JP4140515B2 - Seasoning and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an amino acid composition, more specifically, an amino acid composition obtained by hydrolyzing protein-based koji made mainly of soy protein to release 65% or more of amino acids contained in the protein, and producing the composition It is about how to do.

  Conventionally, seasoning materials containing amino acids and peptides such as glutamic acid have been used to impart tastes such as umami and kokumi to various seasonings such as processed foods, soups and sauces, and pickles. Among these materials, those obtained by decomposing vegetable proteins such as soybeans and animal proteins such as beef, pork and chicken with acids and enzymes are often used. Representative examples thereof include an amino acid solution (HVP: Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein) obtained by acid decomposition of vegetable protein and soy sauce which is a traditional Japanese fermented seasoning.

  HVP is produced by hydrolyzing cereal grains rich in protein such as soybeans with hydrochloric acid at high temperature, so that almost 100% of the protein is degraded to amino acids, and amino acids that exhibit umami such as glutamic acid are produced. Contains a large amount. In addition, due to a decomposition reaction under acidic high temperature conditions, a substance that expresses flavor and taste unique to HVP is generated by a chemical reaction from sugar, amino acid, organic acid, and lipid. For example, it is known that sotron is produced as a flavor component and formic acid or levulinic acid is produced as a taste component.

  In a traditional production method, soy sauce is first cooked with defatted soybeans, then mixed with approximately equal amounts of roasted wheat, and inoculated with seed meal to make koji. The obtained koji is prepared in a salt solution, made into moromi, fermented and aged for a long time. The taste is due to amino acids and peptides, but since the degradation of the protein has progressed only about 50%, the content of amino acids, particularly glutamic acid, is lower than that of HVP, which is applied to the taste titer. Moreover, soy sauce has a unique soy sauce flavor because it produces organic acids such as various alcohols, esters and acetic acid by the action of yeast and lactic acid bacteria during aging for more than half a year.

  In this way, HVP and soy sauce have been used as an excellent basic seasoning material having the function of imparting a unique flavor, such as umami and richness, to various processed foods and seasonings, Since it contains 10 to 20% sodium chloride as a liquid, the salty taste becomes too strong when used in a large amount, and there is a problem that the umami and richness of the desired strength cannot be exhibited. In addition, depending on the processed food used, the salt contained in it affects the physical properties and taste of the processed food, so the amount used is limited, and as a result, the umami taste and richness of the desired strength cannot be imparted. There is also a problem. For example, it is known that fish paste such as kamaboko is solidified when so much salt is added, so-called 'sit' deteriorates, so it is impossible to add much HVP and soy sauce. Therefore, as a basic seasoning material that imparts umami and richness, a material that does not contain a large amount of salt is desirable.

  If you can make HVP and soy sauce that does not contain a large amount of salt and have the same umami and rich taste, the concentration of salt can be adjusted arbitrarily, and it is a food manufacturer more than ever As well as increasing the opportunity to use, umami and richness can be widely added to processed foods and various seasonings. Moreover, since unnecessary salt is not put into food as a result, there is a merit that the amount of salt intake by consumers can be reduced. In order to reduce the intake of salt, there is a reduced salt soy sauce produced by desalting the brewed soy sauce, but there is a problem that the umami and rich taste of the soy sauce will be reduced along with the salt, It's not worth it.

  In addition to the problem of salt of HVP and soy sauce, as mentioned above, both HVP and soy sauce have unique strong flavors, so the flavor balance of processed foods and seasonings added when used in large amounts in foods and seasonings There is a problem that breaks. In particular, since the flavor of other food materials and seasoning materials is masked, there is a problem that the complex flavor of the food required by the consumer is eliminated, for example, only the soy sauce flavor becomes a strong and thin flavor. An example of this is noodle soup. Mentsuyu is a mixture of 'dashi', which is mainly taken from bonito and 'kaedashi', which is soy sauce. Aroma components of soy sauce, such as isobutyl alcohol (iba), normal butyl alcohol (nba), isoamyl alcohol (iaa), etc. However, there is a problem that masks the soup stock flavor and makes the flavor worse (Patent Document 1).

  Therefore, as a basic seasoning material that imparts tastes such as umami and kokumi, it is desirable that the flavor is not so strong. If such a seasoning with little flavor is obtained, if HVP flavor or soy sauce flavor is required, HVP and soy sauce may be partially mixed and used. It is also possible to arbitrarily add an appropriate amount of flavor that does not mask the flavor of other food materials and seasoning materials.

  Until now, as soy sauce with less flavor, deodorized soy sauce (patent document 1) in which the aroma components of soy sauce such as iba, nba, iaa, etc. are reduced by blowing nitrogen gas into soy sauce, or solid soy sauce in the absence of salt Soy sauce (Patent Document 2) produced by high-temperature and short-time decomposition is developed.

