JP2020127367A - Method for producing amazake - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a method for producing an Amazake (sweet alcoholic drink), capable of producing an Amazake which has a refreshing taste and is easily drinkable.SOLUTION: A method for producing a rice malt Amazake includes: a saccharification step of mixing quickly frozen raw malt and water with rice malt at a weight ratio of water 1-2.5 to rice malt 1, raising a temperature to 55°C-60°C within 1 h from the mixture, and leaving the product for 2-4 h at 55°C-60°C while stirring one time per 30 min-4 h; an inactivation step of inactivating an enzyme; a filling step: a sterilization step; and a cooling step of bringing a temperature to 40°C or less within 1 h after the sterilization followed by cooling to -1°C or less. It is possible to produce with the production method, the Amazake which makes sweetness hardly remain in the mouth after drinking, has less miscellaneous taste, makes the residue non-viscous and unsticky, has a refreshing taste and is easily drinkable.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a method for producing rice malt amazake. More specifically, it relates to a method for producing rice malt amazake which has a refreshing taste and is easy to drink.

With the boom of fermented foods in recent years, amazake, which is a traditional fermented food in Japan and a sweet drink, has been attracting attention. There are two types of amazake: rice koji amazake that uses rice malt and sake lees amazake that uses sake lees, but the former rice koji amazake does not use sugar and has the natural sweetness of rice and koji. In addition, rice koji amazake includes those produced only with rice koji and water, and those produced by adding steamed rice to this.

It is said that this rice koji amazake is rich in various nutrients and is good for health and beauty, but after drinking it, sweetness remains in the mouth, it feels sweet and miserable, and the residue is muddy. In other words, some people find it unpleasant and difficult to drink.
On the other hand, amazake produced by applying the technology of ginjo sake to improve the rice polishing rate and reducing the protein components that are abundant on the rice surface in order to remove the unpleasant taste is also sold (Non-Patent Document 1). However, a raw material with low protein content and high starch quality has less umami and has a sweet and muddy taste, and it cannot be said that it is a refreshing and easy-to-drink sweet sake.

Various homepages selling amazake made from rice malt produced from rice with a high rice polishing rate, that is, a low rice polishing rate

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a sweet sake that has a refreshing taste and is easy to drink.

The present inventor, as a result of various studies to achieve the above object, during the production of amazake, do not break the koji grains, prevent the enzymatic reaction due to koji from proceeding too much, and further apply starch aging. So, I found that it is possible to produce amazake that has a refreshing taste and is easy to drink, that is, it has little sweetness in the mouth after drinking, that is, it is not dull and has a little unpleasant taste, and the residue does not become muddy. The invention has been reached. That is, the present invention is as follows.

1. Quick-frozen raw koji and water are mixed in a ratio of 1 to 2.5 of water to 1 part of koji in a weight ratio, and the temperature is raised to 50°C to 60°C within 30 minutes after mixing, and 30 minutes to 2 hours. A saccharification step of leaving at 50°C to 60°C for 1.5 to 4.5 hours while stirring once, an inactivation step of inactivating the enzyme thereafter, a filling step, a sterilization step, and 40 minutes within 60 minutes after sterilization A method for producing rice koji amazake, which comprises a cooling step of cooling the temperature to ℃ or lower and further cooling to -1 ℃ or lower.

According to the present invention, sweetness is unlikely to remain in the mouth after drinking, that is, it is not dull and has a low taste, and the residue is smooth and does not dull. In a word, sweet sake with a refreshing taste is easy to drink. Can be produced (the same applies to the meaning of "clean taste" hereinafter).

An example of the method for producing rice malt amazake of the present invention is shown.

The present invention will be described in detail below.
The rice koji used in the present invention is obtained by quick-freezing raw koji which is raw rice koji. In quick freezing, the rice koji after production contains 20 to 35% by weight of water, but it is preferable to cool this raw koji at a cooling rate of 1° C./min or more to a freezing temperature or lower, for example, raw koji. It is performed by placing in a freezing temperature range of -30°C to -40°C. The cooling rate does not have to be constant, and the cooling rate here is an average cooling rate from the start of temperature decrease to the completion. The rapid freezing can reduce the expansion of water molecules and maintain the grain shape of rice koji. In the slow freezing, when the frozen koji and hot water are mixed, the water molecules are expanded, so that the grains of the rice koji are easily broken.

There is no particular limitation on the rice koji to be used, but it is preferable to use the rice koji which is characterized by having a low taste of amino acids and the like. For example, koji manufactured by the koji mold (patent No. 583009) used for "amekoji" (registered trademark), which is an original koji of Akita prefecture, can be used.

