JP4418730B2 - Jelly food containing tea polyphenols - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a jelly-like food containing tea polyphenols.

  As tea polyphenols, which are bitter and astringent components contained in green tea, oolong tea, black tea, etc., in green tea, (±) -catechin, (−)-epicatechin, (−)-epigallo are generally called catechins. The presence of catechin monomers such as catechin, (±) -gallocatechin, (−)-epicatechin gallate, (−)-catechin gallate, (−)-epigallocatechin gallate, (−)-gallocatechin gallate, etc. In addition, in addition to the catechin monomer, the presence of these polymers, theasinensins, theaflavins, thearubidine, etc., or gallic acid, which is a hydrolysis product thereof, is known in black tea. Tea polyphenols typified by catechins have an inhibitory action on cholesterol elevation (see Non-Patent Document 1), an antidepressant action (see Non-Patent Document 2), an intestinal regulating action (see Non-Patent Document 3), an antihypertensive action (non- It has been revealed that it has physiological functions related to prevention of lifestyle-related diseases such as an inhibitory effect on blood sugar elevation (see Non-Patent Document 5) and a body fat inhibitory action (see Patent Document 1). ing. In recent years, some of these symptoms, once called adult diseases, have been found in younger age groups such as elementary school students, and now they have been changed to treat them as lifestyle-related diseases. In such a situation, the lifestyle-related disease prevention action of tea polyphenols is required over a wide range of ages from infants to the elderly.

  By the way, in order to better express the physiological function of the tea polyphenol, its intake is important in terms of absorption in the body and action concentration range, and intake of tea polyphenol equivalent to about 10 cups of green tea per day is required. Although it is considered necessary (see Non-Patent Document 6), it is not easy to habitually drink this amount of green tea. Therefore, several means for efficiently ingesting a large amount of tea polyphenol have been proposed. For example, a packaged beverage form (see Patent Document 2) in which tea polyphenols are prepared at a high concentration by adding a tea polyphenol material, and supplement forms such as tablets and capsules are already on the market. However, although it is the simplest to ingest with a high-concentration tea polyphenol-containing tea beverage, the bitter and astringent taste peculiar to tea polyphenols tends to diffuse and remain in the oral cavity in drinking, so if this flavor is not good, Ingestion becomes very difficult. In addition, in tablets and capsules, there is no worry of bitterness and astringency, and it is possible to ingest a large amount of tea polyphenol at one time, but the burden on the gastrointestinal tract is large, and the taste as a food is lacking, It is difficult to take continuously. Therefore, when commercializing high-concentration tea polyphenol-containing foods, how to ensure bitterness and palatability is an important issue. For example, if a food form that allows easy intake of high-concentration tea polyphenols for desserts and snacks can be adopted, the excellent physiological functions of tea polyphenols can be enjoyed from infants to the elderly without worrying about bitter taste. Can be enjoyed.

  However, at present, there is no high-concentration tea polyphenol-containing food commercialized from such a viewpoint. In terms of foods containing tea polyphenols, ice cream, soba noodles, rice cakes, sheep cakes, confectionery, etc. added with finely crushed tea powder such as matcha and sencha are also known, but these simply give the preferred flavor of tea It is only intended for consumption of large amounts of tea polyphenols. Of course, if such a food contains a large amount of tea polyphenol, it may be possible to ingest the desired amount of tea polyphenol, but unfortunately, a large amount of tea polyphenol is added to such food. In this case, the influence on the flavor due to the bitter and astringent taste derived from the tea polyphenol, and the influence on the flavor and color tone due to the gummy taste and the discoloration of chlorophyll due to components other than the tea polyphenol in the tea powder are inevitable. The latter problem can be solved to some extent by adopting a method using a tea extract containing a high concentration of tea polyphenol from which components other than tea polyphenol are removed. However, the former problem is difficult to deal with. Eventually, the original flavor of food is impaired and the influence on palatability is unavoidable. In addition, tea polyphenols easily react with proteins and fats, making it easier to process. May also have an impact.

