JP2017153380A - Saltiness and umami enhancer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a saltiness and umami enhancer capable of providing a sufficient feeling of saltiness even with a reduced amount of salt, as well as improving umami of food and beverage.SOLUTION: A saltiness and umami enhancer of the present invention comprises, as an active ingredient, a concentrate of citrus pericarp extract, a concentrate of citrus juice, or a concentrate of a mixture of citrus pericarp extract and citrus juice. For the saltiness and umami enhancer of the present invention, a fruit as a raw material of the pericarp extract and a fruit as a raw material of the juice are preferably the same citrus fruit, and a solvent of the pericarp extract is preferably a water-soluble solvent, water, or a mixture thereof. The saltiness and umami enhancer of the present invention may comprise the concentrate and a powdering base material, and can be processed to a powdery or granular form.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

  The present invention relates to a salty taste enhancer that can give a sufficient salty taste even when the amount of salt used is reduced and can also improve the taste of food and drink.

  Salt (sodium chloride) is an important ingredient in cooking, as a seasoning, to impart a salty taste to foods and drinks, to bring out the umami of food materials. Salt is not only used as a seasoning, but also used for salting to improve the storage stability of foods, such as pickles. Furthermore, salt is an essential component for human life support. Thus, while salt is an essential component in humans, excessive intake of salt causes various diseases such as hypertension, kidney disease, and heart disease. Therefore, reduction of salt intake (reduced salt) is recommended.

  By the way, simply reducing the amount of salt used in foods and drinks not only reduces the salty taste, but also may cause a loss of unity of taste and significantly impair the original taste of foods and drinks. Therefore, in order to cope with such a problem, for example, methods as described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have been proposed. Patent Document 1 describes that by adding a mixture of a vegetable protein hydrolyzate and a yeast extract to a low-salt food and drink, it is possible to impart deliciousness without imparting a salty taste to the low-salt food and drink. ing. Patent Document 2 describes that by using a salty taste enhancer containing a predetermined spice extract, saltiness can be enhanced without impairing the palatability of the food or drink.

  However, since the method described in Patent Document 1 does not impart a further salty taste to the reduced-salt food and drink (because it does not enhance the salty taste), it cannot be said that it is necessarily satisfactory in the taste of saltiness. Furthermore, the salty taste enhancer described in Patent Document 2 contains a cinnamon extract as one of the spice extracts. Therefore, when this salty taste enhancer is added to foods and drinks, it may feel the taste of cinnamon when ingested. For example, this salty taste enhancer is used for dishes that require delicate seasoning such as Japanese food. Hateful. As described above, no method has been reported yet for reducing the salt of foods and beverages so that the salty taste (saltyness) is felt and the taste of the foods and beverages is hardly impaired.

JP 2011-4668 A JP 2012-239398 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a salty umami enhancer capable of making a salty taste even when the amount of salt used is reduced and improving the umami of foods and drinks, and a salty taste containing this salty umami enhancer. It is to provide food and reduced salt food and drink.

As a result of intensive studies to solve the above problems, the present inventor has found a solution means having the following configuration, and has completed the present invention.
(1) A salty umami enhancer containing, as an active ingredient, a citrus peel extract concentrate, a citrus juice concentrate, or a mixture of a citrus peel extract and citrus juice.
(2) The salty taste enhancer according to (1) above, wherein the fruit used as the raw material for the fruit peel extract and the fruit used as the raw material for the fruit juice are the same citrus fruit.
(3) The salty taste enhancer according to the above (1) or (2), wherein the solvent of the peel extract is a water-soluble solvent, water or a mixture thereof.
(4) The salty taste enhancer according to any one of (1) to (3) above, which contains a concentrate and a powder base and is processed into a powder or granule.
(5) A salty taste containing the salty taste enhancer according to any one of (1) to (4) and sodium chloride.
(6) The salty seasoning according to (5), further containing potassium chloride.
(7) The salty taste according to (5) or (6) above, wherein the salty taste enhancer is contained in an amount of 1 to 200 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of sodium chloride.
(8) Reduced salt food / beverage products containing the salty seasoning in any one of said (5)-(7).

