JP3860158B2 - Functionalized starch food and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to starch foods such as processed rice and processed noodles that have functionality by controlling the movement of water inside the food and a method for producing the same.

In the process of steaming, boiling or cooking foods made from starch such as rice or wheat, cooking takes longer time than in the case of other food materials. Therefore, in industries such as restaurants and grocery stores that cook these foods and provide them to customers, it takes time from receiving an order to providing the product, and there is a problem of making the customer wait for a long time.
For example, when an order is received for rice cake products, it takes several hours from raw rice to production.
In addition, it usually takes 20 to 30 minutes to boil udon and spaghetti in a restaurant or the like, but in any case it is too long and there is a demand for shortening it.
In order to meet such demand, various methods have been proposed so far.
For example, for noodles and pasta, dry pasta or dry noodles is heated to make only the surface layer alpha, remove moisture on the surface, and then contact with water below 35 ° C. to absorb water, so that the pasta or noodles can be cooked quickly. Method of manufacturing (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2), drying pasta or dry noodles to make only the surface layer alpha, removing moisture on the surface, contacting with hot water, absorbing water again Instant cooked pasta to be heated or a method for producing noodles (see, for example, Patent Document 3), steaming noodles, drying hot air on the surface, boiled, then water-cooled, instant Chinese cup noodles or frozen noodles There are methods for producing Chinese noodles (see, for example, Patent Document 4).
However, since all of these technologies have been devised based on trial and error, there are still many inadequate points, and if the importance of quickness is emphasized, there will be no sufficient noodles (ardente), or conversely noodles If the emphasis is on Koshi (Ardente), there are drawbacks such as not being quick.
On the other hand, for rice, a part of the raw rice brown rice layer is peeled and removed over the entire surface of the brown rice, then steamed and expanded without causing cracks on the surface to form a large number of pores inside. A method for obtaining cooked brown rice by quick cooking (see, for example, Patent Document 5), sterilizing rice having a moisture content of 20% or less (heating at 120 ° C. for 20 minutes, etc.), then immersing in sterile water in a sterile environment A method for obtaining instant cooked rice by packaging (for example, see Patent Document 6), superheated steam heated to 110 to 400 ° C. with respect to rice or water-absorbed rice at normal pressure and low oxygen for 10 seconds to 60 minutes, For example, there is a method for producing dry α-rice rice by spraying or processing in the same environment (for example, see Patent Document 7).
However, these methods are limited in versatility and convenience, such as limited starch foods, severe conditions, and the need for special equipment.

JP-A-9-191845 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-191846 JP-A-9-191844 JP-A-6-276974 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-192099 JP-A-10-155447 JP 2001-120199 A

  The object of the present invention is to shorten the cooking time such as steaming, boiling, cooking, etc., and when the cooked food obtained thereby is rice such as cooked rice, the surface has a gloss, Appropriate hardness and stickiness and good balance (stickiness / hardness) of about 0.1 or more, and good taste value. In the case of noodles and pasta, the surface is glossy. A starch food having functionalities such as processed rice, processed noodles, etc., and a simple production method thereof, which can be obtained in a state in which noodles are sufficiently left in spite of being quickly cooked. It is to provide.

  The present invention relates to a food material mainly composed of starch, which has a low maximum water-retaining water content (ceiling water content) on the surface and a high internal water-retaining maximum water content (ceiling water content).

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that after water-absorbing a food material mainly composed of starch, the surface is dried under conditions where gelatinization does not proceed to reduce the moisture content of the surface, and then this is dry-heated. The present invention relates to a method for producing the food material (hereinafter abbreviated as Production Method 1 of the present invention).

  Furthermore, the present invention increases only the temperature near the center without adding water to the food material based on starch, suppresses the temperature rise near the surface, and increases the degree of gelatinization near the center. The present invention relates to a method for producing the food material (hereinafter abbreviated as Production Method 2 of the present invention), characterized in that the degree of gelatinization of the surface portion is reduced.

  Furthermore, the present invention is to form a food material having a low moisture content, a starch-based food material on the surface, and the same material with a high moisture content on the inside. The present invention relates to a method for producing the food material (hereinafter abbreviated as Production Method 3 of the present invention), which is characterized by dry heating.

