JPH02273151A - Device for automatically and continuously producing 'tofu' - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically and continuously produce good TOFU (bean curd) by thermally coagulating bean curd in a through-type coagulating tank while transferring the bean curd with many dividing plates disposed on an endless chain at a constant pitch toward the whole length of the trough-type coagulating tank. CONSTITUTION:A driving chain 4 having many dividing plates 3 supported thereon at a constant pitch is disposed on the upper portion of a through-like coagulating tank 2 in the longitudinal direction thereof. A lid 5 is disposed so as to nip the dividing plate - having chain 4 moved along the upper portion of the coagulating tank 2. A constant amount of bean milk mixed with an appropriate amount of a coagulating agent is poured is a dividing chamber formed of the dividing plate 3 and both the inside surfaces of the coagulating tank 2, transferred is the trough-like coagulating tank 2 and simultaneously coagulating by a heating means to continuously produce a coagulated piece of TOFU.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to an automatic continuous Vt manufacturing apparatus for tofu.

[Conventional technology]

Tofu is produced by soaking soybeans in water for a predetermined period of time, crushing and boiling the soybeans, and then injecting and mixing a coagulant into soymilk from which okara has been separated and coagulating it.

Once soy milk is coagulated, it is crushed, placed in a mold, and dehydrated under pressure to make it into the desired shape.Relatively coarse-grained tofu, so-called firm tofu, and iL, which is coagulated with a coagulant, are cut into regular shapes. There is fine tofu, so-called silken tofu.

In the case of firm tofu, the solidified tofu is crushed and recombined under pressure, so the solidified tofu is not chipped during the coagulation process.
There is no problem even if there are cracks. However, with silken tofu, the coagulated product is directly made into a product, so if the tofu is chipped or cracked even during the coagulation process, it may not be a product or it may even reduce the value of the product. Become. Therefore, in the conventional production of silken tofu, soy milk mixed with a coagulant is placed in a large coagulating box and allowed to coagulate as it is, then slowly removed from the box so as not to miss any coagulated tofu, and then cut into regular shapes. to obtain the desired silken tofu. Then, if necessary, these pieces are put into packs one by one by hand.

[The problem that the invention attempts to solve]

The manufacturing method using a fixed coagulation box requires most of the work to be done by hand, resulting in poor production efficiency and unsanitary conditions.

To solve this problem, automatic manufacturing methods have been proposed; for example, there is a method shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 12282/1982. The trough-shaped coagulation tank is divided into sections at regular intervals by a number of chain-driven partition plates, and the soymilk that is supplied in fixed quantities between the partition plates is transferred within the trough by the movement of the partition plates. It solidifies. However, when producing silken tofu, defects such as defects during the coagulation process are not allowed as described above. In the conventional production method, where a partition plate is moved inside the trough and the soymilk is coagulated using only the temperature of the soymilk put into the trough, the temperature of the soymilk is absorbed by the inner surface of the trough and the partition plate, and the outer layer of the coagulated tofu is If a portion of the tofu adheres to the partition plate or the like and is forcibly moved, the solidified tofu will chip at the portion where it adheres to the partition plate or the like. This is because separation of the partition plates, etc., and the so-called peeling phenomenon (lit water) do not occur.

In addition, the coagulation temperature of soymilk is extremely delicate, and if the soymilk temperature is too high, the taste of tofu will be bad or the coagulation will be uneven, while if it is too low, it will take a long time to coagulate.

It is an object of the present invention to propose a method for producing tofu that uniformly coagulates soybean milk in a trough over its entire area and allows for easy delicate temperature control.

[Means to solve the problem]

The trough-shaped coagulation tank is composed of a double tank whose outer surface except the top is covered with a heat insulating material. A large number of soybeans are provided, and by moving the partition plates, the soymilk that is divided by the partition plates and put into the tank is transferred.
The double tank of this trough-shaped coagulation tank and a heating device installed outside the tank are connected through a circulation circuit, and the hot water heated to a set temperature by the heating device is circulated inside the double tank for temperature control heating. to curdle the soy milk.

〔Example〕

Next, the present invention will be explained with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the entire manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, and 1 shows the entire automatic continuous tofu manufacturing apparatus, which includes a trough-shaped coagulating tank 2 and a coagulating tank 2 arranged at a constant pitch within the coagulating tank 2. A drive chain 4 that supports the partition plates 3 at a constant pitch and is disposed above the coagulation tank 2 in the longitudinal direction and driven, and a driving chain 4 disposed above the coagulation tank 2. , and a lid 5 provided to sandwich a chain with a partition plate that is moved along the upper end position of the cypress.