Moreover, the jelly-like thing is also known as a food form containing tea polyphenol. For example, Patent Document 3 describes a jelly food in which a jelly containing a tea component and a jelly that does not substantially contain a tea component are paired. The bitter and astringent taste when eating jelly containing the ingredients of the ingredients is alleviated by eating jelly that does not substantially contain the ingredients of tea, and it is hard to say that it is effective and time-consuming In addition, no sweet component is given to any jelly, and it is not excellent in palatability. Patent Document 4 describes a jelly drink for swallowing assistance intended for elderly people who have difficulty in swallowing a drink, but such a jelly drink has a gel strength of only about 50 N / m ² at most. When a large amount of tea polyphenol is blended, there is a problem that the bitter and astringent components are easily diffused when included in the mouth.
JP 2002-326932 A JP 2002-142777 A JP 11-290004 A JP 2001-299297 A Masahiko Hara, 1 outside, Food Industry, August 1995, Vol. 38, No. 16, p. 78 Matsumoto Natsuki, 1 outside, Food Industry, March 1995, Vol. 38, No. 6, p. 81 Tadashi Ishigami, 1 outside, Food Industry, May 1997, Vol. 40, No. 11, p. 60 Fumiko Ishigaki, 1 outside, Food Industry, July 1992, Vol. 35, No. 14, p. 20 M. Sakai, 1 outside, Food Industry, April 1995, Vol. 38, No. 8, p. 77 Masahiko Hara, Soft Drink Technical Document, 1991, Vol. 94, p. 41

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a food form in which bitter and astringent taste is suppressed and palatability is high, and for example, a high concentration tea polyphenol can be easily ingested in a dessert sense or a snack sense.

  As a result of intensive studies to solve the above problems, the inventors of the present invention contain at least tea polyphenol, a gelling agent, and a sweetening component, and the tea polyphenol concentration and gel strength are adjusted to predetermined values. It has been discovered that when food is eaten, the diffusion of bitter and astringent ingredients in the oral cavity is effectively suppressed, and it is suitable for intake of large amounts of tea polyphenols.

The jelly-like food of the present invention completed based on the above findings contains at least tea polyphenol, a gelling agent, and a sweetening ingredient as described in claim 1, and tea polyphenol concentration (mg%) is A, gel strength. When (N / m ² ) is B,
A) 50 ≦ A ≦ 1000
B) 15000 ≦ B ≦ 200000
C) 20 ≦ B / A ≦ 1000
It is characterized by having this relationship.
The jelly-like food according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the jelly-like food according to claim 1, at least a part of the gelling agent is glucomannan.
The jelly-like food according to claim 3 is the jelly-like food according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of cyclodextrin with respect to 1 part by weight of tea polyphenol. And
In addition, the jelly-like food according to claim 4 further comprises at least one selected from fruit juice, a flavor for food, and an extract for food in the jelly-like food according to any one of claims 1 to 3. It is characterized by.
The method for producing a jelly-like food containing at least a tea polyphenol, a gelling agent, and a sweetening ingredient according to the present invention is as described in claim 5, wherein the tea polyphenol concentration (mg%) is A, the gel strength (N / m ² ) When B is
A) 50 ≦ A ≦ 1000
B) 15000 ≦ B ≦ 200000
C) 20 ≦ B / A ≦ 1000
It is characterized by adjusting to the relationship.
The method for suppressing the bitter taste of tea polyphenols in a jelly-like food containing at least a tea polyphenol, a gelling agent, and a sweetening ingredient according to the present invention is as described in claim 6, wherein the tea polyphenol concentration (mg%) is A, When the gel strength (N / m ² ) is B,
A) 50 ≦ A ≦ 1000
B) 15000 ≦ B ≦ 200000
C) 20 ≦ B / A ≦ 1000
It is characterized by adjusting to the relationship.

