JP2003304819A - Method for production of solidified honey - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for production of solidified honey with improved productivity by a continuous concentration, free from deterioration of qualities such as flavor, etc., of the product solidified honey. <P>SOLUTION: The method for production of solidified honey heats the honey in a closed heating apparatus at 100 to 150°C for ≤1 min, removes water by transferring heated honey to a vacuum evaporating chamber, and then molds the dehydrated honey. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method for producing solid honey. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for producing solid honey, which has good quality such as flavor and color tone of the obtained solid honey and has improved productivity due to continuous concentration.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Honey has a high nutritional value and has been used for various purposes. However, since honey is usually liquid at room temperature and may be non-uniformly crystallized, it takes time to handle and store it.

Therefore, in order to solidify the honey to facilitate handling and storage, many methods for solidifying the honey have been proposed. Many of these methods remove the water | moisture content in honey, heating and solidify. It is known that honey is deteriorated in quality such as flavor and color tone by heating, especially at a high temperature of 100 ° C. or higher. Therefore, in order to lower the heating temperature as much as possible, the removal of water is often performed under vacuum.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-12109 discloses a method for producing solid honey in which a honey is heated in a vacuum concentrator at 40 to 60 ° C. for 1 hour or less, water is removed, and compression molding is immediately performed. It is disclosed.

However, according to this method, since the heating temperature is low, solid honey having good quality such as flavor can be obtained, but in addition to the low heating temperature, the heating and dehydration are performed in a vacuum concentrator and discontinuous. Production efficiency is poor.

[0006] The republished patent WO 98/03074 discloses that
A method for solidifying honey is disclosed, in which the honey is heated in a vacuum concentrator at 100 ° C. or higher for a time within 1 hour to remove water, and is then molded by a stamping machine or the like for producing hard candy.

However, in such a method, since the heating temperature is high and the processing time is long, not only the quality of the obtained solid honey flavor and the like becomes poor (shown in the comparative example described later), but also heating in a vacuum concentrator is performed. Since it is a non-continuous method of dehydration, the production efficiency is also poor.

[0008]

Therefore, there is a demand for a method for producing a solid honey which does not deteriorate the flavor and other qualities of the resulting solid honey and has improved productivity by continuous concentration.

[0009]

As a result of intensive studies to solve the above problems, the present inventor has found that even at a high temperature, which is said to cause deterioration of quality such as honey flavor and color tone. The present invention has been completed based on the knowledge that quality deterioration does not occur if heating is performed in a closed heating device for a very short time.

That is, according to the present invention, the honey is heated to 100 to 150 ° C. within 1 minute in a closed heating device, and then the heated honey is transferred to an evaporation chamber under vacuum to remove water from the honey, Next, the solid honey is produced by molding the honey from which water is removed.

According to the present invention, solid honey can be produced with high production efficiency, and the solid honey obtained according to the present invention has the same quality such as flavor and color tone of the raw material honey, or has no difference in flavor and color tone. Very good quality with little deterioration.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The quality of honey is generally evaluated by its appearance such as flavor and color tone. However, deterioration of honey due to heating is caused by the thermal decomposition product of sugar, hydroxymethylfurfural. The content (HMF) can also be objectively evaluated.

According to the method of the present invention, the taste and color tone (coloring due to browning is little or little), the HMF is low,
It is possible to obtain solid honey in which quality deterioration is extremely suppressed.

According to the honey fair competition regulations, it is described that HMF is 5 mg / 100 g or less as a composition standard value of honey. Therefore, HMF is 5 mg / 1
It can be said that the honey having a weight of 00 g or less has very little quality deterioration due to heating.

According to the present invention, solid honey having an HMF of 5 mg / 100 g or less can be obtained, and the solid honey has extremely low quality deterioration, and satisfies the composition standard value of the honey fair competition rule.

The raw material honey in the method of the present invention is
In addition to pure honey, pure honey has flavors, sourness,
Additives such as colorants may be added in an amount that does not impair the properties of pure honey, for example, 10% by weight or less, preferably 5% by weight or less, but it is preferable to use pure honey as the raw material.

The heating device keeps the honey from ambient temperature at 10
Any closed-type heating device capable of uniformly heating to a temperature of 0 to 150 ° C. in a short time within 1 minute can be used.

The closed heating device is a system for supplying honey to the heating device and discharging honey from the heating device through a pipe or the like, and the honey is cut off from the atmosphere in the heating device.
A heating device in which both do not substantially contact. As the closed heating device, a heating device that continuously supplies and discharges honey is preferable.

