JP7591817B2 - Bean processing device, bean paste manufacturing device, and bean astringency management method - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a bean processing device used in a method for producing bean paste in which pre-cooked red beans are kneaded after being skimmed, a bean paste production device, and a method for managing the skimming of beans.

Conventionally, when making bean paste, first, washed azuki beans are placed in a bean boiler made of stainless steel or the like, which is then placed in a bean boiler and pre-cooked, and the pre-cooked water is discarded to remove the bitterness one or several times. After that, the main cooking is done, where the azuki beans are boiled as if they were boiled, steamed, and then the boiling process is carried out, in which the bean boiler is removed from the bean boiler.

Next, the boiled red beans are transferred from the bean boiler to a kneading pot equipped with a stirring blade, where seasonings such as sugar are added, the stirring blade is rotated, and the red beans and seasonings are heated while being stirred, boiled down, and kneaded to obtain the finished product, bean paste, which is then removed from the kneading pot.

In addition, because it is cumbersome to transfer the boiled azuki beans from a bean boiler to a kneading kettle with a stirring blade, Patent Document 1 discloses a method and device for boiling and kneading bean paste with whole beans in the main body of a single boiling and kneading kettle, which performs both the pre-cooking, boiling, and boiling and kneading processes.

In any of these bean paste manufacturing processes, the removal of the astringency after pre-cooking will greatly affect the quality of the resulting bean paste.

In other words, bean paste is a luxury item, and bean paste of various qualities is manufactured. Bean paste contains functional ingredients such as minerals, polyphenols, dietary fiber, and vitamins, as well as umami and aroma ingredients, astringent substances, lye, and heat-resistant bacteria. In the case of whole bean paste, the color of the bean paste changes depending on the degree of astringency removal and washing after pre-cooking, and the content of these astringent substances, lye, heat-resistant bacteria, etc. subtly affects the quality of the bean paste.

For the sake of simplicity, we will refer to the lye, astringency, and heat-resistant bacteria components as "astringency, etc.", and functional components such as minerals, polyphenols, dietary fiber, and vitamins, umami components, and aroma components as "flavor, etc."

For example, in the bean paste manufacturing device described in Patent Document 1, after pre-cooking, the pot body is tilted and the hot water is drained through a punched plate for removing astringency, and the astringency is removed. If this astringency-removal operation is performed only once, the product becomes very astringent. In contrast, if the astringency-removal operation is performed twice, the astringency is reduced, but there is a problem that the flavor is also impaired.

On the other hand, in Patent Document 2, after pre-cooking, the valve of the discharge pipe is opened to discharge the hot water in the kettle body from the tannin discharge port, and water is sprayed from the shower pipe into the kettle body to remove the tannins for 2 to 3 minutes, completing the pre-cooking process.

This method of spraying water onto the upright kettle body to remove additional bitterness reduces bitterness, but the effect is not great and the flavor is compromised.

In other words, after the preliminary cooking, when the beans are drained from the outlet at the bottom of the pot body and the bitterness is removed, they are packed densely vertically. In particular, the beans near the bottom outlet are the most dense because they receive a large weight from the whole pot.

In this packed state, the boiled beans are oriented in the direction of gravity by the cooking liquid flowing downwards, and are pressed against each other, further increasing the dense packing state. This makes it take a long time to remove the bitterness (separation of the boiled beans from the cooking liquid containing bitterness, etc.), and the separation is insufficient. Furthermore, the cleaning liquid does not flow down evenly between the boiled beans, but is fixed in some of the flow paths between the boiled beans where there is less resistance, so only the cooking liquid there is washed and replaced, and the cooking liquid between the other boiled beans is not sufficiently removed. On the other hand, because it takes a long time, the cleaning liquid causes the flavor of the boiled beans in the flow path to be lost.

When making the strained bean paste, the boiled beans are crushed and thoroughly mixed with water, transferring each component in the beans to the water and then undergoing a process called bleaching, in which the beans are separated from the bean juice (raw bean paste). After this bleaching process, the original aroma and functional components of the azuki beans remain in a large amount in the bean juice, while the scum, astringency, etc. are almost completely removed. From this, we can see that when beans are boiled, the scum, astringency, heat-resistant bacteria, etc. are mainly contained in the cooking liquid, while the functional substances and aromas are contained in relatively high concentrations in the boiled beans.

For this reason, if the cooking liquid after pre-cooking is not properly drained (separated), the removal of scum, bitterness, heat-resistant bacteria, etc. will be insufficient. And if the washing is intensified, while the drainage of the cooking liquid improves slightly, it will cause a significant loss of functional ingredients, flavor, aroma, etc. in the cooked beans.

Patent Publication No. 3445808 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 149353/1983

The problems to be solved are that if the astringency is not sufficiently removed after the first cooking, excessive lye, astringency, heat-resistant bacteria, etc. remain, and if the astringency is repeatedly removed, the astringency is sufficiently removed but it causes a large loss of functional ingredients, flavor, aroma, etc. in the boiled beans, and when the astringency is removed by spraying water on the upright kettle body, the flow path of the cleaning liquid is fixed and only a portion of the cooking liquid is washed and replaced, resulting in insufficient removal of the cooking liquid, but on the other hand, the cleaning liquid causes a large loss of functional ingredients, aroma, flavor, etc. in the boiled beans in the flow path.

