JP2577636B2 - Sponge food in container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a sponge-like food such as a sponge-like confectionery,
More specifically, the present invention relates to a sponge-like food having a soft color that gives a sufficient swelling when baked.

(Prior art) Sponge-like confectionery represented by souffle is produced by adding the flavor and sugar of cheese or chocolate to a foamed egg white obtained by a foaming treatment that incorporates air bubbles into egg white, followed by heating and baking. . In recent years, a sponge confectionery packaged in a container has been developed that allows the sponge confectionery to be easily enjoyed at home by distributing the sponge confectionery in a container in a sealed manner, opening it at home, and then baking it with a heating cooker such as an oven toaster. Have been. The sponge confectionery in these containers is prepared by preparing the egg white foam and then sealing in a container and further retort sterilizing to kill the microorganisms in the egg white foam and coagulate the heat-coagulable protein by heating. This is a sponge-like tissue formed in a container. At home, the sponge confectionery can be eaten in a state where the sponge structure is expanded by heating and baking with an oven toaster after opening the opening of the container.

However, although the sponge confectionery in these containers swells when heated and baked, the sponge swells, but since the expanded sponge morphology is coarse, the tongue is poor, and even if a sponge confectionery is eaten in search of a soft texture, it is disappointing. Was.
In addition, there is a problem that the sponge structure does not swell well even after firing, and the sponge structure once expanded by firing shrinks in a short period of time to become a high-density sponge structure and becomes hard to eat. .

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) Therefore, according to the present invention, a sponge structure which is sufficiently swelled when heated and baked at home, has a swelled shape even after the sintering, has a good texture, and has a soft texture. The purpose is to provide confectionery.

(Means for Solving the Problems) As a result of intensive studies to solve the above problems, the present inventor has found that an egg white foam obtained by foaming an egg white raw material to which a thickener is added at a predetermined content is obtained. The inventors have found that the above-mentioned problems can be solved by performing a heat treatment under mild conditions after sealing in a container, and have completed the present invention.

That is, the present invention reduces the solid content derived from egg white to 0.8 to 10
By heating the egg white foam containing 0.03 to 4% by weight of a thickener sealed in a heat-resistant container at 120 ° C. under milder conditions than those equivalent to 4 minutes. It is intended to provide a sponge-like food obtained.

As the foamed egg white used in the present invention, any of raw egg, concentrated egg white, dried egg white and the like may be used. Thawed frozen egg white can also be used. Since the air bubbles in the egg white foam are retained by using the egg white foam in combination with the thickener, the gelling power is increased by the heat sterilization treatment, and a spongy food with a soft texture can be produced. is there.

Examples of the thickener include various gums such as pectin, xanthan gum, tarragant gum, guar gum, and locust bean gum, pectin, gelatin, carrageenan, and the like. You may use these thickeners in combination of 2 or more types. When the pH of the egg white foam is set to 4.5 or less, foaming of the foam becomes insufficient due to acid denaturation of the egg white, and the texture of the food after baking tends to be rough. The use of pectin is preferred for overcoming this problem.

The above-mentioned egg white raw material contains solids derived from egg white in the egg white foam.
0.8 to 10% by weight (hereinafter simply indicated as%), preferably 2%
The thickener is used in a proportion of 0.03 to 4%, preferably 0.05 to 3.5%, in the egg white foam. The solid content derived from egg white refers to the powder weight of the dried egg white raw material. Less than 0.8% solids from egg white or thickener
If it is less than 0.03%, it is inconvenient that the swollen state of the food after baking is not sufficiently maintained. On the other hand, the solid content derived from egg white exceeds 10%, or the thickener is 4%.
%, The texture of the food after baking becomes hard and dissolves in the mouth, or the texture of the food tends to be sticky.

Generally, the egg white foam may be mixed at a temperature of, for example, 5 to 15 ° C. until the above-mentioned egg white raw material and the above-mentioned thickener are mixed using a mixing device such as a mixer so that the air bubbles are uniformly dispersed. In this case, it is preferable to dissolve the thickener in water in advance to produce an egg white foam in order to make the thickener work properly. Further, when necessary for foaming, water, a seasoning liquid containing various seasonings, or the like may be added. Egg white foam prepared in this way is usually about 35-75cc per 100g
It has a volume of 0.8-10% of solids derived from egg white, a thickener of 0.03-4% and a water content of 45% based on the total weight.
Includes ~ 70%. Also, the size of the bubbles contained in the foam is
It is about 0.02 to 0.5 mm, preferably about 0.02 to 0.2 mm.

