JP2000014347A - Popcorn - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a food product ensuring popcorn to be functioned as a health food by adding tea leaves to popcorn. SOLUTION: This food product is obtained by making finely ground tea leaves adhere at 0.02-19 wt.% based on the total weight to popcorn. Since popcorn is a food of sharp taste, tea leaves can be added thereto without impairing the taste as a whole; thereby enabling popcorn to be converted from a snack for children and the young to a functional food; as a result, the consumer population for this food product can be dramatically expanded and this new popcorn can contribute to the health promotion of people.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to popcorn flavored with added tea leaves.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, a product obtained by adding a small amount of butter or other oil and salt to the surface of a product obtained by expanding a cone by heating it and expanding the cone has been produced. In this case, the purpose of adding other substances to the corn was to improve the taste of the product, so the choice of the substance to be added was limited to enhance the taste, and popcorn was raised to the health food area. Could not.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a product which solves the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and which allows popcorn to function as a health food without impairing the taste. As an issue.

[0004]

Means for Solving the Problems The solution of the present invention taken to solve this problem is "to make finely ground tea leaves adhere to popcorn".

[0005]

Since the popcorn according to the present invention has finely ground tea leaves attached thereto, when popcorn is eaten, the whole tea leaves are simultaneously taken into the body.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described with reference to embodiments. First, the cone is heated and expanded. The heating method may be a cereal expander comprising a pot body and an openable / closable lid having a packing material, a metal pot, or a microwave oven.

Next, the overheated and expanded corn is put in a slightly large bag or container, and finely ground green tea, butter and other fats and oils and salt are added thereto, and the mixture is stirred. These are adhered and integrated. The fats and oils may be vegetable fats and oils such as soybean oil, rapeseed oil, sesame oil and safflower oil, and animal fats and oils such as beef tallow and lard. In addition to salt, seasonings such as sodium glutamate, sodium inosinate, and sugar, and food additives such as pigments and pastes may be appropriately added.

Green tea is rich in medicinal ingredients.
Catechins (tea tannins), caffeine, vitamin C,
Vitamin B group, polysaccharides, fluorine, vitamin E, theanine (umami ingredient of green tea), carotene and the like. Cancer is thought to be caused by damage of normal cell genes by active oxygen, and catechin is an antioxidant that neutralizes the harm of this active oxygen, and is contained in about 15 g per 100 g of green tea. It is thought that green tea does not rely only on catechins but also polysaccharides, theanine, vitamins, carotene and the like work synergistically. Among them, carotene does not dissolve in hot or cold water. Catechins and the like dissolve in hot water, but not all of them dissolve.

In order to maximize the medicinal effects of green tea, it is best to ingest tea leaves directly, and powdered tea for the purpose of ingesting the active ingredients of tea has been marketed in addition to conventional matcha. I have. Also, dishes using green tea, such as soup of tea leaves and steamed sardine green tea, are known. However, they have not been widely spread, and although the medicinal properties of tea are widely recognized, no effective means has been established as a method of directly ingesting tea leaves.

[0010] Popcorn is a strong-tasting food. When green tea is added to this, of course, the taste of green tea is also added, but the taste of popcorn is not inferior to that of green tea, and it is still popcorn. Moreover, as a result of adding the taste of green tea, the taste is better than conventional ones. In addition, popcorn has expanded and increased in volume, and the surface area has increased accordingly,
A large amount of green tea can be attached. Therefore, popcorn to which finely ground tea leaves are attached is excellent as a health food for directly ingesting tea leaves. By using popcorn as a carrier for tea leaves, which has a tendency to "cannot stop and stop" when eaten, it is possible to ingest more medicinal tea leaves into the body as a result.

[0011] However, popcorn is originally a favorite food, so it is not enough to pursue a large amount of tea leaves when considering the taste. Various products were prototyped from the viewpoint of balancing taste and function, but as a result of a sensory test,
The result that the ratio of the tea leaves was set to be 0.02% to 19% based on the total weight was excellent.

The size of a piece of finely ground tea leaf may be any size as long as it can be easily attached to the surface of popcorn. The product can be varied depending on the size and shape of one piece of tea leaf. In the case of using powdered tea leaves, for example, matcha, the entire surface of the popcorn can be covered with matcha to give a green product as a whole. Furthermore, for the purpose of improving the appearance and flavor, a semi-finished green tea-like green tea leaf may be attached to the surface of this product.

The size of one piece of finely ground tea leaves does not need to be uniform, and two or three types may be used in combination.
Further, tea leaves finely crushed to a certain size and tea leaves made into fine powder may be used in combination.

The method of adhering the tea leaves to the popcorn is arbitrary, but the tea leaves finely crushed into a certain size or the powdered tea leaves may be immersed in oil or fat in advance and adhered to the popcorn. When tea leaves are immersed in oils and fats, the outer shape of the tea leaves does not change, unlike when immersed in water or hot water, so that the appearance of the product is not impaired.

[0015]

According to the present invention, finely ground tea leaves are adhered to the surface of popcorn, and since popcorn is a strong-tasting food, it does not impair the overall taste.
There is an effect that a product that can make popcorn function as a health food can be provided. As a result of converting popcorn from snacks for children and young people to functional foods,
It can dramatically expand the consumer base and contribute to improving people's health.

The ratio of tea leaves is from 0.02% to 1% by total weight.
When the content is set to 9%, there is an effect that it is possible to provide a health food suitable from the viewpoint of taste. Combining tea leaves that have been finely ground into a certain size and tea leaves that have been pulverized can provide a visual effect that the surface of popcorn turns green, an effect that enhances the taste of the tea leaves, and can consume many tea leaves. This has the effect. When tea leaves crushed to a certain size or finely ground tea leaves are immersed in oil and fat in advance, the tea leaves crushed to a certain size and finely ground tea leaves do not change appearance in appearance. The advantage is that there is no fear of a change in quality and the workability is improved by making it easy to adhere to popcorn.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A popcorn having finely ground tea leaves attached thereto. 2. The ratio of the above tea leaves is 0.02% by total weight.
The popcorn according to claim 1, wherein the amount of the popcorn is from 20% to 19%. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein a tea leaf finely crushed to a certain size and a tea leaf made into fine powder are used together.
Or the popcorn according to claim 2. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein tea leaves finely crushed to a certain size or tea leaves crushed into fine powder are immersed in oil and fat in advance and attached to popcorn. popcorn.