This invention uses the following means to adequately remove scum, astringency, heat-resistant bacteria, etc., while retaining the functional ingredients, flavor, aroma, etc., in the boiled beans.

The bean processing device of the present invention comprises a container that is supported upright and has an open top so that it can be tilted, a cutter that is placed on one side of the opening of the container to make the one side of the opening a water-passing area when the container is tilted so that the beans pre-cooked inside the container do not pass through but the pre-cooked water does, and an external spray plug that can spray cleaning water at a set temperature into the container from the side outside the container toward the other side of the opening when the container is tilted.

The bean paste manufacturing device of the present invention is a bean paste manufacturing device that includes the bean processing device, and the container is equipped with a stirring blade that is driven to stir the bean paste.

The method for controlling the removal of astringency from beans of the present invention involves pre-cooking beans in a container, then passing the beans through the water from the pre-cooking without passing the beans through it to remove the astringency, and controlling the astringency of the bean paste based on the astringency contained in the water or the washing water used to wash the beans after removing the astringency, using the formazin concentration.

The bean processing device of this invention passes pre-cooked hot water through one side of the opening of the inclined container, and when the beans have been cut off, an external spray tap sprays cleaning water at a set temperature onto the beans that have dispersed and moved inside the container, allowing for quick and adequate washing.

The bean paste manufacturing device of this invention can produce bean paste by using beans that have been washed after the astringency has been removed by spraying them with cleaning water at a set temperature through an external spray tap, and then stirring them with a stirring blade.

The method of this invention for managing the removal of astringency from beans involves pre-cooking beans in a container, then passing the beans through the water used for pre-cooking without passing the beans through it, and then controlling the astringency of the bean paste based on the astringency contained in the water used to remove the astringency, or the washing water used to wash the beans after removing the astringency, by using the formazin concentration.

FIG. 1 is a front view, partly in section, of an apparatus for producing bean paste according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of a part of the boiling and kneading pot of the bean paste manufacturing apparatus according to the first embodiment, in which the boiling and kneading pot is partially in section. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the attachment of a perforated plate to the kettle body of the bean paste producing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view, with some parts omitted, showing the rearward tilting state of the kettle body of the bean paste producing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a schematic side view, with some parts omitted, showing the upright support of the kettle body of the bean paste producing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view, with some parts omitted, showing the state in which the kettle body of the bean paste producing apparatus according to the first embodiment is tilted forward. FIG. 7 is a chart showing the balance of the astringent removing and washing in the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a table showing measurement data of a formazin calibration curve according to Example 1. FIG. 9 is a graph showing a calibration curve according to the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a table showing the results of formazin concentration measurement according to Example 1.

The present invention achieves the objective of removing lye, astringency, heat-resistant bacteria, etc. while retaining the functional ingredients, flavor, aroma, etc. in boiled beans as follows:

The bean processing device of the present invention is realized by including a container that is supported upright so that it can be tilted and has an open top, a cutter that is placed on one side of the opening of the container to make the one side of the opening a water-passing area when the container is tilted so that the beans pre-cooked inside the container do not pass through but the pre-cooked water does, and an external spray plug that can spray cleaning water at a set temperature into the container from the side outside the container toward the other side of the opening when the container is tilted.

The astringent removal member is placed on one side of the opening of the container, and when the container is tilted, the side of the opening is made into a water-passing area so that the beans pre-cooked inside the container do not pass through but the pre-cooked water does, and can be made of a perforated plate, mesh plate, etc.

The external spray tap only needs to be capable of spraying water from the side outside the container toward the other side of an opening with a sap cutter attached to one side, and can be realized, for example, as a spray tap that sprays from one hole or a shower tap that sprays from multiple holes. It can also be realized by including microbubbles in the spray from the shower tap.

The wash water at the set temperature includes heated wash water, i.e., hot wash water.

The external spray tap can be attached to the frame that supports the container, for example, at the upper position of a receiving part that receives the hot water drained from the water passage area of the tilted container.

The container is supported rotatably to enable the tilting movement, and the external spray plug can be used to spray within a 45° range including the center of rotation of the container. The tilting movement of the container can be realized by tilting it forward or backward relative to the upright support.

The bean processing device of the present invention is equipped with a control unit that controls the spraying of the external spray tap, and the control unit controls the spraying of the cleaning water from the external spray tap so that the turbidity of the drainage water caused by the spraying of the cleaning water from the external spray tap after one astringency cutting in which the water in which the beans have been pre-cooked is passed through the water passage area of the astringency cutting member is a value between the turbidity of the drainage water when a second astringency cutting is performed after the first astringency cutting.

The bean paste manufacturing device of the present invention can be realized by equipping the container with a stirring unit that is driven to stir and produce bean paste.

The method for managing the removal of astringency of the present invention can be realized by pre-cooking beans in a container, then passing the beans through the water from the pre-cooking without passing the beans through it, and managing the astringency contained in the water used to remove the astringency or the washing water used to wash the beans after removing the astringency, using the formazin concentration.

