JP2007110988A - Flavor-enhancing agent, tea-based food containing the same, and flavor enhancing method of tea-based food - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a flavor-enhancing agent capable of reproducing peculiar soft rich deliciousness which high-class green tea has, and to provide a flavor enhancing method of tea-based food containing tea extract and powdered green tea. <P>SOLUTION: This flavor-enhancing agent contains 0.1-1.0 of 3-galloylquinic acid which is represented by chemical formula (1), 1.0-5.0 of theanine, 0.01-0.1 of succinic acid and 1.0-10.0 of potassium, as essential components, based on 1 of glutamic acid by mass ratio. The flavor enhancing method of the tea-based food comprises the addition of the flavor-enhancing agent. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a flavor enhancer capable of further enhancing the flavor of tea-based foods containing tea leaf ingredients such as tea extracts and matcha tea, and the like, tea-based foods containing such flavor enhancers, and such flavor enhancers. It is related with the flavor enhancement method of the tea-type food characterized by adding.

  In teas, especially green tea beverages, umami shows an important taste. As an index related to umami, the correlation between the quality of tea with amino acids (Non-patent Document 1), organic acids (Non-patent Document 2), nucleic acids (Non-patent Document 3) present in tea has been reported. However, ingredients that are important factors in determining tea quality have not yet been reported. In addition, from the viewpoint of enhancing umami, green tea to which flavoring compounds such as amino acids and nucleic acids are added is also commercially available, but in fact the umami itself is enhanced, but it becomes a pale taste. Therefore, there is a big gap from the unique mellow and heavy taste of high-quality green tea.

  As a method of enhancing the flavor of tea, a method of using theanine (Patent Document 1) and a method of adding a tea extract with reduced polyphenols (Patent Document 2) have been proposed. In terms of enhancing the harmonious mellow flavor, it was not sufficient, and further technical development was required.

"Tea Industry Research Report" (Japan Tea Technology Association), 1973, 40, p.1 "Tea Industry Research Report" (Japan Tea Technology Association), 2002, 93, p.26 "Tea Industry Research Report" (Japan Tea Technology Association), 2002, 93, p.55 JP 9-313129 A Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-27554

  The present invention seeks to solve the problem that the addition of a conventional seasoning or natural extract is not sufficient to reproduce the umami of high-quality green tea. That is, the present invention provides a flavor enhancer that can reproduce the unique mellow and heavy umami of high-quality green tea, and provides a method for enhancing the flavor of tea-based foods containing tea extract, matcha tea, and the like. Objective.

  As a result of intensive studies to solve the above problems, the present inventors have found that a composition composed of a predetermined ratio of glutamic acid, 3-galloylquinic acid, theanine, succinic acid and potassium is mellow and heavy unique to high-quality green tea. And found that it is possible to reproduce the delicious taste.

で表される３−ガロイルキナ酸を０.１〜１.０、テアニンを１.０〜５.０、コハク酸を０.０１〜０.１及びカリウムを１.０〜１０.０の比率で含有することを特徴とする風味増強剤である。 That is, the present invention has the following chemical formula (1) as an essential component with respect to glutamic acid 1 by mass ratio.

3-galloylquinic acid represented by the following formula: 0.1 to 1.0, theanine 1.0 to 5.0, succinic acid 0.01 to 0.1 and potassium 1.0 to 10.0. It is a flavor enhancer characterized by containing.

In the flavor enhancer, the essential component is derived from a tea extract.
Moreover, this invention is a tea type foodstuff containing the said flavor enhancer.
Furthermore, this invention adds the said flavor enhancer so that glutamic acid may be the addition amount of 0.01-0.05 mass part with respect to 100 mass parts of tea-type foodstuffs, The flavor enhancement characterized by the above-mentioned. Is the method.

