JPH0561925B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Object of the Invention> Industrial Field of Application The present invention relates to a continuous steaming method and apparatus for food products, and more specifically, the present invention relates to a continuous steaming method for food products and an apparatus therefor. A continuous evaporation method that uses low-pressure steam with a gauge pressure of 0.003 to 0.300 Kg/cm ² and adjusts the flow direction of this low-pressure steam to achieve evaporation equivalent to or higher than steaming in a steamer; It pertains to the device.

BACKGROUND ART In general, confectionery such as manjiu and processed marine products such as kamaboko are heat sterilized by steaming, and at the same time, they are given a flavor unique to steaming before being offered on the market as a product. This steaming process is unique in that it not only heats the food, but also adds an appropriate amount of moisture, and steamers have been used since ancient times. However, steamers use a batch method for steaming, and a method has been proposed in which an endless conveyor is operated inside a tunnel kiln, and steaming is performed during this operation. .

However, although this method has the advantage of being able to perform evaporation continuously and in mass production, the relationship between the flow direction of steam and the direction of straight movement and the evaporation mechanism are fundamentally different from that of steamer steamer evaporation. You can't get the same steaming effect as with steaming. Furthermore, since both ends of the tunnel kiln are open, a large amount of steam scatters from both ends, which also poses a problem. For this reason, various automatic steamers have been proposed to automate the traditional steamer steamer, and one of them is, for example, the automatic steamer described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 50-2033. . This automatic steamer stacks multiple steamers vertically, raises these steamers one by one from the bottom using a chain conveyor, etc. Food is placed in the lowest steamer and is steamed while the steamer rises. This automatic steamer can automatically take out food after steaming from the top.This automatic steamer is similar to the traditional steamer in that the steamers are stacked vertically; This method is essentially different from the so-called counterflow method, in which the stacked steamers are lowered one after the other from the top and taken out when they reach the bottom, and does not necessarily produce the same quality as the traditional steamer steamer. Furthermore, it is difficult to speed up the evaporation of the steamer, and replacing the steamer is complicated, so that essential continuity has not been achieved.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks. Specifically, although tunnel kiln evaporation is extremely easy to achieve continuously, it has problems such as deterioration of food quality. We propose a continuous evaporation method and its equipment aimed at solving these problems.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the steaming of food can be completely continuous, and the food can be steamed with the same quality as the traditional steamer steaming. Furthermore, even compared to foods obtained using the automatic steamer shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 50-2033, the steaming process according to the present invention is equivalent to the traditional steamer steamer, so the quality is even better. become something.

<Structure of the Invention> Means for Solving the Problems and Their Effects In other words, the method of the present invention provides that while the food put in from the entrance at one end of the tunnel kiln is discharged from the exit at the other end, the long side of the tunnel kiln is When continuously steaming food by supplying steam from the steam supply port installed in the direction, the pressure of the steam should be 0.003 to 0.300 in gauge pressure.
Kg/ ^cm2 , and the pressure of 15 to 50% of the total amount of steam supplied is lower than the pressure of other steam, and the 15 to 50% of the steam with this reduced pressure is fed to the tunnel kiln. The steam is supplied through the steam supply port located on the exit side, and at least 50% of the total amount of steam supplied into the tunnel kiln is flowed in the opposite direction to the flow direction of the food, while the remaining low-pressure steam is discharged from the exit. It is characterized by

Further, the apparatus for carrying out the present invention is provided with a plurality of divided headers at the bottom of a tunnel kiln in which food is vaporized while food enters from an inlet at one end and is discharged from an outlet at the other end, and each of these divided headers A nozzle pipe is installed to supply steam into the tunnel kiln.
Each nozzle pipe is formed with an opening nozzle that is oriented in the direction in which the water vapor hits the bottom plate of the tunnel kiln and is reversed. In addition, a water vapor outlet is provided near the entrance and exit of the tunnel kiln, and each outlet has a It is characterized in that a fur plate is interposed, a damper is interposed between the buffer plate and the ceiling of the tunnel kiln, and a damper is also interposed at each discharge port.

Therefore, the structure of these means and their operation will be specifically explained as follows.

First, the present inventors focused on the fact that traditional steamer evaporation does not impair the quality of food and can produce products with excellent texture, taste, and food structure, and detailed this evaporation mechanism. We considered this. As a result, the following facts were discovered.

b) Steam steamers are stacked vertically and steam rises upwards from the bottom, whereas food is placed in the topmost steamer and is lowered to the bottom in order, with the steaming process ending when it reaches the bottom. To obtain the best vaporization.

