JP6080402B2 - Powder whitener. - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a powder-type whitener having high whitening properties and dispersibility despite its extremely low fat content.

  In beverages such as coffee and tea, it is common to add whiteners such as coffee fresh and cream to give a cloudiness without compromising or enhancing the flavor of the beverage according to the taste of the drinker Has been done. In such a whitener, a water-insoluble component mainly composed of a fat component becomes cloudy by being dispersed (emulsified) in a beverage. Since a normal whitener contains about 10 to 40% by mass of fat, coffee can be sufficiently clouded.

  On the other hand, whiteners are high in calories due to their high fat content. In general, fat deteriorates during storage, and there is a possibility that peroxide harmful to the human body is generated. Therefore, whiteners with low fat content are demanded due to recent health-consciousness. However, white turbidity is manifested mainly by fat content, and maintaining white turbidity when fat content is reduced has been a major issue. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for imparting white turbidity by adding an insoluble inorganic salt such as insoluble calcium as a whitener with less fat.

Japanese Patent No. 3746156

  In the conventional technology, the lack of white turbidity due to the reduction in fat content is compensated by adding an insoluble substance. In particular, among insoluble substances, it was usually supplemented with an insoluble inorganic salt having high turbidity. However, in order to obtain sufficient cloudiness using an insoluble inorganic salt, sufficient cloudiness cannot be exhibited unless the dispersed particle size of the insoluble inorganic salt is reduced to several μm or less. For this reason, there is a problem that the treatment with a high-pressure homogenizer or the like is necessary and the manufacturing cost is high. Further, once the insoluble substance is dispersed, it reaggregates when dried. Therefore, it can be suitably used for a liquid whitener that can be used without drying the high-pressure homogenizer-treated liquid. However, in the case of a powder-type whitener, if the fat content is low, the dispersibility of the insoluble inorganic salt after drying is low. It is normal to get worse. Therefore, it was extremely difficult to disperse to several μm level only by mixing with a spoon etc. in addition to coffee etc., and sufficient cloudiness could not be obtained.

  For example, Patent Document 1 uses an insoluble calcium salt to improve white turbidity. However, according to the description in Patent Document 1, in order to obtain sufficient cloudiness, 12% by mass of insoluble calcium salt is required in the powder whitener in the case of a dispersed particle size of 0.5 μm. However, it is extremely difficult to disperse the insoluble calcium salt containing 12% by mass in the whitener powder to a particle size of 0.5 μm by hand mixing with a spoon. On the other hand, in the case where the dispersed particle diameter is considered to be dispersible by hand mixing with a spoon and is 20 μm, in the description of Patent Document 1, 75% by mass of insoluble calcium salt is required in the powder, which greatly affects the flavor. In addition, since the insoluble calcium salt precipitates, it is not preferable as a whitener.

  As described above, even if an insoluble inorganic salt is used in a powdery whitener, it is difficult to obtain a powdery whitener that has sufficient white turbidity, good dispersibility, and little sediment. It was. Further, the fat content also affects the dispersibility of the insoluble component, and there is a problem that the dispersibility of the insoluble inorganic salt deteriorates as the fat content is reduced. Therefore, in the powdery whitener, even if an insoluble inorganic salt is used, the fat content can be reduced only to about 5% by mass. In addition, titanium oxide, which has particularly high white turbidity among insoluble inorganic salts, can be avoided by using titanium oxide itself in foods, in addition to the poor dispersibility if the fat content is too low. If it exists, there existed a subject of not wanting to use an insoluble inorganic salt. For foods, if the fat is less than 0.5% by mass in 100 g of food, it can be displayed as zero fat, but since the above-mentioned problems have not been solved, such a powder whitener has been provided so far. It has never been done.

  In the present invention, a method that exhibits sufficient white turbidity (whitening property) without substantially containing an insoluble inorganic salt, and even if the fat content is substantially zero (less than 0.5% by mass), white An object of the present invention is to provide a powdery whitener which is excellent in spreading properties and dispersibility and has a good flavor.