  According to the present invention, at least tea polyphenol and a gelling agent are used as a food form in which bitter and astringent taste is suppressed and palatability is high, for example, as a food form in which a high concentration of tea polyphenol can be easily ingested with a sense of dessert or snack And a sweetening ingredient, and a jelly-like food having a tea polyphenol concentration and a gel strength adjusted to predetermined values is provided. In addition to cyclodextrin, fruit juice, food flavors, food extracts, and the like can be added to the jelly-like food of the present invention to greatly alleviate bitterness and astringency. Therefore, even infants and elderly people who are not good at the taste unique to tea polyphenols can eat the jelly-like food of the present invention without resistance, so anyone can easily ingest a high concentration of tea polyphenols, The superior physiological function can be enjoyed.

The tea polyphenols contained in the jelly-like food of the present invention are tea leaves ( camellia sinensis ) mainly made from leaves, stems, and these processed into green tea, black tea, oolong tea, pear tea, etc. Ingredients contained in tea extract obtained by extraction with hot water, organic solvent, water-containing organic solvent or the like. Specific compounds of tea polyphenols are (±) -catechin, (−)-epicatechin, (−)-epigallocatechin, (±) -gallocatechin, (−)-epi, which are generally referred to as catechins. In addition to catechin monomers such as catechin gallate, (−)-catechin gallate, (−)-epigallocatechin gallate, and (−)-gallocatechin gallate, these polymers are theasinensins, theaflavins, thearubidine, etc. Or the gallic acid etc. which are these hydrolysis products are mentioned. These tea polyphenols can be purified from the tea extract to a desired concentration by organic solvent fractionation, adsorption resin or the like. In the present invention, these refined products can be used singly or in appropriate combination of two or more, and can be used in the form of the above-mentioned tea extract which is a crude product. In addition, as a tea extract, it is easy to use commercial items, such as "Polyphenon" by Mitsui Norin Co., Ltd., "Sunphenon" by Taiyo Kagaku Co., Ltd., and "Theafuran" by ITO EN Co., Ltd., for example. When using tea polyphenols in the form of tea extract, the content of tea polyphenols in the tea extract is determined by the Japan Food Analysis Center, “Explanation of the 5th Japan Food Standards Component Analysis Manual”, Central Code, July 2001. , P. 252 according to the iron tartrate reagent method which is the official method of tea polyphenol described in 252.

  The concentration of the tea polyphenol contained in the jelly-like food of the present invention is 50 to 1000 mg%, preferably 100 to 800 mg%, and more preferably 150 to 600 mg%. If the tea polyphenol concentration is less than 50 mg%, it will be difficult to enjoy the desired physiological function, and it will be difficult to feel the cool flavor derived from tea. On the other hand, if the tea polyphenol concentration exceeds 1000 mg%, the bitter and astringent taste gives the tongue an unfavorable residual astringent feeling and the palatability is inferior. As a method for adding tea polyphenol to an addition object (liquid), a method using a solution or dispersion of tea polyphenol in water is preferable because tea polyphenol can be uniformly dispersed. The timing of addition may be any stage in the production process as long as it is before gelation.

The tea polyphenol contained in the jelly-like food of the present invention preferably contains 50% by weight or more of catechins that are easily prepared in large quantities and have many physiological functions, and contains 70% by weight or more. More preferred are those containing 80% by weight or more. The catechin content in the tea polyphenol can be determined from the catechin content in the tea extract and the tea polyphenol content in the tea extract determined by the above method. The content of catechins in the tea extract was determined by filtering the sample aqueous solution with a 0.45 μm filter, and then using 8 types of catechins ((±) -catechin, (−)-epicatechin using HPLC under the following conditions. , (−)-Epigallocatechin, (±) -gallocatechin, (−)-epicatechin gallate, (−)-catechin gallate, (−)-epigallocatechin gallate, (−)-gallocatechin gallate) The total amount can be obtained.
(HPLC analysis conditions)
・ Device: Alliance HPLC / PDA system
(Nippon Waters Co., Ltd.)
Column: Capcell Pak, UG120, 4.6 mmφ × 250 mm
(Made by Shiseido Co., Ltd.)
Mobile phase: acetonitrile / ethyl acetate / 0.05% phosphoric acid water = 12 / 0.6 / 90
(Volume ratio)
・ Flow rate: 1 ml / min
・ Detection: UV280nm
-Column temperature: 40 ° C

