JP6553409B2 - Flavor improver - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a flavor improving agent that exhibits a flavor improving effect of masking and salty taste enhancement by adding a very small amount without changing the taste quality, basic flavor and flavor balance of food and drink.

Basic flavors such as salty taste, bitter taste, pungent taste, sweet taste, sour taste, umami taste, and astringency have a favorable balance for each food and drink.
However, during food processing processes such as heat sterilization and addition of preservatives at the time of manufacture of food and drink, and during the storage period of the food and drink, flavors such as bitterness, astringency, or agly taste that break the flavor balance, ie, miscellaneous Taste may be generated.
In such a case, it is sufficient to carry out processing to remove those miscellaneous tastes, such as distillation or elution, but such operation is extremely complicated because it is to remove trace components, and also to the basic flavor of food and drink. There is a risk of reduction.

Moreover, in some foods and drinks, only a specific flavor is very strong, and the preferred basic flavor balance of the food and drinks may be lost.
In such a case, it may be processed not to add or remove the food component having the specific flavor, but it may be reduced to another flavor, and the flavor balance of the food and drink may be further broken. Become.

  Therefore, in foods and beverages having a miscellaneous taste, the basic flavor of the food and drink products can be made to be felt without losing the balance of the basic flavors. A variety of proposals have been made on flavor improving agents, so-called masking agents, which can weaken a specific flavor that is too strong by adding a very small amount of components.

  Examples of the masking agent include polyglycerin condensed ricinoleic acid ester (see, for example, Patent Document 1), stevia extract (see, for example, Patent Document 2), dried mysids and / or krill extracts (see, for example, Patent Document 3). And non-toxic salts of gluconic acid (see, for example, Patent Document 4). However, since the masking agent of Patent Document 1 is an emulsifier, it often affects the physical properties of food and drink, and there is a problem that the flavor itself is poor. The masking agent of Patent Document 2 is effective only for foods and drinks having bitterness and astringency, and has a problem that the amount of addition is limited due to its strong sweetness. In addition to being effective only for foods having a bitter taste, the masking agent of Patent Document 3 has a problem that it is necessary to relatively increase the amount of addition. The masking agent of Patent Document 4 has a problem that the amount of addition needs to be relatively large.

In particular, recently, the problem of masking is the meat odor in meat products.
Although this meat odor is neither a miscellaneous taste as described above nor a specific flavor that is too strong, it has recently become a problem that the raw odor of livestock meat and fishery products has been cursed away, and the flavor has a low odor. This is because it tends to be preferred.
This tendency is not only limited to meat and fish but also milk such as cheese and milk, extract odor such as beef extract and yeast extract, and soy odor such as soy sauce and soy milk etc. The flavor that can be said to be a flavor may also be a problem.
Furthermore, in the case of livestock meat and dairy products, the flavor is different depending on the place of production and breeding environment, particularly feed, but in Japan, livestock meat from foreign countries, especially meat and dairy products of grassfed beef fed only with grass However, many people are worried about the peculiar odor that is said to be a pasture odor.

Although the addition of spices and herbs has been widely used to mask these flavors, this method is merely a method of masking strong flavors and weak flavors, so meat products, processed meat products, milk It is unsuitable for the purpose of tasting products, soy foods and their own flavor.
Therefore, as a masking agent for meat products and dairy products, sucralose (patent document 5), kelp extract (patent document 6), arginine (patent document 7), alliin (patent document 8), specific yeast extract (patent document 9) ) Etc. have been proposed.

However, there is a problem that the sweetness is felt in sucralose, the problem that the quality is not stable in the kelp extract, and the problem that strong specific flavor is felt in arginine, alliin and certain yeast extract.
Moreover, since the effect of these masking agents is weak, the required addition amount is a little so that the texture may be affected.

By the way, among the above five basic flavors, salty taste is extremely important as a flavor of food and drink because it has not only a preference but also an appetite enhancing effect that draws out the deliciousness of the food and drink.
To give foods and drinks a salty taste, salt, that is, sodium chloride is usually used. However, excessive intake of sodium, which is the main component, is a risk factor for many health diseases including hypertension. Therefore, suppression of sodium chloride intake is recommended, and various low-salt foods and beverages with reduced sodium chloride content have been developed and marketed. However, if the amount of sodium chloride added is simply reduced, the saltiness which is one of the basic tastes naturally decreases, and the food and drink becomes light and the taste is lost.
Therefore, many studies have been conducted on methods of reducing the sodium chloride content while maintaining the saltiness of food and drink.

As a method of reducing the sodium chloride content while maintaining the saltiness of food and drink, there is a method of using a saltiness enhancer.
The salty taste enhancer itself is a flavor improving agent that does not show salty taste or has a very thin salty taste, but has an effect of strongly feeling the salty taste of sodium chloride by adding a very small amount to sodium chloride, By adding, it is possible to make the food with low sodium chloride content have the same saltiness as the food with higher sodium chloride content.
According to the method of using the salt taste enhancer, it is possible to reduce the sodium chloride content of the food without significant change in taste quality. Therefore, as a salty taste enhancer, capsaicin (for example, see Patent Document 10), trehalose (for example, see Patent Document 11), protein hydrolyzate (for example, see Patent Document 12), specific surfactant (for example, see Patent Document 13) Many substances have been proposed.