  As mentioned above, as a basic seasoning material that imparts taste such as umami and kokumi, it is desirable that it does not contain salt and does not contain a strong flavor component. It is desirable that the amino acid contained in the protein is at least 100% free of soy sauce, preferably as high as HVP. The high amino acid conversion rate of HVP is due to its production method, that is, acid decomposition. However, regulations on 3-MCPD generated in the process of acid decomposition are becoming more restrictive, such as the upper limit being set in Europe. The production method of basic seasoning materials to be newly developed in the future is not acid decomposition, but the same traditional solid as soy sauce. It is desirable to adopt the dredging method.

  To summarize the above situation, as a basic seasoning material that imparts umami and kokumi, it is manufactured by the traditional solid koji method, does not contain salt, and has a high amino acid content per nitrogen as high as HVP and a strong flavor. What does not contain an ingredient is desired.

  In the production of soy sauce by the solid koji method, as a method for increasing the amino acid content, a method of hydrolyzing koji at 2 to 25 ° C. without containing salt has been developed (Patent Document 3). However, this method has a problem that although the amino acid content is high, salt is contained because salt is added to the fermented rice cake after hydrolysis to ferment the obtained moromi. In addition, a method is disclosed in which a mixture of koji and yeast is hydrolyzed at 2 to 25 ° C. in the absence of salt (Patent Document 4). However, since this method uses yeast, it inevitably contains a flavor component.

  In addition, a technique for producing soy sauce and a flavoring agent using a koji mold having an endopeptidase and exonuclease activity two or more times higher than that of a wild strain of Aspergillus oryzae is disclosed (Patent Document 5). There is a problem of including.

By the way, when fermented protein koji is prepared from protein-containing material and carbohydrate, and fermented protein koji is hydrolyzed at a temperature of 15 ° C. to 60 ° C. and a pH of 4.5 to 10 for 6 hours to 28 days, A method is disclosed in which 10 ³ to 10 ⁷ cfu of lactic acid bacteria are inoculated per fermentation fermentation stage or hydrolysis stage (Patent Document 6). Since hydrolysis at low temperatures in the absence of salt presents the risk of growth of undesirable microorganisms, this method protects straw from the growth of microorganisms by ingesting a culture of lactic acid bacteria. is there. However, with the above inoculum amount, proliferation occurs during koji making and decomposition, so that amino acids released particularly during decomposition are assimilated, resulting in a decrease in amino acid yield.

In addition, in manufacture of a fermented seasoning, the method (patent document 7) of making a koji using what lactic-acid-fermented the raw material is known, However, In this method, koji is prepared using salt solution.
Japanese Patent No. 2862719 Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-103013 US Pat. No. 5,523,100 US Pat. No. 5,888,561 US Pat. No. 6,090,607 US Pat. No. 5,965,178 Japanese Patent No. 30273352

  The present invention is a seasoning obtained by decomposing vegetable protein by the same solid koji method as soy sauce, and does not contain salt, or has a low salt content, a high amino acidification rate, and a strong flavor component. It is an object of the present invention to provide a seasoning not included and a method for producing the same.

As a result of intensive investigations to solve the above problems, the present inventors have found that acetic acid is added to other flavorings and food materials in addition to aroma components such as isobutyl alcohol, normal butyl alcohol, and isoamyl alcohol contained in soy sauce. It has been found that an excellent seasoning can be obtained by masking the taste and flavor of and by reducing the content thereof. And in the manufacture of soy sauce, in the presence of an appropriate amount of lactic acid bacteria in both the koji making and koji hydrolysis (fermentation) steps, a seasoning with reduced aroma components can be obtained without adding salt. Successful.
That is, the present invention is as follows.