Note that if this steam flow method and the direction of movement of the steamer are the same, the surface structure and epidermis of the food will be destroyed.

(b) Most of the rising water vapor is evaporated under atmospheric pressure in a kiln filled with water.
Saturated steam with a vapor pressure close to atmospheric pressure.

C. Even if superheated steam with a certain degree of dryness is used as water vapor, the dryness decreases due to the moisture in the food as it rises in the steamer, and by the time it reaches the top stage, it has become considerably wet. saturated steam.

Therefore, the present invention was established based on the above findings, and from this point, for example, the first
Continuous evaporation is performed using an apparatus as shown in the figure.

That is, FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an example of a continuous evaporation apparatus for carrying out the present invention, and reference numeral 1 indicates a tunnel kiln. Inside this tunnel kiln, an endless conveyor 2 runs continuously along the longitudinal direction, and food is loaded onto the conveyor and enters the tunnel kiln 1 from an entrance 1a at one end of the tunnel kiln, and then passes through an exit 1b at the other end. The food is vaporized and continuously discharged.
A plurality of first divided headers 3a, 3b, 3c are provided in the lower part of the tunnel kiln 1, and each divided header 3a, 3
At least one nozzle pipe is attached to each of the divided headers 3a, 3c so that the amount of steam supplied can be adjusted from downstream to upstream as described later.
The number of nozzle pipes attached in 3b and 3c is changed. For example, five nozzle pipes 4a to 4e are attached to the first divided header 3a, four nozzle pipes 5a to 5d are attached to the second divided header 3b, and three nozzle pipes are attached to the third divided header 3c. 6a to 6c are installed, and the number of nozzle pipes installed is sequentially decreased from the downstream side to the upstream side.

In addition, 4a to 4e, 5a of these nozzle pipes
The tips of ~5d, 6a~6c are located inside the tunnel kiln, and the steam supply pipes 7a~7e, 8a~
8d and 9a to 9c are respectively attached, and low pressure steam is supplied into the tunnel kiln 1 through the steam supply pipe.

When supplying this steam, a plurality of steam supply ports 10a, 10b are provided in a part of each supply pipe in the width direction of the tunnel kiln (see FIG. 2), and at least part of the steam supply ports 10b, for example, is opened so that steam hits the bottom plate of the tunnel kiln and is directed toward the inlet 1b. Once the steam is applied to the bottom plate in this way, the moisture contained in the steam is removed. In particular, since low-pressure steam contains a relatively large amount of moisture, this is removed to ensure that the food is properly steamed. Can be done.

In addition, in response to this, the entrance 1 of the tunnel kiln 1
a. There is a water vapor outlet 11, 1 near the exit 1b side.
2 will be provided. It is sufficient to provide these exhaust ports by opening the ceiling of the tunnel kiln, but as shown in FIG. A damper 15 and a damper 16 are provided between the fur plates 13 and 14 and the ceiling surface of the tunnel kiln 1, respectively, inside the kiln.

In this way, by adjusting the buffer plates 13, 14 and double dampers at each outlet 11, 12 near the input 1a and outlet 1b of the tunnel kiln 1, the water vapor inside the kiln can be slowly sucked in. Steam in the tunnel kiln can be made to flow slowly toward the inlet 1a, and air can be prevented from entering from the inlet 1a and the outlet 1b.

Next, in the continuous evaporation apparatus with the above configuration, the gauge pressure from the tip of each nozzle pipe is 0.003 to 0.300.
Supply low pressure steam of Kg/ ^cm2 .

At this time, it is not preferable to supply the same amount of low-pressure steam from all nozzle pipes, and the total supply amount (by capacity) is ), and the pressure of this steam is lower than the low pressure steam from other steam supply pipes. For example, when the pressure of steam from the steam supply pipes 7a and 7b is set to about 0.008 to 0.010 Kg/ ^cm2 in gauge pressure, the pressure of steam from the other steam supply pipes is 0.009 to 0.013.
The weight should be around Kg/ ^cm2 .