  Gelling agents contained in the jelly-like food of the present invention include glucomannan, carrageenan, locust bean gum, xanthan gum, guar gum, gellan gum, tara gum, tragacanth gum, curdlan, nata de coco, gelatin, pectin, sodium alginate, agar, etc. Can be mentioned. These may be used alone, but when used in combination, a high gel strength may be provided due to a synergistic effect. Glucomannan, in particular, gives strong elasticity and water retention when used in combination with other gelling agents such as carrageenan and xanthan gum, so it can form a gel with excellent disintegration resistance and diffuses bitter and astringent ingredients into the oral cavity. Preventive action is excellent. Factors that affect gel strength include factors that greatly affect the choice of gelling agent, blending ratio, and blending amount, but can be easily adjusted to the desired gel strength by appropriately selecting and adjusting these factors. can do. Examples of use of the gelling agent include, for example, 1 to 1.5 parts by weight of carrageenan per 1 part by weight of glucomannan, and 0.8 to 1.5 parts by weight of xanthan gum per 1 part by weight of glucomannan. By mixing such a gelling agent in water at a ratio of preferably 0.5 to 3 parts by weight, more preferably 0.8 to 2 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of water. High gel strength can be obtained. In addition, other factors that change the gel strength include the strength of heating, pH, sugar, sodium chloride, etc., depending on the gelling agent used, but generally low pH, too strong heating conditions, Addition of excess sugar or salt may reduce the gel strength and result in a brittle gel.

Gel strength of the jelly-like food of the present invention is 15000~200000N / m ^2, preferably from 17500~150000N / m ^2, more preferably from 20000~100000N / m ^2. When the gel strength is less than 15000 N / m ² , the gel strength tends to collapse when it is contained in the mouth, and the bitter and astringent components are easily diffused into the oral cavity. On the other hand, when the gel strength exceeds 200,000 N / m ² , the unpleasant odor peculiar to the gelling agent is conspicuous, the flavor of tea and other ingredients is impaired, and the palatability becomes inferior.

The gel strength in the present invention refers to the breaking stress value, that is, the instantaneous stress value immediately before the sample is broken when pressure is applied to the sample with a plunger at a constant speed, and the unit of the portion where pressure is applied. It is expressed by the stress per area. This gel strength can be measured with a card meter, rheometer, texturometer, etc., but the measured value is affected by the size of the plunger used, the insertion speed, the size of the sample, etc. In the invention, values obtained under the following measurement conditions are in principle, but the measurement conditions are not limited to the following measurement conditions as long as the measurement conditions show the same values.
(Gel strength measurement conditions)
-Plunger: 3mm in diameter
・ Plunger moving speed: 2.5 mm / second ・ Sample size: Filling a container with an inner diameter of about 30 mm to a height of 25 mm ・ Measurement temperature: Room temperature (25 ° C.)
・ Equipment: Card meter mini ME-415

In the jelly-like food of the present invention, when the tea polyphenol concentration (mg%) is A and the gel strength (N / m ² ) is B, the relationship between the two is defined as 20 ≦ B / A ≦ 1000. Since the tea polyphenol concentration and gel strength are related to the taste of bitter and astringent ingredients in the oral cavity, it is very important to adjust these ratios to appropriate values. The ratio of gel strength to tea polyphenol concentration (B / A) is preferably 25 to 800, more preferably 30 to 600. When B / A is less than 20, the bitter taste is felt strongly. On the other hand, if the B / A exceeds 1000, the gel becomes too hard and the texture becomes worse, and the unpleasant odor peculiar to the gelling agent is conspicuous and the palatability is inferior.