It is preferable to adjust the pH of the above-mentioned egg white foam to 3.5 to 4.5 from the viewpoint of flavor and from the viewpoint of maintaining quality. By maintaining such a pH range, the sponge-like food can have a favorable flavor while suppressing the growth of microorganisms in the sealed container. For adjusting the pH, various acidulants such as citric acid, malic acid, lactic acid, fumaric acid, tartaric acid and phosphoric acid can be mentioned. These acidulants are preferably dissolved in water and mixed. By preparing the egg white foam at such a pH and heating it under the mild conditions specified in the present invention, the texture and swelling of the sponge-like food are good even after baking, and at the same time, A food that can be stored at room temperature is provided. When the pH of the egg white foam is less than 3.5, the acidity of the food is too strong, which is not preferable. When the pH of the egg white foam becomes high, the storage stability becomes poor, but it may be stored at a low temperature. The pH of the egg white foam may be measured by inserting a pH meter directly into the substantially liquid egg white foam.

By mixing cheese paste, chocolate paste, saccharides, fresh cream, flour, etc., with the egg white foam having the pH adjusted as described above, a sponge-like food having a higher palatability as a confectionery and a more rich flavor is produced. be able to. When salad flavor is added, it is suitable as food. Furthermore, these sponge-like foods can also be suitably seasoned as baby food.

The cheese paste preferably consists of cream cheese and water 1:
It is desirable to use a mixture of 1. The above-mentioned cheese paste may be usually used in 5 to 30% of the egg white foam. Examples of the saccharide include granulated sugar, glucose, liquid sugar and the like, which may be added in powder form or as an aqueous solution, and usually used in a foamed product in an amount of 10 to 30%. The fresh cream is effective in achieving smooth dissolution of food in the mouth, and in order to achieve the same effect favorably, it is particularly preferable to use an acid-resistant cream. The fresh cream may usually be used in the foamed material in an amount of 2 to 15%. Further, flour is effective in imparting a body feeling to the texture of food, and in order to achieve the same effect, it is particularly preferable to use 0.5 to 5% in a foamed material.

When the egg white foam and each of the above-mentioned ingredients are mixed, the mixing is performed at a temperature of 20 ° C. or less, preferably 15 ° C. or less, and the mixing operation is performed, for example, within 12 minutes, preferably 1 to 8 minutes. Do with.

The egg white foam thus prepared, or the egg white foam further mixed with the above-mentioned additives, generally has a water content of 45 to 75%, preferably 50 to 68%. Due to the above water content, the foamed egg white can maintain a stable foamed state until heat sterilization, and can maintain a sufficient swelling even after firing. If the water content is less than 45%, the texture of the structure after firing is poor, and the mouth is likely to have poor melting. If it exceeds 75%, the foaming state becomes unstable,
There is a tendency that the expanded state of the sponge-like structure is not maintained after firing.

The egg white foam obtained in this way has an overrun defined by the following equation at the time of being sealed in a container, 35 to 180.
%, Preferably 50 to 150%.

When the overrun is less than 35%, the foamed amount of the egg white foam is insufficient, and a soft texture cannot be obtained after firing. If the overrun exceeds 180%, the retention of bubbles becomes unstable, which is not preferable.

The egg white foam is subjected to a heat treatment after being sealed in a container, but is preferably sealed in a heat-resistant container. Various filling devices such as a piston feeder may be used to fill the egg white foam into the heat-resistant container.

The material of the heat-resistant container may be any material that can withstand the heat treatment and the heating of the oven toaster at home.
A metal such as aluminum is exemplified. Examples of the material of the container for the microwave oven include various heat-resistant synthetic resins.

The egg white foam filled in the heat-resistant container as described above is subjected to a heat treatment. The heat treatment kills or reduces microorganisms mixed into the foamed egg white, and coagulates a coagulable raw material such as egg white contained in the foamed foam to fix air bubbles. Food is obtained.

The above heat treatment is performed at a milder condition than at 120 ° C. for 4 minutes. Heat treatment at 120 ° C. is a means widely used in ordinary sterilization treatment, and is usually performed at the same temperature for 20 minutes or more, preferably 25 minutes or more. But 12
When such a long-time heat sterilization treatment is performed at 0 ° C., when baked before eating, the sponge tissue of the food becomes a bread-like tissue, the tissue becomes coarse, and the soft tongue and the dissolution of the mouth are poor. In addition, browning easily occurs in the obtained sponge-like food.

As a milder condition than the condition corresponding to 4 minutes at 120 ° C., less than 4 minutes when heating at 120 ° C., preferably 1 to 2 minutes, and less than 60 minutes when treating at 100 ° C., preferably Is less than 90 minutes when treated at 90 ° C. for 3 to 40 minutes, preferably 150 to 150 minutes when treated at 80 ° C. for 5 to 70 minutes.
For example, when the treatment is performed at a temperature of 70 ° C. for less than 240 minutes, preferably 15 to 200 minutes. It is particularly preferable to perform the treatment at 80 to 100 ° C. for 3 to 80 minutes. When the treatment temperature is lower than 70 ° C., the fixation of the bubbles in the heat treatment becomes insufficient, and the foamed product does not expand even after firing, and the sponge-like food does not expand well. Therefore, a heat treatment at 70 ° C. for 15 minutes or more is required. Also 120
Heat treatment at a temperature exceeding ℃ is not preferred because the texture of the food after baking becomes coarse. According to the heat treatment conditions in the above range, the food swelling after baking is good, the texture of the food is fine, and the tongue and mouth dissolution are good. Furthermore, the above-mentioned swelling is favorably maintained after firing.

