WO2005027653A1

WO2005027653A1 - Fermentation system of soy milk

Info

Publication number: WO2005027653A1
Application number: PCT/JP2004/013759
Authority: WO
Inventors: Taketoshi Yamada
Original assignee: Taketoshi Yamada
Priority date: 2003-09-22
Filing date: 2004-09-21
Publication date: 2005-03-31
Also published as: JP2007000003A

Abstract

[PROBLEMS] To provide a novel system whereby soy milk can be fermented so as to give a composition contributing to human health as the fermented product. [MEANS FOR SOLVING PROBLEMS] A fermentation system of soy milk which comprises mixing soy milk with bacillus natto and feeding the resultant soy milk mixture to a heating container wherein the contents can be maintained at the optimum temperature for the fermentation by the bacillus natto for several hours or longer. According to this system, a yogurt-like fermented composition wherein soy milk has been homogeneously fermented can be obtained. This composition contains a large amount of natto kinase since a large amount of bacillus natto grows therein. Thus, it achieves effects of promoting human health, for example, an antithrombotic effect.

Description

Specification

Soy milk fermentation system

Technical field

The present invention relates to a fermentation system for soymilk, and particularly to a method for fermenting soymilk by mixing natto bacteria with soymilk. The fermentation apparatus or the fermentation method according to the present invention is achieved by a heater capable of maintaining a temperature suitable for fermenting Bacillus natto in soymilk.

Background art

[0002] As this kind of fermentation system, there is one proposed by the present inventor (JP-A-7-308151). This fermentation system is realized by putting a seed bacterium that also has intestinal bacterial power into a milk pack and setting it in a heating container. The heating container includes a heater and a timer for controlling the heating time. By heating the milk pack for a predetermined time, a yogurt-like food in which milk is fermented by intestinal bacteria is produced.

This yogurt-like food contains a large amount of intestinal bacteria, and when eaten by humans, improves the intestinal bacterial flora and brings about physiological effects that contribute to health, such as anti-allergic effects. .

Patent document 1: JP-A-7-308151

Disclosure of the invention

[0003] An object of the present invention is to provide a novel system for producing a composition capable of fermenting soy milk and contributing a fermented product to human health.

The present invention is characterized in that it is a soymilk fermentation system in which natto is mixed with soymilk and the soymilk is set in a heating vessel capable of maintaining an optimum temperature for fermentation of the natto for several hours or more. It is. In this fermentation process, soymilk is fermented well by using far infrared rays.

Here, `` good fermentation '' means that the appearance of soymilk after fermentation has an appropriate fluidity, even in liquid or solid form, and the composition after fermentation has a high level of natto bacteria. It is in a state.

For the fermentation of soy milk, for example, a heating container described in JP-A-7-308151 is used. Therefore, it becomes possible. The heater of the heating container may be changed to a far infrared heater. Alternatively, a film or coating having a function of generating far-infrared rays may be applied to the inner wall of the container. As the microorganism used for the fermentation of soymilk, a commercially available natto seed can be used.

Bacillus natto (scientific name: bacillus natto) is a type of Bacillus subtilis and is a strong bacterium. It inhabits a lot of rice straw and is used when making natto. The soymilk may be fermented by mixing natto bacteria with intestinal bacteria described in JP-A-7-308151 or lactic acid bacteria for producing yogurt. In this case, a synergistic effect of the natto bacteria and the intestinal bacteria or lactic acid bacteria can be expected. The proportion of Bacillus natto in the total bacteria can be adjusted between 30% and 70%.

It is desirable that the heating device is further provided on at least one side surface of the container body. In a preferred embodiment, a heating device is provided on one of the bottom and side surfaces (especially the back surface) of the container. However, this does not prevent the installation of heating devices on two or more sides (for example, the back and front). In the present invention, it is also preferable to form a slope on the bottom surface. This inclination is formed, for example, from the front to the back of the container body. The heating device includes, for example, an electric heating device (for example, a resistance wire such as a nichrome wire, or a far-infrared heater). The heating device has a temperature control circuit for maintaining the temperature of the mixture of the culture medium and the microorganism at a temperature suitable for the growth of the microorganism. An example of such a control circuit is a thermoswitch that also has a nonmetallic force. Further, the manufacturing apparatus of the present invention can further include a heating time setting circuit (timer circuit). If the heating device is provided on the bottom surface or on the bottom surface and the back surface of the container body, the size of the device is not increased and the cost is not increased. Since the heating device is present on the bottom surface and the side surfaces including the back surface, the uniform heating described above is more effectively achieved.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a container body of a heating device used in a fermentation system, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. This embodiment includes a container body, a heating device provided in the container body, and a timer circuit connected to the container body.

