JPS6242593B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

(a) Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to a method for drying thin seaweed. (b) Conventional technology Conventionally, when thin seaweed such as nori and hitoegusa is made into a dry product, it is cut into sheets or loosened into pieces and then dried to make the dry product. Currently, plate-shaped products such as dried seaweed are already manufactured mechanically, but a good mechanical method for loosening and drying them into pieces (hereinafter referred to as bulk drying) has not yet been established. . (c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention If lumps of seaweed are simply placed in a drying atmosphere, they will remain in the form of a lump and dry. Especially seaweed,
In thin seaweed like Hitoegusa, which is less than 100 microns thick, the leaves tend to get entangled and stick to each other, so in order to dry them separately, the leaves need to be separated during the drying process. An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and provide a drying method capable of drying thin seaweed pieces in a good and efficient manner. (d) Means for solving the problems That is, the present invention provides solutions for
Using thin seaweed less than 100μ, its moisture content is 150%.
In the process of drying until the moisture content is
A method for drying thin seaweed is characterized in that the seaweed is dispersed at least 10 times during the 100% reduction. In the present invention, the seaweed used is Nori or Hitoegusa, and its moisture content must be 400% or more. Here, the moisture content refers to the ratio (%) of moisture to the dry weight.For example, 20g of seaweed
(dry stock weight), when the water content is 80g (normally referred to as 80% moisture), the water content is 80g/20g = 4g/g (dry stock) = 400% If seaweed with the above moisture content of 400% or less is used, it will be dry. At the beginning of the process, the seaweed leaf pieces partially stick to each other, or there is a risk that they will stick to each other, making it impossible to disperse them effectively. In addition, if the seaweed has thick mesophyll, it can be dried in pieces using normal mechanical drying methods such as rolling drying.
In the case of thin seaweeds such as nori and hitoegusa, which are approximately 100 μm or less in thickness, it is difficult to dry them into pieces using normal mechanical drying methods. In the present invention, the term "dispersed seaweed" refers to a state in which the leaf pieces of seaweed are separated into pieces without adhering to each other. The seaweed can be dispersed by a method such as injection of compressed gas or stirring with a rotating blade. FIG. 1 shows an example of an apparatus for implementing the method of the present invention, in which 1 is a drying basket, 2 is a cover to prevent seaweed from scattering during the discrete process, 3 is a blower, and 4 is a drying basket.
5 is a dry air inlet, 5 is a rectifying plate, and 6 is a gas injection pipe. First, seaweed is put into a drying basket 1, and this drying basket 1 is arranged above the blower 3 and the gas injection pipe 6, and dry air is introduced from the dry air inlet 4 of the blower 3. The drying air is rectified by a rectifying plate 5,
It is sprayed on the bottom of the basket 1 with a uniform distribution. In this way, while blowing dry air onto the basket, gas is intermittently injected onto the seaweed from, for example, the gas injection tube 6 having a tip diameter of 1 to 4 mm. As a result, the seaweed floats upward within the cage and is dispersed evenly. The above-mentioned injection gas can be air, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, etc., and is not particularly limited. Further, the injection pressure, injection distance, injection angle, and injection time of the gas can be appropriately determined in consideration of the aggregation state, size, discrete state, etc. of the seaweed. Further, the shape of the injection tube, particularly the shape of the tip, can be appropriately determined by taking into consideration the aggregation state, size, discrete state of seaweed, the shape of the basket, etc. In the present invention, ventilation of dry air must be carried out so that dry air is evenly supplied from the bottom of the cage to the seaweed inside the cage. The amount and speed of air flow are preferably such that dry air flows between the seaweed in the cage, and the amount and speed are such that the seaweed blown up by the gas injection slowly falls. Further, in the present invention, the above-mentioned discrete step must be performed at least 10 times while the moisture content decreases by 100% as the drying progresses. The moisture content is measured at appropriate times during the process, thereby controlling the discrete number of times. If the discrete number of times is less than 10, it will not be possible to dry sufficiently evenly and evenly, and if it is done too frequently, gas and energy will be wasted, so it is preferable to use 10 times or more and less than 200 times. . FIG. 2 shows another example of an apparatus for carrying out the method of the present invention, in which seaweed is dispersed by rotation of a rotary blade 8 instead of the gas injection pipe in the apparatus shown in FIG. It is. (E) Example 50 g of fresh seaweed with a leaf length of 2 to 5 cm, which had been centrifugally dehydrated to have a water content of about 560% (water content about 85%), was dried with a diameter of 220 mm.
Place in a drying basket 1 with a depth of 250 mm and a mesh size of 16, and dry air at 40°C and relative humidity (RH) 15%.
While adjusting the air volume to 20 m ³ /min., air was distributed almost evenly from the bottom to the top of the drying basket. Then, compressed air is applied at a frequency of 50 times/minute from a gas injection tube with a tip diameter of 2 mm at a speed of 50 m/sec each time.
It was sprayed for 0.1 seconds to disperse the seaweed. When the ventilation drying of the seaweed reached 230-120%, the spraying was stopped and ventilation drying was continued.The discrete state of the dried seaweed was observed, and the results are shown in Table 1. Note that the determination of discrete state is based on the fact that the leaves are not attached to each other.
Less than 10% was considered good, and 10% or more was bad.

[Table] According to Table 1, according to the present invention, seaweed can be dried in pieces so that the leaf pieces do not stick to the seaweed. Next, raw seaweed and fresh seaweed with a leaf length of 2 to 5 cm were placed in a drying basket, and while air drying was carried out under various conditions, compressed air was sprayed from below at a constant frequency to dry them. The results are shown in Table-2.

[Table] (G) Effects of the Invention According to the method of the present invention, thin-walled seaweed can be dried so that its leaf pieces are in a well-dispersed state. Moreover, drying of thin seaweed pieces, which conventionally relied on manual labor, can be efficiently and mechanically dried. The food obtained according to the present invention can be enjoyed as is, for example, as a vinegared food, fried as a snack food, or roasted as a soup ingredient. Additionally, if you use uncut raw materials, you can enjoy the shape of the raw materials.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an apparatus for carrying out the method of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing another apparatus. 1...Drying basket, 3...Blower, 6...Gas injection pipe, 8...Rotating blade.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Using thin seaweed with a moisture content of 400% or more and a thickness of 100μ or less, in the process of ventilation drying until the moisture content becomes 150% or less, the seaweed is A method for drying thin-walled seaweed, which is characterized by carrying out dispersion at least 10 times. 2. The method for drying thin seaweed according to claim 1, wherein the thin seaweed is nori or hitoegusa. 3. The method for drying thin seaweed according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the seaweed is dispersed by gas injection. 4. The method for drying thin seaweed according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the seaweed is dispersed by stirring.