Figure 1 is a front view, with a portion cut away, of the bean paste manufacturing apparatus according to Example 1. Figure 2 is a front view, with a portion cut away, of the boiling and kneading kettle of the bean paste manufacturing apparatus according to Example 1. Figure 3 is a plan view showing the attachment of a perforated plate to the kettle body of the bean paste manufacturing apparatus according to Example 1. Figure 4 is a schematic side view, with some parts omitted, showing the backward tilted state of the kettle body of the bean paste manufacturing apparatus according to Example 1. Figure 5 is a schematic side view, with some parts omitted, showing the upright support of the kettle body of the bean paste manufacturing apparatus according to Example 1. Figure 6 is a schematic side view, with some parts omitted, showing the forward tilted state of the kettle body of the bean paste manufacturing apparatus according to Example 1.

As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the bean paste manufacturing device 1 includes a bean processing device 3, a kettle 5 for both boiling and kneading, a perforated plate 7 for removing bitterness, an external spray plug 9, and a stirring blade 11 that is driven to stir the bean paste to make it.

The boiling and kneading kettle 5 is equipped with a jacket 15 that surrounds the lower periphery of the kettle body 13, which is a container with an open top. Below the kettle body 13 is a grounded base 17 of a frame that supports the kettle body 13. A support pillar 19 is fixed to one side of the base 17, and a control box 21 is supported on the other side.

Between the support 19 and the control box 21, the hook body 13 is supported upright by the horizontal shafts 25a and 25b of the hook tilting mechanism 23 so that it can be tilted forward and backward, and the upper end forms an opening 27.

The shaft 25b of the kettle tilting mechanism 23 on the control box 21 side is connected to a kettle motor (not shown). The forward and reverse rotation of this kettle motor allows the kettle body 13 together with the jacket 15 to stop in three positions: tilted forward with the front side downward, tilted backward with the back side downward, and vertically supported upright. The backward tilt position of the kettle body 13 is in the range of -95 to +95 degrees from the horizontal. This angle of the kettle body 13 is intended to disperse the boiled beans, which are densely packed vertically due to the upright support of the kettle body 13, in the horizontal direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, the perforated plate 7 is disposed and attached to one side of the opening 27 of the kettle body 13. The perforated plate 7 has a horizontal edge 7a parallel to the diameter that crosses the opening 27. The perforated plate 7 is removable, and one side of the opening 27 is a water passage area so that the pre-cooked water passes through but not the beans pre-cooked inside the kettle body 13. The water passage area of the perforated plate 7 is 40% of the area of the opening 27. However, this water passage area is in a relationship that does not interfere with the spraying by the external spray plug 9. One side of the opening 27 is the lower side of the opening 27 of the tilted kettle body 13. The edge 7a of the perforated plate 7 at the opening 27 of the tilted kettle body 13 is almost horizontal.

The bean processing device 3 is configured such that the contents inside the kettle body 13 can be removed from the other side of the opening 27 by tilting the kettle body 13 forward, and the pre-cooked water can be drained from the water passage area of the perforated plate 7 by tilting the kettle body 13 backward. The other side of the opening 27 is the lower side of the opening 27 of the forward-tilted kettle body 13.

The opening 27 of the kettle body 13 is provided with a kettle lid 28. The kettle lid 28 is supported at the tip of a kettle opening/closing arm 30 that extends toward the control box 21. The base end of the lid opening/closing arm 30 is connected and supported by a rotating shaft 32 on the control box 21. The rotating shaft 32 is connected to a lid opening/closing mechanism, and the kettle lid 28 opens and closes the opening 27 of the kettle body 13 by forward and reverse rotation of the lid motor of the lid opening/closing mechanism.

An internal spray plug, such as a spray plug, is supported on the kettle lid 28. A water supply/hot water pipe 35 is connected to the internal spray plug. The water supply/hot water pipe 35 is connected separately to both the water supply source and the hot water supply source via a valve and a flexible hose.

The external spray plug 9 is arranged in an inclined state, that is, facing the other side of the opening 27 with the kettle body 13 tilted backward as shown in Figure 4. This arrangement allows the external spray plug 9 to spray cleaning water at a set temperature into the kettle body 13 from the side outside the kettle body 13.

The external spray taps 9 spray washing water at a set temperature all over the pre-cooked boiled beans that have been dispersed and moved inside the kettle body 13 due to the backward tilt of the kettle body 13. Three external spray taps 9 are installed in series. The three external spray taps 9 are installed facing the other side of the opening 27 where there is no perforated plate 7. The number of external spray taps 9 is determined by the function of the external spray taps 9 and their relationship with the opening 27, and it is possible to use only one as long as washing water at a set temperature can be sprayed all over the pre-cooked azuki beans that have been dispersed and moved inside the kettle body 13.

The external spray tap 9 sprays in a range of approximately 45°, including the center of rotation C around which the kettle body 13 tilts. Hot water at approximately 80°C is pumped to the external spray tap 9 by valve control using the control box 19. The cleaning water at the set temperature sprayed by this pressure was, for example, 10.4 L for 3 kg of azuki beans in 30 seconds.