  The flavor enhancer of the present invention enhances the umami of a food or drink that can be taken orally, especially tea-based foods, imparts a rich taste, and further enhances the overall flavor of sweetness, salty taste, bitterness, acidity, etc. It can give a mellow and heavy taste similar to high-quality green tea.

(1) Object of flavor enhancer The object to which the flavor enhancer of the present invention is added is food or drink that can be taken orally, and a particularly suitable object is tea-based food.
Tea-based foods are foods that use tea, tea leaves, tea extracts, etc. as raw materials, such as snacks, nutritional foods, tea drinks, carbonated drinks, functional drinks, alcoholic drinks, ice creams, sherbets, etc. Examples include frozen desserts, desserts such as jelly, pudding, sheep cane, cookies, cakes, chocolate, chewing gum, buns and other confectionery, confectionery breads, breads such as bread, ramune confectionery, tablets and tablet confections.
Specific examples include candy containing green tea extract, matcha ice cream, matcha pudding, milk drink containing matcha, green tea jelly and matcha chocolate.

(2) Flavor enhancer (a) essential component The flavor enhancer of this invention contains glutamic acid, 3-galloylquinic acid, theanine, succinic acid, and potassium of a predetermined ratio as an essential component.

  As glutamic acid, glutamic acid and its salt form potassium glutamate, sodium glutamate, calcium glutamate, magnesium glutamate, or pure substances extracted and purified from nature can be used.

  From the viewpoint of the influence on flavor, a natural product may be preferable, and tea is most preferable as the source material. The tea here refers to the buds, leaves, and stems of Camellia sinensis var., Which can be used regardless of varieties and origins. It may be pretreated for use. Tea pretreatment methods include non-fermentation, semi-fermentation, and fermentation, and any treatment method may be used. Non-fermented tea is green tea (sencha, gyokuro, kabusecha, bancha, tamago green tea, matcha, hojicha, kettle roasted tea, tencha, etc.); Although Pu-erh tea is mentioned, it is not restricted to this as a pre-processed tea.

で表される３−ガロイルキナ酸は、合成あるいは天然物から分離・精製したものを用いて添加することができる。 The following chemical formula (1)

The 3-galloyl quinic acid represented by these can be added using what was synthesize | combined or isolate | separated and refine | purified from the natural product.

Theanine, that is, N-ethylglutamine, can be used as a synthetic product or separated and purified from a natural product. Succinic acid can be added using succinic acid and its salt form, monosodium succinate, disodium succinate, or those separated and purified from natural products.
Potassium can be added using potassium chloride, monopotassium dihydrogen phosphate, dipotassium monohydrogen phosphate, or the like.

The flavor enhancer of the present invention can be prepared by obtaining the above essential components as commercially available reagents and industrial chemicals and mixing them at a predetermined ratio.
Moreover, the flavor enhancer of this invention can also use what refine | purified the natural extract and fractionally refined the essential components glutamic acid, 3-galloylquinic acid, theanine, and succinic acid.

  When extracting and purifying from nature, it is preferably prepared by extracting tea with water and / or a water-soluble organic solvent. In this case, examples of the water-soluble organic solvent include solvents such as methanol, ethanol, 2-propanol, and acetone, and one or a mixture of two or more of these can be used, and it can be used in the form of an aqueous solution as necessary. Is done.

  The solvent used for the extraction is preferably water or an aliphatic alcohol having 2 to 4 carbon atoms such as ethanol, propanol, or butanol, and most preferably water, ethanol, or a mixture thereof from the viewpoint of safety to the human body and handleability. Although the quantity of the solvent used for extraction can be selected arbitrarily, generally 10-200 mass parts is used with respect to 1 mass part of tea, Preferably 15-25 mass parts is used. The temperature and time of extraction can be arbitrarily determined and are not particularly limited, but are suitable at 10 to 100 ° C. for 1 minute to 2 hours, preferably 5 minutes to 1 hour.

