JP2008237155A - Flavor/taste-improving agent, and food and drink containing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a flavor/taste-improving agent that can impart deliciousness, body taste, and voluminous feeling each characteristic of yogurt, and food containing the flavor/taste-improving agent. <P>SOLUTION: The flavor/taste-improving agent comprises a concentrate liquid obtained by concentrating yogurt essence, obtained by extraction from fermented milk with a hydrophilic alcohol solvent, by means of a nano-filtration membrane having a fractionation molecular weight of at most 3,000. The food contains the flavor/taste-improving agent. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a flavor / taste improving agent and a food / beverage product containing the flavor / taste improving agent. In particular, it relates to a yogurt-like flavor / taste improving agent.

Yogurt essence is extracted from lactic acid-fermented milk with a hydrophilic solvent such as alcohol, and is used as a flavor improving agent for beverages and ice cream. However, since the yogurt essence obtained by the above method has a weak flavor of the essence itself, it is necessary to increase the amount of the essence itself. Therefore, an essence having a strong titer with a small amount of addition has been demanded.

There is a method of distilling and concentrating the essence under normal pressure or reduced pressure, but when it is performed at normal pressure, there is scattering of aroma and alteration of taste due to heating. Even when performed under reduced pressure, the flavor changes due to the scattering of aroma.

Moreover, although the method of concentrating vegetable juice and fruit juice liquid with a reverse osmosis membrane is also known (patent document 1, patent document 2), only the water-soluble component is concentrated by this method. However, a method for concentrating water-insoluble components such as milk fat with a membrane such as a reverse osmosis membrane as in yogurt essence is not yet known.

JP-A-3-195482 JP 2001-220594 A

As described above, the method for increasing the potency of yoghurt essence by means disclosed in the prior art document has sufficient improvement effect due to scattering of fragrance, change in flavor, etc., and necessary components not being concentrated. Instead, there was a need for further improvements in umami, richness and volume. In particular, there has been a demand for a flavor / taste improving agent with high potency that can impart excellent sharpness while maintaining umami, richness, and volume.

An object of the present invention is to provide a flavor / taste improving agent capable of imparting the umami, richness, and volume feeling peculiar to yogurt, and a food containing the flavor / taste improving agent.

As a result of intensive studies in view of the above problems, the present inventor has found that a flavor / taste improving agent comprising a concentrate obtained by concentrating yogurt essence with a nanofiltration membrane solves the above problems. The invention has been completed.

That is, the present invention comprises the following configurations (1) to (3).
(1) A flavor / taste improving agent comprising a concentrated solution obtained by concentrating yogurt essence obtained by extraction from fermented milk with a hydrophilic alcohol solvent using a nanofiltration membrane having a fractional molecular weight of 3000 or less.
(2) A flavor / taste improving agent, wherein the fermented milk is obtained by fermenting milk or milk and skim milk with lactic acid bacteria.
(3) A food or drink containing the flavor / taste improving agent of (1) or (2).

The flavor / taste improving agent of the present invention, which is added to foods and drinks in a small amount, imparts excellent sharpness while maintaining the umami, richness, and volume feeling unique to yogurt, and has excellent flavor and taste. Food and drink can be provided.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

The flavor / taste improving agent of the present invention is obtained by the following steps.
Step A: Step of sterilizing milk or skim milk and milk,
Step B: Step of adding lactic acid bacteria to the milk or skim milk and milk obtained in Step A and lactic acid fermentation,
Step C: Step of completing the lactic acid fermentation in Step B by inactivation by heating,
Step D: A step of adding a hydrophilic alcohol solvent to the fermented milk obtained in Step C or a product obtained by inactivating a commercially available fermented milk to obtain an extract from which the essence has been extracted,
Step E: A step of obtaining a concentrated essence by concentrating the essence extract obtained in Step D with a nanofiltration membrane and a nanofiltration membrane having a fractional molecular weight of about 3000 or less.

The milk and skim milk used in step A are not particularly limited, and for example, the following are used. Examples of milk include goat milk, sheep milk, buffalo milk, donkey milk and the like in addition to cow milk, with milk being particularly preferred. Moreover, as skim milk, what reduced the lipid by centrifuging said milk, especially the thing which made the lipid about 0.1 to 0.5 weight% (it is hereafter described also as%) is mentioned. Particularly, skim milk derived from milk is preferable.

The sterilization in the step A may be performed by a known method, for example, heating may be performed at 85 ° C. for 30 minutes.

