JP4264337B2 - Oil and fat composition for improving water wettability of cocoa powder, improved cocoa powder containing the composition, and improved adjusted cocoa - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an oil / fat composition effective for improving water wettability of cocoa powder, a cocoa powder having improved water wettability obtained by treating cocoa powder with the oil / fat composition, and adjusted cocoa having improved water wettability.

  Conventionally, cocoa powder is made as follows. First, cacao beans are crushed raw and then roasted, or the outer skin and germ are removed from the roasted and crushed roasted product to obtain cacao nibs as the endosperm part. The cocoa nibs are then ground to obtain cocoa mass. The cocoa mass is squeezed to remove a part of cocoa butter, which is a fat component, to obtain a cocoa cake, and a cocoa powder is obtained by crushing kibbles obtained by roughly crushing the cocoa cake. At this time, the cocoa powder or cocoa mass is treated with an alkaline solution for the purpose of improving the dispersibility of the obtained cocoa powder in hot water and obtaining a preferable color tone.

  However, since cocoa powder is usually a fine powder containing 10 to 24% fat (cocoa butter), when trying to dissolve in water, the water does not wet well, does not easily disperse and dissolve, accumulates and is damaging. become. Therefore, in order to disperse and dissolve the cocoa powder, after kneading with a small amount of water or hot water in advance, the water or hot water must be poured while stirring. Moreover, when powdered milk, saccharides, etc. were added and it was set as adjustment cocoa, there existed the same fault.

  In order to improve the solubility of cocoa powder in water or hot water, cocoa powder or adjusted cocoa is granulated by a known granulation method, but also in cocoa granules produced by this conventional method The dispersibility was poor, and even if hot water was added and stirred well, the particles could not be completely dispersed or dissolved. This is considered to be because the granules became hard at the time of granulation, and it became difficult for water to enter the granules.

Thus, various techniques have been proposed so far to improve the water wettability of cocoa powder (see, for example, Patent Documents 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5). That is, a method in which an aqueous solution containing an emulsifier is mixed with a mixture of cocoa powder and powdered sugar and then dried to obtain a readily water-soluble cocoa powder (Patent Document 1). An emulsifier is added to a granulated product of cocoa powder or adjusted cocoa. A method of obtaining water-soluble cocoa powder by spraying (Patent Document 2), cocoa powder is made into granules, and this is sprayed with lipophilic polyglycerin fatty acid ester and hydrophilic polyglycerin fatty acid ester dissolved in oil and fat. (Patent Document 3), a cocoa water wettability improver composition and an oil and fat composition (Patent Document 4) containing diglycerin monofatty acid ester as an active ingredient, and an emulsifier added to kibbles obtained by roughly crushing cocoa cake And a method for producing a readily water-soluble cocoa powder by mixing, dispersing and then pulverizing (Patent Document 5).
Japanese Patent Publication No. 36-010690 JP 58-146238 A JP 07-078992 A JP 09-275905 A JP 2000-125767 A

  However, a cocoa powder or a conditioned cocoa that has reached a sufficiently satisfactory level of water wettability has not yet been developed.

  The present invention relates to an oil / fat composition for improving water wettability of cocoa powder having a sufficiently satisfactory water wettability improving effect, a cocoa powder improved in water wettability by treating cocoa powder with the oil / fat composition, and water wettability. Aims to provide improved adjusted cocoa.

  As a result of intensive studies to solve the above problems, the present inventor includes (a) medium chain fatty acid triglyceride, (b) diglycerin fatty acid ester, and (c) propylene glycol fatty acid ester having a specific viscosity. Has succeeded in developing an oil and fat composition for improving water wettability of cocoa powder, and found that the oil and fat composition solves the above problems all at once, and based on this finding, has led to the present invention. It was.

  That is, this invention consists of the following 1-4.

1. It is an oil / fat composition used for processing a cocoa powder by spraying the oil / fat composition on a cocoa powder in a fluidized state, or by adding an oil / fat composition to a cocoa powder and mixing or dispersing it. Te, characterized in that it contains (a) a medium chain fatty acid triglyceride (MCT), (b) diglycerol fatty acid ester, and (c) a viscosity at 20 ° C. is not more than 25.0 mPa sec propylene glycol di fatty acid esters An oil / fat composition for improving water wettability of cocoa powder.

