Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1 I~his invention relates to a process for preparing press-
heated squid products. ~n object of this invention is to
industrially produce press-heated squid products which retain
sufficient tasty substances, particularly the amino acid type, and
also the flavour inherent in squids; are durable against storage
for a prolonged period of time without using any preservatives or
packing in vacuo; and have such a moderate so~tness that it is not
necessary to roast or remove the skin or the like before eating.
The conventionally known processes for producing heat-
pressed squid products generally involve a step of skinning raw
squids in warm water at least after removing the legs and
intestinal parts. In this skinning treatment with warm water, raw
squids are placed in an appropriate skin-removing machine and at
the same time warm water at 55 to 65C is poured thereinto followed
by stirring. However, this skinning treatment with-warm water is
disadvantageous in that an extract o~ squids is drained off and
the tissue protein of squids is heat-coagulated so that various
enzymes contained in the flesh are destroyed, resulting in
preventing any further increase in tasty substances, and thus
greatly reducing the flavour inherent in squids. Further, the
growth of mold and rancidity cannot be sufficiently prevented
because of the water generate~ throughout the subsequent treatiny
steps and, ~herefore, storage of products for a long period o time
cannot always be safe. In addition, the warm water used for skinn-
ing becomes contaminated water having a hiochemical oxygen demand
of 10,000 to 30,000 ppm due to the dissolution of the skin itself
and the escape o~ piyments present in the skin (epidermis). This
contaminated water gives rise to environmental problems if dis-
charged as such.
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; Further, according to the conventional processes, various
nutrients and tasty subs~ances contained in the skin cannot be
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1 retained in the ~inal productS because they are necessarily
drained off as a waste water ~rom the skinning treatment.
In the other hand, Japanese Patent Publication No.
15727/1967 discloses a process ~or producing softened and
seasoned squid products wherein a part of the body of raw squid
is opened and the intestinal parts are removed therefrom. The
thus dre~sed raw squids are immediat:ely subjected to a season~ng
step followed by a dxying step, without a roasting step, thereby
obtaining semi-processed squid products which need roasting be~ore
eating. Since this process does not: employ the skinning treatment
before seasoning, i~ seems that the above described disadvantages
associaked wi~h the skinning, particularly in warm water, are
eliminated. However, the purpose of the present invention, i.e.,
to obtain products rich in flavour and the amino acid type tasty
substances and durable in storage for a long period o~ time without
using preservatives or packing in vacuo, cannot be accomplished
simply by omitting the skinning treatment before the seasoning
step or by omitting an aging or press-heating step after the
seasoning stap.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a process for
preparing ~quid products meeting the above purposes on an indu~trial
scale by dressing raw squid, washing, seasoning, semi-dxying, aging
and heat-pressing without the skirlni~g step with warm wat~;r and
subsequent boiling step.
The present invention will hereinafter be explained in
detail. ~'
Raw squids are dressed by removing the legs and the
intestinal parts and opening the body followed by washing with clean
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wat~r, preferahly an aqueous solution of sodium chloride. According
to the invention, the th~s dressed squids are then directly
subjec~ed to the first seasoning treatmentr without the skinning
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1 treatment in warm wa-ter and the s~sequen-t bo:iling trea~ment,
whereby the rate of absorp-tion oE season~ng ayents is increased by
about 10 to 20% and at the same time au-todlgestive enzymes inherent
to tissue protein of squids can be retained without beiny destroyed.
The thus seasoned squids are subjected to an aying treatment by
allowing them to stand in an appropriate container a-t about 20 to
25C for at least about 24 hours in such a manner that drying does
not proceed further. Since this aging treatment is carried out
with the skin as it is, the nutrients and tasty substances
contained in the skin are absorbed into the flesh during the aying
and remai~ therein even after the skin is peeled off in the skin~
removing step. By this aging treatment, the above described auto~
digestive enzymes are activated, and autodigestion and absorption
of the decomposition products of the skin (epidermis) into the
tissue protein result in a synergestic increase of nucleic acid
and amino aaid type tasty substances, thus making it possible to
retain the flavour inherent in squids in the products. Further,
the above aging treatment allows the water content (35 to 50~ by
weight) and the seasoning agents to spread uniformly throughout the
flesh and provides conditions which enhanca enzymatic decomposition
of collagen fibers in the fourth layer constituting the epidermis,
and also conditions which impart moderate softness to the final
products. The decomposition of collagen fibers makes it easy to
separate the skin layer from the flesh in the subsequent press-
heating treatment. The press-heating treatment is effected using
heat plates at 150 to ~00C and, therefore, also serves as a
sterilizing treatment which allows the storing of the final products
for a long period of time without the need of using preservatives
or of packing the products in vacuo. Since the s~uids have been
washed with clean water or an aqueous solution of sodium chloride
to completely remove any sticky dirt from the inner and outer
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1 surface oE the squids, -the squids do no-t stic]c -to -the hea-t plates
when heat~pressed. This increases wor~abi~ity without damaging
the appearance of the final products.
A process according to the present invention will now
be illustrated in greater detail by reference to -the following
example. This example is no-t to be construed as limiting the
scope of the present invention.
ExAMæLE
(1) Washing Step
Legs and intestinal parts of raw squids (including de-
frozen squids) were removed by pulling them from the body, and the
body was opened and spread out. The body was then washed with
clean water while stirring to remove any dirt attached to the
inner and outer surfaces of the body, followed by draining off.
(2) First Seasoning Step
50 Kg of the above treated squids were placed in a mixer
together with powdery or liquid seasoning agents comprising 3000 g
of sugar, 1450 g of sodium chloride, 20 g of Glytimin (trade mark,
manufactured by Maruzen Kasei Kabushiki Kaisha, Japan), 50 g of
glycine, 30 g of succinic acidl 300 g of sodium glutamate, 120 g
of Sansugen S2 (trade mark, manufactured by San-ei Kagaku Kogyo
Kabushiki Kaisha, Japan), 50 g of citric acid and 1000 g of sorbit
liquid ( a 7~ sorbit liquid availa~le from Tokai Kogyo
Kabushiki Kaisha, Japan). The resulting mixture was mixed for 5
- to 10 minutes until the powdery seasoning agents were dissolved
and uniformly blended. Thereafter~ the resulting raw material
comprising the squids and the seasoning agents was transferred to
an appropriate container and allowed to sta~d for about 2 hours to
permeate the seasoning agents into ~he flesh of squids.
(3) Semi-Drying Step
The above seasoned squids were then dried for about 4
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1 hours using an in~irect warm-air drier set at ~round 30 C to a
water content of 35 to-50% by weigh-t.
(4) ~ging Step
The semi-dried squids were placed in an appropriate cover-
ed container and preserved at a low temperature ranging from 20~ to
25C ~or 24 hours or more.
(5) Heat-Pre~siny Step
Each of the above obtainecl aged squids was spread between
upper and lower heat plates heated at 150 to 200C and pressed under
a pressure of about 30 Kg/cm for 3 minutes. The flesh of the squid
was thus baked flatly and uniformly. This press-heaking also re-
leased the skin from the fibrous protein by instantaneous shrinkage
thereof.
(6) Skinning Step & Tearing Step
The press-heated squid was then placed on metal xollers
of a known type to destrOy fibrous tissue as well as to peel ~he
skin therefrom. The resulting squid can be torn into pieces having
a width of 2 to 3 mm using a conventio~al machine to obtain eatably
sized products.
(7) Second Seasoning Step
The above pieces of squids were again seasoned with
seasoning agents in a powdery form of a desired taste while controll-
ing the water content to 25 to 30% by weight to obtain final ..
products having palatable softness.
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