JP4758169B2 - Processed cocoa enzyme and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an enzyme treatment method for producing a processed cocoa product with enhanced flavor.

  Cocoa beans are contained in 30-50 cocoa pods covered with milky white pulp. This cacao bean is fermented with bacteria and yeast for about a week by box-type fermentation or sedimentation fermentation, and the flavor components are generated by the action of many microorganisms, and then roasted to give the flavor unique to cocoa. Generated. It is known that various types of cocoa beans can be produced depending on the variety of cocoa and the processing method after collection. Moreover, many amino acids produced | generated during fermentation are converted into various aromatic components by the Maillard reaction in roast. In general, it is known that the stronger the roast, the better the bitter taste, but there are few cocoa ingredients with strong umami.

  Various methods have been proposed for enzyme treatment of cocoa beans. For example, a method of treating with amylase, cellulase, protease, lipase, etc. to improve the clarification and texture of cocoa beverages (see Patent Documents 1 to 4), and a method for producing a concentrated chocolate liquid with increased flavor by lipase treatment (patents) Reference 5), a method in which unfermented cocoa beans are treated with protease to increase the flavor precursor and improve the aroma after roasting (see Patent Documents 6 and 7) has been proposed.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 50-33137 Japanese Patent Publication No.52-12269 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-79749 JP-A-8-332063 Japanese Patent Publication No.55-1781 JP-A-9-156 JP-T-2004-517641

  However, the above-described enzyme treatment of cocoa beans was not intended to actively decompose the protein contained in the roasted cocoa beans to obtain a cocoa enzyme treatment product having a strong taste.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a cocoa enzyme-treated product having a strong and mild taste from a roasted cocoa raw material.

  In order to provide a more cautious and mild cocoa raw material with enhanced overall flavor for various raw materials obtained from roasted cocoa beans, the present inventors have effectively used proteins contained in the raw material. We have conducted intensive research with the aim of using them, and this time, the amount of total free amino acids is more than specified before and after protease treatment, and the amount of specific amino acids is more than specified before and after protease treatment. As a result, it was found that a cocoa enzyme-treated product with enhanced umami and a mild flavor was obtained, and the present invention was completed.

Thus, the present invention provides a cocoa enzyme treatment obtained by treating a roasted cocoa raw material with a protease M (trademark) (trade name of a protease manufactured by Amano Enzyme) at 50 ° C. for 6 to 48 hours. The total free amino acid content after protease treatment is at least 1.5 times that before treatment, and the content of glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and arginine after protease treatment is treated. The present invention provides a method for producing a processed cocoa enzyme product with enhanced umami, which is at least 1.8 times the amount before.

  The present invention also provides the production method described above, characterized by treatment with lipase during and / or after treatment with protease.

  The present invention further provides the production method described above, wherein at least one selected from saccharides, sugar alcohols, polyhydric alcohols, surfactants and perfumes is added during and / or after treatment with an enzyme. It is to provide.

  The present invention also provides a cocoa enzyme-treated product obtained by the above-described method and a food or drink containing the cocoa enzyme-treated product.

  According to the present invention, a cocoa enzyme-treated product with enhanced umami and a mild flavor as compared with conventional cocoa raw materials can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail.

  The cocoa raw material that can be used as a raw material in the method of the present invention is obtained from cocoa beans, and examples thereof include cocoa nibs, cocoa mass, cocoa powder, and the like, and one or a mixture of two or more thereof. Can be used.

Examples of proteases that can be used in the present invention include Protease M ™ (trade name of protease manufactured by Amano Enzyme) . The amount of these proteases used varies depending on the titer and the like and cannot be generally specified, but is usually 0.1 to 10% by weight, preferably 2 to 8% by weight, based on the cocoa protein. it can.

In the present invention, the roasted cocoa raw material is treated with the protease exemplified above, so that the total free amino acid content after the protease treatment is at least 1.5 times, preferably at least 1. an 8-fold, and glutamic acid after the protease treatment, aspartic acid, at least 1.8 times that before the respective content processing arginine, preferably characterized by at least 2.0 times the Do Turkey. An embodiment of such a protease treatment method is exemplified as follows. Add 0.01 to 10 parts by weight of water to 1 part by weight of the roasted cocoa raw material, sterilize at about 60 to about 121 ° C. for about 2 seconds to about 20 minutes, cool, and add protease M. , can be obtained 50 ° C., after 6 to 48 hours enzymatic treatment, cooling and cocoa enzyme-treated after enzyme inactivation by heating at about 60 to about 121 ° C. for about 2 seconds to about 20 minutes. By adjusting the pH of the cocoa enzyme-treated product of the present invention thus obtained within the range of 4.0 to 7.0, preferably 5.0 to 6.0, the umami taste of cocoa increases and is suitable. is there.