The external sparge 9 is attached to a frame that supports the kettle body 13. In this embodiment 1, the frame is provided with a receiver 29 that receives the hot water discharged from the water passage area of the tilted kettle body 13, and the external sparge 9 is attached to the upper position of the receiver 29. The receiver 29 has a concave cross section, and receives the hot water that is being sparged when the kettle body 13 is tilted backward as shown in Figure 4, and discharges it from below. The upper part of this receiver 29 is suitable for the external sparge 9 to be oriented toward the other side of the opening 27. For this reason, a special support member for properly supporting the external sparge 9 on the frame side can be omitted.

The three external sprinkler taps 9 are attached to a water supply pipe 31. The water supply pipe 31 is arranged along the top of the receiver 29. The water supply pipe 31 is connected to a water supply source (not shown). The distance between the external sprinkler taps 9 and the center of rotation C of the kettle body 13 is set to 750 mm.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cooking/kneading kettle 5 is equipped with a heating mechanism 33. The heating mechanism 33 is equipped with the jacket 15. The jacket 15 is equipped with an upper jacket 36 that covers the outer peripheral surface of the lower part of the kettle body 13, and a lower jacket 37 that covers the lower surface of the lower end of the kettle body 13. Each steam chamber is independently partitioned inside the upper jacket 36 and the lower jacket 37. These steam chambers are connected to flexible hoses via a steam pressure adjustment mechanism 39, and the hoses are connected to a steam supply source. The adjustment mechanism 39 is composed of piping, an adjustment valve, etc.

The stirring blade 11 that the cooking/kneading kettle 5 is equipped with for making bean paste is supported by a stirring shaft 41 provided in the kettle body 13. The stirring shaft 41 is configured to be linked to a stirring motor (not shown) in the control box 21.

The control box 21 controls the spraying of the external spray tap 9, and controls the operation of the stirring blade 5 during the bean paste kneading process. The control box 21 also controls the entire bean paste manufacturing device 1, including various valves.

When making the bean paste, the lid 28 on top of the boiling and kneading kettle 5 is opened, and for example 30 kg of red beans, which are the beans for the bean paste, are poured into the kettle body 13 by any suitable means. After the pouring is complete, the lid 28 is closed and the bean boiling process begins.

Next, 50 kg of hot water at 80°C or higher is supplied from the hot water source through the flexible hose and water supply pipe 35 to the kettle body 13 from the kettle lid 28 as pre-cooking water, and the supply of hot water is stopped when the total is 30 kg of azuki beans + 50 kg of pre-cooking water. Steam for heating is supplied from the heating mechanism 33 to both steam chambers in the upper and lower jackets 36 and 37 of the kettle body 13. When the product temperature reaches 99°C, pre-cooking is performed for 15 minutes, and the azuki beans are cooked by intense convection, and after 15 minutes, the supply of steam is stopped. During pre-cooking, the steam chamber of the lower jacket 37 is heated to a steam pressure of 3 kg/cm2G by controlling the opening and closing of each valve of the heating mechanism 33 until the pre-cooking water reaches 99°C, and the steam chamber of the upper jacket 36 is heated to a steam pressure of 0.4 kg/cm2G.

After the pre-cooking water reaches 99°C, the valves are opened and closed to allow the 3kg/cm2G steam flowing through the pipes to flow at the same pressure, or to allow steam at 0.4kg/cm2G to flow through a pressure reducing needle valve. The pre-cooking temperature is between 90°C and 100°C, but if it is between 60°C and 100°C, the effect of the subsequent bitterness-removing process can be seen.

After the supply of steam is stopped, the lid 28 on top of the cooking and kneading kettle 5 is opened, and the kettle body 13 is tilted backward as shown in Figure 4. This backward tilting prevents the azuki beans from flowing out of the perforated plate 7, and a single round of astringent removal is performed in which about 35 kg of boiling water or nearly boiling water, i.e. about 2/3 of the azuki beans, is discarded.

Next, as shown in Figure 4, 80°C hot water is sprayed from the three external spray taps 9 as cleaning water to wash the boiled beans. 10.4 L of cleaning water was sprayed for 30 kg of azuki beans over a cleaning time of 30 seconds. Spraying from the three external spray taps 9 is done through other parts of the tilted kettle body 13 that do not have the opening 27 of the perforated plate 7. Note that some of the cleaning water may get on the perforated plate 7. The boiled beans in the kettle body 13, tilted backward from the upright position, are dispersed and moved inside and leveled along the inclination of the kettle body 13.

In this state, the boiled beans are spread out in an inclined direction compared to when the kettle body 13 is in the vertical position shown in Figures 1 and 2, and are prevented from being oriented in the direction of gravity and being pressed against each other. This suppression of pressing reduces the dense packing of the boiled beans. As a result, the hot water sprayed from the three external spray taps 9 runs off quickly, allowing the removal of scum, bitterness, heat-resistant bacteria, and the like to be completed in a short time, and also prevents the flavor (functional ingredients, flavor, aroma, etc.) from leaching out and being lost from the boiled beans into the cleaning solution.