As a result of diligent studies to solve the above problems, the present inventors have found that a protein material and a protein flocculant are used in combination, and the protein is appropriately aggregated in coffee, thereby exhibiting good whitening properties. As a result, it was found that a powdery whitener having a fat content of less than 0.5% by mass can be produced, and the present invention was achieved. That is, the present invention is as follows.
(1) Add 2 g to a coffee liquid containing about 10 to 35% by mass of protein material and about 0.5 to 15% by mass of protein flocculant and dissolving 1.5 g of instant coffee powder in 100 g of hot water at 98 ° C. A powdered whitener having a whiteness (W (Lab)) of about 26 or more after mixing.
(2) The powdery whitener according to (1), wherein the fat content is less than 0.5% by mass.
(3) The powdery whitener according to (1) or (2), wherein the protein flocculant contains at least a carboxylic acid and / or a lactone form thereof.
(3-1) The powdery whitener according to (3), wherein the protein flocculant is a carboxylic acid and / or a lactone form thereof.
(4) The powdery whitener according to (3), wherein the lactone body is gluconolactone and / or glucuronolactone. In this specification, the description in (3) includes the branch number, for example, (3-1).
(5) The powdery whitener according to any one of (1) to (4), further comprising about 1 to 10% by mass of cellulose.
(6) The powdery whitener according to any one of (1) to (5), further comprising about 1 to 10% by mass of partially pregelatinized starch.
(7) The powdery whitener according to any one of (1) to (6), wherein the protein material is milk protein.
(8) The powdered whitener according to any one of (1) to (7), further comprising about 1 to 5% by mass of sodium chloride and about 0.05 to 30% by mass of a sweetener.

  According to the present invention, since it contains substantially no insoluble inorganic salt, there is almost no sediment, and the fat content is less than 0.5% by mass, while it has sufficient white turbidity (whitening property) and excellent dispersibility. Moreover, a powdery whitener with good flavor can be provided.

  The powdered whitener of the present invention is to add white turbidity to the coffee or tea by adding it to coffee or tea, and the protein material is about 10 to 35% by mass and the protein flocculant is about The whiteness (W) after adding 2 g of the powdery whitener to a coffee liquid prepared by dissolving 1.5 g of instant coffee powder in 100 g of hot water of 98 ° C. (Lab)) is about 26 or more. In addition, the powder form said to this invention means that it is a solid state, and typically refers to a powder form or a granular form. Furthermore, suitable powdered whiteners of the present invention may have a fat content of less than 0.5% by weight. In other words, the present invention advantageously provides a powdery whitener having a sufficient whitening property while having a fat content of less than 0.5% by mass.

  The protein material of the present invention is a material mainly composed of protein. The protein as the main component is not particularly limited, but milk protein and soybean protein are preferable, and milk protein is particularly preferable.

  In the present invention, it is possible to produce a whitener having a fat content of less than 0.5 g per 100 g, so that it can be said that the fat is substantially zero (that is, it can be indicated as fat 0). For production, it is preferable to use a protein material having as low a fat content as possible. In particular, it is preferable to use a milk protein concentrate (MPC) having a protein content of 80% by mass or more and a fat content of 3% by mass or less.

  As above-mentioned, content of the protein raw material in the powdery whitener of this invention is about 10-35 mass%. For example, if it is less than 10% by mass, flavoring and white turbidity (whitening property) to a beverage such as coffee are insufficient. On the other hand, if it exceeds 35% by mass, the dispersibility deteriorates, or the fat content in the protein material becomes an amount that cannot be ignored. Therefore, the effect of the present application is that the fat content is extremely good at least in whitening properties. It may be difficult to obtain. The content of the protein material is preferably 15 to 30% by mass.

  The protein flocculant of the present invention aggregates dissolved or dispersed protein when the substance is added to a solution in which the protein material is dissolved in water or a dispersion in which water is dispersed. It means a substance. Although not being bound by theory, it is considered that in the present invention, the protein flocculant appropriately aggregates the protein material to exhibit excellent whitening properties. Examples of such protein aggregating agents include those that aggregate proteins by the action of acid, such as citric acid, malic acid, succinic acid, tartaric acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid, malonic acid, adipic acid, ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Carboxylic acids such as gluconic acid, gluconolactone, glucuronic acid, glucuronolactone, acetic acid and lactic acid, or lactones thereof. Alternatively, water-soluble salts that exhibit a protein aggregation action, for example, metal salts such as calcium chloride, calcium lactate, magnesium chloride, sodium sulfate, and potassium chloride can also be mentioned. It is a preferred embodiment that the protein flocculant of the present invention mainly comprises a carboxylic acid and / or a lactone form thereof. Moreover, there exists another suitable aspect in which the protein flocculent of this invention contains the said metal salt in addition to carboxylic acid and / or its lactone body.

