JPS6227778B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION The present invention relates to an improved method for producing dried natural cheese by freeze-drying, which can be widely used in the food industry. In particular, the present invention is a so-called custom-made dried natural product that allows products with various product shapes, product properties, etc. suitable for the intended use to be obtained by adjusting the conditions and operating methods during the manufacturing process. Regarding cheese manufacturing methods. Therefore, the products produced by this method have a wide variety of shapes, physical properties, etc.
It is particularly suitable for ramen noodles, Western-style soup ingredients, snack materials, topping materials, and others. BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGY AND PROBLEMS Conventional freeze-drying of natural cheese involves freezing raw material natural cheese that has been appropriately shredded or coarsely crushed, and then drying it in a vacuum state of 1 Torr or less. However, many of the dried products produced by this method are hard, and even when attempts are made to restore them with boiling water, they have poor restoration properties, so the uses of these products have been extremely limited. In order to soften this quality and improve restorability, it seems that it would be sufficient to add water to the dried product to make it porous and then freeze-dry it, but in reality there are the following problems. If natural cheese and water are simply mixed, the oil will become unstable and oil-off will easily occur. In order to prevent oil-off, if the oil and water in the cheese are strongly mixed until they become emulsified, the cheese loses most of its original stickiness and becomes crumbly in texture. When water is added, the viscosity decreases at that point, and when it is subsequently molded, workability becomes significantly worse, and the product shape is also limited to powder-like ones. As mentioned above, conventional dried natural cheeses are extremely expensive to produce, have limited quality, and are rarely satisfactory. Means and Effects for Solving the Problems As a result of intensive research to further improve the quality, properties, restorability, etc. of the above-mentioned dried natural cheese (hereinafter also referred to as dried cheese), the present inventors discovered that the raw material natural cheese We realized that the physical properties of dried cheese change surprisingly depending on the selection of raw cheese (hereinafter also referred to as raw cheese), the hydration rate during the manufacturing process, the mixing means, and the degree of mixing. The present invention was completed by developing a new method for producing dried cheese. In the present invention, water is added to a single raw material cheese or a mixture of multiple raw materials, and the mixture is made into an incomplete mixture of cheese and water so that it is uniform but does not reach an emulsified state, and then, if necessary, provides a method for producing dried natural cheese, which is characterized by molding and freeze-drying the product. The present invention will be explained in detail below. First overview of the dry natural cheese manufacturing process
As shown in the figure. The raw material natural cheese used in the present invention is suitable for the desired final product shape and physical properties, and includes, for example, Edam cheese, Gouda cheese, cheddar cheese, and Samso cheese. These may be used singly or in combination of two or more. This raw cheese is cut into small pieces and ground using a grinder or the like, or grated using a cheese grater or the like (hereinafter referred to as grated cheese). Water is added to grated cheese and mixed uniformly, but the temperature of the cheese during this mixing process is approximately 0 to 40℃.
℃, preferably about 10 to 30℃. Note that oil-off becomes noticeable when the temperature exceeds about 40℃. If this mixing is done using a cutter mixer, silent cutter, crusher, etc., the mixing will be too strong.
It is best to use a pulper strainer or the like to mix the mixture by passing it through it once to several times to adjust the mixing state. A mixture of raw cheese and water that has been treated to have the desired product properties described below is subjected to different molding methods depending on the desired product shape. first,
To make the final dried cheese shape into a rod, granule, powder, etc., after mixing, place it in a string shape on a drying tray and freeze-dry it, and after drying, size it or crush it. . Further, it can be dried in a plate-like or webbing-like form, and further formed into a small piece form in addition to the above-mentioned granule form. On the other hand, products that are shaped into blocks of appropriate size are
After mixing, the mixture is stored in a container of the same shape as the block and freeze-dried. Freeze-drying is carried out at a vacuum level of about 0.1 to 1 Torr, preferably about 0.2 to 0.6 Torr, and at about 20 to 60°C, preferably about 40 to 60°C, for about 12 to 20 hours. A summary of the product shape and physical properties of the dried natural cheese obtained by the method of the present invention is shown in the following table.

[Table] First, we will explain the product shape in detail. Regarding the shape, although the raw material cheese is not specified, each shape has its suitability depending on the amount of water contained in the mixture of cheese and water, so the amount of water added must be adjusted as appropriate. For example, block: a mixture of cheese and water with a moisture content of approximately 40 to 65
%, preferably about 40-55%. If the water content is too high, oil-off may occur easily,
If it is too small, the product will not be sticky and will fall apart easily. This mixture is placed in a container partitioned into an appropriate shape and size, such as a plastic container (frame container), and freeze-dried as described above.