  Further, the present invention has a high gelatinization temperature or a high moisture content, but is difficult to gelatinize (non-gelatinization), and has a starch-based food material as a main component and a low gelatinization temperature or a moisture content. A method for producing a food material as described above, characterized in that it is gelatinized (easily gelatinized), a starch-based food material is placed inside, molded, and then dry-heated ( Hereinafter, it is abbreviated as production method 4 of the present invention.

  Further, the present invention is a method for suppressing the progress of gelatinization and lowering the maximum water content that can be retained (ceiling moisture content). The above-mentioned method for producing a food material (hereinafter referred to as the present invention), characterized in that the maximum water content (water content on the ceiling) that can be retained is increased, and a food material mainly composed of starch is placed inside and molded. (It is abbreviated as manufacturing method 5).

It has been unclear for a long time why starch-based foods are slow to absorb water unlike other foods, but it has been elucidated by the moisture requirement theory using the new concept of ceiling moisture content proposed by the present inventors. [By the gelatinization of starch, the maximum amount (water retention amount) capable of water absorption (water retention) increases. The inventors previously named the water content in the maximum water retention state as the ceiling water content. ]. As a result, it has been found that the cause of the time is that the water content of the ceiling inside the food is low, so that the water does not diffuse inside the food, and that water is also required to raise the ceiling.
The present invention relates to a novel method for controlling the movement of water inside food based on this new theory, and produces processed rice or processed noodles having functionality. Its features are as follows: (1) The inside of the food can be quickly cooked by raising the ceiling moisture content inside the food in advance. (2) The food quality with excellent texture is obtained by cooking the inside of the food uniformly. (3) By processing the ceiling near the food surface lower than the inside, the quality of the surface of the food when cooked (steamed) or boiled can be improved.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used in all food fields in which foods are produced through the process of steaming, boiling or cooking foods made from starch such as rice and wheat.
Using food materials such as cooked rice and noodles obtained by the method of the present invention, it is possible to quickly perform operations such as cooking, steaming and boiling, and the obtained food has a balance degree indicating the ratio of stickiness to hardness The surface of the food material is glossy and glossy, and the surface quality of the food material is also good.
In addition, according to the method of the present invention, the gelatinization degree and moisture content inside these foods can be uniformly finished, and the gelatinization degree and moisture content of the food surface can be suppressed. It can be used in any industry that can produce In other words,
The present invention also provides products such as processed rice or processed noodles that are provided with functionality so as to exhibit such advantages.

Since the present invention performs heating and hydrolyzing processing after familiarizing with the laws of water movement in starch foods, at each stage of processing, the purpose is achieved using the most appropriate technology for the time. I can do it. Therefore, the best product can be manufactured by a combination of processes using such an appropriate technique.
Speaking of noodles, in the case of dry noodles, there is a process of putting water in the noodles in advance to shorten the cooking time, but there was no technology for controlling the degree of gelatinization (the degree of alpha) in the prior art. Therefore, since it was carried out by adding water and heating as it was, it was not imagined that the degree of gelatinization on the surface could be suppressed while increasing the degree of gelatinization inside the food [noodle]. In the production method 1 of the present invention, for example, in the case of a food material mainly composed of starch having a low water content, such as dry noodles and polished rice (water content is around 17%), gelatinization is performed after introducing water into the interior. If the surface is dried under conditions where the temperature does not progress (below the gelatinization start temperature) and the moisture content of the surface is reduced, then dry heating is performed to achieve a state where the ceiling moisture content on the surface is low and the internal ceiling moisture content is high.
Further, in the production method 2 of the present invention, for example, raw noodles and rice grains with high moisture content such as rice grains having a high moisture content before milling (which is said to have a moisture content of 21-25%) after harvesting are mainly used. Ingredients of food ingredients, without adding water, raise only the temperature near the center, suppress the temperature rise near the surface, increase the degree of gelatinization near the center, the degree of gelatinization of the surface part By reducing the size, the ceiling water content on the surface is low and the internal ceiling water content is high.

Examples of the food material based on starch (hereinafter referred to as the functional starch food of the present invention) obtained by the method of the present invention include cereals themselves and processed foods made from cereals.
More specifically, examples thereof include cooked rice, sticky rice, sake rice, red rice, various cooked rice / seasoned rice, noodles, pasta, and further processed products thereof.
In addition, hereinafter, the food material mainly comprising starch obtained by the method of the present invention is the functional rice of the present invention in the case of cooked rice, and the functional mochi rice of the present invention in the case of mochi rice. In this case, the functional noodles of the present invention are referred to as the functional pasta of the present invention.

