JPH0143545B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides tofu that can be easily reconstituted with boiling water and does not have the rough texture or lumpiness of frozen tofu, and can be used to quickly freeze and freeze-dry tofu, quickly frozen tofu, miso, and mapo tofu. The present invention relates to a method for producing a dried food product in which seasonings and spices, or ingredients other than tofu for sukiyaki and seasonings are combined together, rapidly frozen again, and freeze-dried.

Conventionally, when tofu is dried, for example, by hot air drying, the tofu becomes hard and shriveled, and even if it is restored with water or boiling water, the shape and texture are far from the original. Furthermore, even when tofu is freeze-dried, it has a rough texture and a lot of grains, and even when it is reconstituted with boiling water, it has a texture similar to that of frozen tofu. Furthermore, if the freezing temperature is set very low, for example around -100°C, the tofu will crack and lose its shape when reconstituted with boiling water. Furthermore, when producing instant miso soup, 50 parts by weight of an aqueous solution containing bonito stock, kelp stock, ribotite, monosodium glutamate, sugar, glucose, etc. is usually added to 100 parts by weight of raw miso.
Add ~100 parts by weight to the raw miso, add diced tofu, quickly freeze the whole thing, and then freeze-dry it.The raw miso will be about 5 times more concentrated than when eaten, so it can be frozen quickly. A large amount of miso components permeates into tofu during medium to freeze-drying, and therefore, when the instant miso soup containing tofu obtained in this way is reconstituted with boiling water and eaten, the color of miso may transfer to the tofu. It is not white and is very salty.

In addition, Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-2945 states that when producing tofu, edible natural gums or edible natural gums and a humectant such as glycerin or propylene glycol are uniformly dissolved in soy milk, and then It is disclosed that tofu is produced by a method and then freeze-dried. However, in the above production method, when coagulating soybean protein, additives other than coagulants such as bittern and glucono delta-lactone (for example, the above-mentioned edible natural gums and wetting agents that do not participate in coagulation) are mixed. There is a problem that the coagulation reaction of soybean protein decreases and the smoothness and elasticity that tofu originally has is deteriorated. Because edible natural gums and wetting agents are distributed, more freezing energy is required to freeze the tofu to the center than normal tofu, and as a result, free water is lost during the freezing process. There was a problem in that the structure of the soybean protein constituting the tofu changed significantly by the time the tofu was completely frozen, resulting in a loss of texture upon reconstitution.

The present invention was made in order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems. Commercially available tofu is cut into dice, and one or more types of sugars such as monosaccharides, disaccharides, and dextrins are removed. Tofu is immersed in a mixed sugar solution or a seasoning solution containing the sugar solution and mixed with one or more seasonings such as salt, sodium glutamate, miso, soy sauce, etc., and the tofu is taken out from the immersion solution and quickly frozen. Then, it is either freeze-dried as it is, or an aqueous solution containing seasonings such as bonito stock, kelp stock, ribotite, monosodium glutamate, etc. is added to the raw miso in an amount of 70 to 150% by weight based on the raw miso while heating it, and then cooled. By adding the above-mentioned quick-frozen tofu to the soup and quickly freezing the tofu again before thawing and freeze-drying, the above-mentioned seasonings such as bonito stock, kelp stock, ribotite, monosodium glutamate, etc. and the taste of raw miso, This prevents color and saltiness from moving into the internal structure of tofu as much as possible, and also facilitates restoration with boiling water.

According to the method for producing a dried food of the present invention constructed as described above, tofu obtained by coagulating in a conventional manner is diced without adding any additives other than a coagulant such as bittern or glucono delta-lactone. It is cut and impregnated with a sugar solution or a seasoning solution containing the sugar solution. That is, the structure of the tofu in this case is exactly the same as that of tofu coagulated by the usual method, except that the sugar solution or the seasoning solution containing the sugar solution is present in a freeze-dried state in the spaces between the coagulated soybean proteins. It is something that Therefore,
When the dried food produced according to the present invention is exposed to boiling water, etc., the sugar solution or sugar solution-containing seasoning solution in the freeze-dried state is easily eluted from inside the tofu, and the tofu itself has a naturally smooth texture. The pod is restored with almost no loss of elasticity.