  After removing insoluble matter from the obtained extract, the extract is further purified with a synthetic adsorbent to obtain a fraction containing a high content of glutamic acid, 3-galloylquinic acid, theanine, succinic acid, and potassium. Can do.

As the synthetic adsorbent used,
(1) The matrix is a styrene polymer, for example, “Amberlite (registered trademark) XAD-16” (manufactured by Organo Corporation),
(2) A styrene-divinylbenzene polymer, for example, “Diaion (registered trademark) HP-20” (manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation),
(3) An acrylic polymer such as “Diaion WK-10” (manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation),
(4) A methacrylic polymer such as “Diaion HP-2MG” (manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation),
(5) An acrylic ester polymer, for example, “Amberlite XAD-7” (manufactured by Organo Corporation),
(6) An amide polymer such as “Amberlite XAD-11” (manufactured by Organo Corporation),
(7) A dextran polymer, for example, “Sephadex (registered trademark) G-25” (manufactured by Amersham Pharmacia Biotech),
(8) A polyvinyl polymer such as Diaion FP-II (manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation) is exemplified and can be used as appropriate.

  Further, the treatment method using a synthetic adsorbent can be performed by a conventional method. For example, a method of feeding tea extracts at a constant flow rate to a synthetic adsorbent packed in a column, an extraction kettle, There is a method in which a synthetic adsorbent is introduced into an extract charged in, and the synthetic adsorbent is separated after stirring for a certain time. There is no particular restriction on the method, and the method can be appropriately selected according to the purpose.

Extracts from which unnecessary flavor components derived from tea were removed by purification with a synthetic adsorbent were further extracted with glutamic acid, 3-galloylquinic acid, theanine by high performance liquid chromatography using an octadecyl silica (ODS) column. Succinic acid can be obtained by fractional purification.

The flavor enhancer of the present invention can be used by formulating glutamic acid, 3-galloylquinic acid, theanine, succinic acid and potassium as follows.
In general, the above components are dissolved at a suitable concentration in a (mixed) solvent such as water, ethanol, glycerin, propylene glycol, triethyl citrate (specifically, water / ethanol, water / ethanol / glycerin). , Mixed solvent such as water / glycerin) as a liquid agent, and if necessary, dextrin, sucrose, pectin, chitin, etc. can be added thereto, and these can be further concentrated to form a paste-like extract. It is also possible to add an excipient (such as dextrin) to the liquid and form a powder by spray drying or the like, and various dosage forms can be adopted depending on the application.

The essential components of the above-described flavor enhancer are, in terms of mass ratio, glutamic acid 1, 3-galloylquinic acid in the range of 0.1 to 1.0, theanine in the range of 1.0 to 5.0, and succinic acid of 0. A blending ratio in the range of 0.01 to 0.1 and potassium in the range of 1.0 to 10.0 is appropriate.
More preferably, by mass ratio, 3-galloylquinic acid is in the range of 0.3 to 1.0, theanine is in the range of 3.0 to 5.0, and succinic acid is in the range of 0.05 to 0.1. The blending ratio is such that potassium is in the range of 3.0 to 10.0, most preferably in the range of 0.3 to 0.7 for 3-galloylquinic acid and 3.0 to 4.0 for theanine. The compounding ratio is such that succinic acid is in the range of 0.05 to 0.08 and potassium is in the range of 4.0 to 6.0.

(B) Other components In addition to the above components, the flavor enhancer of the present invention can enhance flavor and color tone by appropriately blending flavor components or pigments in a quantitative range that does not impair the effects of the present invention. . There is no restriction | limiting in particular in the kind of this flavor component or pigment | dye, A well-known flavor component or pigment | dye is suitably mix | blended and used according to the objective.

(3) Addition of flavor enhancer to foods and drinks The flavor enhancer of the present invention is a synthetic product or a green tea extract for foods and drinks, particularly various tea-based foods, and fractionally refines each essential component. However, it is also possible to add a product formulated as described below.