  Thus, in the present invention, one or more of the above-mentioned protein aggregating agents can be used, but the total content of the protein aggregating agent in the whitener should be about 0.5 to 15% by mass. Is preferred. For example, if it is less than 0.5% by mass, the protein cannot be sufficiently aggregated and the whitening property is not improved. On the other hand, if it exceeds 15% by mass, aggregation may occur excessively and protein precipitation may occur. Therefore, within the above range, the amount of the protein aggregating agent can be appropriately adjusted according to the type and combination of the protein aggregating agent to be used, the nature and amount of the protein material, etc., for example, using MPC as the protein material, When gluconolactone is used as the protein flocculant, the content is preferably 5 to 10% by mass.

  In the present invention, it is considered important to improve the whitening property by appropriately aggregating the protein material contained in the whitener, so it is also considered important to control the degree of aggregation. . For example, in the study by the present inventors, when a large amount of a protein flocculant is added to a protein material at once, a large aggregate is generated, causing sedimentation, and it may be difficult to improve whitening properties. In such a case, it has been found that it is very preferable to use gluconolactone or glucuronolactone as a protein aggregating agent, which can gradually generate an acid in water and relatively slowly aggregate proteins. It was. Furthermore, gluconolactone is most preferable in view of its availability, price, and flavor.

  The powdered whitener of the present invention is obtained by adding 1.5 g of commercially available instant coffee powder to 98 ° C. and 100 ml of hot water, mixing lightly with a spoon to dissolve, adding 2 g of whitener there, and dispersing with a spoon. The whiteness (W (Lab)) measured with a spectral color difference meter (SE-2000, manufactured by Nippon Denshoku Industries Co., Ltd.) after 1 minute can be about 26 or more. More preferably, the whiteness can be about 27 or more. In addition, since it has shown that white turbidity (whitening property) is so high that the value of whiteness W (Lab) is large, and the larger one is preferable, there is no upper limit in particular, Usually, it is 40 or less.

  By adding about 1 to 10% by mass of cellulose to the powdery whitener of the present invention, fluidity, dispersibility, and whitening properties are further improved. Therefore, the addition of cellulose is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. . More preferably, cellulose can be contained at about 2 to 6% by mass.

  In addition, the cellulose here is a cellulose obtained from plants and microorganisms, and the most common example of the cellulose is powdered cellulose obtained by mechanically or chemically treating wood pulp. And crystalline cellulose, but are not limited thereto. In the present invention, it is preferable to use crystalline cellulose having a very high purity and good eating feeling among cellulose. Crystalline cellulose, for example, has an average degree of polymerization of 30 to 400 obtained by depolymerizing cellulose-based materials such as wood pulp and refined linter by acid hydrolysis, alkaline oxidative decomposition, enzymatic decomposition, etc. Means over 10%.

  In the present invention, a hydrophilic polymer (for example, sodium carboxymethylcellulose, methylcellulose, hydroxypropylcellulose, hydroxymethylcellulose, xanthan gum, caraya gum, carrageenan, locust bean gum, guar gum, psyllium seed gum, alginate, etc.) and the cellulose. (Hereinafter referred to as a cellulose composite, which is also included in the cellulose of the present invention). By using a cellulose composite, dispersibility and stability are improved, and the influence on the texture can be minimized. Cellulose composites that are generally available include, for example, Theolas RC-591, Theolas SC-900, Theolas RC-N30, Theolas RC-N81, Theolas CL-611, Theolas DX-2 (all products Name, manufactured by Asahi Kasei Chemicals Co., Ltd.), Novagel GP-3282, Novagel GP-1615, Avicel BV-1518, Avicel RC-591, Avicel CL-611 (all product names, manufactured by FMC Biopolymer), MCG-811 ( Product name, manufactured by JRS).

  It is preferable to use about 1 to 10% by mass of partially pregelatinized starch in the powdered whitener of the present invention, since the dispersibility can be further enhanced. A more preferable usage amount is about 3 to 8% by mass. The partially pregelatinized starch as used herein is a product obtained by partially pregelatinizing starch by wet heat treatment. The raw material is not particularly limited, and any starch raw material such as corn starch, wheat starch, rice starch, potato starch or tapioca starch may be used. Among the partially pregelatinized starches, it is preferable that the inside of the starch granules is more pregelatinized and the outer portion has a low degree of pregelatinization. Specifically, those having a cold water soluble content of 6% by mass or less are preferable. Examples of the partially pregelatinized starch that is generally available include PCS FC-30 and PCS FC-50 (both product names, manufactured by Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corporation).