  Sweetening ingredients contained in the jelly-like food of the present invention include saccharides, oligosaccharides, sugar alcohols, synthetic sweeteners, non-saccharide natural sweeteners, and amino acid sweeteners composed of monosaccharides, disaccharides, and derivatives thereof. Examples include high-intensity sweeteners made from foods and the like, and known food-use sweetening ingredients such as dextrins. By containing a sweetening ingredient, the bitterness and sourness of tea polyphenols are alleviated, the taste is mellow and the taste is mellow, and the palatability is excellent, and the effect of preventing water separation from the gel is also obtained. In particular, when a highly water-absorbing saccharide such as sucrose is used, the gel strength increases as the sucrose concentration increases because the gelling agent concentration in water increases. Gel strength is reduced because water is taken away. In addition, sugar alcohols and high-intensity sweeteners are excellent in astringency masking feeling because they exhibit a refreshing feeling and a unique taste. The content of the sweetening component depends on the titer indicated by the component, but it is appropriate to add 5 to 50% by weight in terms of the sweetness of sucrose. When using a raw material containing sugar such as fruit juice, it is prepared so as to have the sucrose concentration by adding the sugar content contained in the raw material. In particular, the higher the gel strength, the lower the sweet taste taste efficiency, so a high degree of sweetness is preferred.

  In the jelly-like food of the present invention, for example, a gelling agent is dispersed in water and a sweetening ingredient, and a solution or dispersion of tea polyphenols in water and other ingredients are added thereto, and the mixture is heated with good stirring and mixing. It can be manufactured by completely dissolving the gelling agent and then cooling to form a jelly. As a specific method for dispersing the gelling agent in water and a sweetening ingredient, for example, a method of mixing the gelling agent little by little with a highly viscous liquid sweetening ingredient such as liquid sugar or starch syrup and then adding water thereto Or after mixing and dispersing the gelling agent uniformly in powdered sweetening ingredients such as dextrin and sugar, add it to liquid sweet ingredients with high viscosity such as liquid sugar and starch syrup and add water to it. A method is mentioned. According to these methods, spattering is less likely to occur, and the dispersibility of the gelling agent in water and sweetening ingredients is excellent. When glucomannan is used as a gelling agent, it takes time to swell. Therefore, after dispersing glucomannan in water and sweetening ingredients, it is preferable to wait for a while before moving to the next step. As heating conditions for dissolving the gelling agent, although depending on the gelling agent to be used, a condition of about 30 seconds to 30 minutes at 60 to 100 ° C. is usually mentioned.

  The jelly-like food of the present invention is obtained by adjusting the tea polyphenol concentration and gel strength to predetermined values, and thereby has an effect of reducing bitterness and astringency. The effect of suppressing bitterness and astringency is further enhanced, and the flavor becomes good. Cyclodextrins that can be used here include α-, β-, γ-cyclodextrins, and branched α-, β-, γ-cyclodextrins, particularly β-cyclodextrins, and maltosyl β -Branched β-cyclodextrins such as cyclodextrins are most effective and preferred. The content of cyclodextrin is preferably 0.1 to 10 parts by weight and more preferably 1 to 5 parts by weight with respect to 1 part by weight of tea polyphenol. When the content ratio is less than 0.1 parts by weight, the effect of suppressing the bitter and astringent taste of tea polyphenols is hardly exhibited. On the other hand, when the content ratio exceeds 10 parts by weight, the texture tends to be loose and the taste and aroma are blurred.

  The jelly-like food of the present invention contains tea polyphenols, gelling agents and sweetening ingredients, as well as fruit juice, food flavorings, food extracts, alcoholic beverages, pigments, acidulants, pH adjusters, nutrient enhancers, preservatives, etc. You may do it. In particular, by adding fruit juice such as citrus fruits exemplified in plum, peach, apricot, grape, muscat, aloe, lychee, apple, grapefruit, berries exemplified in blueberries, and food-like flavors such as fruit-like flavors. The jelly-like food of the present invention, combined with a refreshing flavor derived from tea, exhibits a bitter and astringent taste suppressing effect, and has a refreshing and good flavor. There are no particular restrictions on the amount of fruit juice or flavor used for food, but because of the physical properties of jelly, the ingredients are difficult to volatilize, so the fruit juice is 0.1 to 50% by weight of the jelly food, Although depending on the titer, it is preferable to add about 50 to 1000 ppm as a jelly-like food rich in palatability. In addition, since the flavor of fruit juices and food flavors is likely to deteriorate due to excessive heating, the addition is preferably performed after the gelling agent is heated and dissolved and then cooled to an appropriate temperature. In addition, it is possible to give variations in taste by adding food extracts exemplified by palatability beverages such as tea and coffee and extract extracts of other kinds of foods.