By adjusting the pressure of the steam in this way, the surface of the food that enters through the inlet will not be overheated and hardened, and the entire surface of the food will be uniformly steamed.
In other words, the pressure of water vapor is 0.008 to 0.008 in gauge pressure.
If the water vapor is extremely low (about 0.010Kg/ ^cm2 ) and close to saturated steam, when the food is surrounded by this water vapor, the evaporation of water from the food surface will be extremely slow and a hard skin will be formed. There is no.

Also, very low pressure water vapor accounts for the total supply.
When a large amount, such as 15 to 50%, is supplied at the outlet side, this steam is saturated steam with extremely high moisture content, so it has a heavy specific gravity and tends to stagnate at the outlet side.
The exit side is completely sealed. Therefore, water vapor supplied from other sources, that is, 85 to 50% of the water vapor, can flow smoothly to the inlet side.

Furthermore, if most of the water vapor, for example 50% or more, flows towards the inlet side, even if the food on the inlet side is sent through the tunnel kiln with a high moisture content,
The evaporation of the moisture inside the food is promoted by a steam flow rate of 50% or more, and the moisture in the food is slowly evaporated by the saturated steam at the inlet, so this problem can be solved without any problem.

In addition, in the above, the steam supply amount on the outlet side is
The reason for setting it to 15 to 50% is that if it is less than 15%, the sealing effect on the outlet side will be lost and most of the supplied water vapor will not be able to flow toward the inlet side. If the temperature exceeds the limit, the amount of steam discharged to the outlet side will decrease, resulting in insufficient evaporation, which will greatly impair food quality, and it will not be possible to reproduce the same evaporation conditions as traditional steamer evaporation. .

Furthermore, it is currently extremely difficult industrially to reduce the gauge pressure of water vapor to 0.003Kg/cm ² or less, and even if good evaporation conditions are obtained, the pressure of this water vapor is only 0.003Kg below atmospheric pressure. Since there is only a pressure difference of /cm ² , the humidity is close to 100%, which is saturated steam.
For this reason, when it comes into contact with the inner wall surface of the tunnel kiln, condensation tends to form immediately, and the water droplets from the condensation hit the surface of the food being evaporated, significantly impairing its quality. This is because when the gauge pressure exceeds 0.30 Kg/cm ² , the moisture level decreases and the food becomes superficially overheated, which is not desirable.

By increasing the amount of water vapor from the supply port on the inlet side and decreasing the amount from the supply port on the exit side, it is also possible to flow the steam in the same direction as the food flow direction.

<Effects of the Invention> As explained in detail above, the present invention evaporates food by flowing low-pressure steam from the outlet side toward the inlet side, in the opposite direction to the food, and thus achieves evaporation conditions equivalent to traditional steamer evaporation. can.

Also, the pressure of water vapor is 0.003 to 0.300 in gauge pressure.
Kg/cm ² , good vaporization conditions can also be achieved with this.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an example of an apparatus for implementing the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the position of a steam supply port. Code 1...Tunnel kiln, 1a...Entrance, 1b...
...Exit, 3a, 3b, 3c...Divided header, 4a
~4e...Nozzle pipe, 5a-5d...Nozzle pipe, 6a-6c...Nozzle pipe, 7a-7
e... Supply pipe, 8a-8d... Supply pipe, 9a-9
c... Supply pipe, 10a, 10b... Supply port, 1
1, 12...Exhaust port.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. While the food put into the tunnel kiln from the entrance at one end is discharged from the exit at the other end, steam is supplied from the steam supply port provided in the longitudinal direction of the tunnel kiln to feed the food. During continuous evaporation, the pressure of the water vapor is 0.003 to 0.300 in gauge pressure.
Kg/cm ² , the pressure of 15-50% of the total supply of water vapor is lower than the pressure of the other water vapor, and the tunnel of 15-50% of water vapor with this pressure reduced; Supplying steam through the steam supply port located on the exit side of the kiln, the total amount of steam supplied into the tunnel kiln
A continuous food steaming method characterized by flowing 50% or more of the food in the opposite direction to the flow direction of the food, while discharging the remaining low-pressure steam from an outlet. 2 A plurality of divided headers are provided at the bottom of a tunnel kiln through which food enters through an inlet at one end and is discharged from an outlet at the other end, and at least one nozzle pipe is attached to each of these divided headers. are located in the tunnel kiln, and at least a portion of the steam supply port at the tip of each nozzle type is opened so that the steam hits the bottom plate of the tunnel kiln and is directed toward the inlet, and A continuous food vaporization apparatus characterized by having a steam outlet near the outlet.