JPH0585147B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to an improvement in a method for producing bittern tofu.

[Conventional technology]

Generally, tofu is manufactured by the following process.

Soaked soybeans are ground using a grinder, boiled, and separated into soy milk and okara.

Soy milk is placed in a stirring tank, and a coagulant is added and mixed on top to coagulate the soy milk. This solidified product is tofu. Since the tofu at the time of completion of coagulation is different from the final product in terms of water content, etc., it is hereinafter referred to as a tofu-like body and is used to distinguish it from the final product.

The tofu-like body is allowed to stand for a predetermined period of time.

Drain the water. Specifically, a filter cloth is placed in a mold box having drainage holes, the tofu-like body obtained in step is placed on top of the filter cloth, and water is drained by applying pressure from above.

Turn over the mold box, take out the tofu, and cut it into the specified size.

Through the above steps, Momen tofu is completed, but in the case of Kinukoshi tofu, it is cut without performing the step.

Typical coagulants used in the process are bittern (magnesium chloride), sumashi powder (calcium sulfate), and glucon. Bittern is
It has a characteristic of being highly deliquescent and coagulating rapidly (about 3 seconds); conversely, Sumashi powder has low deliquescent properties and coagulates for a relatively long time (15 seconds). Furthermore, since glucon exhibits a coagulating effect after being dissolved in water and reacting with soybean protein to turn into an acid, the coagulation time is longer.

In this way, when bittern is used, the solidification time is extremely short, so the above steps are carried out in the following manner.

(a) Add bittern from above the soy milk and stir. This stirring is generally performed by rotating a stirring rod called a "kai" in the stirring tank.

(b) The coagulation effect of bittern ends in about 3 seconds, and a tofu-like body coagulated in soymilk is obtained.

(c) By allowing it to stand for about 10 minutes, the tofu-like body settles in the stirring tank, leaving uncoagulated soymilk on top.

(d) Repeat steps (a) to (c) above for this uncoagulated soymilk to coagulate all the soymilk in the stirring tank into tofu-like bodies.

In this way, in the case of bittern, the coagulation time is extremely short, so it is not possible to coagulate all the soymilk in the tank at once. Specifically, in order to produce 50 pieces of tofu, it takes three It will be necessary to repeat several times,
It takes 30 minutes to complete all steps (a) to (d).

Moreover, because the coagulation effect of the bittern ends in these three seconds, special skill is required to mix it with a stirring rod called a ``kai.'' In other words, in addition to spreading the bittern more widely and uniformly, the soymilk must be brought to a static state within 3 seconds, and the longer the mixing time, the more it will become separated throughout, resulting in a good tofu-like product. is not possible, and the yield is 40 ~
It will become as low as 50%.

Moreover, when the concentration of soybean milk is increased, the coagulation time becomes even shorter, which makes the above-mentioned problem even more apparent. Therefore, in general, this process cannot be carried out unless the soymilk has a concentration of 6 degrees or less as measured by a saccharimeter, and it has been impossible to produce tofu with a strong flavor.

Also, recently, instead of a stirring rod called "kai", a disc-shaped stirring body with many small holes is used.
A method of mixing soymilk and nigari by moving the soybean up and down in a stirring tank is practiced. in this way,
Since the soymilk is not swirled, it has the advantage of being able to bring the soymilk to a stationary state quickly, but it is still difficult to spread the bittern poured into the soymilk from above more widely and evenly, and the results are still not satisfactory. cannot be obtained. Therefore, a method has been proposed in which a disc-shaped stirring body is provided with a bittern discharge port and the bittern is discharged while moving the disc-shaped stirring body up and down. It is not possible to discharge the tofu so as to spread it out, and a partially non-uniform tofu-like body is obtained due to the difference in bittern discharge time. This method also requires the use of complex and expensive equipment.

Moreover, the tofu-like bodies obtained by these conventional methods are
The tofu solidifies into crumbs that separate from the water, and the cohesion between the tofu-like bodies is poor, and during the draining process, the entire tofu does not solidify unless high pressure is applied for a long time (about 45 minutes), and the tofu does not retain water. Combined with its low texture, it results in hard tofu. This tendency cannot be completely eliminated even when using a disc-shaped stirring body or one equipped with a bittern discharge port, and the texture is relatively rough and the texture is poor. Only tofu with poor texture can be obtained.