  Hereinafter, although the jelly-form food of this invention is demonstrated in detail in an Example, this invention is not limited to these.

Test Example 1: Examples 1-6, Comparative Examples 1-3
Each component was blended according to the formulation shown in Table 1. The tea polyphenol was used in the form of a tea extract. The tea extract was made by Mitsui Norin Co., Ltd. tea extract “Polyphenone CH” (tea polyphenol content 35.5 wt%, catechins content 29.4 wt% (content in tea polyphenol 82.8 wt%) %), Tea polyphenol content was measured by the iron tartrate reagent method, and catechin content was measured by the HPLC method. The blending was performed as follows. That is, a gelling agent is mixed little by little with liquid sugar (having sweetness equivalent to sucrose), water is added, and the mixture is stirred and swelled at room temperature for about 10 minutes to dissolve the tea extract prepared in advance. Add the aqueous dispersion and acidulant. The mixture was heated at 80 ° C. for 10 minutes with good stirring and mixing to dissolve the gelling agent, and then cooled to prepare the jelly-like foods of Examples 1 to 6 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3. . Table 1 shows the tea polyphenol concentration (A), gel strength (B), and ratio of gel strength to tea polyphenol concentration (B / A) of the obtained jelly-like food. Moreover, the sensory evaluation of the food texture and flavor by five panelists about the obtained jelly-like food was performed. Furthermore, comprehensive evaluation was performed in consideration of these and tea polyphenol content, that is, tea polyphenol intake per serving. The results are shown in Table 1.

The gel strength was measured under the following measurement conditions. As a reference example, agar is used as a gelling agent so that its concentration is 0.4 wt%, 0.6 wt%, 0.8 wt%, 1.0 wt%, 1.2 wt%. Then, agar jelly was prepared, and the gel strength was measured under these conditions. As a result, they were 4720 N / m ² , 12100 N / m ² , 17300 N / m ² , 20000 N / m ² , and 38400 N / m ² , respectively.
(Gel strength measurement conditions)
-Plunger: 3mm in diameter
・ Plunger moving speed: 2.5 mm / second ・ Sample size: Filling a container with an inner diameter of about 30 mm to a height of 25 mm ・ Measurement temperature: Room temperature (25 ° C.)
・ Equipment: Card meter mini ME-415

  The sensory evaluation of the texture and flavor was performed on a five-point scale of 5: very good, 4: good, 3: not good or bad, 2: bad, 1: very bad.

  Comprehensive evaluation was performed by four-step evaluation: ◎: very good, ○: good, Δ: neither good nor bad, ×: bad.

  As is apparent from Table 1, the jelly-like foods of the present invention of Examples 1 to 6 in which the tea polyphenol concentration and gel strength were adjusted to predetermined values, despite containing a high concentration of tea polyphenol, It was confirmed that the bitter and astringent taste was sufficiently relaxed and showed good taste.

Test Example 2: Examples 7 to 12
Each component was blended according to the formulation shown in Table 2. The blending method of each component is in accordance with the method described in Test Example 1, but β-cyclodextrin was added to a dissolved or dispersed aqueous solution of the tea extract. Thereafter, the blend was heated at 80 ° C. for 10 minutes to dissolve the gelling agent, and subsequently cooled to prepare the jelly-like foods of Examples 7-12. The obtained jelly-like food was evaluated as described in Test Example 1. The results are shown in Table 2.

  As is clear from Table 2, it was confirmed that the flavor was improved by the addition of β-cyclodextrin.

Test Example 3: Examples 13 to 15 and Comparative Examples 4 to 5
Various gelling agents were used alone or in combination, and each component was blended according to the formulation shown in Table 3. The blending method of each component was in accordance with the method described in Test Example 1. Thereafter, the blend was heated at 80 ° C. for 10 minutes to dissolve the gelling agent, and subsequently cooled to prepare the jelly-like foods of Examples 13 to 15 and Comparative Examples 4 to 5. The obtained jelly-like food was evaluated as described in Test Example 1. The results are shown in Table 3.