  In the present invention, when treated with the above protease and / or after treatment, treatment with lipase is preferable because the richness is increased compared to treatment with protease alone. The lipase used in the present invention is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include lipases derived from microorganisms such as Aspergillus genus, Mucor genus, Candida genus, Rhizopus genus, lipases obtained from porcine pancreas, lambs, lambs Oral lipase collected from the pharyngeal secretion line of calves can be used as appropriate, but it is preferable to use a lipase that liberates palmitic acid, stearic acid, and oleic acid from the fatty acid composition composed of cocoa butter. . The amount of lipase used varies depending on the titer, etc., and cannot be generally specified, but is usually 0.01 to 10% by weight, preferably 0.1 to 5% by weight with respect to cocoa butter. .

  In the present invention, at least one selected from saccharides, sugar alcohols, polyhydric alcohols, surfactants and fragrances can be added during and / or after the treatment with the above-described enzyme. Examples of the saccharide include saccharides such as sugar, isomerized sugar, glucose, fructose, lactose and maltose; oligosaccharides such as fructooligosaccharide and maltooligosaccharide. Examples of the sugar alcohol include maltitol, sorbitol, xylitol, lactitol, palatinit, reduced starch saccharified product, and the like. Examples of the polyhydric alcohol include glycerin and propylene glycol. Examples of the surfactant include sorbitan fatty acid esters, and examples of the fragrance include appropriate fragrances such as cocoa fragrance, chocolate fragrance, and vanilla fragrance.

  The cocoa enzyme-treated product of the present invention obtained by the above method can be used as it is, but generally can also be used in the form of a composition with an appropriate diluent or carrier. Examples of the diluent or carrier include solid diluents or carriers such as gum arabic, dextrin, glucose and sucrose, or liquid diluents or carriers such as water, propylene glycol, glycerin and surfactants. The above-mentioned cocoa enzyme-treated product can be prepared in any form, for example, block form, powder form, granule form, liquid form, emulsion form, paste form, or any other suitable form using these diluents or carriers. it can.

  The cocoa enzyme-treated product of the present invention thus obtained includes, for example, beverages such as soft drinks, carbonated drinks, milk drinks, functional drinks; confectionery such as chocolate, candy, cookies, cakes, and jelly; It can be blended with goods.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to Examples and Comparative Examples.

Example 1
Cacaomas (from Côte d'Ivoire) is dissolved by heating at 50 ° C., 600 g of water is added, and the mixture is stirred and mixed with a homogenizer (manufactured by Tokushu Kika Kogyo Co., Ltd.). ) Add 1 g suspended in 10 g of water, stir for 24 hours at an internal temperature of 55 ° C., add 450 g of super white sugar, heat at 85 ° C. for 10 minutes to deactivate the enzyme, and paste cocoa enzyme A processed product (Invention 1) was obtained.

Comparative Example 1
In Example 1, a cocoa enzyme untreated product (Comparative Product 1) was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that no enzyme was used.

Comparative Example 2
In Example 1, a cocoa enzyme treated product (Comparative product 2) was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the enzyme reaction time was 1 hour.

Comparative Example 3
In Example 1, a cocoa enzyme-treated product (Comparative Product 3) was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that protease A (trade name of protease manufactured by Amano Enzyme) was used instead of Sumiteam OP.
(Free amino acid analysis)
Each of the cocoa enzyme treated product and the untreated product of Invention Product 1 and Comparative Products 1 to 3 was analyzed for free amino acids by a conventional method using Hitachi High Speed Amino Acid Analyzer L-8800A. The results are shown in Table 1.

  From the results of amino acid analysis shown in Table 1, the increase rates of total free amino acids, aspartic acid, glutamic acid and arginine of Invention Product 1, Comparative Product 2 and Comparative Product 3 relative to Comparative Product 1 which is an enzyme-untreated product are shown. It becomes like Table 2.

As is clear from Table 2, the product of the present invention had an increase in total free amino acids as compared with the comparative product, and in particular, aspartic acid, glutamic acid and arginine related to umami were significantly increased.
(sensory evaluation)
A plain type chocolate was prepared by adding 2% of each cocoa enzyme treated product and untreated product of Invention Product 1 and Comparative Products 1-3, and the flavor was compared with Comparative Product 1 which was an enzyme untreated product. . The panel for flavor evaluation was conducted by 10 well-trained people. Taste evaluation was evaluated according to the following criteria for five items of bitter feeling, mild feeling, flavor release, umami / richness, and texture, and the number of persons is shown in Table 3.
<Evaluation criteria>
Compared to enzyme-untreated product (Comparative product 1) A: Very favorable B: Preferred C: No significant difference D: Not preferred

  As is apparent from the results in Table 3, it can be seen that the product of the present invention is remarkably superior in terms of umami and richness compared to the comparative product.