The container body forms a space in the manufacturing apparatus for containing a mixture of soymilk as a nutritive medium or an edible medium and natto for fermentation. That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the container body 10 has a rectangular shape having a space 11 with a rectangular cross section inside. I can. The container body 10 includes an outer container 12 facing the outside and an inner container 14 forming an inner part.

The upper surface of the outer container 12 is open, and a support leg 16 is formed on the bottom surface of the outer container 12 so as to project uniformly in four places at a U-shape. The outer container 12 has a space 18 having a rectangular cross section inside, and the inner container 14 having a second space also having a rectangular cross section is accommodated in the space 18. The inner wall of the inner container 14 is formed to be slightly smaller than the width of the space 18 of the outer container so that the inner container 14 can be stored in the outer container 12, and a space between the inner wall of the outer container 12 and the outer wall of the inner container 14 is provided. A gap 22 is formed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the gap 24 is formed between the inner wall of the outer container 12 and the outer wall of the inner container 14, which corresponds to the back surface 10A of the container body 10, and is wider than the other portions. A heater capable of irradiating far-infrared rays as a heating device, which will be described later, is provided in this wide gap (hereinafter referred to as “wide gap”).

On the other hand, the bottom surface 26 of the inner container 14 is located above the bottom surface 28 of the outer container 12, and both are fastened by a coupling mechanism having a bolt 30A and a nut 30B. That is, cylindrical projecting pieces 32A and 32B are provided so as to project from the bottom surface 26 of the inner container 14 toward the outer container 12 and from the bottom surface 28 of the outer container 12 toward the inner container 14 at their respective center positions. When the inner container 14 is inserted into the outer container 12, the distal end surfaces of the inner container 14 are aligned with each other. A cylindrical bolt hole 30A is formed in each of the protruding pieces 32A and 32B, and a bolt 31 is passed through the bolt hole from the inner container 14 and passed through the protruding pieces 32A and 32B of the outer container 12. You. Next, the nut 30B is screwed to the tip of the bolt 31 from the outer container 12 side. In this way, the inner container 14 is fixed in the outer container 12.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the coupling mechanism, in which an O-ring 34 for sealing is interposed between two projecting pieces 32A and 32B. In this way, the two protruding pieces 32A and 32B can be completely fixed and sealed without play.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper end of the inner container 14 projects upward from the upper end of the outer container 12 with the inner container 14 fixed in the outer container 12, and further acts in a direction toward the bottom surface. The outer container 12 is bent outward, and its tip ends at the upper end of the outer container 12. As shown in Fig. 4, the partial force facing the inner side in the radial direction of the tip of the inner container 14 is almost half. The outer container 12 is notched along the circumferential direction with a wall thickness almost half that of the outer container 12 at a thickness thereof. Therefore, the tip of the inner container 14 and the tip of the outer container 12 are engaged with each other when the inner container 14 is fixed in the outer container 12. An annular packing 36 is desirably provided between the two as a sealing member for the purpose of waterproofing or the like. Alternatively, both may be directly sealed with an adhesive (material). 5 to 7 show the inner container 14 in an enlarged manner. The inner surface of the inner container 14 has a heater 38 as a heating device on a back surface 38 (a portion facing the wide space 24) and a bottom surface 26 (see FIG. 7). Are provided. The heater 40 is continuously arranged so as to meander on the back surface in the length direction and meander also on the bottom surface, so that these two surfaces can be widely heated at the same time.

Also, on the back surface 38, left and right side surfaces, and the front surface of the inner container 14, a double layer as a heat transfer means for keeping the heat and applying the heating by the heater 40 provided on the back surface to other surfaces other than the back surface is provided. Aluminum foil 44 Force The heater is wound in a series to cover the heater 40. The aluminum foil 44 is also attached to the bottom surface 26.

In the middle of the heater 40, a TRS (thermoswitch: a switch that closes when the temperature is equal to or higher than a set temperature and opens when the temperature is equal to or lower than the set temperature) 46 as a temperature control unit is provided. Since the heater 40 provided on the back surface 38 of the inner container 14 fits within the wide gap 24, the heater 40 contacts the inner wall of the outer container 12 when the inner container 14 is accommodated in the outer container 12, and It does not prevent insertion.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the entire outer container 12, and a magnet type cord receptacle 48 for supplying electricity to the far-infrared heater 40 is provided on the rear portion thereof. The receptacle 48 is configured to be electrically connected to the heater 40 when the inner container 14 is set in the outer container 12, and the power cord 50 shown in FIG. 9 can be set in the receptacle 48. Has become.

This power cord 50 is provided with a plug-in section 52 that can be inserted into and removed from the magnet-type receptacle 48 at the end, and a plug 54 that can be plugged into a household power supply at the other end, and has a timer circuit 56 in the middle. . At the front of the timer circuit, a timer knob 58 for setting the energizing time to the heating device is provided.