Some rice koji amazake is made from only rice koji and water, and some is added with steamed rice, but it is preferable to use only rice koji and water as raw materials.
The ratio of rice koji to be mixed is higher than usual. The ratio of rice koji and water to be mixed is usually about 1:2.5 by weight, but in the present invention, a weight ratio of 1:1 to 2.5 is preferable, and 1:1.5 to 2 is preferable. More preferable. In order to suppress sweetness and miscellaneous taste, it is common to lower the proportion of rice koji, but by using a lot of rice koji as a luxury and shortening the reaction time, it not only suppresses sweetness and miscellaneous taste, but also drank Later, the sweetness is less likely to remain in the mouth, that is, the sweetness can be reduced.
It should be noted that "sweetness" means sensual sweetness and is related to other factors such as umami, so it does not exactly match "sweetness" expressed by sugar content.

The quick-frozen rice koji is mixed with water, but it is preferable to mix it with warm water in the frozen state. The warm water at this time is preferably 55 to 65°C. When the frozen rice koji is mixed with warm water, the temperature temporarily drops, but in order to maintain the temperature suitable for the enzymatic reaction of the koji mold, the temperature is raised to 50-60°C at once in 30 minutes. By mixing frozen koji with warm water, the grains of rice koji are less likely to disintegrate and quality deterioration due to temperature change during thawing is suppressed compared to the case of thawing frozen koji at room temperature.

Rice koji and water are mixed, and saccharification is carried out by an enzymatic reaction by Aspergillus oryzae. The main enzymes that work at this time are α-amylase and glucoamylase that perform the saccharification reaction, as well as an acidic protease that decomposes proteins into amino acids. This saccharification step is performed with less agitation and shorter reaction time than usual. The saccharification is usually carried out at 50-60° C. for 6 hours or more with constant stirring, but in the present invention, the saccharification temperature is the same 50-60° C., preferably 54° C.-56° C., and stirring for 30 minutes-2 hours. Once, more preferably once every 1-2 hours, and the saccharification time is 1.5-4.5 hours, more preferably 2-4 hours. The saccharification time is determined within the above range by judging the quality of rice koji based on the enzyme titer and appearance, and if the quality is good, the saccharification time should be shorter. If not, the saccharification time should be longer while confirming the sugar content. Here, by reducing the stirring, the rice koji is prevented from disintegrating and the starch is dissolved, and by shortening the saccharification time, the entire rice koji is melted out, that is, the starch is prevented from being excessively decomposed by amylase. .. Furthermore, it seems that the residue is muddy because it is due to the viscosity of the unsaccharified starch, and by preventing the unsaccharified starch from leaching, the residue should not be muddy but smooth. You can In addition, by preventing the unsaccharified starch from leaching and preventing the whole rice koji from leaching, i.e., excessively decomposing the starch by amylase, while suppressing the sweetness, It is thought that the sweetness is less likely to remain inside, that is, it becomes less sweet.
Further, by shortening the saccharification time, that is, shortening the enzymatic reaction time, the number of amino acids produced by the decomposition of the protein is reduced, so that the taste can be reduced.

After the saccharification time has elapsed, the temperature is raised to 75° C. or higher to deactivate the enzyme. At this time, in order to prevent the enzymatic reaction from progressing more than necessary and the entire rice koji to melt out, and to prevent the decomposition of the protein to proceed rapidly, the temperature is raised rapidly. In addition, in order to more surely deactivate the enzyme, it is more preferable to raise the temperature to 85° C. or higher. The time for maintaining the temperature is preferably 3 minutes or more in order to surely inactivate the enzyme.

After deactivating the enzyme, it is filled in a container and sterilized.

After sterilization, cool to 40°C or lower within 60 minutes. Although it is further cooled, the freezing temperature range includes a freezing temperature range of −10° C. to −20° C. for slow freezing and a freezing temperature range of −30° C. to −40° C. for rapid freezing, but −10° C. It is preferable to cool to -1°C or lower in the freezing temperature range of -20°C. One of the purposes of this further cooling is to suppress the disintegration of rice koji due to the aging of starch in rice, and it is important to keep the temperature at a low temperature as long as the starch of rice easily ages and the starch does not freeze. It is preferable to leave it in the temperature range of 4° C. for 60 minutes or more.
Further, it is particularly preferable not to freeze it while cooling it to -1°C or lower. By setting the temperature close to the freezing point, the effect of maintaining freshness can be expected.

The present invention will be described below with reference to examples.