Example 2
450 g of cacao mass (produced in Ghana) is heated and dissolved at 50 ° C., 600 g of water is added, and the mixture is stirred and mixed with a homogenizer (manufactured by Tokushu Kika Kogyo Co., Ltd.). A-10FG (trade name of lipase manufactured by Nagase ChemteX Corporation) 0.4 g was suspended in 100 g of water, added, and stirred for 24 hours at an internal temperature of 45 ° C. After adding 450 g of white sucrose, 85 ° C. The enzyme was deactivated by heating for 10 minutes to obtain a paste-like cocoa enzyme treated product (Invention 2).

Comparative Example 4
In Example 2, a cocoa enzyme untreated product (Comparative Product 4) was obtained in the same manner as in Example 2 except that no enzyme was used.
(Free amino acid analysis)
Each of the cocoa enzyme-treated product and the untreated product of Invention Product 2 and Comparative Product 4 was analyzed for free amino acids by a conventional method using Hitachi High-Speed Amino Acid Analyzer L-8800A. Table 4 shows the rate of increase of the total free amino acid, aspartic acid, glutamic acid and arginine of Invention Product 2 relative to Comparative Product 4.

As is apparent from Table 4, the product of the present invention had an increase in total free amino acids as compared with the comparative product, and in particular, aspartic acid, glutamic acid and arginine related to umami were significantly increased.
(sensory evaluation)
0.2% of each cocoa enzyme treated product and untreated product of Invention Product 2 and Comparative Product 4 were added, chocolate-like lacto ice was prepared by a conventional method, and the flavor was compared with the enzyme untreated product. The panel for flavor evaluation was conducted by 10 well-trained people. Taste evaluation was evaluated according to the following criteria for 5 items of bitter feeling, mild feeling, flavor release, umami / richness, and texture, and the number of persons is shown in Table 5.
<Evaluation criteria>
Compared to enzyme-untreated product (Comparative product 4) A: Very favorable B: Preferred C: No significant difference D: Not preferred

  As is apparent from the results in Table 5, it can be seen that the product of the present invention is remarkably superior in terms of umami and richness compared to the comparative product.

Example 3
Heat 800 g of water to 50 ° C., add 100 g of cocoa powder, dissolve with stirring, add 0.5 g of protease M (product name of protease manufactured by Amano Enzyme) suspended in 50 g of water, and add an internal temperature of 50 ° C. The mixture was stirred for 6 hours, heated at 85 ° C. for 10 minutes to deactivate the enzyme, and spray-dried to obtain a powdered cocoa enzyme treated product (Invention 3).

Comparative Example 5
In Example 3, a cocoa enzyme untreated product (Comparative Product 5) was obtained in the same manner as in Example 3 except that no enzyme was used.
(Free amino acid analysis)
Each of the cocoa enzyme treated product and the untreated product of Invention Product 3 and Comparative Product 5 was analyzed for free amino acids by a conventional method using Hitachi High Speed Amino Acid Analyzer L-8800A. Table 6 shows the rate of increase of the total free amino acid, aspartic acid, glutamic acid and arginine of Invention Product 3 with respect to Comparative Product 5.

As is clear from Table 6, the product of the present invention had an increase in total free amino acids as compared with the comparative product, and in particular, aspartic acid, glutamic acid and arginine related to umami were significantly increased.
(sensory evaluation)
0.2% of each cocoa enzyme treated product and untreated product of Invention Product 3 and Comparative Product 5 were added, chocolate-like lacto ice was prepared by a conventional method, and the flavor was compared with the enzyme untreated product. The panel for flavor evaluation was conducted by 10 well-trained people. Taste evaluation was evaluated according to the following criteria for 5 items of bitter feeling, mild feeling, flavor release, umami / richness, and texture, and the number of persons is shown in Table 7.
<Evaluation criteria>
Compared to enzyme-untreated product (Comparative product 5) A: Very favorable B: Preferred C: No significant difference D: Not preferred

  As is apparent from the results in Table 7, it can be seen that the product of the present invention is remarkably superior in terms of umami and richness compared to the comparative product.

Claims (7)

This is a method for producing a cocoa enzyme-treated product obtained by treating a roasted cocoa raw material with protease M ™ (trade name of protease manufactured by Amano Enzyme) at 50 ° C. for 6 to 48 hours. Thus, the content of total free amino acid after protease treatment is at least 1.5 times that before treatment, and the content of glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and arginine after protease treatment is at least 1 as compared with that before treatment. A method for producing a processed cocoa enzyme product with enhanced umami, characterized in that it is 8 times.
2. The production method according to claim 1, wherein the lipase is treated with and / or after treatment with a protease. The at least 1 sort (s) selected from saccharides, sugar alcohol, a polyhydric alcohol, surfactant, and a fragrance | flavor is added at the time of processing with an enzyme and / or after a process, either. Production method. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cacao raw material is at least one selected from cacao nibs, cacao mass and cocoa powder. The cocoa enzyme processed material obtained by the manufacturing method of any one of Claims 1-4. The cocoa enzyme-treated product according to claim 5, wherein the pH is in the range of 4.0 to 7.0. Food-drinks containing the cocoa enzyme processed material in any one of Claim 5 or 6.