  According to the salty taste enhancer of the present invention, there is an effect that even if the amount of salt used is reduced, a sufficient salty taste can be felt and the taste of food and drink can be improved.

<Salt taste enhancer>
The salty taste enhancer of the present invention contains, as an active ingredient, a citrus peel extract concentrate, a citrus juice concentrate, or a mixture of a citrus peel extract and citrus juice. Hereinafter, the salty taste enhancer of the present invention will be described in detail.

(Fruit peel extract)
The salty taste enhancer which concerns on 1st Embodiment contains the concentrate of the citrus peel extract as an active ingredient. The peel extract used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is a solution containing an extract extracted from citrus fruit peel (peel). As the citrus fruits, those that are generally edible are preferable, and examples thereof include grapefruit, orange, mandarin orange, lemon, kumquat, eggplant, sudachi, kabosu and the like. The scent of the citrus peel and the acidity, bitterness, umami, flavonoids, polysaccharides, etc. of the fruit juice can be combined to compensate for the lack of taste due to salt reduction. Among these, grapefruit or lemon is preferable in that it can more strongly compensate for the savory taste caused by salt reduction.

  The extraction method is not particularly limited, and the extraction operation is performed by a commonly used method (for example, immersion extraction, reflux extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, etc.). Specific examples of the extraction solvent include water, alcohols (for example, lower alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, and isopropanol; multivalents such as ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, propylene glycol, 1,3-butylene glycol, and glycerin). Alcohols, etc.), ketones (eg, acetone), ethers (eg, diethyl ether, dioxane, etc.), esters (eg, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, etc.), hydrocarbons (eg, hexane, pentane, etc.), organic acids (eg, acetic acid, etc.) Etc.), acetonitrile, benzene, xylene, chloroform, vegetable oils and the like. These extraction solvents may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  Among these, water, a water-soluble solvent, or a mixture thereof is preferable, and water, ethanol, or hydrous ethanol is preferable from the viewpoints of use in foods, safety to human bodies, and handling properties. As the water-containing ethanol, preferably 10 to 90 v / v% water-containing ethanol is used, and when considering the extraction efficiency and the extraction component (fragrance), 40 to 70 v / v% water-containing ethanol is more preferably used.

  The usage-amount of an extraction solvent is not specifically limited, For example, it is used in the ratio of 100-2000 mass parts with respect to 100 mass parts of pericarp, Preferably it is 500-800 mass parts. The pericarp is preferably raw pericarp so that aroma components can be extracted efficiently. Since the fragrance component is volatilized in the dried skin, the fragrance component may not be extracted efficiently. Although the extraction temperature varies depending on the extraction method, for example, in the case of immersion extraction, it is preferably about room temperature (20 ° C.) to about 80 ° C., and in the case of reflux extraction, it is the boiling point of the extraction solvent used. The extraction time is preferably about 1 to 5 hours. Furthermore, you may extract on pressurization conditions as needed.

(Concentrate)
The concentrate (first concentrate) of the citrus peel extract is prepared, for example, by heating the peel extract (under reduced pressure if necessary) to remove at least a part of the water. The degree of concentration is not particularly limited, and the concentration is performed so that the obtained first concentrate preferably has a Brix value of 50 to 90, more preferably a Brix value of 70 to 80.

  The first concentrate is usually in a liquid state, but when mixed with sodium chloride or the like to form a salty seasoning described later, the powder or granule is preferable from the viewpoint of ease of use. For example, it may be used in the form of powder or granules using a powder base such as starch, dextrin, gum arabic, carrageenan, xanthan gum, fur celerane, pullulan, pectin, guar gum and the like. These powder bases may be used independently and may use 2 or more types together.