  Generally, it is dissolved at a suitable concentration in a (mixed) solvent such as water, ethanol, glycerin, propylene glycol, triethyl citrate (specifically, water / ethanol, water / ethanol / glycerin, water / glycerin). It is also possible to add a dextrin, sucrose, pectin, chitin, etc. to this solution as necessary, and further concentrate these to obtain a paste-like extract. It is also possible to add an agent (dextrin or the like) and form a powder by spray drying or the like, and various dosage forms can be adopted depending on the application. Moreover, a flavor enhancer can be suitably added in the manufacturing stage of food and drink.

  When added to the tea-based food, the amount of the flavor enhancer added is 0.01 to 0.05 parts by mass of glutamic acid contained in the enhancer with respect to 100 parts by mass of the tea-based food. Added. Preferably, the flavor enhancer is added so that glutamic acid is added in an amount of 0.02 to 0.04 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the tea-based food.

  EXAMPLES The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to the description of the examples.

[Example 1]
Glutamic acid, 3-galloylquinic acid, theanine, succinic acid, potassium chloride, oxalic acid, and caffeine purchased as reagents were mixed in the mixing ratios shown in Table 1 and dissolved in distilled water to prepare 100 mL samples. . Formic acid was added to adjust the pH to 6.0, which is the pH of general green tea.

[Test Example 1]
Sensory evaluation was performed by adding 1 mL of each of the samples (1) to (8) of Example 1 to 100 mL of distilled water prepared by adding formic acid to a pH of 6.0. The evaluation items were evaluated by a panel of 18 persons for the strength of umami and richness, and the mildness of taste.
The evaluation criteria were a five-level relative evaluation where the taste of the sample (1) was 2, the very strong taste was 5, and the very weak taste was 1. The results are shown in Table 2.

  From the above results, by using 3-galloylquinic acid, theanine, succinic acid, and potassium in combination, the effect of enhancing the umami of glutamic acid and adding mildness to the taste was seen. Moreover, even if oxalic acid and caffeine were added, the umami enhancement and taste improvement effects were not observed.

[Test Example 2]
1 mL of each of the samples (1) to (8) obtained in Example 1 was added to 100 mL of lower sencha leachate to perform sensory evaluation.
The evaluation items were evaluated by a panel of 18 people for the strength of umami and richness, and the mildness of taste like green tea. The evaluation criteria was a five-step relative evaluation where the taste of only low-quality sencha was 2, the very strong taste was 5, and the very weak taste was 1.
The results are shown in Table 3.

  From the above results, the effect of imparting a mild and heavy taste to lower sencha was observed by using glutamic acid and 3-galloylquinic acid, theanine, succinic acid, and potassium in combination. Moreover, even if oxalic acid and caffeine were added, the umami enhancement and taste improvement effects were not observed.

[Test Example 3]
1 mL of each of the samples (1) to (8) obtained in Example 1 was added to the oolong tea leachate for sensory evaluation.
The evaluation items were evaluated by a panel of 18 persons for the strength of umami and richness, and the mildness of taste. The evaluation criteria were a 5-level relative evaluation where the taste of only oolong tea was 2, the very strong taste was 5, and the very weak taste was 1. The results are shown in Table 4.

  From the above results, an effect of imparting a mellow and heavy umami taste to oolong tea by using glutamic acid and 3-galloylquinic acid, theanine, succinic acid, and potassium in combination was observed. Moreover, even if oxalic acid and caffeine were added, the umami enhancement and taste improvement effects were not observed.

[Test Example 4]
1 mL of each of the samples (1) to (8) obtained in Example 1 was added to the tea infusion, and sensory evaluation was performed. The evaluation items were evaluated by a panel of 18 persons for the strength of umami and richness, and the mildness of taste. The evaluation criteria was a five-level relative evaluation where the taste of only black tea was 2, the very strong taste was 5, and the very weak taste was 1.
The results are shown in Table 5.