For the various reasons mentioned above, things other than bittern are being used as coagulants, but today, as people seek more natural foods, more and more people are preferring bittern tofu.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Therefore, the present invention improves the method for producing bittern tofu, allows bittern to be uniformly and well dispersed throughout the tofu in one mixing operation, and produces tofu with fine texture, high water retention, and appropriate softness. We produce highly nutritious tofu with a good texture and texture.
To provide a method for producing nigari tofu that can be obtained in a short time and with a high yield without using special skills.

[Means to solve the problem]

In the present invention, soymilk is placed in a coagulation container and kept stationary, and bittern is placed below the soymilk layer, thereby disposing a bittern layer below the soymilk layer.
A bittern tofu characterized by forming a thin film of soy milk between a soy milk layer and a bittern layer, and breaking the thin film of tofu and stirring the soy milk layer and bittern layer by moving an agitator at least up and down. The above problem is solved by providing a manufacturing method.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the drawings.

Preparation process Soaked soybeans are ground using a grinder, boiled, and separated into soy milk and okara. This process is
This is the same process as before, and can be omitted if soy milk is obtained from other sources.

Stirring 1st step (Figure 1) Soy milk a is put into a stirring tank 1 and kept stationary.

Stirring 2nd step (Figures 2 and 3) By introducing bittern B below the soymilk layer A, the bittern B layer is arranged below the soymilk layer A, and the soymilk layer A and bittern B layer are combined. A thin film of tofu-like material c is formed in between.

For details, connect the tip of hose 2 for adding bittern,
It is submerged in the bottom of the stirring tank 1 (Fig. 2), and the bittern b is gently poured into it through the funnel 3 connected to the base end of the hose 2 (Fig. 3).

The amount of bittern b to be added may be set as appropriate, but it is preferable to add enough amount of bittern b to coagulate all of the soymilk a in the coagulation layer 1.

Here, since the specific gravity of bittern b is greater than the specific gravity of soymilk a, bittern b added to the bottom does not rise and spreads over the entire bottom of the coagulated layer 1, that is, the entire lower part of the soymilk layer a. Then, the coagulation effect of bittern appears only on the surface where soymilk layer A and bittern B layer are in contact, forming a thin film of tofu-like body c. Since the specific gravity of this tofu-like body c is smaller than the specific gravity of bittern b and greater than the specific gravity of soymilk a, the thin film of tofu-like body c is stably positioned between the soymilk layer a and the bittern b layer. . That is, between the soymilk A layer and bittern B layer,
A thin film of tofu-like body c is present, and soy milk a
There is no further contact between the layer and the Nigari B layer, and the coagulation action does not proceed any further. Therefore, it is preferable to add nigari gently so as not to spread it throughout the soymilk due to the flow rate.

The bittern to be added may be 100% bittern, or may be a mixture of bittern and another type of coagulant. In addition to inputting with a hose, an input hole is formed on the bottom of the stirring tank 1 or on the side near the bottom, this input hole is connected to a tank for storing bittern, and bittern is discharged from the input hole with a pump. The means for adding bittern to the bottom of the soy milk can be changed as appropriate.

Stirring 3rd step (Fig. 4) By moving the stirring body at least up and down, the thin film of tofu state C is broken and the soymilk layer A and bittern B are separated.
Stir the layers.

A conventional stirring body may be used for this stirring, but to give one example, as shown in FIG. 5, a large number of small holes 5 are formed in a disc-shaped stirring plate 4, and
It is possible to use a stirring plate 4 with a grip bar 6 erected from the upper center thereof.

By moving this stirring plate 4 up and down in the stirring tank 1 for about 3 seconds, the thin film of tofu in state c is broken.
The entire soymilk A layer and the bittern B that spreads throughout the lower part of it
The layers can be mixed at once. In this way, soy milk a
By mixing the entire layer, the bittern B layer, and the thin film of tofu state C at once, the whole is mixed uniformly, and a creamy, fine-textured tofu-like product is obtained.

Moreover, the stirring work can be done by simply moving the stirring plate 4 up and down in the stirring tank 1 for about 3 seconds, and the whole can be well stirred, so no special skills are required for stirring, and the yield can reach 90%. Not only can this be improved, but it can also be used as an opportunity to do the same work.

Standing Step: The tofu-shaped body is left standing in a stirring tank for a predetermined period of time (about 10 to 15 minutes). Conventionally, as mentioned above, it was not possible to stir and mix the entire mixture at once.
Stirring and standing still were repeated about 3 times, and the overall
However, in the present invention, since the entire mixture is stirred and mixed at once, it only needs to be left to stand once, and the stirring step and the standing step are completed in about 15 minutes.

