【発明の詳細な説明】[Detailed description of the invention]
本発明は、野菜、果実、肉等の食品内部に種々
の有効物質を、それら食品の品質劣化や収縮等の
変形を伴なうことなく効果的に浸透させる食品へ
の有効物質の浸透方法に関するものである。
従来、野菜等の食品の呈味性向上や品質改良を
図る意味で、食品を糖類、食塩、アミノ酸、ある
いはPH調整剤等の各種有効物質溶液中に浸漬する
ことにより、それら有効物質を食品内部に浸透さ
せることが広く行われている。しかしながら、こ
のような浸透方法によれば、所望量の有効物質を
浸透させるのに長時間を要し、そのため食品内水
溶性成分の逸失等によつて品質劣化が起こり、さ
らに溶液が高濃度の時は、脱水作用によつて食品
が収縮したり、表面に皺を生じ（いわゆる脱水や
せ現象）を見場を損い、商品価値が低減するなど
の欠陥があつた。
この欠陥を改善する公知方法としては、特開昭
53−86050号に見られる如く、食品浸漬時に有効
物質溶液の浸透圧程度の圧力をかける方法や、ま
た特公昭55−15193号に見られる知く、減圧操作
による食品内の気体脱気により置換的に溶液を食
品内部に浸透させる方法が知られている。
浸漬処理を特開昭53−86050号のように加圧下
で行えば、たしかに脱水やせ現象の抑止は可能で
あるが、依然所望の浸透を行うには長時間を要
し、そのため浸漬時の食品内水溶性成分の逸失や
品質劣化は避けられなかつた。また特公昭55−
15193号の如き、食品内に元々存在する気体の脱
気置換を利用した浸透方法についても溶液の浸透
量の最高限度が食品内気体容量であるため、それ
以上の浸透効果は望めず、なかでも食品気体容量
の少ない野菜等の食品の浸透には適さないもので
あつた。加えて、これらの公知方法では、ゲル化
剤や澱粉のような行分子物質を食品組織内部にま
で浸透させることは全く不可能であり、せいぜい
食品表面部に付着したり、あるいは切断面の空隙
内に浸透する程度であつた。
本発明者らは、このような現状に鑑み、従来よ
りも大巾に短縮された所要時間で、澱粉などの高
分子物質をも含めた全ての有効物質を所望量浸透
させることが可能であり、しかも浸漬処理時に被
浸透食品の品質劣化や収縮の起こらない浸透方法
を確立せんものと鋭意研究を重ねた結果、あらか
じめ加圧処理によつて炭酸ガスなどの易水溶性気
体を食品内部に強制的に溶け込ませておき、次に
圧力低減処理によつて、溶け込んだ気体を一気に
脱気させ、それと置換的に有効物質含有液を浸透
させることによつて、上記課題を全て満足する効
果的な浸透処理が行えることを知見した。
本発明は、同知見に基づいて完成されたもの
で、密閉容器内の有効物質含有液中に被浸透食品
を浸漬し、炭酸ガスなどの易水溶性気体を用いて
同容器内を加圧状態とした後、同容器内圧力を低
減させることを特徴とする食品への有効物質の浸
透方法である。
本発明に係る浸透方法は、浸透圧程度の空気圧
による従来の加圧浸透方法や、減圧処理による脱
気置換を利用した減圧置換方法とは、全く別異の
構成に基づく新規な浸透方法であり、食品内部に
充分に溶け込ませた炭酸ガスなどの易水溶性気体
が圧力低減処理によつて、適度の細胞膜破壊を伴
い一気に脱気することを利用し、同気体と置換的
に所定の有効物質含有液を食品組織内部まで均一
に浸透させることができるものである。
本発明を実施するに当たつては、先ず適宜の方
法によつて浸透の対象となる有効物質の含有液を
調製する。この含有液は、有効物質が溶け込んだ
溶液状態のもの、あるいは分散液等いずれの使用
も可能である。また同含有液の温度は、炭酸ガス
など気体の溶解性の向上、あるいは被浸透食品の
品質劣化を考慮すれば、５〜20℃程度の低温度が
好ましい。
本発明においては、乳糖、蔗糖等の糖類を始め
とし、食塩、グリシン、クエン酸、MSG、その
他の有機、無機の調味料、あるいは各種の品質安
定剤、さらにはゼラチン、寒天等のゲル化剤や、
ガム等の増粘剤、あるいは澱粉等の高分子物質に
至るまで、全ての有効物質を効果的に浸透させる
ことが可能である。
次に、この有効物質含有液を圧力容器内に注入
し、被浸透食品を同液中に浸漬する。食品を同液
中に浸漬後、圧力容器内に搬入してもさしつかえ
ない。
本発明においては、引き続き同圧力容器を密閉
し、適宜手段によつて炭酸ガスなどの易水溶性気
体と同容器内に圧入して、可及的速やかに同容器
内を所定の圧力まで高めた後、同圧力を所定時間
維持し、炭酸ガスなどの易水溶性気体の食品内へ
の溶け込みを図る。
本発明における被浸透食品としては、キヤベ
ツ、白菜、大根、人参等の野菜類や、リンゴ、パ
イナツプル等の果実類、あるいは昆布、ワカメ等