Next, the kettle body 13 is tilted downwards, and then returned to the vertical upright support shown in Figures 1, 2, and 5. The adzuki beans in the kettle body 13 are flattened, and water is supplied into the kettle body 13, with the water supply W3 = 30 kg of adzuki beans + 60 kg of soaking water = 90 kg. Note that the amount of water actually supplied is 90 kg - 45 kg = 45 kg, due to the moisture remaining from the aforementioned astringency removal.

Then, after lowering the temperature once using a typical water temperature of 18°C and azuki bean temperature of 99°C, the temperature is raised to 50°C-60°C by heating and this temperature is maintained for 15 minutes for pre-cooking soaking. In this case, the temperature adjustment for raising the temperature to 50°C-60°C and maintaining the temperature is achieved by appropriately controlling the opening and closing of each regulating valve of the regulating mechanism 39. This allows at least one of the following three items to be achieved by the effect generally known as surprise water.
(a) It can smooth out wrinkles in the skin of adzuki beans and prevent the skin from peeling off.
(b) This helps to sink the azuki beans floating on the surface of the water, preventing them from being cooked unevenly.
(c) The temperature difference between the azuki beans and the water causes them to absorb new, clean water.

In particular, this pre-cooking soaking is done after the beans have been washed and the astringent parts have been removed, so the advantage is that new water enters the hot beans and the clean, astringent-free water is absorbed into the beans.

Steam is supplied to the steam chambers of both steam jackets 36 and 37, and the rice is cooked and swelled at 90°C for 15 minutes, maintaining the temperature at 90°C.

In this case too, the temperature is adjusted to 90°C and to maintain the temperature by appropriately controlling the opening and closing of each adjustment valve of the adjustment mechanism 39. In this way, by adjusting the temperature at around 90°C, the amount of water that evaporates is less than when boiling at 100°C. Please note that the figures of 35 kg of soaking water, 45 kg of supply water, and 10.4 L of hot washing water to be discharged are not particularly limited and may vary slightly depending on the type of azuki beans.

When the main cooking and swelling is finished, the temperature inside the kettle is raised to 99°C. In this case, as in the case described above, the purpose of raising the temperature to 99°C and maintaining the temperature can be achieved by appropriately controlling the opening and closing of each adjustment valve of the adjustment mechanism 39.

When the temperature of the kettle has risen to 99°C, the rice is cooked for 20 minutes at 99°C. During this stage, weak convection occurs inside the kettle body 13 to prevent uneven cooking and creates a rice-cooking state that softens the skin and flesh of the azuki beans. The surface of the azuki beans act as a drop lid, so the beans do not dance and do not crack. Here, the rice-cooking state mentioned above refers to the state in which the rice is cooked and all moisture has evaporated and been absorbed by the azuki beans.

Once the main cooking is finished, check to see if the azuki beans are cooked.

By carrying out the above inspection, it is confirmed that the beans are cooked, and the required amount of sugar is poured into the kettle body 13, and the kettle lid 28 is closed. The steam in the steam chamber inside the steam jackets 36, 37 is kept at 0.4 kg/cm2G, and in 30 minutes the sugar dissolves and the cooked beans become soaked in honey. The beans are not stirred. In this way, the bean paste is less likely to burn, has a good color, and the sugar dissolves quickly. Also, if the inside of the kettle body 13 is evacuated during dissolution, the sugar dissolves quickly and a good-colored paste can be produced.

After the sugar dissolution and honey soaking are completed, the adjustment valves of the adjustment mechanism 39 are appropriately controlled to open and close, automatically switching the steam pressure in the steam chamber to 3 kg/cm2G, and the stirring drive of the stirring blades 11 of the stirring device is stopped for 2 to 3 minutes, after which intermittent rotation is performed, such as stirring twice at a speed of 5 to 10 rpm.

In this way, intermittent stirring is performed while heating at high temperatures, and when the weight has decreased to a specified value, continuous stirring is started. However, the transition to continuous stirring may also occur after a certain period of time has elapsed. Even when switching to continuous stirring, the steam chamber of the kettle body 13 maintains a steam pressure of 3 kg/cm2G.

Then, the kettle lid 28 is opened, and an appropriate amount of additives such as starch syrup and agar are poured into the kettle body 13, and the kettle lid 28 is closed. However, the addition of additives such as starch syrup and agar may also be done during intermittent stirring.

Continuous stirring is then carried out with the steam pressure in the steam chamber at 3 kg/cm2G, but heating is stopped when the weight has been reduced to the final weight. However, stirring is continued to prevent the paste from burning.

Finally, the stirring blade 11 is stopped, and the bean paste kneading process is completed. With the kettle lid 28 open, the kettle body 13 is tilted forward with the front downward as shown in Figure 5, and the bean paste is transferred to a container or the like and used as bean paste for Japanese sweets.

This method is not limited to red beans, but can also be applied to beans in general, such as when making white bean paste from kidney beans.