The lactic acid bacteria used for the fermentation in step B are Streptococcus genus,
Examples include bacteria commonly used in the food industry, such as the genus Lactobacillus, the genus Lactococcus, and the genus Bifidobacterium. Lactic acid bacteria may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

Most of these lactic acid bacteria are commercially available and can be easily obtained. In particular,
Morinaga Milk Industry; FCS-450 (Streptococcus thermophilis) FCH-518
(Lactobacillus helveticus), FC-B (Bifidobacterium longum), LAC361 (Lactobacillus acidophilus), Bifidobacterium M-16V (Bifidobacterium Breve), Kyowa; EZAL MY 105 (Streptococcus thermophilis, Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. thermophilus Lactbacillus bulgaricus), Sankyo Lifetech; Lacris S (Bacillus coagulans) and the like.

The addition amount of lactic acid bacteria is preferably 0.001% to 10% with respect to the raw milk, although it depends on the form of the bacteria. In particular, 0.01 to 1% is preferable. Fermentation conditions are good at 30-50 ° C. for 1-50 hours. In particular, it is preferably 5 to 24 hours at 35 to 45 ° C.

The inactivation of lactic acid bacteria in Step C is preferably 10 to 120 minutes at 60 to 130 ° C., although it depends on the form of the bacteria. In particular, 20 to 40 minutes are preferable at 80 to 100 ° C.

In Step D, the extraction solvent added to the fermented milk obtained in Step C is preferably water-soluble, and specifically, a hydrophilic alcohol solvent composed of lower alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, propanol, and isopropanol can be mentioned. . These lower alcohols are used alone or in combination.

Moreover, you may extract a essence by adding a hydrophilic alcohol solvent to the thing which deactivated commercially available fermented milk as a raw material. Examples of commercially available fermented milk include Morinaga Milk Industry; Bhitas Yogurt, Meiji Milk Industry; Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt and the like.

The addition amount of the extraction solvent is about 10 to 300% with respect to the fermented milk, and the alcohol concentration in the fermented milk at the time of essence extraction is preferably 10% or more. In particular, about 30% to 70% is preferable. If the alcohol concentration is less than 10%, the desired flavor / taste component is not extracted.

The temperature condition for performing the essence extraction in step D is preferably as high as possible from the viewpoint of maintaining aroma and taste components, and is preferably 25 ° C. or less.

Extraction of yoghurt essence is performed by adding the aforementioned hydrophilic alcohol solvent to the fermented milk obtained after the inactivation or obtained by inactivating the commercially available fermented milk and sufficiently stirring. Thereafter, filtration or the like is performed to separate the solid, and an extract of yogurt essence is obtained.

Next, the nanofiltration membrane used in step E will be described. A nanofiltration (NF) membrane is a membrane that fractionates a molecular weight of about 100 to 5000 by molecular size, and has an intermediate pore size between an ultrafiltration (UF) membrane and a reverse osmosis (RO) membrane. Is. In the present invention, a membrane that fractionates with a molecular size of about 100 to 3000 can be used. When the molecular weight cut-off exceeds about 3000, components necessary for flavor pass, and a preferable concentrated essence cannot be obtained, and the object of the present invention is not achieved. Although the detailed components of the yogurt essence concentrated with a nanofiltration membrane with a molecular weight cut-off of 3000 or less are unknown, particularly when added to a skim milk powder solution, a rich taste and volume feeling are preferably imparted.

The nanofiltration membrane may be any known material and may be of any material, but polyamide, cellulose acetate, polyethersulfone, polyester, polyimide, vinyl polymer, polyolefin, polysulfone, regenerated cellulose, polycarbonate It can be used in any shape such as a flat membrane, a spiral membrane, a hollow fiber membrane, a plate membrane, and a tubular membrane. Further, the filtration method may be either a pressure filtration method or a vacuum filtration method, and either a transient method or a circulation method can be used. The material for the nanofiltration membrane is particularly preferably polyamide, cellulose acetate, or polyethersulfone.

As nanofiltration membranes, commercially available Amicon YC05, YM1, YM3, Ultracell PLAC, PLBC (all manufactured by Millipore); SU-600, SU-610, SU-620, SU-210, SU -220 (all manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.); NTR-7410, NTR-7430, NTR-7450 (all manufactured by Nitto Denko); DK4040F, DK8040F, DL4040F, DL8040F, GE, GH4026F, GH4040F, H8040F (all Etc.) can be used.