の海藻類、さらには牛肉、豚肉、鶏肉、魚肉等の
肉類の如き、植物性または動物性食品が全て適用
可能で、通常、これらの原料を適宜の大きさ、形
状に切断して使用する。
本発明における加圧パターンとしては、上述に
限られるものではなく、要は易水溶性気体を食品
内部に充分溶け込ませればよいのであるが、なか
でも含有液が高濃度の場合は、含有液の浸透圧に
よる被浸透食品の脱水やせを防止するため、容器
内圧を所定の圧力まで可及的速やかに高めること
が望ましい。上記所定の圧力としては、通常使用
する含有液の浸透圧程度で充分であるが、全体積
に対して切断表面積の少ないものや、切断処理せ
ず浸漬に付するもの、あるいは組織が強固なもの
を被浸透食品として用いる場合や、含有液や低濃
度あるいは高粘度の時は、前記浸透圧以上に加圧
を行う方が浸透効果上好ましい。
また被浸透食品中の水溶性成分の損失や品質劣
化を防止する意味からも、容器内をより高圧状態
とし、易水溶性気体の溶け込み処理を短時間で終
了させることが望ましい。たゞし、加圧気体供給
機構あるいは加圧容器等の処理能力上低圧を強い
られる場合や、含有液の温度が比較的高い時、あ
るいは被浸透食品の容量が大の時は、加圧に要す
る時間、すなわち易水溶性気体の溶け込み処理時
間を長くする必要が生じる。
本発明で使用する気体としては、易水溶性で食
品衛生上無害のものであり、食品風味に悪影響を
及ぼさないものであれば、CO2を始めとして何れ
の気体も使用することができる。
本発明においては、このように易水溶性気体を
加圧処理によつて有効物質含有液を通して被浸透
食品内部にまで充分に溶け込ませた後、次に適宜
の排気手段により易水溶性気体を圧力容器外へ排
出させ、容器内圧力を低減させ常圧に戻す。
この圧力低減処理によつて、被浸透食品内部に
溶け込んだ易水溶性気体は、含有液中に連続的に
勢いよく脱気排出し、これと置換的に有効物者含
有液が食品内部に浸透する。この圧力低減時に適
宜方法によつて含有液を撹拌すれば、易水溶性気
体の脱気作用を一層促進させることができる。
本発明は、食品内部に元々存在する気体の脱気
作用を利用した従来の減圧置換法とは異なり、あ
らかじめ加圧処理によつて強制的に食品内部に溶
け込ませた易水溶性気体の圧力低減処理による脱
気作用を利用するものであるから、易水溶性気体
の溶け込み量を調整することによつて、食品内既
存在気体量にとらわれることなく、所望量の有効
物質を浸透させることができ、加えて、急激な易
水溶性気体の脱気作用によつて、効率的な浸透処
理が図れる。さらには比較的急速に圧力を低減す
る時は、易水溶性気体の脱気時に細胞膜が適度に
破壊され、その結果、従来食品内部に浸透させる
ことが不可能であつた澱粉等の高分子物質の浸透
も可能となり、また細胞間空隙のみでなく細胞内
部にも有効物質が浸透し、全体的に均一な浸透状
態の食品が得られる。
本発明における圧力低減度合は、有効物質が浸
透性の悪いものである時や、被浸透食品の切断面
が小の場合、あるいは同食品の組織が強固な場合
は、可及的短時間で常圧に戻すのが好ましく、逆
に組織が弱い場合や、加圧処理を高圧下で行つた
時は、余り急速に減圧すると過度の組織破壊が起
こり、品質劣化につながるため比較的緩慢に行う
のが好ましい。
本発明における易水溶性気体の脱気置換作用を
利用した浸透処理は、叙上の如く、加圧状態から
常圧にまで直線的に圧力を低減させることによつ
て充分に行ないえられるが、一旦加圧状態から減
圧下まで圧力を低減させた後、再び常圧に戻せ
ば、より一層効果的な浸透処理が図れる。これは
加圧処理によつて食品内部に溶け込んだ易水溶性
気体が残らず完全に脱気するのみでなく、食品内
に元々存在する気体も脱気排出するため、置換浸
透が促進されることによるものである。
次に、実験例によつて本発明の効果をさらに明
確にする。
比較実験例
キヤベツの切片を以下に述べる浸透方法Ａ〜Ｅ
に基づいて、低分子物質であるグルコースの20％
水溶液および高分子物質であるデキストリンの10
％水溶液中に浸漬し、浸透処理後の浸透量、外
観、その他問題点について確認した。その結果を
表−１に示す。
なお、浸透量としては、ソモジネルソン法によ
り測定した浸透処理後のキヤベツ100ｇ中のグル
コースあるいはデキストリン含量につき、それぞ
れＡ（通常浸漬）の浸透量を100として換算表示
した。
浸透方法
Ａ （通常浸漬）キヤベツ片を常圧下で６時間水
溶液中に浸漬する。
Ｂ （減圧置換）キヤベツ片を水溶液中に浸漬し
た後、直ちに15分で−75cmHgまで減圧し、15
分で常圧に戻す。
Ｃ （加圧浸漬）キヤベツ片を水溶液中に浸漬し
た後、それぞれの水溶液の浸透圧程度、すなわ
ちグルコース水溶液は50Kg／cm2、デキストリン