(1) A seasoning obtained by allowing a microorganism having the ability to hydrolyze protein to a raw material containing plant protein, having an amino acid conversion rate of 65% or more and an isobutyl alcohol concentration of 0.1 mg / g · nitrogen or less A seasoning having a normal butyl alcohol concentration of 0.25 mg / g · nitrogen or less, an isoamyl alcohol concentration of 0.5 mg / g · nitrogen or less, and an acetic acid concentration of 100 mg / g · nitrogen or less.
(2) The seasoning according to (1), wherein the raw material containing plant protein is defatted soybean.
(3) The seasoning according to (1) or (2), wherein the microorganism is a filamentous fungus belonging to the genus Aspergillus. (4) The seasoning according to (3), wherein the microorganism is Aspergillus oryzae and / or Aspergillus soya.
(5) The following steps:
(I) a step of inoculating a raw material containing a plant protein with a microorganism having an ability to hydrolyze a protein to produce a solid koji; and
(Ii) A step of adding mash to the obtained solid koji so that the salt concentration is such that the hydrolysis reaction of the protein is not inhibited to form moromi, and fermenting the moromi to hydrolyze the protein. ,
A method for producing a seasoning comprising
In the step (i), 10 ⁸ to 10 ¹¹ / g · raw lactic acid bacteria are added to the raw material, and if necessary, 10 ⁸ to 10 ¹¹ / g · moromi lactic acid bacteria are added in the step (ii). Add to moromi,
The seasoning has an amino acid conversion rate of 65% or more, an isobutyl alcohol concentration of 0.1 mg / g · nitrogen or less, a normal butyl alcohol concentration of 0.25 mg / g · nitrogen or less, and an isoamyl alcohol concentration of 0.5 mg / g · nitrogen. Nitrogen or less and the acetic acid concentration is 100 mg / g · nitrogen or less.
(6) The method of (5), wherein the salt concentration of the moromi in step (ii) is 5% by weight or less.
(7) The method according to (5) or (6), wherein the raw material containing plant protein is defatted soybean.
(8) The method of (7), wherein the defatted soybean is heat-denatured and expanded to a water-soluble nitrogen index (NSI) of 8 to 20 by an extruder treatment.
(9) The method according to any one of (5) to (8), wherein the step (ii) is performed at 5 to 45 ° C. for 40 to 144 hours.
(10) The method according to any one of (5) to (9), wherein the pH of the moromi in step (ii) is 4 to 10.
(11) The method according to any one of (5) to (10), wherein in the step (ii), the moromi headspace is replaced with nitrogen of 2 to 10 times the headspace volume.
(12) The method according to (11), wherein the nitrogen substitution amount is 5 to 8 times the head space volume.
(13) The method according to any one of (5) to (12), wherein the microorganism having the ability to hydrolyze the protein is a filamentous fungus belonging to the genus Aspergillus.
(14) The method according to (13), wherein the microorganism having the ability to hydrolyze the protein is Aspergillus oryzae and / or Aspergillus soya.
(15) The method according to any one of (5) to (14), wherein the lactic acid bacterium is Lactococcus lactis.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to produce a seasoning that does not contain salt, has a low salt content, has a high amino acidification rate, and has reduced isobutyl alcohol, normal butyl alcohol, isoamyl alcohol, and acetic acid.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.
The seasoning of the present invention is a seasoning obtained by allowing a microorganism having an ability to hydrolyze a protein to a raw material containing a plant protein, having an amino acid conversion ratio of 65% or more and an isobutyl alcohol concentration of 0.1 mg / g · nitrogen or less, normal butyl alcohol concentration is 0.25 mg / g · nitrogen or less, isoamyl alcohol concentration is 0.5 mg / g · nitrogen or less, and acetic acid concentration is 100 mg / g · nitrogen or less. It is a seasoning.

  The amino acid conversion rate is preferably 80% or more, more preferably 85% or more. The isobutyl alcohol concentration is preferably 0.08 mg / g · nitrogen or less, more preferably 0.06 mg / g · nitrogen or less. The normal butyl alcohol concentration is preferably 0.1 mg / g · nitrogen or less, more preferably 0.05 mg / g · nitrogen or less. The isoamyl alcohol concentration is preferably 0.4 mg / g · nitrogen or less, more preferably 0.3 mg / g · nitrogen or less. Furthermore, the acetic acid concentration is preferably 60 mg / g · nitrogen or less, more preferably 30 mg / g · nitrogen or less.

  The amount of nitrogen can be measured by, for example, the Kjeldahl method. The amount of amino acid can be measured by an amino acid analyzer, acetic acid by an organic acid analyzer, and aroma components by gas chromatography.

  In the present invention, the “amino acidification rate” is the ratio of free amino acids to the total amount of amino acids contained in the decomposition solution.

  The raw material containing the plant protein is not particularly limited as long as it is suitable for food and can be efficiently decomposed into amino acids by a microorganism having the ability to hydrolyze protein, and examples thereof include cereals and beans. More specifically, soybeans, particularly defatted soybeans can be mentioned. In the present invention, the raw material may be one kind or a mixture of two or more kinds. Particularly suitable as a raw material is defatted soybean, but an appropriate amount of flour or the like may be mixed with the defatted soybean.

  As microorganisms having the ability to hydrolyze proteins, plant proteins can be hydrolyzed so that the amino acid ratio is 65% or more, suitable for food production, and proteases such as proteases and peptidases Microorganisms that secrete extracellularly are preferred. Examples of such microorganisms include microorganisms belonging to the genus Aspergillus, the genus Rhizopus, the genus Mucor, the genus Monascus and the like. Among these, the genus Aspergillus is preferable, and specifically, Aspergillus oryzae (A. oryzae), Aspergillus sojae (A. sojae), A. awamori (A. awamori), Aspergillus nidulans (A. nidulans) , Aspergillus niger and the like. Among these microorganisms, Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus soya are particularly preferable.