  Among the above powder bases, dextrin is preferable in terms of hygroscopicity and handleability. The usage-amount of a powder base is not specifically limited, Preferably it is 100-300 mass parts with respect to 100 mass parts of 1st concentrates (solid content conversion), More preferably, it is used in the ratio of 150-250 mass parts. The The powderization is performed by a generally employed method such as, for example, spray drying (spray drying), drum drying (drum drying), freeze drying, or an adsorption method, and is not particularly limited.

(Other ingredients)
The salty taste enhancer according to the first embodiment may contain other components (additives) other than the first concentrate as long as the effects of the present invention are not impaired. Examples of such additives include yeast extract, kelp extract, protein hydrolyzate, and the like.

  Yeast extract is a liquid obtained by extracting the contents in yeast and a powder obtained by drying this liquid. Examples of the yeast extract include yeast extracts obtained by using yeasts such as beer yeast, baker's yeast, sake yeast and wine yeast belonging to the genus Saccharomyces; torula yeast belonging to the genus Candida.

  A kelp extract means an extract obtained by hot water extraction of kelp, a concentrate of the extract, or a powdered extract, and is seasoned with salt, sugar, amino acid, organic acid, nucleic acid, etc. It may be. As such a kelp extract, for example, “Konbu extract powder AIS3197” manufactured by Ikeda Sakuka Kogyo Co., Ltd. is commercially available.

  The protein hydrolyzate is a general term for those obtained by hydrolyzing animal-derived proteins such as meat and fish and plant-derived proteins such as soybean, wheat, barley and corn. As such a protein hydrolyzate, for example, “HVP No. 3” manufactured by Japan Seasoning Co., Ltd. is commercially available.

  These additives are preferably used in a proportion of 10 to 500 parts by mass, more preferably 50 to 300 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the first concentrate. In addition, you may add an additive, when salty taste enhancer, sodium chloride, etc. are mixed and the below-mentioned salty seasoning is prepared.

  Next, the salty taste enhancer according to the second embodiment will be described. The salty taste enhancer which concerns on 2nd Embodiment contains the concentrate of citrus fruit juice as an active ingredient.

(Citrus juice)
The citrus fruit juice used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is obtained by squeezing citrus fruit. For example, the citrus fruit juice may be used as it is, such as a straight fruit juice. You may use the fruit juice which processed squeezed juice. Examples of the citrus fruits include those described in the above-described peel extract. The fruit juice may be transparent juice or turbid juice. Moreover, although fruit juice may be used as it is, concentrated juice obtained by removing (evaporating) at least a part of the moisture of the fruit juice may be used in consideration of workability.

(Concentrate)
A concentrate obtained by concentrating a mixture of citrus juices (second concentrate) is prepared by heating the juice (under reduced pressure if necessary) to remove at least a portion of the moisture. . The fruit juice may be mixed in two or more times. For example, a final amount of juice (second concentrate) may be obtained by concentrating a predetermined amount of fruit juice until a predetermined amount of water is obtained, and further adjusting the concentration by adding fruit juice. In this case, fruit juices having different concentrations (degrees of concentration) may be used. The degree of concentration is not particularly limited, and concentration is performed so that the obtained second concentrate preferably has a Brix value of 50 to 90, more preferably a Brix value of 70 to 80.

  The second concentrate is also usually in a liquid form, but when mixed with sodium chloride or the like to form a salty seasoning described later, it is preferably in the form of powder or granules from the viewpoint of ease of use. The powder base, the amount of the powder base used, and the pulverization method are as described in the salty taste enhancer according to the first embodiment described above, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The salty taste enhancer according to the second embodiment may also contain other components (additives) other than the concentrate as long as the effects of the present invention are not impaired. Also about an additive, it is as having demonstrated with the salty taste deliciousness enhancer which concerns on the above-mentioned 1st Embodiment, and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Next, the salty taste enhancer according to the third embodiment will be described. The salty taste enhancer according to the third embodiment contains a concentrate of a mixture of citrus peel extract and citrus juice as an active ingredient. The citrus peel extract is as described in the salty taste enhancer according to the first embodiment, and will not be described in detail. Furthermore, the citrus juice is as described in the salty taste enhancer according to the second embodiment, and a detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In the salty taste enhancer according to the third embodiment, the citrus fruits as the raw material of the fruit juice may be the same as or different from the citrus fruits as the raw material of the fruit peel extract. For example, when a grapefruit peel extract is used, grapefruit juice may be used, and fruit juices such as lemon and orange may be used. When using a lemon peel extract, lemon juice may be used, and fruit juices such as grapefruit and orange may be used.