  From the above results, the effect of imparting a mellow and heavy taste to black tea was seen by using glutamic acid and 3-galloylquinic acid, theanine, succinic acid, and potassium in combination. Moreover, even if oxalic acid and caffeine were added, the umami enhancement and taste improvement effects were not observed.

[Example 2] (Green tea candy)
45 g of sugar, 30 g of candy and 24 g of water are combined and heated to 155 ° C., then cooled to 130 ° C., 1 g of green tea extract, 0.3 g of caramel, and 1 mL of sample (2) of Example 1 are added, mixed and molded. When green tea hard candy was prepared, a green tea hard candy having a rich natural sweetness with enhanced richness and high-quality green tea was obtained.

[Example 3] (Matcha Ice Cream)
30 g of milk, 11 g of syrup, 10 g of whole fat sweetened condensed milk, 7.5 g of unsalted butter, 2.5 g of skim milk powder and 34.4 g of water are mixed and stirred in a hot water bath, 2.5 g of sugar, 0.5% of an emulsion stabilizer. After adding 6 g, heating and stirring, and then emulsifying, 1.5 g of Matcha and 1 mL of the sample (2) of Example 1 were added and stirred and mixed, then aging was performed to prepare Matcha ice cream. A rich matcha ice cream with a rich natural umami taste with high-quality matcha was obtained.

[Example 4] (Matcha pudding)
50 g of milk, 62.4 g of water, 7 g of sugar and 0.1 g of emulsifier were combined and dissolved by heating, 0.5 g of green tea and 1 mL of the sample (2) of Example 1 were added and mixed with stirring, followed by emulsification, molding and cooling. The matcha pudding was prepared to obtain a matcha pudding with enhanced umami and richness, and a natural umami with a broad and natural flavour.

[Example 5] (Matcha milk drink)
30 g of milk, 38 g of water, 10 g of sugar and 1.5 g of an emulsifier are combined and dissolved by heating. Then 0.5 g of Matcha and 1 mL of the sample (2) of Example 1 are added and mixed with stirring, followed by emulsification to give a matcha flavor. As a result, the umami and rich taste were enhanced, and a milk drink having a natural umami with a broad taste of high-quality matcha was obtained.

[Example 6] (Green tea jelly)
10 g of syrup, 5 g of sugar, 1 g of gelling agent and 82 g of water are combined and dissolved by heating. Then, 2 g of green tea extract and 1 mL of sample (2) of Example 1 are added and mixed with stirring. As a result, umami and richness were enhanced, and a green tea jelly having a natural umami with a broad natural flavor of high-quality green tea was obtained.

[Example 7] (Matcha chocolate)
After melted with commercially available chocolate, 1 mL of Matcha and 1 mL of the sample (2) of Example 1 were added and mixed by stirring. After molding and cooling, the matcha chocolate was prepared. A green tea chocolate with a natural umami taste with a spread of.

  The flavor enhancer of the present invention is preferably added to foods and drinks, particularly tea-based foods, so that the sweetness, salty taste, bitterness, sourness, umami and / or richness of tea are high-quality, mellow and preferable. It has the effect of improving things and can be used widely for various foods and drinks.

Claims (4)

As an essential component, with respect to glutamic acid 1 by mass ratio, the following chemical formula (1)

3-galloylquinic acid represented by the following formula: 0.1 to 1.0, theanine 1.0 to 5.0, succinic acid 0.01 to 0.1 and potassium 1.0 to 10.0. A flavor enhancer characterized by containing.   The flavor enhancer according to claim 1, wherein the essential component is derived from a tea extract.   A tea-based food comprising the flavor enhancer according to claim 1 or 2.   3. A flavor enhancing method comprising adding the flavor enhancer according to claim 1 or 2 so that glutamic acid is added in an amount of 0.01 to 0.05 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of tea-based food. .