As described above, after the first astringency cut, heated washing water is sprayed from the external spray tap 9 into the kettle body 13, which is tilted backwards. This sprayed washing water quickly washes the entire boiled beans, which have been leveled in the direction of inclination by the backward tilt, and is then discharged. Compared to the first or second astringency cut, this method adequately removes lye, astringency, heat-resistant bacteria, etc., while retaining as much of the functional components, flavor, aroma, etc. in the boiled beans as possible. The results of the sensory evaluation showed that the astringency was intermediate between that of the first and second astringency cuts, and the aroma of the red beans was close to that of the first astringency cut.

The comparative example, in which the astringent is cut once, is as described above, while the comparative example, in which the astringent is cut twice, is as follows, as an example.

In the device of the embodiment, after one round of astringency removal, the kettle body 13 is tilted downwards and then returned to the upright position, the beans in the kettle body 13 are flattened and water is supplied, resulting in water supply W3 = 30 kg of beans + 50 kg of soaking water = 80 kg. Note that the amount of water actually supplied is 80 kg - 45 kg = 35 kg, due to the moisture remaining from the astringency removal.

Then, the temperature is lowered once by using a typical water temperature of 18°C and azuki bean temperature of 99°C, and then the temperature is raised to 50°C to 60°C, and this temperature is maintained for 15 minutes for pre-cooking soaking. After the 15 minutes of pre-cooking soaking have elapsed, the kettle lid 28 is opened, the kettle 1 is tilted backwards to drain the water, and a second astringent draining is performed, discarding 35 kg of soaking water.

[Relationship between turbidity of broth and lye and astringency content in broth, and management method for removing astringency from beans]
The scum and bitterness in the pre-cooking broth are quite water-insoluble, making the broth cloudy. When beans are repeatedly boiled, these insoluble substances adhere to and accumulate on the walls of the cooking pot, which must be cleaned periodically for hygiene reasons. Therefore, there is a positive correlation between the turbidity of the broth and the amount of scum and bitterness.

[Prediction of astringency from turbidity]
The first astringent liquid is the same as the broth that remains on the boiled beans. Therefore, the astringency of the bean paste can be predicted from the turbidity of the astringent liquid. The second astringent liquid is similar to the broth that remains on the boiled beans. Therefore, the astringency of the bean paste can be predicted from the turbidity of the astringent liquid.

When washing after removing astringency, if the amount of washing water is constant, it can be determined that if the turbidity of the washing wastewater is high, there will also be a lot of turbidity remaining on the boiled bean side. In other words, the amount of astringency remaining on the boiled bean side can be estimated from the turbidity of the washing wastewater. The astringency of the produced bean paste can be predicted from the turbidity of the wastewater from the washing operation, which can supplement the sensory evaluation.

The turbidity of the wastewater from the first and second astringency removal can be used to predict the astringency of the resulting bean paste, so this turbidity is adjusted by adjusting the number of times the astringency is removed, whether or not washing is performed, the pre-cooking conditions, etc. to keep the turbidity at a specified level. The turbidity of the wastewater from the washing can be used to predict the astringency of the resulting bean paste, so this turbidity is adjusted by adjusting the pre-cooking conditions, etc. to keep the turbidity at a specified level. Usually, this turbidity concentration range is between the turbidity of the wastewater from one astringency removal and the turbidity of the wastewater from a second astringency removal after the first astringency removal.

As described above, in the bean processing device according to the embodiment of the present invention, after pre-cooking 30 kg of azuki beans, the kettle body 13 is tilted backwards to pass the pre-cooked water through the water passage area of the perforated plate 7 to remove the bitterness once, and after removing the bitterness once, 80°C hot water is sprayed as cleaning water from the external spray tap 9 into the opening 27 of the kettle body 13 at 0.3467 L/s for 30 seconds, for a total of 10.4 L. The size of the kettle body 13 is Φ700 mm, depth 750 mm, 240 L, the tilt angle when tilted backward is -95 degrees, the external spray tap 9 has a spray angle of 45°, and the distance from the external spray tap 9 to the center of rotation C of the kettle body 13 is 750 mm.

The turbidity of the wash water discharged by spraying from the external spray tap 9 was measured, and the formazin concentration was 480 mg/L. This turbidity was set to an intermediate value between the formazin concentration of 2500 mg/L in the drainage water after one astringency removal and 180 mg/L after two astringency removals, and the pre-cooking conditions, number of astringency removals, and whether or not washing was performed were adjusted to obtain this intermediate turbidity.

Turbidity indicates the degree of cloudiness of water. It is specified in JIS K0101 (Industrial Water Testing Method). The turbidity of a suspension in which 1 mg of the standard substance formazin is uniformly dispersed in 1 L of purified water is defined as turbidity 1 degree. The unit used is the formazin turbidity unit FTU (Formazin Turbidity Unit). The turbidity of the sample is determined by comparing this standard solution with the sample. In this example, the wastewater from the first and second astringent removal and the above wastewater from the external spray tap 9 after the first astringent removal were compared with the standard solution to obtain the above turbidity.

In the sensory evaluation, no difference in taste was observed even when the amount of cleaning solution was increased, and the turbidity and the formazin concentration in the measurement example are allowed to have a certain range. In addition to 480 mg/L, any value can be selected, such as 100 mg/L, 237 mg/L, or 247 mg/L.