In the method of the present invention, a closed type heat exchanger such as a cylinder type heat exchanger or an extruder can be used, but preferably, a thin film stirring type closed type cylinder type heat exchanger capable of heating rapidly and uniformly can be used. . As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-26801, an inner cylinder is rotatably provided in an outer case that is fixed substantially vertically, and the outer case and the inner cylinder are provided with high temperature steam. It is heated by a heating means such as, and the workpiece is pressurized and supplied from above or below a thin annular gap of 1 to 5 mm formed by the outer case and the inner cylinder, or at an appropriate position to form a gap in the annular gap. Without heating, the material to be processed is heated and transferred to heat the workpiece.

In the method of the present invention, as described above, it is necessary to heat the honey in a hermetically sealed state so that the honey does not come into contact with the atmosphere. It is preferable to prevent the solid honey from being removed in order to prevent the quality deterioration of the solid honey.

The heating temperature and the heating time of the honey have a great influence on the quality of the solid honey obtained.

The heating temperature of the honey is 100 to 150.
℃, preferably 130-140 ℃. The heating temperature is
It may vary within the above temperature range depending on the heating time.

The heating time of the honey is within 1 minute, preferably within 30 seconds. The heating time of the honey can vary within the above time range depending on the heating temperature.

In the present invention, the honey is transferred to the evaporation chamber under vacuum, preferably immediately after heating, where the water content of the honey is substantially removed.

In the evaporation chamber under vacuum, the heated honey is cooled by the latent heat of evaporation due to the removal of water, but in the evaporation chamber, the honey is substantially heated in order to suppress the quality deterioration of the honey. do not do. In this case, the heating temperature of the honey and the supply speed of the honey to the evaporation chamber are adjusted so that the heat for removing the water content of the honey is supplied from the heating honey.

The evaporation chamber needs to be sufficiently depressurized to remove the water in the honey. If the pressure in the evaporation chamber is insufficient, it takes time to remove water, which is not preferable. Generally, the degree of vacuum in the evaporation chamber is 500 to 760 mmHg, preferably 600 to 760 mmHg, and particularly preferably 720 to 760 mmHg.
It is mmHg.

The removal of water from the evaporation chamber is performed until a predetermined water content is reached, but the removal time of water may vary depending on the heating temperature of honey, the volume and pressure of the evaporation chamber, and the like.

The temperature of the honey in the evaporation chamber may vary depending on the heating temperature of the honey, the amount of heating honey supplied, the pressure in the evaporation chamber, etc., but is preferably 110 ° C. or lower, more preferably about 100 ° C.

In the method of the present invention, the honey dewatered in the evaporation chamber has a water content of not more than 3% by weight, preferably not more than 2% by weight, particularly preferably not more than 1.5% by weight. When the water content is 3% by weight or more, it is difficult to solidify the honey.

The honey from which water has been removed is optionally heated appropriately and then formed into a solid honey.

For molding, a molding method using a die such as a stamping machine, a method of rolling after cooling and cutting, a method of filling a plastic container with a depositor, etc. can be adopted, but preferably a depositor is used. Is the way.

Prior to molding, the moisture-removed honey is supplemented with additives such as flavors, sourness and colorants which are easily decomposed by heating or easily distilled off by vacuum, for example, 10% by weight or less, preferably 5%. It can be added in an amount of not more than wt%.

[0033]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described below with reference to examples.
The invention is not limited to this example.

Example 1 Pure honey was sealed from a receiver tank by a metering pump at a feed rate of 240 liters / hour via a closed system piping, and a thin-film stirring type cylinder-type sealing as described in JP-B-62-26801. The heat exchanger was continuously fed and heated. The heating temperature was 132.9 ° C., and the residence time of the honey in the heating device was 23 seconds. The outline of the apparatus was as follows. Outer case inner diameter: 259 mm Inner cylinder outer diameter: 255 mm Annular gap size: 2 mm Outer case heat transfer area: 0.76 m ² Inner cylinder heat transfer area: 0.76 m ² Inner cylinder rotation speed: 97 revolutions / minute Heating steam pressure: 2.0 kgf / cm ² G

Immediately after heating the honey heated as described above, the degree of pressure reduction 73 from the heating device through a closed system pipe.
It was transferred to a 0 mmHg evaporation chamber (evaporation tube), and the water content of the honey was removed therefrom. The evaporation chamber has a diameter of 470 mm and a height of 16
It had a dimension of 50 mm and had no heating means. The temperature of the honey in the evaporation chamber was 100 ° C.