In the production method 1 of the functional starch food of the present invention, in order to reduce the surface ceiling moisture content of the food material mainly composed of starch, in the case of a food material having a low moisture content, water is added to this to absorb water. After that, the method is characterized in that the surface is dried under conditions where gelatinization does not proceed, but as a method of drying under conditions where gelatinization does not proceed, the most common method is drying at a temperature below the gelatinization start temperature. Can be mentioned. More specifically, it is desirable to dry at a temperature of, for example, 61 ° C. or lower, preferably 60 ° C. or lower, more preferably around 50 ° C. The drying method is not particularly limited, but is usually performed by air drying, fluidized drying, or the like.
Thus, after the surface is dried, this is dry-heated to raise the temperature above the gelatinization temperature. Examples of dry heating methods include microwave heating, oven heating, and radiant heat. Heating, conduction heat transfer heating, superheated steam heating and the like can be mentioned. Steam heating performed after preheating the target food and bringing it close to the saturation temperature can also be used as dry heating.

The water used for water absorption may be any water that can be used as drinking water. Usually, tap water, well water for drinking, and the like are used from the economical viewpoint.
In addition, salt, sugar, soy sauce, sauce, various seasonings, spices, colorants, preservatives, pH adjusters, etc. are appropriately added to water for water absorption according to the purpose of use or as necessary. Is optional.
As a method for causing the food material to absorb water, a dipping method is generally used, but a sprinkling method, a spraying method, or the like is also possible.

  In the manufacturing method 1 of the functional starch food of the present invention, as described above, after water-absorbing the food material mainly composed of starch, the surface is dried under conditions where gelatinization does not proceed to reduce the moisture content of the surface. Then, the functional starch food is produced by dry heating, and the above procedure is repeated as necessary to further increase the ceiling moisture content inside the food material. This is one of the preferred embodiments.

In the production method 2 of the functional starch food of the present invention, in order to reduce the surface ceiling moisture content of the food material mainly composed of starch, in the case of a food material having a high moisture content, this is not added. It is characterized by increasing only the temperature near the center, suppressing the temperature rise near the surface, increasing the degree of gelatinization near the center, and decreasing the degree of gelatinization at the surface part. For example, in the case of raw noodles, for example, (1) the surface is heated by microwaves while cooling the surface, (2) the center part is irradiated with laser light from a plurality of directions while the surface is cooled For example, a method of focusing.
Moreover, in the case of rice grains and the like having a high water content before milling, for example, the vicinity of the center can be heated by devising a method such as pressure heating and microwave heating.

  In addition to the above, the functional starch food of the present invention includes the following, for example.

(1) After molding (for example, by extrusion molding) with a low moisture content, food material mainly composed of starch on the surface, and the same material with a high moisture content inside A food material obtained by dry heating.
(2) Although the gelatinization temperature is high or the moisture content is high, it is difficult to gelatinize (non-gelatinization), the food material mainly composed of starch is used on the surface, the gelatinization temperature is low, or the moisture content is low. A food material obtained by gelatinizing (easily gelatinizable) a food material mainly composed of starch and molding (for example, by extrusion molding), followed by dry heating.
(3) Water content can be retained by suppressing the progress of gelatinization, and the maximum moisture content (ceiling moisture content) is reduced. The food material mainly composed of starch is used on the surface. A food material obtained by placing a starch-based food material with a maximum maximum moisture content (ceiling moisture content) inside and molding (for example, by extrusion molding).

  The functional starch foods of the above (1) to (3) are all starch foods to which functionality is imparted by using a combination of two kinds of food materials mainly composed of starch, which are different from each other in moisture content. The production methods are as shown in the above production methods 3 to 5 of the present invention.