水溶液は20Kg／cm2まで40分で空気により加圧
し、引き続き５時間同圧を維持した後、10分で
常圧に戻す。
Ｄ （本発明法）キヤベツ片を水溶液中に浸漬し
た後、CO2によつてグルコース水溶液の場合は
50Kg／cm2、デキストリン水溶液の場合は20Kg／
cm2まで40分で加圧し、引き続き90分同圧を維持
した後、50分で常圧に戻す。
Ｅ （本発明法）キヤベツ片を水溶液中に浸漬し
た後、CO2によつて、上記Ｄ方法と全く同様な
圧力まで40分で加圧し、引き続き60分同圧を維
持した後、50分で常圧に戻し、さらに減圧して
15分で−75cmHgとし、再び15分で常圧に戻
す。
The present invention relates to a method for effectively infiltrating various effective substances into foods such as vegetables, fruits, meat, etc. without deterioration of quality or deformation such as shrinkage of these foods. It is something. Conventionally, in order to improve the taste and quality of foods such as vegetables, foods are immersed in solutions of various active substances such as sugars, salt, amino acids, or PH regulators, to remove these active substances from inside the food. It is widely practiced to infiltrate However, according to such infiltration methods, it takes a long time to infiltrate the desired amount of active substances, resulting in quality deterioration due to loss of water-soluble components in the food, and furthermore, the solution is highly concentrated. At the time, dehydration caused food to shrink, wrinkles formed on the surface (the so-called dehydration thinning phenomenon), and the product value was reduced. As a known method to improve this defect,
As seen in No. 53-86050, there is a method of applying a pressure equal to the osmotic pressure of the active substance solution when immersing the food, and as seen in Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-15193, the gas in the food is replaced by deaeration by depressurization operation. A method is known in which a solution is permeated into food. If the soaking treatment is carried out under pressure as in JP-A No. 53-86050, it is certainly possible to suppress the dehydration phenomenon, but it still takes a long time to achieve the desired penetration, and as a result, the food during soaking is Loss of water-soluble components and quality deterioration were unavoidable. Also, special public service in 1984.