(Concentrate)
Concentrate obtained by concentrating a mixture of citrus peel extract and citrus juice (third concentrate) heats the mixture of peel extract and fruit juice (under reduced pressure if necessary) Prepared by removing at least a portion of the moisture. The fruit juice may be mixed in two or more times. For example, the final extract (third concentrate) may be obtained by mixing fruit juice with the fruit peel extract to obtain a concentrate, and further adjusting the concentration by adding fruit juice. In this case, fruit juices having different concentrations (degrees of concentration) may be used.

  The mixing ratio of the citrus peel extract and the citrus juice is not particularly limited. The peel extract and fruit juice are mixed at an arbitrary ratio. In addition, also when mixing fruit juice twice or more, it mixes so that a total amount may become arbitrary ratios. Further, the concentration is performed such that the resulting third concentrate preferably has a Brix value of 50-90, more preferably a Brix value of 70-80.

  The third concentrate is also usually in a liquid state, but in the case of mixing with sodium chloride or the like to obtain a salty seasoning described later, the powder or granule is preferable from the viewpoint of ease of use. The powder base, the amount of the powder base used, and the pulverization method are as described in the salty taste enhancer according to the first embodiment described above, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Also about the salty taste enhancer which concerns on 3rd Embodiment, in the range which does not inhibit the effect of this invention, you may contain other components (additive) other than a concentrate. Also about an additive, it is as having demonstrated with the salty taste deliciousness enhancer which concerns on the above-mentioned 1st Embodiment, and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The usage method of a salty taste enhancer is not specifically limited. For example, the salty taste enhancer of the present invention may be added directly while cooking or when manufacturing or processing a food or drink, reducing the amount of salt used. For example, by reducing about 10 to 40% by mass of the salt amount originally used and adding a salty taste enhancer of about 0.01 to 1% by mass in the food and drink, the salty taste comparable to the original salt amount Can improve the taste of food and drink. Alternatively, the salty taste enhancer of the present invention may be mixed with sodium chloride (salt) or the like and used as a salty seasoning (substitute salt) described later.

<Salt flavor>
The salty taste agent of this invention contains the above-mentioned salty taste enhancer and sodium chloride. A “salt seasoning” is a seasoning that can impart a salty taste to food and drink by using it in place of salt. That is, by substituting the salt to be originally used with a salty seasoning, the amount of salt added can be reduced to the amount of salt (sodium chloride) contained in the salty seasoning. The salty seasoning of the present invention can give a salty taste comparable to the original salt amount when a food or beverage containing the salty seasoning is ingested, and can also improve the taste of the food or beverage.

  The ratio of the above-described salty taste enhancer and sodium chloride contained in the salty seasoning of the present invention can be appropriately set depending on how much salt reduction effect is targeted. In general, the salty taste enhancer is used in an amount of 1 to 200 parts by weight, preferably 10 to 100 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of sodium chloride. When using the powder base and using the concentrate in the form of powder or granules, the remaining components excluding the powder base may be in the above ratio.

  The salty seasoning of the present invention preferably further contains potassium chloride. By adding potassium chloride, the salty taste can be felt more strongly. Potassium chloride is preferably used in a proportion of 70 to 110 parts by mass, more preferably 85 to 95 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of sodium chloride. For example, when it is desired to reduce the amount of salt used by about half (50% salt reduction), the above-described salty taste enhancer and potassium chloride may be used in a proportion of 100 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of sodium chloride. . In addition, since potassium chloride has astringency, when it mix | blends too much, it will make astringency feel when ingesting food-drinks. The salty seasoning of the present invention may be liquid, powdered or granular.

