JP2021136913A - Method for improving taste of food and drink - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a method for reinforcing taste of processed food and drink using a rich taste reinforcing agent different from a conventional one.SOLUTION: A method for improving taste of food and drink drastically enhances richness, deliciousness and sweetness of processed food such as liquid seasoning, beverage or confectionery without excessively increasing soy sauce feeling in taste or flavor by using powdery soy sauce having extremely little salt content such as salt concentration of 5.5% or less. Specifically, the richness, the taste and the sweetness are enhanced without excessively increasing the soy sauce feeling, so that entirely well-balanced food and drink can be obtained.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

The present invention relates to a method for improving the taste of foods and drinks such as seasonings, confectionery, and beverages.

Various studies have been conducted on methods for adding or enhancing richness and umami to foods and drinks. For example, a method of adding a rich taste enhancer containing a dry powder of kale as a component (Patent Document 1), or a method of adding a truffle extract and / or a porcini extract to impart a rich taste or wine flavor (Patent Document 1). Patent Document 2), a method of adding D-amino acid (Patent Document 3), a method of adding glutamic acid and aspartic acid in a specific molar ratio (Patent Document 4), and the like are known.
However, it may not always be possible to say that the conventional richness enhancing method exerts a sufficient richness enhancing effect depending on the application.

On the other hand, there is knowledge about powdered soybeans with a low salt content. Formed 20-120% (v / v) water and 25-50% (w / v) dextrin and / or oxidized starch with respect to 7-10% (w / v) raw salt-reduced soy sauce. A low-salt powder soy sauce obtained by adding it as an agent and then drying and pulverizing it by a spray-drying method. The salt concentration is 21% (w / w) or less, the temperature is 30 ± 2 ° C., and the relative humidity is 50. Known is a low-salt powdered soy sauce (Patent Document 6) characterized in that the breaking strength after storage in an atmosphere of ± 5% for 6 hours is 75 gf or less.

However, the inventions relating to these low-salt powdered soy sauces have been made mainly for the improvement of physical properties such as solidification and hygroscopic stability, and are used when adding low-salt powdered soy sauce to processed foods and the like. Has not been considered.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2018-157773 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-014353 WO2013 / 164983 WO2006 / 062181 Japanese Patent No. 6396801 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-149987

However, an object of the present invention is to find a method for enhancing the richness of processed foods by using a richness enhancing agent different from the conventional one.

As a result of diligent studies, the inventor of the present application can excessively amplify the taste and aroma of salty soy sauce by seasoning with powdered soy sauce having an extremely low salt content of 5.5% or less. Despite the absence, the present invention has been completed by newly discovering that the richness, umami, and sweetness of processed foods such as liquid seasonings, beverages, and confectionery can be greatly enhanced.

According to the taste improving agent of the present invention, it is possible to efficiently improve the taste of various foods and drinks such as seasonings such as mentsuyu, confectionery such as snacks, and beverages such as coffee. Specifically, it is possible to obtain foods and drinks that are well-balanced as a whole by enhancing the richness, umami, and sweetness without excessively strengthening the feeling of soy sauce.

The present invention relates to a method for improving the taste of food and drink by using a taste improving agent containing powdered soy sauce having a salt concentration of 5.5% or less.

The powdery soy sauce having a salt concentration of 5.5% or less in the present invention can be produced by any method, and examples of the production method include (1) desalting the raw material salty sauce brewed by a usual method. Examples thereof include a step, (2) a manufacturing method including a step of pulverizing the desalted soy sauce.

As the soy sauce used as a raw material, known ones can be used, and any one or a combination of two or more of dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, tamari soy sauce, saishikomi soy sauce, white soy sauce, etc. can be used. It is possible. Above all, it is preferable to use concentrated soy sauce (salt concentration of about 15 to 18% (w / v)).

(1) In the step of desalting the raw material salty soy sauce, any known method can be used as the desalting method. Various methods are known for producing low-salt soy sauce, for example, various documents (Nakadai, Japan Soy Sauce Technology Center "Summary of Easy Soy Sauce Technology-Volume 2-", pp. 723-730, etc.) Can be referred to.

Specific demineralization methods include electrodialysis with ion exchange membranes, ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes, membrane filtration with selective dialysis membranes, and ion exclusion resin columns. The existing desalination method and the like can be used, and a plurality of these may be used in combination. Above all, it is preferable to perform desalting by an electrodialysis method because the salt can be removed more efficiently.

After desalting the raw material soy sauce, it is subjected to (2) a step of pulverizing the desalted soy sauce. As for the powdering method, a known method can be used. Specific examples thereof include a spray-drying method, a drum-drying method, and a freeze-drying method. Of these, the spray-drying method is preferable.

By the above method, it is possible to produce a low-salt powdered soy sauce having a salt concentration of 5.5% or less used for the taste improving agent of the present invention.