Example 1
[Production of amazake]
Amazake was produced using the method for producing amazake of the present invention. The method at that time is shown in FIG. 1 and described below.
1. Manufacture of rice koji Using rice with a rice polishing rate of 90%, which is a general polished rice, as a raw material, the steamed rice was inoculated with koji mold to produce rice koji. The rice used was Akitakomachi produced in Akita Prefecture, and the koji mold used was the koji mold (patent No. 583009) used in the production of "amekoji" (registered trademark). The produced rice koji contained 28% by weight of water. This rice koji was moved to a freezer and rapidly frozen at -40°C for 120 minutes. Then, it was frozen and stored at −20° C. for about 1 month and used for the production of amazake.
2. Production of amazake Rice koji and water were mixed at a weight ratio of 1.5 parts of water to 1 part of koji. At this time, frozen koji was put in warm water of 60° C. and mixed. After mixing, the temperature temporarily dropped, but the temperature was raised to 55° C. in 10 minutes. After that, the temperature was kept at 55° C. for 4 hours. During that time, stirring was performed once per hour, for a total of four times. Immediately after the fourth stirring, the temperature was raised to 85° C. and maintained for 3 minutes to deactivate the enzyme of Aspergillus oryzae. Then, it was filled in a container and sterilized at a product temperature of 90° C. for 6 minutes. 44 minutes after sterilization, it was cooled to 40° C., subsequently cooled to -1° C. in a freezing temperature range of -20° C., and then refrigerated and stored at 5° C. to complete amazake.

Example 2
[Sensory test]
1. Manufacture of amazake Table 1 summarizes the method of manufacturing amazake subjected to the sensory test and the measured sugar content.
Regarding Comparative Examples A and B, the rice koji used was one which was stored in a refrigerator at 5° C. after production without being rapidly frozen after production. For Experimental Examples C and D, those manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1 were used. Subsequently, 280 g of rice koji and 420 g of tap water heated to 60° C. were mixed, the temperature was raised to 55° C. in 10 minutes from the mixing, and the temperature was continuously maintained at 55° C. In Comparative Examples A and B, A was maintained at 55° C. for 6 hours and B for 16 hours while constantly stirring. Experimental Examples C and D were stirred once every 2 hours, and C was maintained at 55° C. for 2 hours and D for 4 hours. After saccharification at 55°C for a certain period of time, the enzyme was deactivated at 85°C for 3 minutes. After deactivation, the bottle was filled, and sterilized at 90° C. for 6 minutes after filling. After sterilization, Comparative Examples A and B were stored refrigerated at 5°C. Experimental Examples C and D were allowed to stand at -20°C for 5 hours and then refrigerated at 5°C. At this time, Comparative Examples A and B were not cooled to 40°C or lower within 60 minutes after sterilization, and further were not cooled to -1°C. Experimental Examples C and D were cooled to 40° C. 44 minutes after sterilization and then to −1° C.

2. Method of Sensory Test A sensory test was performed using Comparative Examples A and B and Experimental Examples C and D manufactured in the above 1 as samples. The sensory test was performed by selecting three persons who were allowed to drink 0, 10 and 20% by weight of a sucrose solution without revealing the concentration and were able to determine the correct concentration.
3. Results of sensory test The results are shown in Table 2. In terms of appearance, Comparative Examples A and B are evaluated as "melted and muddy" and the like, whereas Experimental Examples C and D are evaluated as "grains remain firmly" and "grains remain". As compared with Comparative Examples A and B, it was found that the rice grains of rice koji remained in Experiment Examples C and D and were not muddy.
Regarding miscellaneous tastes, since the rank is such that the miscellaneous tastes are felt, the higher the score, the higher the score, but the comparative examples A and B are 2.0 and 1.0, while the experimental examples C and D are both 2.7. It was found that C and D had little miscellaneous taste.
Furthermore, in the ranking in which the sweetness is less likely to remain in the mouth and the sweetness is less unpleasant, the lower the score, the less sweetness is less likely to remain and the less sweetness is in the comparative example. C and D were 1.7 and 1.3, the scores of C and D were lower than those of A and B, and it was found that sweetness was less likely to remain in C and D and was not too sweet. Furthermore, when looking at the order in which sweetness was felt, C and D were 2.7, which was the same as A. Therefore, even when sweetness was the same, it was difficult for C and D to remain sweet and not sweet.
As described above, Amazake C and D produced by the production method of the present invention have less sweetness in the mouth after drinking than sweet Amazake A and B produced by an ordinary method, have no unpleasant taste, and have no residue. In a word, it turned out to be amazake, which has a refreshing taste and is easy to drink.

The method for producing amazake of the present invention can provide amazake with a refreshing taste that is easy to drink by using it, so that the demand for amazake can be expanded to those who feel that amazake is difficult to drink, and amazake is produced. It not only contributes to the food industry, but also to rice farmers who produce the rice from which it is made.

Claims (1)

Quick-frozen raw koji and water were mixed at a weight ratio of 1 to 2.5 of water to 1 part of koji, and the temperature was raised to 50°C to 60°C within 30 minutes from the mixing to 30 minutes to 2 hours. A saccharification step of placing the mixture at 50° C. to 60° C. for 1.5 to 4.5 hours while stirring once, an inactivation step of inactivating the enzyme thereafter, a filling step, a sterilization step, and 40 minutes within 60 minutes after sterilization. A method for producing rice koji amazake, which comprises a cooling step of cooling the temperature to ℃ or lower and further cooling to -1 ℃ or lower.