<Low salt food and drink>
The reduced-salt food / beverage products of this invention contain the above-mentioned salty taste. That is, the salt-reduced food or drink of the present invention is a food or drink containing salt in which part or all of the salt is replaced with a salty seasoning. In addition, you may add salt and a salty taste enhancer separately.

  As low-salt foods and drinks, preserved foods such as pickles, pickled plums, boiled sardines, salt kelp, kimchi; various sauces such as miso, soy sauce, noodle soup, tempura soup, grilled meat sauce, seasonings such as sauce, dressing, mayonnaise, tomato ketchup Dairy products such as butter and fresh cream; vegetable oils such as margarine and fat spread; candy, gum, snacks, cookies, biscuits, crackers, crackers, rice crackers, and other noodles; noodles such as ramen, udon, soba and fried noodles ; Consomme soup, potage soup, soup such as miso soup; Instant food such as instant ramen, retort curry, instant miso soup, instant soup; Processed food such as curry roux, stew, etc .; Seafood / Livestock Products; Various frozen foods; Breads such as bread and French bread; Cooking breads such as sandwiches, hot dogs and hamburgers; Western confectionery such as cakes, bavaria and mousse; Frozen confectionery such as ice cream and sherbet; Sports drinks, tomato juice and vegetable juice Soft drinks such as rice balls; rice balls; sprinkles; Since the salt-reduced food / beverage products of this invention contain the above-mentioned salty taste enhancer, it has sufficient salty taste and the umami | taste is also improved.

  The salty taste enhancer and salty seasoning of the present invention are not only used in general households, but also include, for example, the restaurant industry (for example, restaurants, canteens, pubs, etc.), the food industry (for example, side dishes sold in stores) It is also used in manufacturers such as bento boxes, rice balls, sandwiches, courier companies such as pizza and sushi, caterers in the catering box, food manufacturers, lunch centers, hospitals, pastry shops, Japanese confectionery shops, and the like.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although an Example and a comparative example are given and this invention is demonstrated concretely, this invention is not limited to these Examples.

<Preparation Example 1: Preparation of salty taste enhancer>
2400 g of 55 v / v% aqueous ethanol was placed in a container and heated to 50 ° C. with stirring. The grapefruit peel 400g was added there, and immersion extraction was performed for 3 hours, keeping 50-55 degreeC. As the grapefruit peel, “Grapefruit Peel Granule” manufactured by Yasuma Co., Ltd. was used. Next, the extract was cooled to 40 ° C. or less, passed through a back paper (No. 2) that passed through a 60-mesh sieve to remove unnecessary substances, and 1990 g of extract was obtained. The resulting extract contained 83.58 g of solid content. The total amount of solid content contained in the obtained extract was calculated from the amount of solid obtained by heating a predetermined amount of the extract at normal pressure for 2 hours (110 ° C.).

  The obtained 1990 g of the extract was subjected to vacuum concentration until the Brix value was 75, to obtain 165 g of a concentrate (solid content concentration: 75% by mass). 15 g of the obtained concentrate was used as it was as a salty taste enhancer (enhancer A).

  Next, 150 g of the obtained concentrate, 225 g of dextrin (DE11 equivalent) and 975 g of ion-exchanged water were mixed and heated to 85 ° C. to dissolve. After dissolution, heat sterilization was performed at 85 ° C. for 30 minutes. Subsequently, after cooling the obtained mixture to 40 degreeC, it dried using the spray dryer and obtained 270g of powdery salty taste enhancer (enhancement agent B).

<Preparation Example 2: Preparation of salty taste enhancer>
1200 g of 55 v / v% aqueous ethanol was put in a container and heated to 50 ° C. with stirring. Lemon peel 200g was added there, and immersion extraction was performed for 3 hours, keeping 50-55 degreeC. As the lemon peel, “Lemon Peel Granule No. 1040” manufactured by Yasuma Co., Ltd. was used. Next, the extract was cooled to 40 ° C. or less, passed through a back paper (No. 2) passed through a 60-mesh sieve to remove unnecessary substances, and 971 g of extract was obtained. The obtained extract contained 32.04 g of solid content. The solid content was calculated in the same procedure as in Preparation Example 1.