The taste improving agent of the present invention is characterized by containing low-salt powdered soy sauce having a salt concentration of 5.5% or less as a taste component. The salt concentration of the low-salt powdered soy sauce contained in the taste improving agent of the present invention is 5.5% or less, preferably 0.1% or more and 4% or less, and more preferably 0.1% or more and 3%. It is as follows.

The taste improving agent of the present invention may be low-salt powdery soy sauce itself having a salt concentration of 5.5% or less, or one or two excipients, antioxidants, etc. other than the low-salt powdery soy sauce. It may contain more than a seed as appropriate. As the type of excipient, known ones such as dextrin, modified starch and gelatin can be used. Depending on the properties and purpose of use, these components other than soy sauce may be added and mixed with the desalted raw material soy sauce before pulverization and then pulverized, or may be mixed after pulverization.

The taste improving agent thus obtained can be used for improving the taste of various foods and drinks. Above all, since this taste improving agent enhances richness, umami, and sweetness well, it is preferable to use it in foods and drinks that require these tastes.

The taste improving agent of the present invention can be used in the form of powder as it is, but may be used for seasoning after being processed into granules, pastes, liquids or the like, if necessary.

That is, when the taste improving agent is processed into granules, as an example, excipients such as dextrin, modified starch, and gelatin are added to the low-salt powder soy sauce having a salt concentration of 5.5% or less, if necessary. After mixing, water is added to the mixture so that the water content is 3 to 5% by weight, or alcohol or edible oil is added and kneaded, and the mixture is granulated and dried using an extrusion granulator. Can be manufactured.

If the taste improving agent is processed into a paste, as an example, the low-salt powder soy sauce having a salt concentration of 5.5% or less is appropriately dissolved in an edible solvent such as water or alcohol, then concentrated and required. It can be produced by a method of adding a thickener to impart viscosity, or a method of appropriately mixing the above-mentioned low-salt powdered soy sauce having a salt concentration of 5.5% or less with fats and oils and an emulsifier to form a paste.

If the taste improving agent is processed into a liquid, for example, it can be produced by appropriately dissolving the low-salt powdered soy sauce having a salt concentration of 5.5% or less in an edible solvent such as water or alcohol. ..

When a taste improving agent is obtained by these processings, the low-salt powdered soy sauce having a salt concentration of 5.5% or less is appropriately added so as to have a ratio of 1 to 95% with respect to the total weight of the taste improving agent by processing. It may be contained.

Since the taste improving agent of the present invention itself contains almost no salt, the taste improving agent of the present invention should be added simultaneously or separately in addition to the conventional seasoning when producing foods and drinks. Just do it. The amount to be added can be changed according to the target food or drink, but for example, it should be added so that the added weight of the low-salt powdered soy sauce is 1 to 50% (w / w) with respect to the target food or drink. Just do it.

Specific types of food and drink include mentsuyu, hot pot soup, grilled meat sauce, natto sauce, ramen soup and other sauces, sauces, bowls and cooked rice base, ponzu soy sauce, sauce, dressing and other liquids. Paste-like seasonings, powdered soups, powdered soups, powdered or granular seasonings such as various seasoning powders, snacks, senbei, biscuits, cookies, cakes, castella, chocolate, candy, pudding, jelly and other confectionery, coffee, cocoa, Beverages such as green tea, tea, crow dragon tea, cola, dairy drinks, fruit juice drinks, alcoholic drinks, instant foods (instant noodles, dries, etc.), consomme, bouillon, miso soup, soups such as soup, various side dishes and frozen foods, Examples include retort foods, curries, stews, pastes and breads. Above all, it is preferably used for liquid seasonings, snack foods, beverages and the like.

By adding the taste improving agent of the present invention to a food or drink and seasoning the food or drink, the richness, umami, or sweetness can be imparted and / or enhanced to the food or drink. In addition, it is possible to impart a suitable aging feeling and improvement in taste balance, and it can be said that the product has extremely excellent properties in improving taste.

Hereinafter, the invention of the present application will be described with reference to Examples and the like, but the invention of the present application is not limited thereto.

(Example 1) Production of powdered soy sauce having a salt concentration of 2% After desalting a commercially available concentrated soy sauce (salt concentration 17% (w / v)) with an electrodialysis machine, the obtained desalted soy sauce is spray-dried. It was dried and powdered to produce powdered soy sauce. The salt concentration of the obtained low-salt powdered soy sauce was 2%.

(Example 2) Sensory evaluation of potato chips 100 g of commercially available potato chips (light taste) are powdered with the low-salt powdered soy sauce obtained in Example 1 or ordinary dark-mouthed soy sauce that has not been desalted. 6 g of each of the obtained powdered soy sauce (salt concentration 34%) was sprinkled and sufficiently sprinkled.

The obtained potato chips were sensory evaluated.
In the evaluation, regarding the appearance and taste of potato chips, the score when powdered soy sauce was not added (control) was set to 3, and 1 (light color / various tastes / aromas weak) to 5 (dark color / various types). The taste and aroma are strong). Overall preference was ranked 1st to 3rd in the order of preference for the three test plots. The evaluation was conducted by 11 well-trained in-house panelists who shared the evaluation criteria for each grade in advance.