About the operation procedure of the manufacturing method of the functional starch food of this invention, the case of cooked rice is shown as an example below.
[Method for producing functional rice A of the present invention]
(1) Rinse raw rice is washed (or not washed), soaked in water, and absorbed.
(2) Drain the water and dry the surface of the rice grain. In order to prevent the surface from being gelatinized by drying, the temperature is controlled so as not to increase excessively, and at the same time, the surface is quickly dried so that the inside is not dried as much as possible. If there is water on the surface, the temperature should be below the gelatinization start temperature.
(3) When the water on the surface is dried, the rice grain is heated and dried by a dry drying method such as hot air drying to increase the ceiling moisture content inside the rice grain.
(4) Cool this rice grain in a dry state and keep it below the gelatinization start temperature.
(5) Water is absorbed again as necessary, and the above (2) to (4) are repeated to increase the ceiling moisture content inside the rice grain.
Thus, the functional rice A of the present invention having a high ceiling moisture content only inside is obtained.
The functional rice A of the present invention can be cooked (steamed quickly) with a normal rice cooker (rice cooker) or steamer (steamed rice machine). However, the recommended amount of water can be provided by measuring the water content of functional rice A in advance.
The functional rice A of the present invention becomes fast-cooked rice (fast-cooked rice) excellent in preservability by keeping the moisture content of the ceiling near the surface of the rice grain low and by producing it in a hygienic environment.

[Method for producing functional rice B of the present invention]
The functional rice B of the present invention is obtained by immersing the functional rice A of the present invention in water to absorb moderate water and then drying the surface of the rice grains. The functional rice B of the present invention is less storable, but can further shorten the cooking time.

  For noodle strings using various raw materials in addition to rice, a product with functionality can be produced by the same method as described above.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although an Example demonstrates this invention more concretely, this invention is not limited at all by these Examples.

[Production of Functional Sticky Rice of the Present Invention]
The functional sticky rice of the present invention was produced by the following operation procedure.
(1) Raw glutinous rice was washed, soaked in water for 60 minutes to absorb water, and then allowed to stand to make the water content uniform.
(2) The surface of the rice grain was dried with cold air.
(3) The rice dried only on the surface was dry-heated (80 ° C.) to partially gelatinize the central part.
(4) After standing to cool, it was immersed again in cold water and allowed to absorb water for 60 minutes.
(5) The surface of the rice grain was dried with cold air.
(6) The rice dried only on the surface was again dry-heated (80 ° C.) to further gelatinize the central part.
(7) This was allowed to cool to obtain the functional sticky rice of the present invention.
(8) The moisture content distribution of the above-mentioned functional waxy rice is measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and the functional waxy rice of the present invention has a higher moisture content at the center than the normal water-absorbent waxy rice, and the surface is It was confirmed that the rice was dry (see FIG. 1).
FIG. 1 shows the moisture content distribution in the transverse cross section of a single grain of rice. The horizontal axis shows the distance from the center to the surface of the rice grain, and the vertical axis shows the protosignal intensity of water molecules. .
In the functional glutinous rice of the present invention, the moisture content on the surface is suppressed, and it can be confirmed that the interior has a high moisture content.
(9) When the functional glutinous rice of the present invention is steamed together with normal water-absorbent glutinous rice in a steamer, the functional glutinous rice of the present invention is steamed sufficiently softly in half the time of normal water-absorbent glutinous rice. It was confirmed by feeling. In addition, the steamed functional rice is glossy on the surface, has an appropriate hardness and stickiness, and shows a good taste value with a balance (stickiness / hardness) of 0.12 immediately after cooking. Met.

[Production of functional noodles of the present invention]
The functional noodle of this invention was manufactured with the following operation procedure.
(1) Commercial dry noodles (udon) were soaked in water for 30 minutes to absorb water, and then allowed to stand to make the water content uniform.
(2) The surface of the noodles was dried with cold air.
(3) The noodles dried only on the surface were dry-heated (80 ° C.) to further gelatinize the central part.
(4) After standing to cool, it was immersed again in cold water and allowed to absorb water for 30 minutes.
(5) The surface of the noodles was dried with cold air.
(6) The noodles dried only on the surface were again dry-heated (80 ° C.) to further gelatinize the central part.
(7) This was allowed to cool to obtain the functional noodle of the present invention.
(8) The moisture content distribution of the functional noodles is measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and the functional noodles of the present invention have a high moisture content at the center and a low moisture content on the surface compared to ordinary soaking noodles. It was confirmed that this was noodles. (See Figure 2)
(9) The functional noodles of the present invention had a boiled cooking time reduced to half or less than that of ordinary dry noodles, and the finished noodles had a good texture.