Even with the infiltration method using degassing and replacement of the gas that originally exists in the food, such as No. 15193, the maximum amount of solution infiltration is the gas content in the food, so no further infiltration effect can be expected; It was not suitable for permeating foods such as vegetables, which have a small food gas capacity. In addition, with these known methods, it is completely impossible for gelling agents and starch to penetrate into the food tissue, and at most they may stick to the food surface or fill the voids in the cut surface. It was enough to penetrate inside. In view of the current situation, the present inventors have discovered that it is possible to infiltrate desired amounts of all effective substances, including polymeric substances such as starch, in a time that is significantly shortened compared to conventional methods. Moreover, as a result of extensive research to establish an infiltration method that would not cause quality deterioration or shrinkage of the food to be soaked during the soaking process, we were able to force easily water-soluble gases such as carbon dioxide into the food through pressure treatment in advance. An effective method that satisfies all of the above-mentioned problems can be achieved by allowing the dissolved gas to dissolve in the air, then degassing the dissolved gas at once through pressure reduction treatment, and allowing the effective substance-containing liquid to permeate in place of it. It was discovered that infiltration treatment can be performed. The present invention was completed based on the same knowledge, and involves immersing a food to be permeated into a liquid containing an active substance in a sealed container, and pressurizing the container using easily water-soluble gas such as carbon dioxide gas. This is a method for infiltrating an effective substance into a food product, which is characterized by reducing the pressure inside the container. The infiltration method according to the present invention is a new infiltration method based on a completely different structure from the conventional pressurized infiltration method using air pressure similar to osmotic pressure and the reduced pressure replacement method using deaeration replacement by reduced pressure treatment. , taking advantage of the fact that easily water-soluble gases such as carbon dioxide, which have been sufficiently dissolved inside the food, are degassed all at once with moderate cell membrane destruction through pressure reduction treatment, and are used to replace the same gas with specified effective substances. This allows the liquid to be uniformly penetrated into the food tissue. In carrying out the present invention, first, a liquid containing the effective substance to be penetrated is prepared by an appropriate method. This containing liquid may be in the form of a solution in which the effective substance is dissolved, or may be a dispersion liquid. Further, the temperature of the liquid containing the same is preferably a low temperature of about 5 to 20° C. in consideration of improving the solubility of gases such as carbon dioxide gas or deteriorating the quality of the permeated food. In the present invention, sugars such as lactose and sucrose, salt, glycine, citric acid, MSG, other organic and inorganic seasonings, various quality stabilizers, and gelling agents such as gelatin and agar are used. or,
It is possible to effectively penetrate all active substances, from thickeners such as gums to polymeric substances such as starch. Next, this effective substance-containing liquid is injected into a pressure vessel, and the food to be permeated is immersed in the liquid. It is okay to immerse food in the same liquid and then transport it into the pressure vessel. In the present invention, the pressure vessel is subsequently sealed, and an easily water-soluble gas such as carbon dioxide is injected into the vessel by appropriate means to raise the pressure inside the vessel to a predetermined pressure as quickly as possible. After that, the same pressure is maintained for a predetermined period of time to allow easily water-soluble gases such as carbon dioxide gas to dissolve into the food. Foods to be penetrated in the present invention include vegetables such as cabbage, Chinese cabbage, radish, and carrots, fruits such as apples and pineapple, seaweed such as kelp and wakame, and beef, pork, chicken, and fish. Any vegetable or animal food such as meat can be used, and these raw materials are usually cut into appropriate sizes and shapes before use. The pressurization pattern in the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned one; the key is to sufficiently dissolve the easily water-soluble gas into the food, but especially when the concentration of the liquid is high, In order to prevent dehydration and thinning of the permeated food due to osmotic pressure, it is desirable to increase the internal pressure of the container to a predetermined pressure as quickly as possible. As for the above prescribed pressure, the osmotic pressure of the liquid normally used is sufficient, but for those with a small cutting surface area relative to the total volume, those that are immersed without being cut, or those that have a strong structure. When used as a food to be permeated, or when the liquid contains a low concentration or high viscosity, it is preferable to apply pressure to a level higher than the above-mentioned osmotic pressure for the permeation effect. Also, in order to prevent loss of water-soluble components and quality deterioration in the permeated food, it is desirable to maintain a higher pressure inside the container and complete the process of dissolving easily water-soluble gases in a short time. However, when low pressure is required due to the processing capacity of the pressurized gas supply