FIG. 10 shows a circuit diagram of an electric circuit. Therefore, by connecting the socket 52 to the receptacle 48 and setting the timer knob 58 to the desired time, during that time The heater 40 can be energized.

Reference numeral 60 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 indicates a container for containing soymilk as a nutrient medium (edible medium), and is preferably a container capable of containing 100,000 cc of soymilk. The space inside the inner container 14 of the container body 10 is formed in a shape and a volume that can accommodate such a container.

As shown in FIG. 5, the heater 40 is provided from the bottom to the top of the back surface 38 of the inner container 14 so as to sufficiently heat these containers. The height of the container body 10 can be changed as appropriate. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the container body 10 may be covered with a lid 64 for the purpose of keeping heat. The reference numeral 60 in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the reference numeral 15 in FIG. 12 are different from the soymilk pack, and mainly represent a separate container made of fat, so that the soymilk in the commercially available soymilk pack can be transferred to this. You can also.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In this example, 1 liter of a dry powdered soymilk of the aforementioned Natto bacteria (manufactured by Yuzo Takahashi Laboratory) and a commercially available packed soymilk were used. Transfer the soymilk (100000cc) contaminated with bacteria to the container 60, insert it into the inner container 14 of the container body 10, and set the timer knob 58 to a time suitable for microbial growth (fermentation) . Usually 5 to 20 hours. In the case of the present embodiment, it is 8 to 15 hours. During this time, the heater 40 is energized, so that the heater 40 heats the soymilk to a temperature suitable for fermentation, and the temperature maintaining means 46 sets the temperature suitable for fermentation (36 to 44 ° C, preferably 37 to 40 ° C). ). The amount of Bacillus natto used is appropriately adjusted. Normally, it is enough to fill the ears (about 100 mg).

During this heating, the soymilk in the pack is heated from almost the entire bottom surface 26 because the heater 40 is provided in a wide area on the bottom surface 26 of the inner container 14. The heated soymilk, which has a reduced specific gravity, sequentially convects with the unheated soymilk at the top, and the entire soymilk pack is uniformly heated to a temperature suitable for microbial growth. Since the heater 40 is also provided on the back surface 38 of the inner container 14, the temperature can reach a temperature suitable for fermentation in a short time.

Therefore, the nutritive medium (soy milk) is heated from the height direction by the heater 40 provided on the back surface 38 of the inner container 14, and is heated by the heater 40 provided on the bottom surface 26 of the inner container 14. Therefore, the entire mixture of the nutrient medium and the bacteria can be uniformly and quickly heated by being heated also in the radial direction. In addition, since the heater 40 is provided only on the bottom surface 26 and the back surface 38 of the inner container 14, the apparatus does not become unnecessarily large and does not increase the cost.

In the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-38382, since the heater is not provided on almost the entire bottom surface as in the apparatus of the present embodiment, the heating of the soymilk pack is localized, and the fermentation of the soymilk ( Bacterial growth) partially progresses. The fluidity decreases in the fermented part, and heating continues in this state, so that about 15 to 17 degrees between the hottest part (CC) and the coldest part (AA) The difference of C occurs. The highest temperature! In some parts, the temperature exceeds the optimal temperature for fungal growth. When the finished product was observed, many parts were found to be partially agglomerated.

On the other hand, in the apparatus of the present embodiment, as described above, the medium is uniformly heated during the fermentation of the soymilk (edible medium), so that the soymilk is heated almost uniformly throughout the whole, and the yogurt-like product is produced. When observing a product having a semi-solid or fluidity, it was confirmed that the product had uniform properties (viscosity, fluidity, etc.) from the bottom to the top!

According to the manufacturing apparatus of the present embodiment, the heat quantity from the heating device is prevented from escaping toward the outer container by the aluminum foil 44, and the heat quantity of the heater 40 on the back surface 38 of the inner container is reduced. 14 can also affect the left and right side and front. Further, since the heater 40 is merely provided on the bottom surface and the back surface of the inner container 14, the size of the apparatus does not increase and the cost does not increase.

The container body 10 of the present invention is preferably made of resin. Of these, the inner container 14 is desirably made of a material having good heat conductivity (for example, vinyl chloride resin, polypropylene, polyethylene resin), and the outer container 12 is made of a material having excellent heat insulation (for example, polystyrene). , ABS).

Instead of the heater, the far-infrared ray-generating ceramic may be fixed to at least one surface (a part or most of the surface) of the inner container 14 on the outer container 12 side and the inner space 20 side. Rajeko powder manufactured by Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd. can be used as such ceramics. This ceramic is pre-formed into a plate shape (card shape), which is Wearing is preferred, for example, because manufacture is easy, and a result is obtained.