Draining process When producing momen tofu, as in the past,
A filter cloth is placed in a mold box with drainage holes, and the tofu-like body obtained in the previous step is placed on top of the filter cloth, and water is drained by applying pressure from above. This process itself is the same as the conventional one, but the tofu-like bodies obtained in the previous process are mixed uniformly throughout, resulting in a cream-like, fine-textured product, and the cohesion between the tofu-like bodies is improved. It works fine, so there is no need to apply a lot of pressure, and
The draining process is completed in about 10 to 20 minutes, reducing the process time to about one-third to one-fourth of the conventional process.

Furthermore, in the past, the whole tofu did not harden unless high pressure was applied for a long period of time, and this combined with low water retention resulted in hard tofu, but with the present invention, the entire tofu could be hardened by applying low pressure for a short period of time. In addition to hardening, it also has high water retention, making it possible to obtain relatively soft tofu that is easy to eat.

Finishing process As in the past, the mold box is turned over, the tofu is taken out, and the tofu is cut into predetermined sizes to complete commercially available tofu.

In the case of Kinukoshi tofu, the tofu-shaped body taken out from the stirring tank is cut as is without performing the above-mentioned draining process, so it is advantageous to make the stirring tank square-shaped so that there is no waste in cutting. .

〔Example〕

Examples of the present invention will be described below.

Example 1 Fifty pieces of momen tofu (600 g per piece) were manufactured according to the above-mentioned manufacturing method of the present invention under the following conditions.

Soy milk 35 (Use soy milk with a concentration of 12 degrees as measured by a saccharimeter) 1.6 kg of bittern (Use 0.6 kg of an aqueous magnesium chloride solution with a concentration of 21 degrees as measured by a refractometer and 1 kg of water.
An aqueous magnesium chloride solution with a concentration of 21 degrees as measured by a refractometer can be obtained by dissolving 4 kg of magnesium chloride in 12 ml of water. ) Stirring time: 3 seconds Standing time: 15 minutes Draining time: 15 minutes Example 2 50 pieces of Kinukoshi tofu (600 g per piece) are manufactured according to the above-mentioned manufacturing method of the present invention under the following conditions.

Soy milk 12 (Use soy milk with a concentration of 13 to 14 degrees as measured by a saccharimeter) 0.8 kg of bittern (Use 0.3 kg of an aqueous magnesium chloride solution with a concentration of 21 degrees as measured by a refractometer and 0.5 kg of water.
An aqueous magnesium chloride solution with a concentration of 21 degrees as measured by a refractometer can be obtained by dissolving 4 kg of magnesium chloride in 12 parts of water. ) Stirring time: 3 seconds Standing time: 15 minutes Draining time: None In both Example 1 and Example 2, at the end of the stirring process, the whole was mixed uniformly, and the tofu had a creamy, fine texture. I got a body.

The final product, tofu, has a fine texture.
The tofu had a high water retention property and was relatively soft and easy to eat, and the yield was 90% in both Examples 1 and 2 compared to Sumashiko tofu under the same conditions.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The present invention exhibits the following many effects.

First, the bittern can be uniformly and well dispersed in the soymilk by a single stirring operation, and a creamy tofu-like body with fine texture and good cohesiveness can be obtained.

Second, it is possible to obtain nigari tofu with fine texture, high water retention, appropriate softness, and good texture and texture.

Thirdly, soy milk with a high sugar content can be used, and bittern tofu with a strong taste and high nutritional value can be produced.

Fourthly, the time required for each step of the stirring step, the standing step, and the draining step can be dramatically shortened.

Fifth, the stirring process does not require special skills;
Not only can the yield be improved, but the work can also be mechanized.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the first stirring step in the manufacturing method of the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are explanatory diagrams of the second stirring step, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the third stirring step, and FIG. The figure is a perspective view of the stirring body. 1... Stirring tank, 2... Hose, 3... Funnel, a
... soy milk, b... bittern, c... tofu-like body.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Put soymilk in a coagulation container and let it stand still, and put bittern under the soymilk layer to arrange the bittern layer below the soymilk layer and to form a tofu-like body between the soymilk layer and the bittern layer. 1. A method for producing bittern tofu, which comprises forming a thin film of bittern tofu, and breaking the thin film of tofu quality and stirring a soymilk layer and a bittern layer by moving an agitator at least up and down.