  971 g of the obtained extract and 76.3 g of concentrated transparent lemon juice (Brix value: 42) were mixed and sufficiently stirred to obtain a mixture. As the concentrated transparent lemon juice, “Frozen lemon transparent concentrated juice 6392TN” manufactured by Oyama Co., Ltd. was used. In addition, the extract and fruit juice were mixed so that it might become 1: 1 mass ratio in conversion of solid content. The obtained mixed solution was subjected to vacuum concentration until the Brix value became 75 to obtain 70 g of a concentrated solution.

  70 g of the obtained concentrated liquid and 457.8 g of the above-mentioned concentrated lemon juice were mixed and sufficiently stirred. In addition, fruit juice was finally added so that the solid content derived from the extract and the solid content derived from the fruit juice might have a mass ratio of 1: 7. The obtained mixed solution was subjected to vacuum concentration until the Brix value became 75, to obtain 341 g of a concentrate (solid content concentration: 75% by mass). 41 g of the obtained concentrate was used as it was as a salty taste enhancer (enhancer C).

  Subsequently, 300 g of the obtained concentrate, 450 g of dextrin (DE11 equivalent) and 1950 g of ion-exchanged water were mixed and heated to 85 ° C. to dissolve. After dissolution, heat sterilization was performed at 85 ° C. for 30 minutes. Subsequently, after cooling the obtained mixture to 40 degreeC, it dried using the spray dryer, and obtained the powdery salty taste enhancer (enhancement agent D) 540g.

<Example 1>
The enhancer A obtained in Preparation Example 1 was added to commercially available noodle soup to a concentration of 0.1% by mass, and diluted with water so that the salt concentration (sodium chloride concentration) was 1% by mass. Noodle soup for evaluation was prepared. On the other hand, a commercially available noodle soup was diluted with water so that the salt concentration would be 1% by mass to prepare a control noodle soup.

Five expert panelists sampled the evaluation noodle soup and the control noodle soup, and evaluated the salty taste and umami (e.g. soup flavor) of the evaluation noodle soup according to the following criteria. Table 1 shows the total points of the five panelists.
<Evaluation criteria>
3 points: When salty taste and umami were felt very strongly compared to the control noodle soup.
2 points: When salty taste and umami were strongly felt compared to the control noodle soup.
1 point: When salty taste and umami were felt slightly but strongly compared to control noodle soup.
0 point: When the salty taste and umami taste did not change compared to the control noodle soup.

<Example 2>
Instead of the enhancer A, the salty taste and umami of the noodle soup for evaluation were evaluated in the same procedure as in Example 1 except that the enhancer C obtained in Preparation Example 2 was used. Table 1 shows the total points of the five panelists.

<Comparative Example 1>
Except that the extract obtained in Preparation Example 1 was used without being concentrated, the salty taste and umami of the evaluation noodle soup were evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1. The amount of the extract added was the same as that of the enhancer A in terms of solid content. Table 1 shows the total points of the five panelists.

<Comparative example 2>
Except that the mixture of the extract and fruit juice described in Preparation Example 2 was used without being concentrated, the salty taste and umami taste of the noodle soup for evaluation were evaluated basically in the same procedure as in Example 1. . In addition, the addition amount of a liquid mixture was made the same with the enhancer A in conversion of solid content. Table 1 shows the total points of the five panelists.

  As shown in Table 1, in Examples 1 and 2 to which enhancers A and C were added, both “salty” and “umami” felt stronger when the panelist included in the mouth than the control noodle soup. I understand that. On the other hand, it can be seen that Comparative Examples 1 and 2 containing no enhancer have almost no difference from the control noodle soup.