2. An improved cocoa powder obtained by spraying the oil and fat composition for water wettability improvement described in 1 above on a cocoa powder in a fluid state.
3. An improved cocoa powder obtained by adding the oil / fat composition for improving wettability described in 1 above to cocoa powder and mixing or dispersing the composition.

4). An improved cocoa powder comprising the improved cocoa powder according to 2 and / or 3.

  By using the oil and fat composition for improving water wettability of the cocoa powder of the present invention, it is possible to obtain a cocoa powder further improved in wettability and solubility as compared with the conventional method and a conditioned cocoa using the same.

  The present invention includes (a) medium chain fatty acid triglyceride, (b) diglycerin fatty acid ester, and (c) propylene glycol fatty acid ester having a specific viscosity, for improving the wettability of cocoa powder. Related to things.

  Here, (a) medium chain fatty acid triglyceride has a lower viscosity than vegetable oils and fats, spreads thinly on the surface of cocoa powder, and suppresses adhesion between powders, and thus effectively acts to improve the dispersibility of cocoa powder. . (B) The diglycerin fatty acid ester acts as a surfactant at the water-oil interface and is effective in improving the water wettability of the cocoa powder covered with the oil component. (C) The propylene glycol fatty acid ester having a specific viscosity has a lower viscosity than the medium-chain fatty acid triglyceride, and the viscosity of the oil and fat composition is further reduced by blending it, and for the same reason as described above, the cocoa powder is further increased. It works to improve the dispersibility of.

  (A) Medium chain fatty acid triglyceride (MCT) used in the present invention is a triglyceride having a medium chain fatty acid as a constituent component, for example, caproic acid which is a fatty acid having 6 carbon atoms to lauric acid which is a fatty acid having 12 carbon atoms. Are triglycerides having a constituent fatty acid, preferably caprylic acid, which is a fatty acid having 12 carbon atoms, or caprylic acid, which is a fatty acid having 12 carbon atoms. Furthermore, in addition to fatty acids having 6 to 12 carbon atoms, triglycerides containing a slight or small amount of fatty acids having less than 6 carbon atoms or 13 or more carbon atoms as constituent components are also used in the present invention. Included in fatty acid triglycerides (MCT).

  The (b) diglycerin fatty acid ester used in the present invention is an esterification reaction product of diglycerin and a fatty acid, and is produced by a method known per se such as an esterification reaction.

  The diglycerin is a mixture of polyglycerin having different degrees of polymerization, which is usually obtained by heating glycerin, glycidol, epichlorohydrin, or the like to cause a polycondensation reaction. The diglycerin used in the present invention has a diglycerin composition having an average degree of polymerization of glycerin of 1.5 to 2.4, or a diglycerin content of 2 molecules of glycerin of 50% or more, preferably 70% by mass. As mentioned above, the diglycerin composition which is 90 mass% or more more preferably is mentioned. As a purification method for increasing the concentration of diglycerin, known methods such as distillation and / or column chromatography are used.

  The fatty acid is not particularly limited as long as it is derived from edible animal and vegetable oils and fats, and examples thereof include saturated or unsaturated fatty acids having 6 to 24 carbon atoms, preferably saturated or unsaturated having 8 to 18 carbon atoms. Saturated fatty acids, more preferably linear unsaturated fatty acids having 18 carbon atoms are mentioned. For example, specific examples include oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, or one or two or more fatty acids selected from these groups. Preferably, oleic acid is about 50% by mass or more, more preferably 70% by mass. As mentioned above, the fatty acid or fatty acid mixture which contains 90 mass% or more more preferably is mentioned.

  As a preferable example of (b) diglycerin fatty acid ester used in the present invention, diglycerin fatty acid ester containing diglycerin monofatty acid ester in high concentration can be mentioned. That is, the above-described high-purity diglycerin and fatty acid are esterified, for example, in an equimolar amount so that unreacted diglycerin, diglycerin monofatty acid ester, diglycerin difatty acid ester, diglycerin trifatty acid ester or diglycerin tetrafatty acid. A mixture containing an ester or the like is obtained. Next, unreacted diglycerin and the like are removed from the mixture by a method known per se, and the mixture is further subjected to high vacuum distillation, for example, molecular distillation to obtain, for example, about 70 mass of diglycerin monofatty acid ester as a fraction. A diglycerin fatty acid ester containing at least% is obtained.