  As apparent from Table 3, it was confirmed that the balance between the gel strength and the tea polyphenol content can be adjusted by appropriately adjusting the selection of the gelling agent and the blending composition. Especially the formulation which combined the glucomannan of Examples 13-14 and the other gelling agent was excellent in texture, and was a favorable evaluation comprehensively.

Test Example 4: Examples 16 to 20
Each component was blended according to the formulation shown in Table 4. In accordance with the method described in Test Example 1, sweetener, gelling agent, water, tea extract, and acidulant were added, and then the formulation was heated at 80 ° C. for 10 minutes to dissolve the gelling agent. After cooling to ℃, fruit juice and food extracts were added. Then, this was cooled and the jelly-form foodstuffs of Examples 16-20 were prepared. The obtained jelly-like food was evaluated as described in Test Example 1. The results are shown in Table 4.

  As is clear from Table 4, it was confirmed that by adding fruit juice or food extract, these flavors were added to further alleviate bitterness and astringent taste, resulting in a flavorful food with high palatability. .

Test Example 5: Example 21
In Example 4, instead of using the tea extract “Polyphenone CH” manufactured by Mitsui Norin Co., Ltd. as the tea extract, a tea extract “Polyphenone 70A” containing tea polyphenol at a higher concentration manufactured by the same company. (Tea polyphenol content 95.8 wt%, catechin content 80.2 wt% (content in tea polyphenol 81.4 wt%), tea polyphenol content measured by the iron tartrate reagent method, catechins A jelly-like food was prepared in the same manner as in Example 4 except that the content was measured by the HPLC method. Evaluation of the obtained jelly-like food was very good as comprehensive evaluation.

Test Example 6: Examples 22 to 26
Instead of using β-cyclodextrin in Example 9, α-cyclodextrin (Example 22), γ-cyclodextrin (Example 23), branched α-cyclodextrin (Example 24), branched β -A jelly-like food was prepared in the same manner as in Example 9 except that cyclodextrin (Example 25) and branched γ-cyclodextrin (Example 26) were used. The evaluation of the obtained jelly-like food was very good as a comprehensive evaluation, but in particular, the branched β-cyclodextrin showed an excellent flavor improving effect.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can provide a jelly-like food as a food form in which bitter and astringent taste is suppressed and palatability is high, and for example, a high concentration tea polyphenol can be easily ingested with a sense of dessert or a snack. In terms of industrial applicability.

Claims (6)

When at least tea polyphenol, gelling agent and sweetening component are contained, tea polyphenol concentration (mg%) is A, and gel strength (N / m ² ) is B,
A) 50 ≦ A ≦ 1000
B) 15000 ≦ B ≦ 200000
C) 20 ≦ B / A ≦ 1000
A jelly-like food characterized by having the following relationship.   The jelly-like food according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the gelling agent is glucomannan.   The jelly-like food according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of cyclodextrin per 1 part by weight of tea polyphenol.   The jelly-like food according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising at least one selected from fruit juice, a food flavor, and a food extract. A method for producing a jelly-like food containing at least a tea polyphenol, a gelling agent and a sweetening component, wherein the tea polyphenol concentration (mg%) is A, the gel strength (N / m ² ) Is B
A) 50 ≦ A ≦ 1000
B) 15000 ≦ B ≦ 200000
C) 20 ≦ B / A ≦ 1000
A method characterized by adjusting to the relationship. A method for suppressing the bitter taste of tea polyphenols in a jelly-like food containing at least a tea polyphenol, a gelling agent and a sweetening component, wherein the tea polyphenol concentration (mg%) is A, the gel strength (N / m ² ) Is B
A) 50 ≦ A ≦ 1000
B) 15000 ≦ B ≦ 200000
C) 20 ≦ B / A ≦ 1000
A method characterized by adjusting to the relationship.