That is, in the method of the present invention, the sugar solution or the seasoning solution containing the sugar solution is infiltrated into the gaps between dice-shaped ordinary tofu, so that the concentration of the dipping solution is low at the outer periphery of the tofu after soaking. The concentration of the dipping liquid gradually becomes thinner toward the center of the tofu. When connecting tofu with such a concentration distribution of the dipping liquid, the outer periphery of the tofu requires a large amount of freezing energy because the concentration of the dipping liquid is high, but the concentration of the dipping liquid decreases toward the center. As a result, the degree of freezing point drop is lower, and less freezing energy is required. This means that in the freezing process of tofu containing soaking liquid, the temperature difference between the outer periphery and the center can be reduced, the overall required freezing energy is small, and the movement of free water until complete freezing is reduced. Therefore, it is possible to prevent structural changes in the solidified soybean protein during the freezing process as much as possible.

Next, the method for producing a dried food according to the present invention will be explained in detail.

First, cut the commercially available tofu into dice about 2 cm square or less. In the case of tofu with a size exceeding about 2 cm square, when it is immersed in a sugar solution or a seasoning solution containing the sugar solution, the sugar solution or the seasoning solution containing the sugar solution will reach the center of the tofu. It is difficult to penetrate and tends to crack or form when freeze-dried, so there is a risk that it will lose its shape when it is reconstituted with boiling water. 2mm
Tofu cut into cubes of about the size of cubes or smaller, containing one or more types of sugars such as monosaccharides such as glucose and fructose, disaccharides such as lactose, maltose, and sucrose, and low DE dextrin, and approximately 5 to 30% by weight. or a seasoning liquid containing the sugar liquid and containing one or more seasonings such as common salt, sodium glutamate, miso, and soy sauce at a concentration of about 5 to 10% by weight. Bx is measured using a hand-held refractometer as a guide for the amount of the above-mentioned sugar solution or seasoning solution containing the sugar solution permeated inside the tofu.
It is preferable that the Bx value after penetration be within the range of about 4.0 to 5.0. If the above value is less than about 4.0, the amount of permeation of the sugar solution or the seasoning liquid containing the sugar solution into the tofu is small, and the tofu after freeze-drying will have cracks or holes, and the physical properties will be no different from frozen tofu. becomes. In addition, if the Bx value exceeds about 5.0, it will be difficult to freeze completely even if the rapid freezing temperature is lowered more than necessary, and even if the degree of vacuum during freeze-drying is increased, it will not be able to be completely dried, and some parts will take on a starch syrup-like appearance. There is also.

If the concentration of the sugar solution in which tofu is soaked or the seasoning solution containing the sugar solution is about 5% by weight or less, even if the tofu is continuously soaked for a long time, the sugar solution or the seasoning solution containing the sugar solution will not dissolve. The permeation amount of the tofu is small, and the tofu after freeze-drying, that is, the freeze-dried tofu, is not much different from frozen tofu in terms of physical properties, and the concentration of the sugar solution is 30% by weight or the concentration of the seasoning solution containing the sugar solution. If it exceeds 10% by weight, the difference in the concentration of the sugar solution or the concentration of the seasoning solution containing the sugar solution will become large between the surface and center of the tofu, and as a result, the surface of the tofu after freeze-drying will change in appearance. Although the tofu will be completely crack-free, there will be cracks and crevices inside, making it impossible to produce the desired product.Also, if the sugar solution penetrates into the center of the tofu, the sugar concentration on the surface of the tofu will be extremely high. Even if the degree of vacuum during freeze-drying is increased and time is taken, complete drying cannot be achieved. In addition, tofu cut into dice and soaked in a sugar solution or a seasoning solution containing the sugar solution has a slightly higher sensory hardness than regular tofu, and has better shape retention when being carried, making it easier to handle. . In particular, it becomes easier to line up trays and conveyors during rapid freezing. Tofu impregnated with a sugar solution or a seasoning solution containing the sugar solution is quickly frozen at about -20 to -40°C.
It is also possible to sell tofu after quick freezing as a frozen food.