mechanism or pressurized container, when the temperature of the liquid contained is relatively high, or when the volume of the food to be permeated is large, pressurization may not be effective. It becomes necessary to lengthen the time required, that is, the time required for dissolving the easily water-soluble gas. As the gas used in the present invention, any gas including CO 2 can be used as long as it is easily water-soluble, harmless in terms of food hygiene, and does not adversely affect the flavor of the food. In the present invention, after the easily water-soluble gas is sufficiently dissolved into the food to be permeated through the effective substance-containing liquid by pressure treatment, the easily water-soluble gas is then pressure-treated by an appropriate exhaust means. Discharge outside the container to reduce the pressure inside the container and return it to normal pressure. Through this pressure reduction process, the easily water-soluble gas that has dissolved inside the permeated food is continuously and vigorously degassed into the containing liquid, and the effective substance-containing liquid permeates into the food in place of this. do. If the contained liquid is stirred by an appropriate method during this pressure reduction, the deaeration effect of the easily water-soluble gas can be further promoted. Unlike the conventional depressurization displacement method that utilizes the degassing effect of the gas originally existing inside the food, the present invention reduces the pressure of easily water-soluble gas that is forcibly dissolved inside the food through pressurization treatment. Since it utilizes the degassing effect of processing, by adjusting the amount of easily water-soluble gas dissolved in the food, it is possible to infiltrate the desired amount of effective substances, regardless of the amount of gas already present in the food. In addition, efficient infiltration treatment can be achieved by the rapid degassing action of the easily water-soluble gas. Furthermore, when the pressure is reduced relatively rapidly, cell membranes are moderately destroyed during the degassing of easily water-soluble gases, and as a result, polymeric substances such as starch, which have conventionally been impossible to penetrate inside foods, are destroyed. In addition, the effective substance permeates not only into the intercellular spaces but also inside the cells, resulting in a food product with a uniform permeation state throughout. The degree of pressure reduction in the present invention is determined constantly in the shortest possible time when the active substance has poor permeability, when the cut surface of the food to be permeated is small, or when the food has a strong structure. It is preferable to return the tissue to pressure; on the other hand, if the tissue is weak or the pressure treatment was performed under high pressure, reducing the pressure too quickly will cause excessive tissue destruction, leading to quality deterioration, so it is recommended to do it relatively slowly. is preferred. As mentioned above, the infiltration treatment using the degassing and displacement effect of easily water-soluble gases in the present invention can be sufficiently carried out by linearly reducing the pressure from a pressurized state to normal pressure. Once the pressure is reduced from a pressurized state to a reduced pressure, and then returned to normal pressure, even more effective infiltration treatment can be achieved. This is because pressurization not only completely deaerates easily water-soluble gases that have dissolved inside the food, but also deaerates the gases originally present in the food, which promotes displacement and osmosis. This is due to Next, the effects of the present invention will be further clarified through experimental examples. Comparative Experimental Examples: Infiltration methods A to E of cabbage sections described below.
Based on 20% of glucose, which is a low molecular weight substance
10 in aqueous solution and polymeric substance dextrin
% aqueous solution to check the amount of penetration, appearance, and other problems after the penetration treatment. The results are shown in Table-1. The permeation amount is expressed in terms of the glucose or dextrin content in 100 g of cabbage after permeation treatment measured by the Somogyi-Nelson method, with the permeation amount of A (normal soaking) being set as 100. Infiltration method A (normal immersion) Cabbage pieces are immersed in an aqueous solution for 6 hours under normal pressure. B (Replacement under reduced pressure) After immersing a piece of cabbage in an aqueous solution, immediately reduce the pressure to -75 cmHg for 15 minutes, and
Return to normal pressure in minutes. C (Pressure immersion) After immersing the cabbage pieces in an aqueous solution, the osmotic pressure of each aqueous solution is increased to 50 Kg/cm 2 for the glucose aqueous solution and 20 Kg/cm 2 for the dextrin aqueous solution in 40 minutes, and then pressurized with air for 40 minutes. After maintaining the same pressure for 5 hours, return to normal pressure in 10 minutes. D (Method of the present invention) After immersing the cabbage pieces in an aqueous solution, in the case of a glucose aqueous solution by CO2 ,
50Kg/cm 2 , 20Kg/cm 2 for dextrin aqueous solution
Pressurize to cm 2 in 40 minutes, maintain the same pressure for 90 minutes, and return to normal pressure in 50 minutes. E (method of the present invention) After immersing the cabbage pieces in an aqueous solution, pressurize with CO 2 to the same pressure as in method D above in 40 minutes, maintain the same pressure for 60 minutes, and then pressurize in 50 minutes. Return to normal pressure and further reduce pressure.
The pressure was reduced to -75cmHg in 15 minutes, and then returned to normal pressure in 15 minutes.