The heat treatment conditions may be appropriately selected within the above range depending on the storage form of the sponge-like food of the present invention. For example, if the sponge-like food is stored at a low temperature, for example, 10 ° C. or less, it may be treated at 70 to 100 ° C. for 2 to 100 minutes, and when stored at room temperature, the pH of the egg white foam is less than 4.0. 70-80
The treatment may be performed at a temperature of 80 to 100 ° C for 5 to 120 minutes when the pH is about 4.0 to 4.5. When the pH of the egg white foam is low, the growth of microorganisms is inhibited, so that milder heat treatment conditions can be selected.

For the heat treatment, steam, hot water, hot air, far infrared rays, microwaves, or the like may be used as a heat medium. You may process combining these.

In each household, the sponge-like food of the present invention may be baked using a heating device such as an oven toaster after opening the container, and the obtained sponge-like food has a flavorful and soft texture, and after baking. The sponge tissue is maintained in an expanded state.

(Effect of the Invention) The sponge-like food of the present invention is obtained by heating the egg white foam under the above-described composition and heating at 120 ° C. under milder conditions than for 4 minutes. Bubbles in the object are sufficiently fixed as a sponge-like tissue, and the sponge tissue is very fine. Therefore, a sufficient swelling can be obtained when fired at home, and the swelling is maintained after firing. Further, the fine sponge structure has a feature that it gives a very soft tongue when eaten and is extremely excellent in melting in the mouth.

(Example) 17 parts of concentrated egg white (3.4 parts of solid content derived from egg white), 5%
Mix 10 parts of pectin solution and 0.03 part of xanthan gum,
Whisk with a whisk to obtain 27.03 parts of an egg white foam.

20 parts of a cheese paste (a mixture of cream cheese / water = 1/1), 16 parts of liquid sugar, 10 parts of a 10% citric acid solution, 20.97 parts of water and 6 parts of fresh cream are added to the above-mentioned egg white foamed substance for 1 minute. The mixture was stirred and mixed (pH of the foam was about 4.2, overrun was about 9
At 0%, foam of about 0.1 mm in diameter was uniformly contained). The above stirring and mixing operation was performed at a temperature of 10 ° C. or lower.

65 g of the above-mentioned egg white foam was filled in a metal pot-shaped container having a capacity of about 130 cc, and the opening of the container was sealed.

The container was placed in a retort pot, and sterilized by heating at 90 ° C. for 25 minutes to obtain a sponge-like confectionery in a container. The sponge confectionery described above uniformly contained foam having a diameter of about 0.2 mm, and had an overrun of about 90%.

This product can be stored for about 12 months at room temperature. The product was stored at room temperature for 3 months, the opening of the container was opened, and the product was cooked in an oven toaster for about 5 minutes. When I took this product out of the oven toaster,
The sponge-like structure swelled about 2 cm above the upper bridge of the container, and the upper surface of the confectionery was baked in fox. Also, when I ate this, I had a fine-grained organization,
It had a smooth mouthfeel and a very mellow texture. Then, the swelling of the sponge-like structure was maintained even after firing.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Tatsuro Sakaguchi 1-5-7 Mikitei Sakaecho, Higashiosaka-shi, Osaka House Foods Industry Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-61-293333 (JP, A)

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A solid content derived from egg white of 0.8 to 10% by weight,
An egg white foam containing 0.03 to 4% by weight of a thickener and 50 to 68% by weight of water and sealed in a heat-resistant container, i)
After adjusting the pH to 3.5 to 4.5 at 10 ° C or lower, 2 to 100 at 70 to 100 ° C
Minutes, or ii) after adjusting the pH to 3.5 or more and less than 4.0 at room temperature, and then at 70-80 ° C. for 1-2 minutes, or iii) pH at room temperature.
Is set to 4.0 to 4.5, and then heat-treated at 80 to 100 ° C. for 5 to 120 minutes to obtain a sponge-like food in a container. 2. The spongy food according to claim 1, wherein the egg white foam contains 0.5 to 5% by weight of flour. 3. The egg white foam before the heat treatment has a diameter of 0.02.
The sponge-like food according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sponge-like food contains air bubbles of about 0.5 mm and the overrun of the egg white foam is 35 to 180%.