Although the concentration treatment temperature by the NF membrane varies depending on the intended aroma and taste, it is desirable that the temperature is 25 ° C. or less, preferably 10 to 20 ° C. The processing time is set mainly based on the concentration rate and the like.

The obtained flavor / taste improving agent of the present invention is usually a light pale brown liquid, but is not limited thereto.

The flavor / taste improving agent of the present invention can impart an excellent sharpness to foods and drinks while maintaining the umami, richness and volume feeling peculiar to yogurt.

The flavor / taste improving agent of the present invention can be used as a liquid (solution), but depending on the application, it can also be used in the form of a powder by a known method such as spray drying or freeze drying.

The flavor / taste improving agent of the present invention can be used alone, or can be used as a base flavor in foods and drinks in combination with other flavors and flavor / taste improving agents.

Examples of the other flavors and flavor / taste improving agents include various dairy flavor extracts such as milk, yogurt, cream, butter and cheese; fruit flavor extracts such as strawberry and apple; citrus flavor extract; vanilla Flavor extract; coffee flavor extract and the like.

Examples of the food and drink of the present invention include creams (including fresh cream, whipped cream containing vegetable oils and fats, cream sauce); butters (including daily spreads containing vegetable oils and fats); cheeses (process cheeses) Ice creams (including lacto ice); Concentrated milk (including nonfat concentrated milk, full fat concentrated milk, sweetened defatted concentrated milk, etc.); Various types of milk (whole milk powder, skimmed milk powder, Foods and drinks made mainly from cream powders, prepared milk powders, milk, fermented milk, lactic acid bacteria drinks, milk drinks, and these dairy products); fruit drinks, carbonated drinks, coffee drinks, cocoa drinks, Beverages such as functional beverages; Western liquors (wine, whiskey, brandy rum, gin, liqueur, etc.), liquors such as sake, shochu, sparkling liquor and beer; candy Zarts, chewing gum, chocolates, baked confectionery, bakery, frozen confectionery (ice cream, sherbet, ice candy), etc .; soups (Japanese-style soup, Western-style soup); processed meat products; marine products Cooked foods; frozen foods; seasonings; microwave foods; cigarettes and the like.

The amount of the flavor / taste improving agent of the present invention added to the food varies depending on the type and dosage form of the food, but for example, 0.001 to 10%, preferably 0.01 to 1% can be exemplified. .

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto.
Example 1

40 kg of a 1: 1 mixture of sterilized milk and 10% nonfat dry milk solution was placed in an 80 L tank and sterilized at 85 ° C. for 20 minutes. After sterilization, the mixture was cooled to 40 ° C., lactic acid bacteria FCS-450 (Streptococcus thermophilis) manufactured by Morinaga Milk Industry, and 200 g of Bifidobacterium longum (Bifidobacterium longum) manufactured by Morinaga Milk Industry were added, and lactic acid fermentation was performed at 45 ° C. for 4 hours. After fermentation, inactivation was performed at 80 ° C. for 20 minutes, and then the temperature was lowered to room temperature. After adding 40 kg of ethanol to the fermented product and stirring for 30 minutes at 120 rpm, extraction processing was performed to remove solids by filtration through a filter paper to obtain 60 kg of yogurt essence (hereinafter referred to as essence before concentration). . 300 g of the essence before concentration was subjected to membrane concentration treatment at room temperature using an NF membrane NTR-7410 (fractional molecular weight 1000 to 2000) manufactured by Nitto Denko to obtain 75 g of the flavor / taste improving agent of the present invention.
Example 2

300 g of the essence before concentration of Example 1 was subjected to membrane concentration treatment at room temperature using an NF water NF membrane GH (fraction molecular weight 2500) to obtain 75 g of the flavor / taste improving agent of the present invention.
Example 3

300 g of the essence before concentration of Example 1 was subjected to membrane concentration treatment at room temperature using an NF membrane NTR7430 (fractional molecular weight: 500 to 1000) manufactured by Nitto Denko to obtain 75 g of the flavor / taste improving agent of the present invention.
Example 4

300 g of the essence before concentration of Example 1 was subjected to membrane concentration treatment at room temperature using a GE water-made NF membrane DL (fractionated molecular weight: 150 to 300) to obtain 75 g of the flavor / taste improving agent of the present invention.
Comparative Example 1

300 g of the essence before concentration of Example 1 was subjected to membrane concentration treatment at room temperature using a GE water-made NF membrane GK (fraction molecular weight 3500) to obtain 75 g of the flavor / taste improving agent of the present invention.