In the bean paste manufacturing device according to the embodiment of the present invention, by selecting the turbidity, it is possible to manufacture bean paste with various kinds of delicious flavors. In other words, the boiled beans are quickly washed by spraying heated washing water from the external spray tap 9, and lye, astringency, heat-resistant bacteria, etc. are appropriately removed, while retaining as much of the functional components, flavor, aroma, etc. in the boiled beans as possible. Then, by stirring the boiled beans with the stirring blade 11 after the main cooking, it is possible to manufacture bean paste with little astringency or a strong aroma of beans without astringency.

For example, when bean paste was produced using washed boiled beans with a formazin concentration of 480 mg/L, scum, astringency, heat-resistant bacteria, etc. were appropriately removed while functional ingredients, flavor, aroma, etc. of the boiled beans were retained as much as possible, resulting in a sensory evaluation of the bean paste being free of astringency or with little astringency and a strong bean aroma. In this case, the sensory evaluation method was a pair-point comparison method with 18 evaluators. Using the bean paste with one astringency removal + washing as the standard, a sensory comparison was made between two types of bean paste with one and two astringency removals using the pair-point comparison method. The more preferable one was selected based on the astringency, the level of red bean aroma, and the desirability and preference of the bean paste as evaluation items.

In summary of the sensory evaluation results, the difference in the taste of the bean paste is subtle, but as expected, the astringency was least when the astringency was removed twice, followed by once removing the astringency + washing and once removing the astringency. The aroma of the red beans was strongest when the astringency was removed once, while once removing the astringency + washing was rated close to once removing the astringency, and twice removing the astringency was rated as having less flavor. The astringency was removed by washing without losing the aroma. The overall deliciousness of the bean paste was a matter of preference, with opinions divided. In other words, this does not mean that twice removing the astringency was unpopular.

In contrast, when bean paste is made using boiled beans that have been removed once as described above, the astringency and scum are not adequately removed, and the resulting product has a red bean flavor, but the original astringency of the beans remains significantly stronger. When bean paste is made using boiled beans that have been removed twice as described above, the astringency and scum are removed more than in the above example in which the beans are removed once and then washed with hot water, resulting in a more refined cooked product, but the red bean flavor is lost and the aroma is lost.

Next, the cleaning effect after removing the astringency was measured using a pan scale for both cold and hot water. The turbidity of the recovered cleaning water was measured and evaluated. It was found that the hot water cleaning had a higher turbidity than the cold water cleaning, and that more of the attached matter was removed from the boiled beans.

The test device was a 13L SUS pot, induction heated, and supported on a pot-tilting stand.

The beans used were 1 kg of regular azuki beans, 2 kg of water, and pre-cooked for 27 minutes. After pre-cooking and removing the bitterness, the beans were spray-washed with water or boiling water for 6 seconds, and the washing liquid was collected and the turbidity was measured.

The specific operations are as follows:

A 13L stainless steel pot containing beans and water was pre-cooked on an induction heater for 27 minutes.

A mesh was attached to the top edge of the stainless steel pot to filter out the beans and cooking liquid.

After fixing the pot to the pot-tilting stand, tilt it and use a sieve to drain off all the liquid.

Keep the pot tilted and turn the pump on to spray-wash the beans with cold or boiling water.

The spray nozzle was the same as the external spray tap 9 used in the above example, and one was used.

The nozzle and pot positions were adjusted so that the spray water would cover the entire boiled beans, and the distance between the nozzle and pot was set at 118 cm. The spray cleaning was performed at 6.9 L/min for 0.1 minutes, and the amount of cleaning water per weight of beans was the same as in the example. The amount of cleaning liquid recovered is shown in Figure 7.

[Turbidity measurement results]
The cleaning effect of the cleaning solution was evaluated by turbidity and formazin concentration. Turbidity was measured by the absorbance method. A calibration curve of absorbance and formazin concentration was measured at a wavelength of 660 nm and an absorption cell of 10 mm. The transmittance of the formazin standard solution is shown in Figure 8. A calibration curve created based on that is shown in Figure 9.

The collected wash water was placed in an absorption cell in its original form and measured. Fluctuations in the values were observed during the measurement. The fluctuations in the values were due to large floating objects sinking during the measurement, and there was a tendency for the transmittance to increase over time. For this reason, we decided to pipette the sample just before setting it in the absorbance meter, and use the value immediately after setting it as the result. The measured turbidity results are shown in Figure 10.

1 degree (formazin) is when 1 liter contains 1 mg of formazin.

The conclusion from these results is that hot water cleaning has a greater cleaning effect than water cleaning.

To explain further, pre-cooking azuki beans is a process in which the astringency contained in the skin of the azuki beans is dissolved and removed using boiling water.

Modeling this, astringency consists of tannins and the like that exist as a solid (or paste) on the surface of the azuki bean. This astringency includes both water-soluble and water-insoluble components. When azuki beans are boiled in hot water, the water-soluble components, including the water-soluble astringency, are dissolved from the surface tissue of the azuki beans into the boiling water. At this time, the water-insoluble components remain undissolved, but come out as small particulate matter into the hot water. The amount of these fine particles is measured by turbidity.