  Further, the powdered whitener of the present invention preferably contains about 1 to 5% by mass of sodium chloride and about 0.05 to 30% by mass of sweetener. The sweetener as used herein refers to a component that gives food sweetness, for example, sugars such as sugar, fructose, glucose, starch syrup, lactose, trehalose, sugar alcohols such as sorbitol, maltitol, xylitol, lactitol, Examples include oligosaccharides such as xylo-oligosaccharide, fructooligosaccharide, manno-oligosaccharide, galactooligosaccharide and cellooligosaccharide, and high-grade sweeteners such as sucralose, acesulfame K, aspartame and stevia. In the present invention, when an acid is used as the main protein flocculant, a slight acidity may be felt. Therefore, a good flavor can be obtained by using salt and at least one sweetener in combination for masking acidity. The amount of salt used is preferably about 2-3% by mass. The sweetener is appropriately adjusted depending on the sweetness of the sweetener used. For example, when using sugar as a sweetener, about 6-15 mass% is preferable.

  The powdery whitener of the present invention may contain an emulsifier, a fragrance, a seasoning, a bulking agent, a thickening polysaccharide and the like, if necessary.

  The production method of the powdery whitener of the present invention can be obtained by powder mixing, fluidized bed granulation, spray drying, etc., but from the viewpoint of dispersibility and whitening properties, those granulated by fluidized bed granulation may be used. Most preferred. The powdery whitener of the present invention can be most suitably used as a whitener for coffee or tea.

  The present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples. The whitener analysis was performed by the following method.

[Whitening (cloudiness)]
1.5 g of commercially available instant coffee powder (trade name: Nescafe Gold Blend, manufactured by Nestlé Japan Co., Ltd.) was added to 98 ° C. and 100 ml of hot water, and lightly mixed with a spoon to dissolve. Thereto, 2 g of whitener was added and dispersed with a spoon for 30 seconds. 6.5 g of the dispersion was placed in a round cell (inner diameter: 31 mmφ, height: 15 mm), and the whiteness (with a spectrocolorimeter (SE-2000, manufactured by Nippon Denshoku Industries Co., Ltd.)) was measured 1 minute after the whitener was charged. W (Lab)) was measured.

[Dispersibility / precipitation amount]
Add 1.5g of commercial instant coffee powder (Nestlé Japan Co., Ltd., trade name: Nescafe Gold Blend) to 98ml, 100ml of hot water, mix lightly with a spoon and dissolve, add 2g of whitener to it. The time until it was dispersed neatly with a spoon was measured, and the dispersibility was judged according to the following criteria. Further, after the whitener was added, the bottom surface of the container 15 minutes later was visually observed, and the amount of sediment was judged based on the following criteria.

[Distribution evaluation criteria]
A (Excellent): Dispersed within 5 seconds.
○ (Good): Disperses within 10 seconds over 5 seconds.
Δ (possible): Dispersed within 30 seconds beyond 10 seconds.
X (impossible): The dispersion time exceeds 30 seconds.
[Evaluation criteria for sedimentation]
◎ (excellent): There is no sediment at all.
○ (good): There is a little sediment, but the area of the bottom covered with sediment is less than one third.
Δ (possible): Precipitate is present in more than one third of the bottom surface, but the bottom surface is not completely covered.
X (impossible): There is clearly sediment, and the entire bottom surface is covered with sediment.

[Flavor]
Sensory evaluation was performed on a sample after evaluating dispersibility / sedimentation amount by a total of 5 men, 3 men and 2 women, and judged according to the following criteria. If the judgment was divided, it was planned to be a majority decision. However, in this evaluation, the judgment was not divided and the evaluation results of the five people agreed.

[Flavor Evaluation Criteria]
A (excellent): comparable to a commercially available product (with a fat content of 37% by mass).
○ (Good): Compared to commercially available products, it feels slightly rough and sour, but it is well tolerated.
Δ (possible): Compared with commercially available products, it clearly feels rough and sour, and some people feel that the flavor has deteriorated.
X (impossible): Clearly bad flavor and not preferable as a whitener.
[Examples 1-6, Comparative Examples 1-5]

