METHOD FOR STERILIZING SOLID FERMENTING MATERIAL

PURPOSE:To efficiently carry out the sterilization of a solid fermenting material, prevent various germs from contaminating the solid fermenting material and culture mushrooms by inserting and arranging a sensor part of a thermistor in the central part of each bulky aggregate of the solid fermenting material having a moderate moisture content, filling the resultant aggregate in a pressure cooker and keeping the filled aggregate under specific conditions. CONSTITUTION:This method for sterilizing a solid fermenting material is to insert and arrange a sensor part 1 of a thermistor in the central part of each bulky aggregate of the solid fermenting material having a proper moisture content (based on the bone-dry weight of the bulky aggregate) which is 65+ or -10wt.% such as sawdust of a broad-leaved tree, fill the bulky aggregate in a hermetically sealable pressure cooker, take out the temperature of the central part in the bulky aggregate sensed by the thermistor to a temperature indicator and/or a temperature controller 29 on the outside of the pressure cooker with a heat-resistant lead wire of the thermistor, control the sensed temperature of the thermistor within the effective sterilizing temperature range of 115-130 deg.C maintain the temperature for the optimum holding time according to the moisture content of the bulky aggregate and sterilize the solid fermenting material in filling the bulky aggregate of the solid fermenting material housed a container in the hermetically sealable pressure cooker and sterilizing the bulky aggregate of the solid fermenting material at the high temperature under pressure while replacing air in the cooker with heated saturated steam.