  Since the seasoning of the present invention as described above has an amino acidification rate of 65% or more, the taste titer of amino acids is higher than that of soy sauce. Moreover, the concentration of isobutyl alcohol, normal butyl alcohol and isoamyl alcohol, which are aromatic components of soy sauce, is lower than that of conventional soy sauce. Furthermore, since the concentration of acetic acid is low, the seasoning of the present invention is different from conventional soy sauce and deodorized soy sauce in which the aroma component is reduced by blowing nitrogen gas (Japanese Patent No. 2862719). Without masking the taste and flavor of the material, it can give umami and richness. Moreover, since salt is not included or there is little content, it can be used conveniently for the foodstuff with which the usage-amount of salt is restrict | limited. Furthermore, if necessary, an appropriate amount of sodium chloride can be added to the seasoning of the present invention or food using the same to obtain a desired salt concentration.

  Next, the manufacturing method of the seasoning of this invention is demonstrated. The seasoning of this invention is manufactured by the following processes, for example.

(I) A step of inoculating a raw material containing plant protein with a microorganism having an ability to hydrolyze protein to produce a koji (a koji making step).
(Ii) A step of adding mash to the obtained koji so that the salt concentration is such that the hydrolysis reaction of the protein is not inhibited to form moromi, and fermenting the moromi to hydrolyze soy protein ( Also called fermentation process).

First, the iron making process will be described.
The raw material containing the plant protein is not particularly limited as long as it is suitable for food and can be efficiently decomposed into amino acids by a microorganism having the ability to hydrolyze protein, and examples thereof include cereals and beans. More specifically, soybeans, particularly defatted soybeans can be mentioned. In the present invention, the raw material may be one kind or a mixture of two or more kinds. Particularly suitable as a raw material is defatted soybean, but an appropriate amount of flour or the like may be mixed with the defatted soybean.

  The defatted soybean is preferably heat-denatured and expanded with an extruder and then dried to obtain dried puffed beans. By doing so, microorganisms having the ability to hydrolyze proteins can easily enter soybeans, and the water content of the raw material can be easily adjusted to 35 to 45% suitable for the growth of koji molds. Furthermore, a large amount of lactic acid bacteria can be inoculated. The heat-denatured swelling is preferably performed so that the water-soluble nitrogen index (NSI) is 8-20.

  A cocoon is produced by inoculating the raw material as described above with a microorganism having the ability to hydrolyze proteins. In the present invention, both solid and liquid cocoons can be used as the cocoon, but the solid cocoon has more types and amounts of proteases such as proteases and peptidases produced from the microorganisms, and is amino acidified. Solid soot is preferred because of its high rate.

In the present invention, among the koji making process and the fermentation process, at least in the koji making process, 10 ⁸ to 10 ¹¹ / g · raw lactic acid bacteria are added to the raw material. As will be described later, in the present invention, the hydrolysis of the solid koji is performed at a salt concentration that does not inhibit the hydrolysis reaction by the koji mold, for example, the salt concentration is 5% by weight or less. The “degree to which the hydrolysis reaction is not inhibited” includes the case where the inhibition is small enough not to impair the effects of the present invention in addition to the fact that the hydrolysis reaction is not substantially inhibited. Specifically, it can be said that the hydrolysis reaction is not inhibited when the amino acid conversion rate is 65% or more, preferably 80% or more, more preferably 85% or more. In conventional soy sauce cake, 10 ⁶ to 10 ¹⁰ bacteria / g · bacteria are present at the stage of brewing, and if such cocoon is mixed with the feed solution at a low salt concentration, it will rot in a few hours. Resulting in. In particular, when only defatted soybeans are used as the raw material, the moisture content after cooking is as high as 50-60%, so microorganisms such as natto bacteria than soy sauce cake made by mixing equal amounts of dried wheat Contamination is likely to occur. Therefore, in the present invention, by inoculating the raw material and the koji with lactic acid bacteria, the growth of the contaminating bacteria is suppressed, and the koji is protected from abnormal fermentation and spoilage caused by the proliferation of the contaminating bacteria.

In the present invention, koji can be carried out in the same manner as koji making in ordinary soy sauce, except inoculating lactic acid bacteria. Specifically, the protein raw material is mixed with water, lactic acid bacteria, and seed meal. Water is preferably added in an amount of 35 to 45% by weight, preferably 37 to 42% by weight, based on the total amount of the mixture. Lactic acid bacteria are inoculated at 10 ⁸ to 10 ¹¹ cells / g · raw material, preferably 10 ⁹ to 10 ¹⁰ cells / g · raw material. In particular, by inoculating lactic acid bacteria in the above range at the initial stage of koji making, it is possible to maintain the dominant flora in the koji and eliminate the room for other miscellaneous bacteria to grow.

