical steamer, etc. are used as appropriate. When mechanically steamed, the degree of gelatinization is approximately 80%.
The rice is now in a steamed state, but the moisture content is around 36-37%, so it is necessary to steam it while sprinkling plenty of water, or to soak the steamed nonglutinous rice, which has a moisture content of 36-37%, in boiling water. Raise the moisture content to 50% or more to about 63%.

Non-glutinous rice with a degree of gelatinization of over 80% and a moisture content of 50-63% is
If necessary, the rice grains can be put back into the mechanical steamer to harden them.

Although it varies slightly depending on the type of non-glutinous rice and the degree of polishing, a moisture content of about 50 to 63% when steamed is preferred in the present invention. If non-glutinous rice has a water content of 50 to 63%, the rice grains will separate and become fluid when immersed in an aqueous medium.

As the aqueous medium, cold water, particularly cold water of 10° C. or lower, is preferable, but warm water may also be used, and water containing about 1 to 15% ethanol may also be used.
If ethanol is added, the rice grains will be more uniform, and bacteriostatic properties will be added, extending the shelf life.

The immersion time is preferably about 10 seconds to 10 minutes in cold water. In short, the final moisture content should be around 65%, matching the moisture content of conventional high-quality cooked rice.

At the same time as soaking, the grains of cooked rice separate and become fluid, so they can be drained and easily divided into fixed amounts and packed into polyethylene bags, nigiri rice containers, etc. The time to drain the rice must be at a point where the final moisture content of the rice is around 65% and before it becomes viscous, so it is necessary to test the rice in advance and set the time according to the moisture content.

As the container, retort packaging plastic such as polyethylene, vinyl chloride, polycellulose, the same film, aluminum foil, or a combination of these may be used as appropriate.

To make it edible, for commercial use, it is sufficient to steam it in a large steamer with or without the packaging; at home, it can be simply steamed in a steamer or heated in boiling water in the bag. It is possible to easily obtain cooked rice that is similar to freshly cooked rice and has excellent flavor and texture.

Examples of the present invention will be described below.

Example 1500 g of polished rice (sasanishiki) was washed and soaked for 2 hours to have a moisture content of 35%, and then steamed in a horizontal steamer to obtain steamed rice with a degree of gelatinization of 95% and a moisture content of 37%.

Soak this steamed rice in boiling water at 90℃ for 5 minutes to remove moisture.
Increased to 55%.

The obtained steamed rice with a degree of gelatinization of 95% and a moisture content of 55% was again placed in a horizontal steamer to harden the rice grains.

Next, this steamed rice is immersed in water containing 10% alcohol at 10°C for 20 seconds.

After soaking, scoop up and fill 300g each into a rice ball-shaped polyethylene container, wrap and seal with polyethylene film, and store in the refrigerator.

The water content in the rice grains of the rice obtained here is approximately
It was 65%.

The packaged instant rice prepared in this way was delicious as rice balls when steamed in a steamer in its container.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An instant rice product characterized by immersing non-glutinous rice, which has been steamed at a moisture content slightly lower than the preferred moisture content of cooked rice, in an aqueous medium for a short time to absorb enough water, but packing it into bags before it becomes viscous. Manufacturing method.