The drive chain 4 is adjustable and driven by a drive means, and is unified by a large number of partition plates 3 protruding from the chain 4 at a fixed pitch and inner plates on both sides of the coagulation tank 2. A suitable amount of coagulant is placed in the compartment between the adjacent partition plate 3.3 and the inner plate of the coagulation tank, so that when the partition plate 3 moves within the trough, this compartment also moves. Add a certain amount of mixed soy milk. In order to prevent uneven coagulation, the temperature of the soybean milk added at this time is set to a temperature of, for example, 65°C to 72°C, which is such a temperature that the coagulation reaction does not yet occur immediately after mixing the coagulant with the soymilk. Therefore, it takes a long time to coagulate this one-time soy milk. In order to uniformly heat and solidify in a short time, the trough-shaped coagulation tank 2 is shaped as shown in FIG. 2 in the present invention.

The trough-shaped coagulation tank 2 is sized to have the required cross-sectional area inside, and is open at the top, with heat insulating material 21 on both opposing sides and the bottom.
A double tank 22 is provided inside this heat insulating material 21. The outer plate 22a of this double tank 22 is in VB contact with the inner surface of the heat insulating material 21, the inner plate 22b forms a required space with the outer plate 22a, and the space 22c between the inner and outer plates 22a and 22b. is completely sealed, and hot water at a preset temperature is supplied into this double tank 22.

A pipe 6 is used to connect the inside of the double tank 22 of this coagulation tank to a heating device 8 disposed outside the tank. At this time, a circulation pump 7 and a pipe 6 are arranged so that hot water heated to a predetermined temperature circulates between the heating device 5 and the double tank 22, thereby forming a circulation circuit.

The heating device 18 is equipped with heating means. As this heating means, a heat exchanger heated by steam is used to heat the hot water flowing through the heating device to a required temperature, but other methods may be used.

Furthermore, when the trough-shaped coagulation tank 2 is long, or when it is necessary to control the heating temperature during soybean milk transfer, the double tank 22 of this coagulation tank is divided into two or more in the longitudinal direction, and each block is divided into two or more blocks. A circulation circuit is formed and the temperature is controlled and heated for each block so that the soymilk transferred in the trough-shaped coagulation tank is heated from three sides, the inner side and the inner bottom of the tank, so that it is suitable for soybean coagulation. In other words, the temperature of soymilk immediately after being put into the coagulation tank is relatively low at 65°C to 72°C, so the temperature at which the soymilk is coagulated is 74°C to 80°C.
In order to heat the soybean milk to the same temperature in the shortest possible time, high-temperature hot water is circulated to the first block of the double tank, and the next and subsequent blocks are filled with soymilk transferred through the trough-shaped double tank. The temperature is controlled and heated to maintain a substantially uniform temperature throughout the interior. Since the top of this trough-shaped coagulation tank is covered with a lid, heat is prevented from escaping from the top of the tank, and the heating temperature of the soymilk is made uniform at the bottom and surface of the soybean milk in the double tank, allowing it to coagulate. will be performed uniformly.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The present invention consists of a trough-shaped coagulation tank consisting of a double tank whose outer surface except the top surface is covered with a heat insulating material, and the top of the coagulation tank is covered with a lid, and a large number of partition plates are provided at a constant pitch along the entire length of the tank. The soymilk that is divided into the tank and put into the tank is transferred by moving the tank, and this double tank and a heating device installed outside the tank are connected by a circulation circuit, and the soymilk heated by the heating device is connected to the heating device installed outside the tank. Since hot water is circulated through the double tank and heated at a controlled temperature to coagulate the soymilk, the soymilk transferred through the trough-shaped double tank is uniformly heated from the bottom to the top of the coagulation tank. It has the advantage of being able to coagulate, ensuring temperature control, uniform coagulation, and improving the quality of tofu.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the entire manufacturing equipment, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the trough-shaped coagulation tank, and Fig. 3 is a 3jla! It is an explanatory diagram of heating. 1 is a manufacturing device, 2 is a trough-shaped coagulation tank, 21 is a heat insulating material,
22 is a double tank, 3 is a partition plate, 4 is a drive chain, 5 is a lid, 6 is a pipe, 7 is a circulation pump, and 8 is a heating device. Patent applicant: Sanyo Foods Co., Ltd. Agent: Shigeru Nishizawa Minoru No. 1
yA Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) The trough-shaped coagulation tank is composed of a double tank whose outer surface except the top surface is covered with a heat insulating material, and the top of the coagulation tank is covered with a lid,
A large number of partition plates are installed at a constant pitch on a chain that is driven along its entire length, and the movement of the partition plates transfers the soymilk that is divided into the tank and charged into the trough. The double tank of the coagulation tank and a heating device installed outside the tank are connected by a circulation circuit, and the hot water heated to a set temperature by the heating device is circulated inside the double tank and heated at a controlled temperature. An automatic continuous tofu production device characterized by coagulating soymilk.