  Lactic acid bacteria are not particularly limited as long as they do not substantially inhibit the activity of microorganisms having the ability to hydrolyze proteins and can suppress the growth of undesirable contaminating bacteria. Examples include bacteria belonging to the genus Bacillus (Lactobacillus) and the genus Lactococcus. In these, the genus Lactococcus is preferable, More specifically, Lactococcus lactis (L. lactis) is mentioned.

Water and lactic acid bacteria can be mixed with raw materials as a culture solution of lactic acid bacteria. Specifically, for example, a lactic acid bacterium culture solution is submerged in a heat-denatured and expanded raw material. The culture solution of lactic acid bacteria preferably contains 10 ⁸ to 10 ¹¹ cells, preferably 10 ⁹ to 10 ¹⁰ cells / mL. The number of lactic acid bacteria can be measured by counting under a microscope or counting cfu (colony forming unit) in an agar medium suitable for growth.

Further, the seed meal is usually added so that the number of spores is 10 ⁶ to 10 ⁷ / g · raw material. The number of spores of the seed can be measured in the same manner as the number of lactic acid bacteria.
The iron making process is usually performed by standing at 22 to 40 ° C., preferably 28 to 35 ° C., for 24 to 72 hours, preferably 38 to 60 hours. Care (mixing) may be performed 18 to 28 hours after the start of ironmaking.

Next, the fermentation process will be described.
A mash is added to the koji produced as described above to form moromi, and the moromi is fermented to hydrolyze soy protein. In the present invention, salt is usually not added to the feed solution or moromi, and the salt concentration is preferably 5% by weight or less, more preferably 2% by weight or less, based on the total amount of moromi. In addition, the moromi may contain a small amount of salt derived from a lactic acid bacteria culture solution or the like.

In the fermentation process, it is not essential to add lactic acid bacteria to moromi, but it is preferable to add them. In the case of adding lactic acid bacteria to moromi, lactic acid bacteria are inoculated so as to have a concentration of 10 ⁸ to 10 ¹¹ / g · moromi, preferably 10 ⁹ to 10 ¹⁰ / g · moromi. By increasing the number of lactic acid bacteria from the initial stage of the fermentation process, it is possible to suppress assimilation of amino acids generated by hydrolysis due to further growth of lactic acid bacteria.

The charging solution is usually added in an amount of 1.5 to 5 times, preferably 2 to 4 times the weight of the candy. The charging solution and lactic acid bacteria can be mixed with the raw material as a culture solution of lactic acid bacteria. In such a case, the culture solution of lactic acid bacteria preferably contains 10 ⁹ to 10 ¹⁰ cells / mL.

  The fermentation step is carried out at a temperature at which lactic acid bacteria can grow, specifically usually 5 to 45 ° C., preferably 30 to 37 ° C., for 40 to 144 hours, preferably 48 to 96 hours. Moreover, the pH of the moromi is preferably adjusted to 4 to 10, more preferably 5 to 7.

  Moreover, as for a fermentation process, it is desirable to substitute the head space of preparation liquid moromi with nitrogen gas. This can suppress the growth of aerobic contaminants. The degree of nitrogen substitution can be performed, for example, by substituting with 2 to 10 times, preferably 5 to 8 times the amount of nitrogen gas of the headspace volume of the tank containing moromi and sealing the tank.

  By performing the fermentation process as described above, it is possible to prevent the growth or proliferation of contaminating bacteria. In addition, since the yeast involved in the production of ordinary soy sauce hardly grows, it is thought that the soy sauce flavor decreases.

  After completion of the fermentation process, the same treatment as normal soy sauce can be performed. For example, the moromi after fermentation is filtered to remove solids and then sterilized at 60 ° C to 120 ° C. Or you may filter, after sterilizing moromi. Moreover, the obtained moromi can also be used as a raw material for other fermented seasonings or fermented foods.

The present invention will be described more specifically with reference to the following examples. The present invention is not limited by this example.
In this example, “TN” represents nitrogen, and “gTN” represents gram · nitrogen.

<Example 1>
To 180 g of swollen defatted soybean (Protein TY, NSI 15 manufactured by Ajinomoto Co., Inc.), 180 mL of a lactic acid bacteria culture solution (L. lactis NBRC12007) containing 10 ⁹ to 10 ¹⁰ cells / mL and adjusted to pH 6.3 was added. Furthermore, after the spores of Aspergillus (A. oryzae JCM2231) were mixed so as to be 2 × 10 ⁶ cells / g · raw material, koji was performed at 30 to 32 ° C. for 48 hours according to a conventional method. The koji was mixed 18 and 25 hours after the koji temperature exceeded 32 ° C. The water content of the mixture was 37%.
The NBRC12007 strain was deposited with the Institute for Fermentation (IFO) as IFO12007, but IFO's microbial preservation business is the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation Biological Genetic Resources Division (NBRC) (zip code 292- 0818 2-5-8 Kazusa Kamashitsu, Kisarazu City, Chiba Prefecture, and preserved as NBRC 12007 strain. That is, the NBRC12007 strain is the same strain as the IFO12007 strain. In addition, JCM2231 strain is stored in the microbial strain preservation facility (JCM) (Postal Code 351-0198, Wako-shi, Saitama 2-1), RIKEN. Any strain can be sold from NBRC or JCM.