  The (c) propylene glycol fatty acid ester used in the present invention is an esterification reaction product of propylene glycol and a fatty acid, and is produced by a method known per se such as an esterification reaction. The ester may be a monoester, a diester, or a mixture thereof, but is preferably a diester.

  Here, the fatty acid constituting the ester with propylene glycol includes one or more fatty acids selected from saturated or unsaturated fatty acids having 6 to 24 carbon atoms, preferably fatty acids having 8 to 12 carbon atoms. Specifically, for example, caprylic acid, strong puric acid, lauric acid, or an unsaturated fatty acid having 18 carbon atoms, specifically, for example, oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, or one or two selected from these groups The above fatty acids are mentioned.

  In the present invention, a propylene glycol fatty acid ester having a viscosity at 20 ° C. of 25.0 millipascal seconds or less, and preferably a viscosity at 20 ° C. of 20.0 millipascal seconds or less is preferably used. By blending the ester having such physical properties, the viscosity of the oil and fat composition is lowered, and as a result, the water wettability of the cocoa powder treated with the oil and fat composition is further improved.

  Although the apparatus for manufacturing the oil-fat composition which concerns on this invention is not specifically limited, For example, the normal stirring and mixing tank provided with the stirrer, the jacket for a heating, and a baffle plate can be used. The shape of the stirring blades equipped in the stirrer may be any of a propeller type, paddle cross type, fan turbine type, disk turbine type, and anchor type, but is preferably a propeller type.

  Although the manufacturing method of the oil-fat composition which concerns on this invention is not specifically limited, For example, (a) Medium chain fatty acid triglyceride (MCT), (b) Diglycerin fatty acid ester, and (c) The viscosity in 20 degreeC is 25.0 millipascal. Propylene glycol fatty acid ester that is 2 seconds or less can be produced by mixing and dissolving under stirring at about 40 to 95 ° C, preferably about 60 to 80 ° C.

  In the oil and fat composition according to the present invention, (a) medium chain fatty acid triglyceride (MCT) is about 30 to 90% by mass, preferably 40 to 80% by mass, more preferably 50 to 70% by mass, (b). Diglycerin fatty acid ester is about 1 to 40% by mass, preferably 10 to 30% by mass, and (c) Propylene glycol fatty acid ester having a viscosity at 20 ° C. of 25.0 millipascal seconds or less is about 5 to 50% by mass. %, Preferably 10 to 40% by mass, and more preferably 15 to 30% by mass. The content of each component is selected so that the entire composition is 100% by mass. Moreover, it is preferable that the obtained oil-and-fat composition according to the present invention exhibits a liquid state at normal temperature (about 15 to 25 ° C.).

  In the oil and fat composition according to the present invention, food emulsifiers such as glycerin fatty acid ester, sucrose fatty acid ester, sorbitan fatty acid ester, propylene glycol fatty acid ester, and lecithin are added to the extent that the object of the present invention is not impaired. Can do. Here, glycerin fatty acid ester includes glycerin and fatty acid ester, glycerin acetate ester, glycerin acetic acid fatty acid ester, glycerin lactic acid fatty acid ester, glycerin citrate fatty acid ester, glycerin succinic acid fatty acid ester, glycerin diacetyl tartaric acid fatty acid ester, poly Glycerin fatty acid esters and polyglycerol condensed ricinoleic acid esters are included.

  The polyglycerin fatty acid ester includes diglycerin fatty acid ester, triglycerin fatty acid ester, tetraglycerin fatty acid ester, hexaglycerin fatty acid ester, octaglycerin fatty acid ester, decaglycerin fatty acid ester, and the like.

  In addition, lecithin includes fractionated lecithin, enzyme-decomposed lecithin, enzyme-treated lecithin and the like.