The results of calculating the average value of the scores or rankings by each panelist are shown in Table 1 below. For items other than "overall preference", the higher the score, the darker the color / the stronger the various tastes and aromas, and the lower the score, the higher the ranking. That is, it indicates that it was liked.

As shown in Table 1, the potato chips seasoned with the taste improving agent using the powdered soy sauce having a low salt concentration of the present invention had the same richness and umami as the potato chips seasoned with the ordinary powdered soy sauce. In addition, although the low-salt powdery soy sauce of the present application contains almost no salt, it was suggested that the salty taste tends to be slightly enhanced.
Further, regarding sweetness, although no enhancing effect was observed when seasoned with conventional powdered soy sauce, the score was greatly improved in the test group where the seasoning was performed with the taste improving agent of the present invention.

On the other hand, regarding the aroma and taste of soy sauce, the score was significantly improved by the conventional seasoning with powdered soy sauce, whereas the seasoning by the taste improving agent of the present invention enhances the aroma and taste of soy sauce. Was suppressed.

In terms of overall preference ranking, the test plots seasoned with the taste improving agent of the present invention received the highest evaluation, although the taste and richness scores were similar. This was due to the fact that while the enhancement of saltiness and sourness was suppressed, the flavor had a good balance of richness, umami, and sweetness.

(Example 3) Sensory evaluation of mentsuyu Mentsuyu was produced by adding dried bonito to boiling water, heating for 20 minutes, extracting the dashi stock, and then adding ingredients other than dried bonito. The composition of dried bonito and other raw materials was as shown in Table 2 below. As the test group, the low-salt powdered soy sauce obtained in Example 1 or the powdered soy sauce obtained by pulverizing the ordinary dark-mouthed soy sauce that had not been desalted was used.

The sensory evaluation of the obtained soup stock was performed.
The evaluation method was the same as in Example 2. The evaluation was conducted by eight well-trained in-house panelists who shared the evaluation criteria for each grade in advance.

Table 3 below shows the results of calculating the average value of the scores or rankings of each panelist. For items other than "overall preference", the higher the score, the darker the color / the stronger the various tastes and aromas, and the lower the score, the higher the ranking. That is, it indicates that it was liked.

As shown in Table 3, also in mentsuyu, the taste improving agent of the present invention enhanced the richness, umami, and soup stock as in the case of ordinary powdered soy sauce. In addition, although the sweetness was not enhanced by ordinary powdered soy sauce, the sweetness score was also improved by seasoning with the taste improving agent of the present invention.

On the other hand, when the seasoning was performed with the taste improving agent of the present invention, the enhancement of the taste and aroma of soy sauce was suppressed even in the soup, and the preference was also highly evaluated. Further, in the evaluation of the mentsuyu using the taste improving agent of the present invention, it was evaluated that the taste balance was excellent and that the cohesiveness of the aged soup-like taste was felt more strongly.

Based on the above sensory evaluation results, by seasoning foods with a taste improver containing powdered soy sauce with a salt concentration of 5.5% or less, the soy sauce feeling is not excessively strengthened, and the richness and umami taste. , It became clear that the sweetness can be enhanced and a well-balanced food and drink can be obtained as a whole.

(Example 4) Production of taste improving agent by processing low salt powdered soy sauce Using the low salt powdered soy sauce having a salt concentration of 2% obtained in Example 1, the following taste improving agent was produced.
(A) Production of Granular Taste Improving Agent To 80 g of low-salt powdered soy sauce obtained in Example 1, 20 g of pregelatinized starch was added and sufficiently mixed. Hydroalcohol and cooking oil were added to the mixture to obtain a mixture having a water content of 5.5%. The mixture was granulated using an extrusion granulator having a screen with an opening of 1.0 mm, and this was dried to obtain a granular taste improving agent.
(B) Production of Paste-like Taste Improving Agent Water is added to 80 g of the low-salt powdered soy sauce obtained in Example 1 to dissolve it, and this is concentrated under reduced pressure so that the water content is about 20% (w / w). Then, a paste-like taste improving agent was obtained.

Claims (6)

A taste improving agent for foods and drinks containing powdered soy sauce having a salt concentration of 5.5% or less as a taste improving component. The taste improving agent according to claim 1, wherein the taste improving is an enhancement of richness, umami or sweetness. The taste improving agent according to claim 1, wherein the food or drink is a liquid seasoning, a snack confectionery, or a beverage. A method for improving the taste of food and drink by adding a composition containing powdered soy sauce having a salt concentration of 5.5% or less. The method for improving taste according to claim 4, wherein the improvement in taste is enhancement of richness, umami or sweetness. The method for improving taste according to claim 4, wherein the food or drink is a liquid seasoning, a snack confectionery, or a beverage.