500 g of the obtained koji was added to 2 L of a lactic acid bacteria culture solution (L.lactis NBRC12007 (formerly IFO12007)) containing 10 ⁹ to 10 ¹⁰ cells / mL of microbial cells and adjusted to pH 6.3. It was put into a pressure-proof bottle that can shut off the outside air and the inside of the container. After injecting nitrogen gas corresponding to five times the head space at normal pressure into the head space of the container, the pinch cock is closed and the inside of the container is sealed, and in the incubator at 35 ° C. for 24 hours, 48 hours, 96 hours. The defatted soybean protein was hydrolyzed with koji by leaving it to stand for 144 hours and 240 hours.

  After the hydrolyzed mixture was squeezed to prepare a hydrolyzed liquid, the liquid was sterilized by treating it at 80 ° C. for 30 minutes. This was incubated overnight at 4 ° C., and the solid content was removed by filtration. 20 g of activated carbon (activated carbon BA: manufactured by Ajinomoto Fine Techno Co., Ltd.) was added to 2 L of the obtained clear liquid, and the mixture was incubated at 50 ° C. for 30 minutes with constant stirring to perform deodorization and decolorization. Finally, this solution was filtered to remove the activated carbon, and a seasoning liquid as a final product was obtained.

  About seasoning liquid acquired by the above operation, analysis of nitrogen (TN) by Kjeldahl method, measurement of amino acids (total amino acids) by amino acid analyzer (Hitachi L-8000) method, various organics by organic acid analyzer (Hitachi L-7000) Measurement of acid concentration, measurement of various sugar concentrations by sugar analyzer (Hitachi L-6000), analysis of aroma components by gas chromatography, measurement of pH, and sensory evaluation test by simple solution system with sensory evaluation panel consisting of 10 persons Carried out.

  As a sensory evaluation method in a simple solution system, each sample was diluted and salted so that the nitrogen concentration (TN) = 0.1% and the salt concentration = 1.0%, and the sample was functionalized at room temperature. Evaluation was performed.

  The results of component analysis of the prototype at each decomposition time and the sensory evaluation results in a simple solution system are shown in Table 1 in comparison with commercially available concentrated soy sauce.

  As a result, by decomposing for 48 hours or more, the amino acidization rate reaches 80% or more, and isobutyl alcohol (iba), n-butyl alcohol (nba), isoamyl alcohol (iaa), acetic acid and the like characteristic of soy sauce It was found that it contains almost no aroma component. The taste of the seasoning liquid obtained in the present invention is characterized by a strong umami taste, a taste and a thickness, and was much closer to the characteristics of the acid-decomposed amino acid solution than soy sauce. In particular, in the seasoning liquid having a decomposition time of 48 hours to 144 hours, umami, taste and thickness were strongly felt. In the case of degradation for 48 hours, since a little peptide remains, the taste becomes “slow aftertaste”.

  As for odor, no strong flavor unique to acid-decomposed amino acids or soy sauce was felt, and there was only a slight grain odor. There was little difference due to degradation time. Therefore, in the following examples, the decomposition time was set to 48 hours to 144 hours.

<Example 2>
In the hydrolysis of the solid koji, the relationship between the hydrolysis temperature, the production stability, and the taste of the obtained seasoning liquid was investigated. Hydrolysis temperatures were performed at 30, 35, and 37 ° C. The decomposition time was 96 hours.

500 g of solid koji obtained by the method described in Example 1 was added to 2 L of a lactic acid bacteria culture solution (L. lactis NBRC12007 (formerly IFO12007)) containing 10 ⁹ to 10 ¹⁰ cells / mL of cells and adjusted to pH 6.3. It was added and put into a pressure-resistant bottle capable of blocking outside air and the inside of the container through a pinch cock. After injecting nitrogen gas in an amount of 5 times the volume of the head space into the head space of the container, the pinch cock was closed to seal the inside of the container, and hydrolysis was performed for 96 hours at each of the above temperatures in an incubator. Thereafter, the decomposition product was treated by the method described in Example 1 to obtain a seasoning liquid.

  Table 2 compares the component analysis results of the prototypes with different decomposition temperatures, the sensory evaluation results in a simple solution system, and the results of microbial analysis after hydrolysis.

  As a result, the amino acid conversion rate was not significantly different at the decomposition temperature of 30 to 37 ° C.