【表】
以上の結果からも明らかな如く、本発明方法に
よれば、従来の通常浸漬あるいは加圧浸漬法に比
べ、短時間でしかも脱水やせ現象を起こすことな
く、多量の有効物質を食品組織内部にまで均一に
浸透させることが可能であり、さらに従来、食品
組織中に浸透させることが不可能とされていた澱
粉等の高分子物質をも有効に浸透させることがで
きる。
したがつて、本発明方法によれば、調味料や品
質改良剤等の種々の有効物質をもつて、野菜や果
実等の呈味性向上や品質改善を十二分に図ること
ができ、さらに浸透処理以降の乾燥あるいは凍結
処理等の加工処理による品質劣化も、それら有効
物質が組織内に均一に存在するため有効に抑止す
ることができる。
実施例 １
リンゴの果肉部切片（厚さ約５mm）を蔗糖30％
水溶液中に浸漬した後、これを圧力容器内に搬入
し、ボンベから同圧力容器内にCO2を圧入して、
30Kg／cm2まで30分で加圧し、引き続き１時間同圧
を維持した後、40分で常圧に戻す。
本実施例における蔗糖浸透量（浸透処理後のリ
ンゴ100ｇ中の蔗糖含量）は13.8ｇであり、脱水
やせや風味劣化はなく、組織内部まで均一に浸透
していた。ちなみに、同リンゴを５時間常圧下で
同蔗糖水溶液中に浸漬したものは、浸透量7.1ｇ
で、脱水やせがひどく、その風味も水溶性成分の
逸失によつて淡白なものであつた。
実施例 ２
脂肪の少ない牛モモ肉切片（厚さ約５mm）をプ
ルラン２％水溶液中に浸漬した後、これを圧力容
器内に搬入し、ボンベから同圧力容器内にCO2を
圧入して、７Kg／cm2まで15分で加圧し、引き続き
１時間同圧を維持した後、10分で常圧に戻し、さ
らに減圧処理を続けて、15分で一旦−70cmHgま
で減圧し、その後15分で常圧に戻す。
本実施例におけるプルラン浸透量（浸透処理後
の肉100ｇ中のプルラン含量）は、3.2ｇであり、
組織内部まで均一に浸透していた。ちなみに、同
肉を５時間常圧下で同プルラン水溶液中に浸漬し
たものは、浸透量2.2ｇであつたが、その大部分
は表面部に付着したものであつた。[Table] As is clear from the above results, the method of the present invention allows a large amount of effective substances to be absorbed into food tissue in a shorter time and without causing dehydration and thinning than the conventional normal soaking or pressure soaking methods. It is possible to uniformly penetrate the food tissue, and it is also possible to effectively penetrate high-molecular substances such as starch, which were conventionally considered impossible to penetrate into the food tissue. Therefore, according to the method of the present invention, it is possible to sufficiently improve the taste and quality of vegetables, fruits, etc. by adding various effective substances such as seasonings and quality improvers. Quality deterioration due to processing such as drying or freezing after infiltration treatment can also be effectively suppressed because these effective substances exist uniformly within the tissue. Example 1 Apple pulp section (approximately 5 mm thick) was mixed with 30% sucrose.
After immersing it in an aqueous solution, it is carried into a pressure vessel, and CO 2 is pressurized into the pressure vessel from a cylinder.
Pressurize to 30Kg/cm 2 in 30 minutes, maintain the same pressure for 1 hour, and return to normal pressure in 40 minutes. The amount of sucrose permeation (the sucrose content in 100 g of apples after permeation treatment) in this example was 13.8 g, and there was no dehydration or loss of flavor, and the apples permeated uniformly into the tissue. By the way, when the same apple was soaked in the same sucrose aqueous solution under normal pressure for 5 hours, the permeation amount was 7.1g.
The food was severely dehydrated and its flavor was bland due to the loss of water-soluble components. Example 2 After immersing a lean beef thigh section (approximately 5 mm thick) in a 2% pullulan aqueous solution, it was carried into a pressure vessel, and CO 2 was pressurized into the pressure vessel from a cylinder. Pressurize to 7Kg/ cm2 in 15 minutes, maintain the same pressure for 1 hour, return to normal pressure in 10 minutes, continue depressurization process, reduce the pressure to -70cmHg in 15 minutes, then reduce the pressure to -70cmHg in 15 minutes. Return to normal pressure. The permeation amount of pullulan in this example (the content of pullulan in 100 g of meat after permeation treatment) was 3.2 g,
It penetrated evenly into the tissue. Incidentally, when the same meat was immersed in the same pullulan aqueous solution under normal pressure for 5 hours, the amount permeated was 2.2 g, but most of it was attached to the surface.