Each of the flavor / taste improving agents of Examples 1, 2, 3, 4 and Comparative Example 1 was adjusted by adding 0.2% to a 7% non-fat dry milk aqueous solution and prepared by four skilled panelists. Sensory evaluation was performed. In addition, as Comparative Example-2, the essence before concentration of Example 1 was added as it was without adding the film to the 7% nonfat dry milk solution in the same manner as in the above Example, and simultaneously adjusted to be functional. evaluated. As a result, the non-fat dry milk aqueous solutions of Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2 had no thickness and richness and a strong feeling of powder was felt. The skim milk aqueous solutions of Example 1 and Example 4 were strongly felt in thickness and bottom, were given a rich taste, sweetness and volume feeling reminiscent of milk fat, and also felt sharpness. In Examples 2 and 3, the thickness and body were weaker than those in Example 1 and Example 4, but clearly an improvement effect was recognized as compared with Comparative Example 1.
Example 5

50% by weight of the flavor / taste improving agent of Example 1 was added to milk flavor (manufactured by Shiono Koryo). This was added to a 7% non-fat dry milk aqueous solution and flavored.
Example 6

50% by weight of the flavor / taste improving agent of Example 2 was added to milk flavor (manufactured by Shiono Koryo). This was added to a 7% non-fat dry milk aqueous solution and flavored.
Example 7

50% by weight of the flavor / taste improving agent of Example 3 was added to milk flavor (manufactured by Shiono Koryo). This was added to a 7% non-fat dry milk aqueous solution and flavored.
Example 8

50% by weight of the flavor / taste improving agent of Example 4 was added to milk flavor (manufactured by Shiono Koryo). This was added to a 7% non-fat dry milk aqueous solution and flavored.
Comparative Example 3

50% by weight of the flavor / taste improving agent of Comparative Example 1 was added to a milk flavor (manufactured by Shiono Koryo). This was added to a 7% non-fat dry milk aqueous solution and flavored.

In the addition of the milk flavors of Examples 5 to 8 and Comparative Example 3, the 7% non-fat dry milk aqueous solution was finally flavored so that the milk flavor concentration was 0.1% each. Each defatted powdered milk aqueous solution was subjected to sensory evaluation by four skilled panelists. As a result, the skim milk aqueous solution of Example 5 and Example 8 had a fermented feeling without suppressing the top, was provided with a thickness, a rich taste, and a volume feeling, and was well cut. The nonfat dry milk aqueous solutions of Examples 6 and 7 were clearly not as effective as Examples 5 and 8, but were clearly improved compared to Comparative Example 3. On the other hand, the skim milk aqueous solution of Comparative Example 3 showed almost no improvement effect in terms of fermentation feeling, thickness and richness, and cutting feeling.
Example 9

The milk flavor prepared in Example 5 was added to the yogurt beverage so that the final concentration was 0.2%.
Example 10

The milk flavor prepared in Example 6 was added to the yogurt beverage so that the final concentration was 0.2%.
Example 11

The milk flavor prepared in Example 7 was added to the yogurt beverage so that the final concentration was 0.2%.
Example 12

The milk flavor prepared in Example 8 was added to the yogurt beverage so that the final concentration was 0.2%.
Comparative Example 4

The milk flavor prepared in Comparative Example 3 was added to the yogurt drink so that the final concentration was 0.2%.

The sensory evaluation was conducted by three skilled panelists on the yogurt beverages with flavored milk flavors of Examples 9 to 12 and Comparative Example 4. As a result, the yogurt drinks of Example 9 and Example 12 had a fermented feeling and a rich taste and volume feeling compared to the yogurt drinks of Example 10 and Example 11. Moreover, the yogurt drinks of Example 10 and Example 11 were clearly improved in terms of fermentation feeling, body taste and volume feeling as compared with the yogurt drink of Comparative Example 4. The yogurt beverage of Comparative Example 4 showed no improvement effect.

Claims (3)

  A flavor / taste improving agent comprising a concentrate obtained by concentrating yogurt essence obtained by extraction from fermented milk with a hydrophilic alcohol solvent using a nanofiltration membrane having a fractional molecular weight of 3000 or less.   The flavor / taste improving agent according to claim 1, wherein the fermented milk is obtained by fermenting milk or milk and skim milk with lactic acid bacteria. A food or drink comprising the flavor / taste improving agent according to claim 1 or 2.