The honey from which water was removed was continuously taken out from the evaporation chamber at a take-out rate of 195 liters / hour using a damper.

The honey from which the extracted water was removed was filled in a plastic container using a depositor, cooled and solidified, and then sealed with an aluminum foil film.

The resulting solid honey had a water content of 1.4% by weight and a hydroxymethylfurfural content (HMF) of 3.
It had 3 mg / 100 g and its flavor was almost the same as the raw honey. The measurement of water content and HMF was based on the test method of the honey fair trade council "Honey's Inspection Guideline".

Example 2 1 part of honey was prepared by using 2.4 kgf / cm ² G of heated steam.
A solid honey was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that it was heated to 37.2 ° C.

The obtained solid honey had a water content of 0.5% by weight and HMF of 3.9 mg / 100 g, and its flavor was almost the same as that of the raw pure honey.

Example 3 11 honeys were prepared using 1.0 kgf / cm ² G of heated steam.
A solid was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the honey was heated to 9.6 ° C., and the pure honey feed rate and the water-removed honey take-off rate were 120 liters / hour and 100 liters / hour, respectively. Manufactured honey.

The obtained solid honey had a water content of 1.9% by weight and HMF of 1.5 mg / 100 g, and its flavor was almost the same as that of the raw pure honey.

Example 4 Honey was heated to 14 kg using 3.5 kgf / cm ² G of heated steam.
Heating to 7.2 ° C., the temperature of the honey in the evaporation chamber was set to 108 ° C., and the feeding rate of pure honey and the removal rate of dewatered honey were 120 liters / hour and 100 liters / hour, respectively. A solid honey was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the time was set.

The obtained solid honey had a water content of 0.4% by weight and HMF of 4.5 mg / 100 g, and although a slight coloration due to browning was observed, its flavor was almost the same as that of the pure honey as a raw material.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1 15 honey was prepared using 4.0 kgf / cm ² G of heated steam.
Heating to 1.1 ° C., the temperature of the honey in the evaporation chamber was 126 ° C., and the feeding rate of pure honey and the dewatering honey withdrawal rate were 120 liters / hour and 100 liters / hour, respectively. A solid honey was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the time was set.

The obtained solid honey had a water content of 0.5% by weight and HMF of 5.1 mg / 100 g, its flavor was deteriorated as compared with the pure honey used as the raw material, and coloring due to browning was observed. .

Comparative Example 2 15 honey was prepared by using 4.2 kgf / cm ² G of heated steam.
Heating to 2.3 ° C., the temperature of the honey in the evaporation chamber was 120 ° C., and the feeding rate of pure honey and the removal rate of dewatered honey were 120 liters / hour and 100 liters / hour, respectively. A solid honey was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the time was set.

The obtained solid honey had a water content of 0.4% by weight and HMF of 5.9 mg / 100 g, its flavor was deteriorated as compared with the pure honey used as the raw material, and coloring due to browning was observed. .

Comparative Example 3 Pure honey was solidified by the method described in the republished patent WO98 / 03074. In other words, 125 kg of pure honey is heated at 125 ° C. in a vacuum concentrator with a reduced pressure of 650 mmHg.
The mixture was heated to 40 ° C. and the honey was dewatered at this temperature for 40 minutes. The water-removed honey was cooled and molded by a stamping machine.

The obtained solid honey had a water content of 0.9% by weight and HMF of 10.8 mg / 100 g, had a flavor remarkably different from that of the pure honey used as a raw material, and was considerably colored by browning.

[0051]

According to the present invention, the productivity of solid honey can be improved by continuously concentrating, and the solid honey obtained according to the present invention retains the quality such as flavor and color tone of the raw material as it is. Or, it is of very good quality with little deterioration in quality such as flavor and color tone.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. The honey is heated to 100 to 150 ° C. in a closed heating device within 1 minute, and then the heated honey is transferred to an evaporation chamber under vacuum to remove water from the honey and then to remove water. A method for producing solid honey, which comprises molding the removed honey. 2. The heating temperature is 130 to 140 ° C. and the heating time is 30 seconds or less.
The method for producing solid honey as described in. 3. The closed heating device is a cylinder type closed heat exchanger of a thin film heating type, according to claim 1.
The method for producing solid honey as described in the item.