Further, it is more preferable that the ceramic is provided on at least one part or all of the inner surface and the outer surface of the container 15. In addition, the side surface of the separate container 15 may have a double structure with a space inside, and the ceramic may be arranged in this space!

In this case, there is an advantage that the ceramics can be easily maintained without directly contacting the vegetative medium. The far-infrared ceramic generates far-infrared rays by heating the heater 40. Far-infrared rays penetrate into the nutrient medium and can be effectively calo-heated. Therefore, the heating time can be shortened and the heating can be performed widely. The amount of far-infrared rays generated can be increased by increasing the area or volume in which the ceramics are provided.

The arrangement pattern of the heaters can reciprocate (may meander) in the width direction of the inner container, and by narrowing the interval between adjacent heaters, the nutrient medium can be heated in a wide range.

By using far-infrared rays, soy milk can be heated to the optimal fermentation temperature in about 30 minutes after the start of heating. According to the present invention, almost the entire nutrient medium can be uniformly heated, so that the entire nutrient medium can be maintained at a common optimum temperature. On the other hand, according to the conventional manufacturing apparatus, in the culture medium at the bottom of the container where the temperature becomes high, the temperature may exceed the optimal temperature of one or more bacteria, and these bacteria may not be killed or multiplied. A fermented product containing all the active ingredients can be obtained by uniformly multiplying a plurality of bacteria to ferment the nutrient medium. Also, it is not possible to quickly heat to an appropriate temperature after starting heating.

The duration of the fermentation of the soymilk according to the present embodiment is preferably such that the fermentation extends over the entire area of the soymilk. As described above, this time is preferably about 8 to 15 hours using a 1-liter soymilk pack.

The duration of the fermentation can be adjusted not only by adjusting the heating time but also by detecting the temperature difference in the soymilk pack. That is, when the fermentation starts in the soymilk pack, a temperature difference occurs in each of the upper, lower, middle, and lower portions of the knuckle. A temperature difference occurs after about 8 hours. In the range of 10 to 14 hours when fermentation is considered to be almost A temperature difference of about 6-10 ° C is observed below and above the milk pack. Therefore, the end of heating can be known by detecting this temperature difference with a thermometer such as a thermocouple placed in the soymilk pack. For example, a temperature sensor may be placed at the top and bottom of the soymilk pack, and the microcomputer that receives the signal from the sensor may determine that the temperature difference has reached a preset temperature and turn off the switch of the circuit to be energized. It is good to do.

Next, a mixture of Bacillus natto and the intestinal bacteria described in Example 1 of JP-A-07-308151 at a ratio of 1: 1 (calculated bacterial count ratio) was added to soymilk. When a fermentation test was performed under the same conditions as in the case of Bacillus natto alone, a fermented food like yogurt was obtained.

A flexible material made of a resin that is wrapped around the container in which soy milk is placed, and a velcro that secures the body after wrapping the body in the container containing soy milk, A device that uniformly heats the entire container containing soy milk using the far-infrared heater described above can also be used as a heating device.

Industrial applicability

According to the present invention, a yogurt-like fermented composition obtained by uniformly fermenting soy milk could be obtained. A large amount of Bacillus natto propagates in this composition, and accordingly a large amount of Bacillus natto is present. Therefore, the function of improving the health of the human body, such as antithrombotic effect, is achieved.

{Circle over (1)} FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a container body of a manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a connection mechanism of the container body.

[4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a joint portion between the outer container and the inner container of the container body.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the inner container of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the inner container cut in a radial direction.

FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view of the inner container as viewed from the bottom.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an outer container.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a power cord for supplying power to the container body. FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram showing an electric circuit for heating.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the container main body showing a state where the lid is placed on the inner container of the container main body.

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] A soymilk fermentation system in which natto is mixed with soymilk, and the soymilk is set in a heating container capable of maintaining a temperature optimal for fermentation of the natto for a predetermined time.

[2] A soymilk fermentation system comprising: a container body in which the heating container accommodates soymilk; and a heating device provided on at least a bottom surface of the container body.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the heating device is further provided on at least one side surface of the container body.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the heating device is provided on a bottom surface and a back surface of the container body.

[5] The system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, further comprising temperature control means for maintaining the heating by the heating device at a temperature suitable for fermentation of the Bacillus natto.

[6] The container according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the container main body includes an outer container, and an inner container disposed in the outer container, and the heating device is disposed on a surface of the inner container. The system described in the section.

[7] The heating device can heat almost the entire area of the side surface of another container for storing soy milk.

The system according to claim 3, wherein the system is provided on a side surface of the container body.

[8] The system according to any one of claims 17 to 17, further comprising intestinal bacteria mixed with the soymilk.