Therefore, it can be said that there is a positive correlation between turbidity and astringency. Astringency is an unstable substance that undergoes self-condensation and grows into a resinous substance on the walls of the cooking pot. In the preliminary cooking process, most of the astringency is dissolved into hot water, which is then separated into boiled beans and a cooking liquid containing the astringency (astringency removal), and the cooking liquid remaining in the separated boiled beans is then removed using further hot water.

At this time, when the preliminary cooking is finished, most of the astringency of the boiled beans has dissolved and disappeared. The boiled cotyledons of the beans have not yet finished cooking, and the starch (bean paste particles) has not yet finished gelatinizing (swelling) (about half of the water has been absorbed), and the main cooking will take place after this.

At this time, the astringency brought to the main cooking side becomes the cooking liquid that remains on the boiled beans from the astringency removal process and the solid astringency that has not yet dissolved in the hot water and remains on the boiled beans side.

Judging from the taste of the bean paste, we can conclude that only a very small amount of astringency remains compared to the amount that was there at the beginning. In other words, it is estimated that there is only a small amount of water-soluble, undissolved astringency remaining.

You could say that the tea is in a state where all the tea has been drained away. Therefore, a major issue is how to remove the remaining cooking liquid.

To give an example, if you sprinkle water on the leftover tea leaves and watch the liquid flow down, no tea will come out even if the temperature is high.

In the case of azuki beans, washing with hot water after removing the astringency would not result in the dissolution of additional astringency, and it is predicted that the turbidity would not change. However, as shown in the washing results above, the turbidity changed considerably depending on the water temperature.

If we consider why temperature has an effect when the beans are in a state of depletion after the astringency has been removed, it is thought that when the boiled beans are loosely packed by tilting the kettle body 13 backwards and water is sprayed in fine particles, the viscosity of the water is low when the temperature is high, so the cooking liquid adhering to the boiled beans is washed and replaced more efficiently.

As shown in Tables 1 to 3 above, in both cases where red beans, which are beans, are pre-cooked in the boiler 5 for cooking and kneading, and then the water used for pre-cooking is used to remove the astringency (one astringency removal), and in both cases where the water is subsequently used twice to remove the astringency, the formazin concentration of the water used for removing the astringency is closely related to the astringency of the bean paste.

Therefore, the formazin concentration in the water used to remove the astringency can be detected and the astringency of the bean paste can be controlled based on this concentration.

In addition, when the cooking and kneading kettle 5 is tilted backwards and washing water (hot water) at a set temperature is sprayed using the external spray tap 9 in the above embodiment to wash beans that have been de-astringented, the astringency of the bean paste, which is based on the astringency contained in the drained washing water, can be controlled by the formazin concentration.

1 Anko manufacturing equipment 3 Bean processing equipment 5 Cooking and kneading kettle (container)
7 Perforated plate 9 External spray plug 11 Stirring blade 13 Kettle body 15 Jacket 17 Base (frame)
19 Support 23 Pot tilting mechanism 25a 25b Horizontal shaft 27 Opening 28 Pot lid 29 Receiver 31 Water and hot water supply pipe 33 Heating mechanism 35 Water and hot water supply pipe 36 Upper jacket 37 Lower jacket 39 Steam piping adjustment mechanism

Claims (7)

a container that is supported upright so as to be tiltable and has an open top;
A cutter for cutting off the astringent liquid, which is disposed on one side of the opening of the container, is arranged to make the one side of the opening a water passing area when the container is tilted so that the beans pre-cooked inside the container do not pass through but the pre-cooked water passes through.
an external spray plug that can spray cleaning water at a set temperature from the outside of the container in a lateral direction toward the other side of the opening when the container is in an inclined state;
Equipped with
Pulse processing equipment. The pulse processing device according to claim 1,
The external sparge tap is a spray tap;
Pulse processing equipment. The bean processing device according to claim 1 or 2,
The external sparge is attached to a frame supporting the container.
Pulse processing equipment. The pulse processing device according to claim 3,
The frame includes a receiving portion for receiving hot water drained from the water passage area of the inclined container,
The external spray plug is attached to an upper portion of the receiving portion,
Pulse processing equipment. The bean processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The container is supported rotatably so as to enable the tilting movement,
The external spray plug sprays within a range of 45° including the rotation center C of the container.
Pulse processing equipment. The bean processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A control unit is provided to control the spraying of the external spray tap,
The control unit controls the spraying of the washing water from the external spray tap so that the turbidity of the drainage water caused by the spraying of the washing water from the external spray tap after the first astringent cutting is performed by passing the water used for pre-cooking the beans through the water passage area of the astringent cutting member is a value between the turbidity of the drainage water when the first astringent cutting is performed and the second astringent cutting is performed.
Pulse processing equipment. An apparatus for producing bean paste comprising the bean processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The container is provided with a stirring unit that is driven to stir for producing bean paste.
Bean jam manufacturing equipment.

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