The tofu rapidly frozen as described above is freeze-dried in a conventional manner. The freeze-dried product is close to white, or to be exact, pale yellow, but when you pour boiling water into it, the color changes to 3.
It is reconstituted within minutes, and in the reconstituted state, the texture is fine and smooth, and it is comparable to commercially available tofu. In addition, if tofu that has been cut into dice is soaked in a mixture of seasoning liquid and sugar solution to penetrate the tofu, then quickly frozen at -20 to -40°C and then freeze-dried, the freeze-dried tofu will have a light seasoning. It imparts the taste of ingredients, and when restored with hot water as an ingredient for soups, mapo tofu, sukiyaki, etc., it becomes fine and smooth, and it enhances the taste of soups, mapo tofu, sukiyaki, etc. It's also bonito stock,
An aqueous solution containing about 2% by weight of two or more of kelp stock, ribotite, monosodium glutamate, and sugars is added to raw miso in an amount of about 70 to 150% by weight, mixed while heating, and cooled. Add the quick-frozen tofu obtained above to the resulting juice and immediately mix everything again.
Rapidly freeze to around 20 to -40℃ and freeze-dry.
If an aqueous solution containing two or more seasonings such as bonito stock, kelp stock, ribotite, monosodium glutamate, sugar, etc. is added in an amount less than about 70% by weight to raw miso, the concentration of raw miso will be too high and it will freeze. It takes a long time to freeze the tofu, and the above-mentioned quick-frozen tofu partially thaws, which is undesirable as the salty taste and color of the raw miso transfers to the cured tofu. Furthermore, it is difficult to completely freeze the entire tofu, and subsequent freeze-drying is insufficient. Become something. Moreover, if it exceeds about 150% by weight, the water content is too high and more energy than necessary is consumed for freeze-drying, and furthermore, the apparent specific gravity of the freeze-dried product becomes small and the porosity becomes large.

As mentioned above, an aqueous solution containing two or more kinds of bonito stock, kelp stock, ribotite, monosodium glutamate, sugar, etc. is added to the raw miso in an amount of 70 to 150% by weight, mixed while heating, and then cooled. Then, before adding and thawing the quick-frozen tofu obtained above, the mixture is quickly frozen again, and then freeze-dried as it is. The reason why the quickly frozen tofu is quickly frozen again without being thawed is to minimize the transfer of the flavor, color, and salty taste of the raw miso to the tofu. More specifically, the above-mentioned mixture to which the quickly frozen tofu should be added, that is, the mixture of raw miso and an aqueous solution containing two or more kinds of bonito stock, kelp stock, ribotite, monosodium glutamate, sugar, etc., has a low salt content overall. If the tofu is in a high concentration and the tofu to be added has not already been frozen, it will take some time to freeze after tofu is added to the mixture which has been cooled to near the freezing point. The color of the mixed liquid and various ingredients, especially salt, penetrate too much, so when it is reconstituted into miso soup with hot water after freeze-drying, it becomes colored and salty tofu, and at the same time, the tofu shrinks during freeze-drying and the appearance of the tofu changes. This is because there is a risk that the drying process will deteriorate and the drying may become insufficient. A product that meets the above requirements is an instant miso soup with ingredients that combines freeze-dried miso and freeze-dried tofu, which can be made into miso soup extremely easily in about 3 minutes by pouring boiling water, and a miso soup prepared by adding commercially available tofu. When compared with the tofu ingredients, the taste, color, smoothness, fineness, etc. of the tofu ingredients were almost comparable.