<Preparation Example 3: Preparation of salty seasoning>
48.4 parts by weight of sodium chloride, 8 parts by weight of enhancer B (the concentrate itself is 3.2 parts by weight), 34.6 parts by weight of dextrin (equivalent to DE16), 3 parts by weight of yeast extract, 4 parts by weight of kelp extract powder, and 2 parts by weight of vegetable protein hydrolyzate was mixed to obtain a salty seasoning (salt seasoning A). As the yeast extract, “Vertex IG20” manufactured by Fuji Food Industry Co., Ltd. was used. The ratio of sodium chloride contained in the salty seasoning A is about 50% by mass. When the salty seasoning A is used instead of salt, the intake of sodium chloride can be reduced to about 50%.

<Preparation Example 4: Preparation of salty seasoning>
A salty seasoning (salt seasoning B) was obtained in the same procedure as in Preparation Example 3 except that the enhancement agent D obtained in Preparation Example 2 was used instead of the enhancement agent B. The ratio of sodium chloride contained in the salty seasoning B is about 50% by mass. When the salty seasoning B is used instead of salt, the intake of sodium chloride can be reduced to about 50%.

<Example 3>
The ingredients listed in Table 2 were mixed at the ratios listed in Table 2 to prepare a 15-fold concentrated Japanese soup stock. This Japanese dashi stock contains 10.4% by mass of sodium chloride. A 15-fold amount of water was added to the obtained Japanese-style soup stock and stirred to obtain a Japanese-style stock for evaluation. The concentration of sodium chloride contained in the Japanese-style stock for evaluation is about 0.7% by mass.

<Example 4>
A Japanese-style soup stock for evaluation was obtained in the same procedure as in Example 3, except that the salty seasoning B obtained in Preparation Example 4 was used instead of the enhancer A. The concentration of sodium chloride contained in the evaluation Japanese style broth is about 0.7% by mass, as in Example 3.

<Reference Example 1>
A 15-fold concentrated Japanese soup stock was prepared in the same manner as in Example 3 except that salt was used instead of the salty seasoning A used in Example 3. This Japanese dashi stock contains 15.4% by mass of sodium chloride. A 15-fold amount of water was added to the resulting Japanese-style soup stock and stirred to obtain a control Japanese-style stock. The concentration of sodium chloride contained in the Japanese dashi is about 1% by mass.

Five expert panelists tasted the Japanese-style stock for evaluation obtained in Examples 3 and 4 and the control Japanese-style stock obtained in Reference Example 1, and the salty taste and umami of the Japanese-style stock for evaluation (flavor of soup, etc.) ) Was evaluated according to the following criteria. Table 3 shows the total points of the five panelists.
<Evaluation criteria>
3 points: When feeling almost the same or stronger than the control Japanese style dashi.
2 points: When it feels slightly weaker than the control Japanese style dashi.
1 point: When it feels weaker than a contrasting Japanese style dashi.
0 points: When felt very weak compared to the contrast Japanese-style soup.

  As shown in Table 3, the Japanese-style soup for evaluation using the salty seasonings (salt-flavoring A and B) obtained in Examples 3 and 4 is the same as the control Japanese-style soup using salt instead of salty seasoning. And a sufficient salty and umami taste could be felt. Therefore, the salt could be reduced by about 30% without deteriorating the salty taste and umami taste.

Claims (8)

  A salty taste enhancer containing, as an active ingredient, a citrus peel extract concentrate, a citrus juice concentrate, or a mixture of a citrus peel extract and citrus juice.   The salty taste enhancer according to claim 1, wherein the fruit used as the raw material for the fruit juice extract and the fruit used as the raw material for the fruit juice are the same citrus fruit.   The salty taste enhancer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the solvent of the peel extract is a water-soluble solvent, water, or a mixture thereof.   The salty taste enhancer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which contains the concentrate and a powder base and is processed into a powder or granule.   The salty taste containing the salty taste enhancer in any one of Claims 1-4, and sodium chloride.   The salty taste agent according to claim 5 which further contains potassium chloride.   The salty taste agent according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the salty taste enhancer is contained in an amount of 1 to 200 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the sodium chloride.   The salt-reduced food / beverage products containing the salty seasoning in any one of Claims 5-7.