  Therefore, in the following examples, the hydrolysis temperature was set to 30 to 37 ° C. in consideration of both amino acidification rate and bacteriostatic properties.

<Example 3>
In Examples 1 and 2, the head space at the top of the tank was replaced with nitrogen gas during hydrolysis to make the entire decomposition system anaerobic, and the growth of obligate aerobic bacteria including Bacillus subtilis was suppressed. In this example, the necessity for bacteriostasis during hydrolysis was examined.

Pulverized defatted soybean (Protein TY, NSI 15 manufactured by Ajinomoto Co., Inc.) 360 g of lactic acid bacteria culture solution (L. lactis NBRC12007 (former IFO12007)) containing 10 ⁹ to 10 ¹⁰ cells / mL and adjusted to pH 6.3 180 ml of spore was added, and the spores of A. oryzae JCM2231 were mixed at 2 × 10 ⁶ / g · raw material, and then koji was made at 30 to 32 ° C. for 48 hours according to a conventional method. The water content of the mixture was 37%. Next, the koji was mixed after 18 and 25 hours in the same manner as in the conventional method for producing soy sauce koji.

500 g of the obtained cocoon is added to 2 L of a lactic acid bacteria culture solution (L. lactis IFO12007 (formerly IFO12007)) containing 10 ⁹ cells / mL and adjusted to pH 6.3. It was put into a pressure-proof bottle that can be shut off. The number of lactic acid bacteria was prepared by diluting a lactic acid bacteria culture solution containing 10 ¹⁰ cells / mL lactic acid bacteria with sterilized water. Nitrogen gas was injected into the head space of the container, the nitrogen gas was replaced with 5 times the volume of the head space, the pinch cock was closed, the inside of the container was sealed, and hydrolysis was performed in an incubator at 35 ° C. for 48 hours. Further, as a control group, hydrolysis was carried out at 35 ° C. for 96 hours in an incubator without replacing nitrogen gas. Thereafter, the decomposition product was treated by the method described in Example 1 to obtain a seasoning liquid.

  Under the above conditions, it was found that if the headspace is not replaced with nitrogen, the gonococcus covers the moromi surface, and pollutants such as cocci and Bacillus grow on it. Therefore, it was found that it is desirable to replace the head space of the moromi tank with nitrogen.

<Example 4>
Next, the lactic acid bacteria species to be used were changed to produce seasonings.
L. lactis AJ110212 (FERM BP-08552) using a jar fan meter in a medium consisting of yeast extract 0.54%, glucose 3%, NaCl 0.5%, pH with NaOH Was maintained at 5.5, and the cells were cultured for about 18 hours under conditions of no aeration and agitation of 100 rpm so that the bacterial cell concentration would be 10 ⁹ to 10 ¹⁰ cells / mL. Based on the Budapest Treaty on November 19, 2003, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Patent Biological Deposit Center (1st, 1st, 1st East, 1-chome, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki 305-8566, Japan) Deposited internationally and assigned the deposit number FERM BP-08552.
360 g of swollen defatted soybean (Protein TY, NSI 15 manufactured by Ajinomoto Co., Inc.) containing 10 ⁹ to 10 ¹⁰ cells / mL of bacterial cells adjusted to pH 6.3 (L. lactis AJ110212 (FERM BP- 180552)) was added. Furthermore, koji mold (A. oryzae JCM2231) spores were mixed at 2 × 10 ⁶ cells / g · raw material, and then kneaded at 30 to 32 ° C. for 48 hours according to a conventional method. The water content of the mixture was 37%. Next, the koji was mixed after 18 and 25 hours in the same manner as in the conventional method for producing soy sauce koji.

500 g of the obtained koji was added to 2 L of lactic acid bacteria culture solution (cultured solution of L. lactis AJ110212 (FERM BP-08552) described above) containing 10 ⁹ cells / mL and adjusted to pH 6.3. It was put into a pressure-resistant bottle capable of blocking outside air and the inside of the container through a cock. The number of lactic acid bacteria was prepared by diluting a lactic acid bacteria culture solution containing 10 ¹⁰ cells / mL lactic acid bacteria with sterilized water. Nitrogen gas was injected into the head space of the container, the nitrogen gas was replaced with 5 times the volume of the head space, the pinch cock was closed, the inside of the container was sealed, and hydrolysis was performed in an incubator at 35 ° C. for 96 hours. Thereafter, the decomposition product was treated by the method described in Example 1 to obtain a seasoning liquid.

  Table 3 shows the component analysis results of the seasoning liquid, the sensory evaluation results in the simple solution system, and the results of the microbial analysis.

  As a result, even when L. lactis AJ110212 (FERM BP-08552) was used as the lactic acid bacterial species, the bacteriostatic properties of the decomposition solution were ensured, and the sensory evaluation and analytical values were almost the same as the results of Example 1. It was. Thus, the seasoning liquid obtained by this invention was producible even if it changed the lactic acid bacteria seed | species.