Furthermore, when producing dried mapo tofu, which is a cooked food, minced pork is stir-fried in sesame oil in advance, and water is added and mixed with a commercially available mapo tofu base made of soy sauce, sugar, salt, spices, etc. After dispersion, the tofu is cooled, the sugar solution obtained above or the seasoning solution containing the sugar solution is permeated into the tofu, the rapidly frozen tofu is added, the whole is quickly frozen again, and then freeze-dried. Dried food of Ha-dofu is obtained. When boiling water is added to the product along with a small amount of vinegar and the product is reconstituted while heating, the resulting tofu is comparable to mapo tofu obtained by the usual method. The light sweetness blends well with the surrounding saltiness.

Also, thinly sliced beef, green onions, fresh shiitake mushrooms, garland chrysanthemums,
Cooked food is prepared by cooking with soy sauce and sugar, cooling it, adding the sugar solution obtained above or freeze-dried tofu containing the sugar solution, quickly freezing the whole thing, and then freeze-drying it. A type of dried sukiyaki food was obtained. When restoring the product, add a small amount of mirin and water, and if necessary add konnyaku and heat. The tofu in this restored food is also fine and smooth, and the internal sweetness blends well with the surrounding sukiyaki flavor.

Next, examples of the present invention will be shown and explained in more detail.

Example 1 Commercially available cotton tofu was cut into 1.0 cm cubes, and lactose was added to
It is immersed in a lactose solution containing % by weight. The hand-held refractometer value for tofu was 1.7 before soaking in lactose solution.
However, it rose to 4.2 after 70 minutes of immersion. At that point, the tofu was taken out from the soaking liquid and was placed on a stainless steel belt conveyor and quickly frozen at -30°C. After rapid freezing, the dried food was freeze-dried at 0.3 to 0.6 Torr.

As a result of using this freeze-dried tofu as an ingredient for regular soup, the tofu reconstituted in 2 minutes and 30 seconds after being put into this soup, and this reconstituted tofu had a fine texture and smooth texture. , had no cracks.

In addition, soup with commercially available tofu added as an ingredient,
A panel of 30 experts sensory-evaluated the overall evaluation of the flavor and appearance of the ingredients using the two-point preference method for soups using the freeze-dried tofu obtained in this example as an ingredient. As a result, there were 17 people who preferred commercially available tofu, but there was no significant difference between the two at a risk rate of 5%.

Example 2 14g of raw miso, 1g of finely chopped green onion, 14g of water, bonito stock
A juice consisting of 0.25 g, 0.01 g of sodium 5'-inosinate, 0.005 g of sodium 5'-guanylate, 0.015 g of sugar, and 0.045 g of sodium glutamate was poured into a 1 cm thick, 30 ml tray and cooled to near the freezing point. , 3 pieces of quick-frozen tofu prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 were added, and the whole was quickly frozen again.
The dried food was obtained by freeze-drying at 0.6 Torr.

30 trays (for 30 people) of the above product were manufactured. Miso soup obtained by reconstituting the product of this example with boiling water and miso soup prepared from ordinary raw miso with commercially available tofu were tested by a panel of 30 experts in the same manner as in Example 1. As a result of comprehensive evaluation, 16 people preferred regular miso soup, but there was no significant difference between the two at a risk rate of 5%.

Example 3 Plain tofu is cut into 1.5 cm square pieces and immersed in a dextrin solution containing 10% by weight of DE7 dextrin. The hand refractometer value rose to 5.1 after 2 hours for the soaked tofu. At that point, the tofu was taken out from the soaking liquid, arranged in a single layer on a stainless steel belt conveyor, and quickly frozen at -35°C.

Raw miso in the same proportions as in Example 2, finely chopped long onions,
A juice consisting of water, bonito stock, inosinic acid, guanylic acid, sugar, and sodium glutamate is prepared and cooled to near freezing point. The quick-frozen tofu obtained above was added to the cooled juice in the same manner as in Example 2, and
A dry food was obtained by freeze-drying in the same manner as above.

30 trays (for 30 people) of the above product were manufactured. Miso soup obtained by reconstituting this example product in boiling water and a miso soup prepared from regular raw miso with silken tofu and chopped green onions added as ingredients were tested by a panel of 30 experts using a two-point preference method. As a result of the same sensory test as in Example 1,
18 people preferred regular miso soup, but there was no significant difference between the two at a risk of 5%.