  Examples 1 to 6 have the compositions shown in Table 1 and Comparative Examples 1 to 5 have the compositions shown in Table 2. Whiteners were prepared. As a protein material, MPC (milk protein concentrate, 1.8% by mass of fat, manufactured by Fontera), as a protein flocculant, in Examples 1 to 3 and 5, gluconolactone (manufactured by Fuso Scientific Industry Co., Ltd.) In Example 4, citric acid (manufactured by Fuso Scientific Industry Co., Ltd.) was used, and in Example 6, glucuronolactone (Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.) was used. The fat content of each whitener is 0.45% by mass in Examples 1 to 3, Example 5, Comparative Example 2, Comparative Example 4 and Comparative Example 5, and 0.54% by mass in Example 4 and Comparative Example 3. The comparative example 1 was 0.36 mass%. Other raw materials used were dextrin (Sandek # 300, manufactured by Sanwa Starch Co., Ltd.), resistant starch (Amygel HB-450, manufactured by Sanwa Starch Co., Ltd.), sorbitol (Product Food Science Co., Ltd.) )), Salt (manufactured by Nippon Salt Manufacturing Co., Ltd.), sugar (manufactured by Mitsui Sugar Co., Ltd.), flavor (milk flavor, Takasago Fragrance Co., Ltd.), partially pregelatinized starch (PCS FC-30, Asahi Kasei Chemicals) Manufactured by Co., Ltd.), crystalline cellulose preparation (Theolas DX-2, manufactured by Asahi Kasei Chemicals Co., Ltd.), titanium oxide (produced by Ishihara Sangyo Co., Ltd.), calcium carbonate (produced by Shiraishi Calcium Co., Ltd.), emulsifier (sucrose fatty acid Ester P1670, manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Foods Corporation) was used.

Since all the manufacturing methods are the same, the manufacturing method of Example 1 is shown as a representative example. The raw materials shown in the frame in the binding liquid in Table 1 were measured at the ratio of Example 1 in Table 1, and dissolved by adding water so that the concentration of sorbitol was 7.5% by mass to prepare the binding liquid. . On the other hand, the raw materials shown in the powder raw material frame in Table 1 are measured in a plastic bag in the ratio of Example 1 in Table 1, mixed with powder, and then tumbling fluidized coating device ("Multiplex" MP, manufactured by POWREC Co., Ltd.). -01 type) fluidized bed column, spray nozzle diameter 1.2mm, nozzle tip 1mm, spray position top (middle set), spray pressure 0.06MPa, spray flow rate 30L / min, bag filter type T Granulation under the conditions of -4000, bag filter drop-off pressure 0.65 MPa, supply air temperature setting 80 ° C., air volume 30-85 m ³ / hour, binding liquid charging rate 12 g / min, and the whitener of Example 1 was obtained. . The whitener of Examples 2-5 and Comparative Examples 1-5 was produced in the same operation.

  The evaluation results of each whitener are shown in Table 3 for Examples 1-6 and Table 4 for Comparative Examples 1-5. Table 3 also shows the evaluation results when a commercially available whitener (fat content of 37% by mass) was similarly evaluated.

  As is clear from Table 3, in Examples 1 to 6, although the fat content is very small, the protein in the protein material is moderately aggregated by the protein flocculant, so that the fat content is 37% by mass. Whitening property equal to or higher than that of a commercial product. Further, the amount of precipitates is small, and in particular, in Example 5, although the fat content is less than 0.5% by mass, all of the whitening property, dispersibility, and precipitate are a whitener and amber color with high fat content. The flavor was also good.

  On the other hand, in the comparative example, the whitening property was supplemented with the insoluble component, but the whitening property was clearly insufficient except for Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 4. Although Comparative Example 1 had whitening properties, a clear precipitate was formed due to the hardly digestible starch used as an insoluble component. Moreover, although the comparative example 4 showed the whitening property comparable to an Example, the precipitate produced, and the dispersibility was also inferior compared with Examples 3, 5 and 6.

  According to the present invention, the present invention can provide a powder-type whitener composition having high whitening properties and dispersibility even when the fat content is extremely small, and thus can be suitably used in the food manufacturing industry.

Claims (6)

It is a powdered whitener whose fat content is less than 0.5% by mass,
A powdery whitener comprising 10 to 35% by mass of a protein material and 0.5 to 15% by mass of a protein flocculant , wherein the protein flocculant includes at least a carboxylic acid and / or a lactone form thereof . The powdery whitener according to claim 1 , wherein the lactone body is gluconolactone and / or glucuronolactone. Furthermore, the powdery whitener of Claim 1 or Claim 2 containing 1-10 mass% of cellulose. Furthermore, the powdery whitener in any one of the Claims 1-3 which contain 1-10 mass% of partial pregelatinized starches. The powdery whitener according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the protein material is milk protein. Furthermore, the salt 1 to 5 wt%, powdered whitener according to any one of claims 1 to 5 comprising sweeteners 0.05 to 30% by weight.