  The method for treating the cocoa powder with the oil composition according to the present invention is not particularly limited. For example, the cocoa powder is put in a fluid state and sprayed with the oil composition, or the oil composition is applied to the cocoa powder. A method known per se such as a method of adding, mixing and dispersing may be used. In that case, the usage-amount of this oil-fat composition with respect to cocoa powder has preferable 0.1-20 mass parts with respect to 100 mass parts of cocoa powder.

  In the present invention, adjusted cocoa with improved water wettability is obtained by adding sugar, dairy products, or other edible substances such as salt or flavor to cocoa powder treated with an oil composition as described above, for example. The mixture can be produced by stirring and mixing from above, and pulverizing with a pulverizer.

  Here, as sugars, sugar alcohols such as sugar, glucose, fructose, maltose, powdered starch syrup, oligosaccharide, trehalose, sugar alcohols such as sorbitol, mannitol, palatinit, maltitol, raffinose, erythritol, lactitol, xylitol, etc. It can also be used.

  Examples of dairy products include whole milk powder, skim milk powder, lactose, powdered fresh cream, condensed milk powder, and the like.

  According to the present invention, cocoa powder with improved wettability and conditioned cocoa that are easily dispersed and dissolved in water or hot water can be obtained. Furthermore, in order to further improve the solubility, the cocoa powder or the adjusted cocoa can be granulated by using, for example, a fluidized bed granulator / dryer or a stirring type mixer / granulator.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to examples.
<Test Example 1>

[Synthesis of propylene glycol difatty acid ester]
In a 1 L four-necked flask equipped with a stirrer, thermometer, gas blowing tube and water separator, 152 g (about 2 mol) of propylene glycol, and mixed fatty acid (C10: C12 = 60: 40) consisting of capric acid and lauric acid. (Mass%) 440 g (about 2.4 mol) was charged, p-toluenesulfonic acid as a catalyst was added in an amount of 0.1%, xylene was added as a refluxing solvent in an amount of 5%, and 180 to 200 ° C. in a nitrogen gas stream. Then, the esterification reaction was carried out for about 5 hours until no decrease in the acid value was observed. Further, after cooling to about 50 ° C., 1% each of activated clay and activated carbon was added, decolorized under reduced pressure, and then suction filtered. The filtrate was deodorized by blowing water vapor by a known method to obtain about 440 g of propylene glycol difatty acid ester (prototype 1). This product had an acid value of 0.5 and a hydroxyl value of 0.7.
<Test Example 2>

The viscosity of propylene glycol difatty acid ester was measured, and at the same time, the viscosity of propylene glycol monofatty acid ester and edible oil and fat was also measured.
[Measurement sample]
・ Propylene glycol dicaprate (Product name: NIKKOL PDD; Nikko Chemicals)
・ Propylene glycol difatty acid ester (prototype 1)
・ Propylene glycol monolaurate (Product name: Riquemar PL-100; Riken Vitamin Co., Ltd.)
. Propylene glycol monooleate (Product name: Riquemar PO-100; Riken Vitamin)
・ Rapeseed oil (Product name: Light Plus; Yoshiwara Oil)
・ MCT (Product name: Actor M-1; Riken Vitamin Co., Ltd.)
[Viscosity measurement method]
It was measured based on “Second Method Rotational Viscosity Measurement Method” of “28.
(Measurement condition)
Temperature 20 ° C
Rotor No. 1 rotor Rotation speed 60rpm
Measurement time 30 seconds [Result]

＜実施例１＞

<Example 1>

(Preparation of oil and fat composition)
[raw materials]
・ MCT (Product name: Actor M-1; Riken Vitamin Co., Ltd.)
. Diglycerin monooleate (Product name: Poem DO-100; Riken Vitamin Co., Ltd.)
. Propylene glycol dicaprate (Product name: NIKKOL PDD; Nikko Chemicals)
・ Propylene glycol difatty acid ester (prototype 1)
. Propylene glycol monolaurate (Product name: Riquemar PL-100; Riken Vitamin)
・ Propylene glycol monooleate (Product name: Riquemar PO-100; Riken Vitamin)
Tetraglycerin monooleate (Product name: SY Glyster MO-310; Sakamoto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.)
[Composition Composition of Examples and Comparative Examples]