<Example 5>
The seasoning liquid of the present invention contains only a small amount of isobutyl alcohol (iba), n-butyl alcohol (nba), and isoamyl alcohol (iaa), so when mixed with dashi, it does not mask the dashi flavor and has a good flavor. I thought I could make a noodle soup with it. Therefore, the soy sauce classification was replaced with the seasoning liquid of the present invention to prepare soy sauce and its sensory evaluation was performed.

  The soy sauce category was replaced with the following seasonings in the blend of soy sauce, bonito (Aramoto koji, withered knot), sugar, mirin, salt, L-glutamic acid-sodium salt and lactic acid as main ingredients.

(I) Seasoning liquid obtained in the present invention (prepared under the conditions of 35 ° C. and 96 hours in Example 1; hereinafter the same)
(II) Commercial concentrated soy sauce (III) Deodorized soy sauce (prepared by the method described in Japanese Patent No. 2872619)
(IV) A seasoning liquid in which acetic acid is added to the seasoning liquid obtained in the present invention in an amount equal to the amount contained in the commercially available concentrated soy sauce.

  Using each of the above-mentioned seasonings, the noodle soup was mixed with the following composition to prepare a noodle soup and subjected to sensory evaluation for each.

Table 3 shows the concentrations of iba, nba, iaa and acetic acid contained in each noodle soup.
The above four types of noodle soup were evaluated by a specialized taste panel (n = 4), ranked according to the dashi flavor and strong smell, and given a comprehensive score by the ranking method. That is, 1st place 5 points, 2nd place 4 points, 3rd place 3 points, 4th place 2 points, 5th place 1 point, and the total score of the four panelists was the overall score. The results are shown in Table 4.

  As a result, it was found that the noodle soup using the seasoning liquid of the present invention instead of soy sauce felt the most sour flavor and odor. Further, it was found that the influence of acetic acid is larger than that of iaa, iba and nba disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2862719 as a component for masking the soup of noodle soup and the odor. Therefore, it is estimated that the seasoning liquid of this invention has the effect of making use of the flavor of a raw material by not containing acetic acid.

Claims (13)

A seasoning obtained by allowing a microorganism having the ability to degrade protein to a raw material containing plant protein, having an amino acid conversion rate of 65% or more, an isobutyl alcohol concentration of 0.1 mg / g · nitrogen or less, and normal butyl alcohol A seasoning characterized by having a concentration of 0.25 mg / g · nitrogen or less, an isoamyl alcohol concentration of 0.5 mg / g · nitrogen or less, and an acetic acid concentration of 100 mg / g · nitrogen or less. The seasoning according to claim 1, wherein the plant protein-containing material is defatted soybean. The seasoning according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the microorganism is a filamentous fungus belonging to the genus Aspergillus. The seasoning according to claim 3, wherein the microorganism is Aspergillus oryzae and / or Aspergillus soya. The following steps:
(I) a step of inoculating a raw material containing a plant protein with a microorganism having an ability to hydrolyze a protein to produce a solid koji; and
(Ii) to the resulting solid koji, the protein of the hydrolysis reaction by adding a charge liquid such that the salt concentration to the extent that does not inhibit to form a moromi is sodium chloride concentration is 5 wt% or less, the head space of the moromi Substituting 2 to 10 times the headspace volume of nitrogen and then fermenting the moromi to hydrolyze the protein,
A method for producing a seasoning comprising
Was added 10 ⁸ to 10 ¹¹ / g · raw material of lactic acid in the step (i) to the raw material, or One prior Symbol step (ii) said lactic acid bacteria of 10 ⁸ to 10 ¹¹ / g · moromi in the moromi Added to the
The seasoning has an amino acid conversion rate of 65% or more, an isobutyl alcohol concentration of 0.1 mg / g · nitrogen or less, a normal butyl alcohol concentration of 0.25 mg / g · nitrogen or less, and an isoamyl alcohol concentration of 0.5 mg / g · nitrogen. Nitrogen or less and the acetic acid concentration is 100 mg / g · nitrogen or less. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the nitrogen substitution amount is 5 to 8 times the head space volume. The method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the plant protein-containing material is defatted soybean. The method according to claim 7, wherein the defatted soybean has been heat-denatured to a water-soluble nitrogen index (NSI) of 8 to 20 by an extruder treatment. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the step (ii) is performed at 5 to 45 ° C for 40 to 144 hours. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein the moromi pH of the step (ii) is 4 to 10. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 10 , wherein the microorganism having the ability to hydrolyze the protein is a filamentous fungus belonging to the genus Aspergillus. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the microorganism having the ability to hydrolyze the protein is Aspergillus oryzae and / or Aspergillus soya. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 12 , wherein the lactic acid bacterium is Lactococcus lactis.