[Production of functional pasta (spaghetti) of the present invention]
A functional raw pasta was prototyped according to the following procedure.
(1) Water (about 45% with respect to the weight of the flour) was added to commercially available flour, and water was acclimated to the flour while mixing. Next, after the dough was kneaded well by hand, the bundled dough was left in a refrigerator (5 ° C.) to make the water content in the dough uniform.
(2) The dough was stretched to a uniform thickness with a rolling pin and cut with a cutter to obtain pasta.
(3) The pasta was hung on a plastic framework installed in the microwave irradiation chamber.
One of the two sensors of the optical fiber thermometer was fixed to the center of the pasta, and the other was fixed to the surface layer.
(4) A microwave of 2450 MHz was conveyed to the microwave irradiation chamber and heated from the inside of the pasta. At the same time, cold air was sent to the irradiation chamber by a blower fan to cool the outside of the pasta.
(5) Adjust the output of the microwave generator so that the surface part of the pasta is kept at about 50 ° C so that gelatinization (alpha) does not progress, and at the same time the temperature of the central part is raised to about 75 ° C. The gelatinization was advanced.
(6) This was cooled to obtain the functional pasta of the present invention.
(7) The functional pasta was fixed with an embedding agent, cut into 0.02 mm slices, and observed with a polarizing microscope. FIG. 3 shows a polarizing microscope photographic image. As is clear from FIG. 3, since the starch is ungelatinized around the pasta, the deflection cross image shines and the brightness is high, but since the starch is gelatinized at the center, the portion where the deflection cross disappears appears dark. ing. That is, it was confirmed that a large number of deflection crosses indicated by the non-gelatinized starch granules shine in the surface layer portion of the pasta, but in the central portion, the luminance of the deflection crosses was low and gelatinization proceeded.
(8) While the functional pasta of the present invention was boiled with boiling water, the weight of the pasta was measured over time. It was confirmed that the time until the moisture content reaches about 66%, which is considered to be the moisture content of delicious pasta, is shortened to 55% compared to normal raw pasta.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used in all food fields in which foods are produced through the process of steaming, boiling or cooking foods made from starch such as rice and wheat.
According to the method of the present invention, the degree of gelatinization and moisture content inside food such as cooked rice, noodles and pasta can be uniformly finished, and the degree of gelatinization and moisture content of the food surface can be suppressed. It can be used in any industry that can benefit from this point of view.

The 1-dimensional MRI image of the functional sticky rice of this invention and normal water absorption sticky rice is shown (Example 1). The one-dimensional MRI image of the functional noodles of this invention and a normal water absorption noodle is shown (Example 2). (Example 3) which shows the polarizing microscope photograph image of the functional pasta (spaghetti) of this invention.

Claims (9)

After water-absorbing the food material based on starch, the surface is dried under conditions where gelatinization does not proceed to reduce the moisture content of the surface, and then this is dry-heated to make starch the main component. A method of manufacturing a food material,
The manufacturing method which repeats the same operation again, after cooling the foodstuff material obtained by the said dry-heating to less than gelatinization start temperature.   Without adding water, the food material mainly composed of starch increases the temperature near the center, suppresses the temperature rise near the surface, increases the degree of gelatinization near the center, and gelatinizes the surface portion. A method for producing a food material mainly composed of starch by reducing the degree.   A starch-based food material with a low moisture content is placed on the surface, and the same material with a high moisture content is placed inside and molded. A method for producing a food material containing as a main component.   Gelatinizing temperature is high or moisture content is high but gelatinization is difficult (non-gelatinization), food material mainly composed of starch is used on the surface, gelatinization temperature is low, or moisture content is low but gelatinize. A method for producing a food material mainly composed of starch by arranging (molding easily) a food material mainly composed of starch and molding it, followed by dry heating. A starch-based food material that suppresses the progress of gelatinization on the surface, and a starch-based food material that has been pre-hydrated and heated in advance to form the food material. To produce a food material based on starch.   The production method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the food material containing starch as a main component is cereal or processed food made of cereal.   The production method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the food material mainly comprising starch is cooked rice, sticky rice, sake rice, red rice, various cooked rice / seasoned rice, noodles or pasta.   The method for producing a food material according to claim 1, wherein the food material containing starch as a main component is dry noodles or polished rice.   The method for producing a food material according to claim 2, wherein the food material containing starch as a main component is rice grains having a high water content before milling after cutting raw noodles or paddy rice.

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