［実施例および比較例組成物の作り方］
３００ｍｌビーカーに原材料を入れて６０〜７０℃に加熱し、均一に溶解する。尚、処理量は全量を３００ｇとした。
＜実施例２＞

[How to make compositions of Examples and Comparative Examples]
Raw materials are put into a 300 ml beaker and heated to 60-70 ° C. to dissolve uniformly. The total amount of processing was 300 g.
<Example 2>

(Preparation of cocoa powder sample)
1 part by mass of the oil and fat composition of Examples 1 to 3 or Comparative Examples 1 to 4 described above is added to 99 parts by mass of cocoa powder, and a beater is used with a Hobart mixer (model number: N-50; Hobart). And stirred for 10 minutes to obtain a cocoa powder sample.
<Test Example 3>

The cocoa powder samples were evaluated for wetness, solubility and solution flavor.
[Evaluation methods]
1) Wetting: 100 g of hot water at about 90-100 ° C. was put in a 200 ml beaker, 20 g of the sample was gently placed on the liquid surface, and the time (seconds) from dropping the sample powder to the liquid surface until completely sinking was measured. .
2) Solubility: After completion of the above test, the undissolved amount when stirring 20 times with a spoon was observed and evaluated qualitatively. The evaluation criteria are shown below.
++: Much unresolved residue +: Slightly unresolved residue ±: Slightly unresolved residue-: No unresolved residue 3) Flavor of the solution: 6 parts by mass of granulated sugar is added to 4 parts by mass of the sample powder, and about 60 ° C Was dissolved in 100 parts by mass of warmed milk to prepare a test solution, and a sensory test was performed on a panel of 20 people. The evaluation was a five-level evaluation, and the result was an average value of 20 people.
5: Very delicious 4: Delicious 3: Normal 2: Not very tasty 1: Not tasty at all [Result]

＜実施例３＞

<Example 3>

(Preparation of adjusted cocoa powder sample)
To 20 parts by weight of the cocoa powder sample, 40 parts by weight of sugar, 19.7 parts by weight of lactose, 10 parts by weight of whole milk powder, 10 parts by weight of skim milk powder, 0.1 part by weight of salt, and 0.2 part by weight of flavoring are added, Using a beater with a Hobart mixer (model number: N-50; Hobart), the mixture was stirred and mixed at low speed for 10 minutes. Next, this was pulverized with a pulverizer to obtain an adjusted cocoa powder sample.
<Test Example 4>

The adjusted cocoa powder samples were evaluated for wetness, solubility and solution flavor.
[Evaluation methods]
1) Wetting: 100 g of hot water at about 90-100 ° C. was put in a 200 ml beaker, 20 g of the sample was gently placed on the liquid surface, and the time (seconds) from dropping the sample powder to the liquid surface until completely sinking was measured. .
2) Solubility: After completion of the above test, the undissolved amount when stirring 20 times with a spoon was observed and evaluated qualitatively. The evaluation criteria are shown below.
++: Much unsolved residue +: Slightly unsolved residue ±: Slightly unsolved residue-: No unsolved residue 3) Flavor of the solution: 100 parts by mass of hot water at about 90 to 100 ° C. The test solution was dissolved in the solution, and a sensory test was performed on a panel of 20 people. The evaluation was a five-level evaluation, and the result was an average value of 20 people.
5: Very delicious 4: Delicious 3: Normal 2: Not very tasty 1: Not tasty at all [Result]

Claims (4)

It is an oil / fat composition used for processing a cocoa powder by spraying the oil / fat composition on a cocoa powder in a fluidized state, or by adding an oil / fat composition to a cocoa powder and mixing or dispersing it. And
(A) medium chain fatty acid triglyceride (MCT), (b) diglycerin fatty acid ester, and (c) propylene glycol difatty acid ester having a viscosity at 20 ° C. of 25.0 millipascal seconds or less. Oil composition for improving wettability of cocoa powder. An improved cocoa powder obtained by spraying the oil and fat composition for improving wettability according to claim 1 onto a cocoa powder in a fluid state. An improved cocoa powder obtained by adding the oil / fat composition for improving wettability according to claim 1 to cocoa powder and mixing or dispersing the composition. An improved cocoa powder comprising the improved cocoa powder according to claim 2 and / or 3 .