Example 4 Cotton tofu was cut into 1.2 square pieces and immersed in a mixture of a seasoning liquid and a sugar solution consisting of 1.0% by weight of salt, 2.0% by weight of sodium glutamate, and 5.0% by weight of glucose, until the value on a hand-held refractometer reached 4.1. After the indicated time, ie 3 hours, it is removed from the immersion liquid. The taken out tofu was arranged in a single layer on a tray, and the tofu was quickly frozen while blowing cold air at -30°C at a wind speed of 5 m/sec.

Meanwhile, add 10ml of sesame oil to 150g of ground pork, heat over high heat, add 35g of commercially available mapo tofu base consisting of soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, salt, chili pepper, pepper, ginger, and miso, and then add 150ml of it. Add water. Divide this in half, add commercially available tofu cut into half dice to the other half, and sprinkle with starch powder.
Add 0.5g and boil to finish. One half was cooled, 150 g of the quick-frozen tofu obtained in this example was added thereto, quickly frozen, and then freeze-dried to obtain a dry food.

Reconstituted mapo tofu was obtained by adding 90 ml of water and 0.5 g of Katakuri flour to this dried food and heating it.

This restored mapo tofu and the above-mentioned cooked mapo tofu (obtained from commercially available tofu without any drying process) were tested by a panel of 30 experts using the two-point preference method. As a result of a sensory test, 15 people each had different preferences, and there was no significant difference between the two with a risk rate of 5%.

Example 5 400g thinly sliced beef, 200g green onions, 150 fresh shiitake mushrooms
g, 200 g of garland chrysanthemum, 200 g of soy sauce, 70 g of sugar, and 5 g of sodium glutamate were placed in a flat-bottomed tray, cooled, and 400 g of quick-frozen tofu obtained in Example 1 was added to the tray and the whole was quickly frozen again. Freeze-dried using the method.

Freeze-dried product obtained above, 10ml mirin and 1250ml water
A panel of 30 experts conducted a sensory test on this restored sukiyaki and sukiyaki prepared using the normal cooking method, and 19 people found that the normal sukiyaki was better. However, there was no significant difference between the two at a risk rate of 5%.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Tofu cut into cubes, a sugar solution containing one or more types of sugars such as monosaccharides, disaccharides, and dextrins, or a sugar solution containing the sugar solution and salt,
After immersing tofu in a seasoning solution containing one or more seasonings such as sodium glutamate, miso, and soy sauce, the tofu is taken out from the sugar solution or a seasoning solution containing the sugar solution, and then quickly frozen. A method for producing a dried food product, characterized by freeze-drying. 2 Add about 70 to 150% by weight of an aqueous solution containing bonito stock, kelp stock, ribotite, monosodium glutamate, sugar, glucose, etc. to raw miso, mix while heating, and then cool to the resulting juice, Claims characterized in that quick-frozen tofu impregnated with a sugar solution or a seasoning solution containing the sugar solution is added, the tofu is quickly frozen again before it thaws, and the whole tofu is freeze-dried. A method for producing a dried food according to item 1. 3 Cooked foods such as mapo tofu and sukiyaki are seasoned and mixed before heating, after heating, or while being heated, and are then cooled, impregnated with a sugar solution or a seasoning solution containing the sugar solution, and then quickly frozen. Claim 1, characterized in that the tofu is added before the tofu is thawed, quickly frozen again, and the whole is freeze-dried.
The method for producing the dried food described in Section 1. 4. Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the concentration of the sugar solution containing one or more types of saccharides such as monosaccharides, disaccharides, and dextrins is about 5 to 30% by weight.
A method for producing a dried food according to any one of Item 3. 5. A patent claim characterized in that the concentration of the seasoning liquid containing sugar solution and one or more seasonings such as common salt, sodium glutamate, miso, soy sauce, etc. is about 5 to 10% by weight. A method for producing a dried food according to any one of Items 1 to 3.