By using this frame container, the product can be easily molded into a desired size with the same shape and quality, and no loss occurs in the process. Moreover, since the frame container can be supplied to the consumer as is, there is less chance of damage to the product. String-shaped, rod-shaped: A mixture of cheese and water with a moisture content of about 35 to 60
%, preferably about 40 to 50%, when it is extruded from a chopper or strainer used in the mixing process, it becomes a string, and this is freeze-dried in that form. If this is further sized, rod-shaped dried cheese can be obtained. Granular: A mixture of cheese and water with a moisture content of approximately 35-60%,
It is preferably adjusted to about 40-55% and then freeze-dried. Then, this is roughly crushed using a roll granulator or the like. Powder: A mixture of cheese and water with a moisture content of approximately 30-65%
% and then freeze-dried. Thereafter, it is ground using a suitable grinder. Next, the physical properties of the product will be explained in detail. There is a correlation between whether the hardness of the product is soft or hard and the speed of restoration when it is restored using hot water, etc. If the product is porous, it will be soft and at the same time highly absorbent, which will speed up recovery. When dry cheese feels soft, it is generally because the moisture content of the mixture is about
This is from when it exceeds 50%. Such products are
When restoring with boiling water, etc., most things are generally restored immediately. However, the moisture content of a mixture of cheese and water is usually limited to about 65%, and if the water content increases beyond that, oil-off is likely to occur. On the other hand, dried cheese starts to feel hard when the moisture content of the mixture drops to about 40% or less, and reconstitution with boiling water etc. gradually takes more time. Whether the texture of the product when reconstituted with boiling water, etc. will be similar to melty cheese or non-sticky and crisp will mainly depend on the type of raw cheese and the degree of mixing. . First, in order to make melty type cheese, it is preferable to use a lindless type cheese such as Gouda cheese or cheddar cheese as the raw material cheese. The moisture content of the mixture of raw cheese and water is adjusted to about 40 to 60%, preferably about 40 to 55%, and the mixing after adding water is the weakest mixing state in the present invention, that is, the mixing state of cheese and water. However, it is assumed that the degree of mixing is the weakest. Such a mixed state can usually be obtained by passing the material through a pulper strainer, chopper, etc. once or twice. On the other hand, as the degree of mixing becomes stronger and approaches an emulsified state, the stickiness is lost and crisp dry cheese is obtained. When using other raw cheeses, it is usually difficult to obtain melty type cheese, but the moisture content of the cheese and water mixture should be adjusted to about 40 to 60%, preferably about 40 to 55%, as above. By changing the degree of mixing, it is possible to obtain dry cheeses with different stickiness and crispness, which tend to be similar to those described above. Example 1 Lindres Gouda cheese was cut into small pieces and ground using a screen cutter having holes of 3 mm in diameter to produce grated cheese. Water was added to this grated cheese so that the water content was 47%, and the mixture was mixed by passing it once through a pulper strainer with a screen having holes of 1.5 mm in diameter. The temperature of this mixture was 20°C. Next, this mixture of raw cheese and water was placed in two plastic frame containers each having 10 rows and 10 rows of storage compartments 1 with dimensions of 10 x 10 x 10 mm, and then placed at -25°C. The mixture was left in a freezer for 2 hours to freeze, and then freeze-dried for 16 hours under vacuum conditions of 0.2 Torr and 50°C. The dried cheese 3 obtained in this way has a block shape that corresponds to the shape of the storage compartment, does not come off with oil, has a good texture when eaten in a dry state, and when placed in boiling water. It absorbed water and recovered within about 3 minutes, and when I held it with chopsticks and pulled it up, it was stringy and looked like melty type cheese. Example 2 Cut Akadama Edam cheese into small pieces, 3 mm in diameter.
The cheese was ground into grated cheese using a screen grinder with holes. For this grated cheese,
After adding water and mixing so that the moisture content is 43%, the diameter is 1.5
2 screen pulper strainer with mm holes
Mix by passing. The temperature of this mixture is
When it comes out of the pulper pureer at 22℃, it is formed into a string shape, and the resulting product weighs 10Kg/m ²
Place the load on a drying tray, leave it in a -25℃ freezer for 2 hours to freeze, and then
It was freeze-dried for 15 hours at 0.2 Torr and 50°C. Then, add 9 mesh (2
The dried cheese was sized using a sieve (mm) to obtain rod-shaped dried cheese. The product had no oil-off, was porous, had a good texture, and was especially suitable as a Western-style soup ingredient or topping material. Example 3 Lindres cheddar cheese and Akadama Edam cheese were each cut into small pieces and ground using a screen chipper having holes of 3 mm in diameter to make grated cheese. Next, mix this grated cheese with a ratio of 70% cheddar and 30% edam until the moisture content is 53%.
After mixing, the mixture was mixed by passing it through a screen chopper having holes of 3 mm in diameter 5 times. The temperature of this mixture was 25°C. Next, 10 kg/10 kg of this mixture of raw cheese and water was added.
m ² load on a drying tray, leave it in a -25℃ freezer for 2 hours to freeze, and then vacuum
It was freeze-dried for 17 hours at 0.2 Torr and 50°C. This dried cheese was then ground in a slat mill with a 4 mm herringbone screen at a rotational speed of 1500 rpm to obtain powdered dry cheese. The product had no oil-off, was porous, had a smooth texture, and was especially suitable as a topping material.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a manufacturing process diagram of an embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a partially omitted perspective view of one frame container used in the method of the present invention. 1 is a storage section, and 2 is a frame container.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Water is added to one type or a combination of raw natural cheeses, and the raw natural cheese and water are uniformly mixed throughout, but have not yet reached an emulsified state. A method for producing dried natural cheese by mixing the mixture to a certain degree and freeze-drying it. 2. A patent claim characterized in that the mixture of the raw natural cheese and water is formed into an appropriate shape depending on the use of the dried natural cheese, such as by putting it into a string, a sag, a thin plate, or a container of any shape, and freeze-drying it. A method for producing dried natural cheese according to item 1. 3. The physical properties of dried natural cheese, from soft to hard, and restorability, from those that can be restored immediately with hot water, etc. to those that can be restored in a timely manner depending on the purpose, and the physical properties of dried natural cheese after restoration. The texture can be adjusted from melty-type cheese-like to non-sticky and crispy by controlling conditions such as the type of raw natural cheese, water addition rate, mixing means, and degree of mixing. A method for producing dried natural cheese according to claim 1 or 2.