  However, since these saltiness enhancers have a very weak enhancing effect on saltiness, it is necessary to use many of these saltiness enhancers in food and drink products with a low sodium chloride content when seeking a high saltiness enhancer effect. In such a case, since these saltiness enhancers are substances having a flavor other than extremely strong salty taste, for example, the method of Patent Document 10 feels pungent strongly, and the method of Patent Document 11 feels sweetness, Patent Document 12 There is a problem that the taste quality of food and drink is changed, for example, the method of Patent Document 13 has a bitter taste and the method of Patent Document 13 has a taste of odor.

  Here, whey mineral is proposed as a material having a saltiness enhancing effect in addition to the effect as a masking agent. (See, for example, Patent Documents 14 and 15) However, depending on the amount of addition, there may be a slight taste.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-065177 JP 2005-336078 A JP-A-10-179077 Republished 00-048475 JP 2000-157184 A Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2007-282516 JP, 2011-254762, A JP 2012-070647 A JP, 2014-000088, A JP 2001-245627 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-066540 Republished 01/039613 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 05-184326 JP 2008-054664 A JP 2008-054667 A

Therefore, the object of the present invention is the miscellaneous taste of food and drink, the flavor which is too strong for food and drink, and the meat and grass odor in meat products or the grass odor in dairy products. It is an object of the present invention to provide a flavor improving agent (masking agent) that can be masked with a very small amount of addition without changing the basic flavor balance, and a method of flavor improvement (masking method).
In addition, the object of the present invention is to provide a flavor improver (salt taste enhancer) that can obtain a sufficient effect even in the use of a very small amount without changing the taste quality of food and drink, and a taste quality equivalent to sodium chloride. In addition, the salt composition with enhanced salty taste, and further the food and drink with enhanced saltiness per sodium chloride content, and further maintained the taste of the food and drink while maintaining the taste of the food and drink. It is in providing the flavor improvement method (salt enhancement method) of the food / beverage products which can reinforce the salty taste of food / beverage products.

As a result of various studies to achieve the above object, the present inventors have found that glycerin, which has been used only as a sweetening ingredient of foods having a slight sweetness or only as a moisturizing ingredient, does not exhibit its taste. It was found that when added to a small amount of food and drink, only the saltiness of the food and drink is enhanced, but the miscellaneous taste such as acidity and bitterness is reversely masked.
This invention is made | formed based on the said knowledge, and provides flavor improving agents, such as a masking agent and salty taste enhancer which contain glycerin as an active ingredient.
Moreover, this invention provides the food / beverage products which use the said flavor improving agent.
The present invention also provides a method of masking food and drink characterized by adding the above-mentioned flavor improving agent (masking agent) to food and drink.
Furthermore, this invention provides the salt composition which consists of the said flavor improving agent (salt taste enhancer) and sodium chloride.
Furthermore, this invention provides the food / beverage products containing the said salt composition.
Furthermore, this invention provides the salty taste enhancing method of the food / beverage products characterized by adding the said flavor improving agent (salt taste enhancer) to food / beverage products.

The flavor improving agent of the present invention, as a masking agent, is a miscellaneous taste of food and drink, a flavor which is too strong as a food and drink flavor, especially a meat and grass odor in livestock meat and processed meat products, and a grass odor in dairy products. It can be masked with a very small amount of addition without changing the texture or basic flavor balance of the food or drink.
Moreover, according to the masking method of the present invention, it is possible to mask miscellaneous tastes and too strong flavors contained in food and drink and medicines without changing the basic flavor.
Furthermore, the flavor improving agent of the present invention can enhance the salty taste without changing the taste quality of the food or drink, even when used in a very small amount as a salty taste enhancer.
In addition, the salt composition of the present invention has a taste similar to sodium chloride and has enhanced salty taste.
Moreover, the food / beverage products containing the said salt composition of this invention can be preferably used as a salt-reduced food / beverage products which had salty taste and deliciousness.
Furthermore, according to the method for enhancing saltiness of the present invention, the saltiness of foods and beverages can be enhanced with a very small amount of addition without changing the taste quality, and thus reduced-salt foods and beverages which combine saltiness and taste easily. You can get it.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on preferred embodiments.
First, glycerin used in the flavor improving agent of the present invention will be described in detail.
Glycerin is a major component of lipids called 1,2,3-propanetriol or glycerol, and exists as a metabolite or degradation product of triglycerol fatty acid ester.
Commercially available glycerin is often watered to make it easy to use, but can be used without problems.

The flavor improving agent of the present invention contains the above glycerin as an active ingredient.
In the flavor improving agent of the present invention, the glycerin may be used alone as it is, or mixed with various additives and formulated into a powder, granule, tablet, liquid or the like by a conventional method. May be. The content of the glycerin in these preparations is preferably 0.05 to 100% by mass, more preferably 1 to 90% by mass, still more preferably 3 to 70% by mass, and most preferably 5 to 50% by mass. .

Additives for formulating glycerin in the form of powder, granules, tablets, etc. include alginates, pectin, seaweed polysaccharides, polysaccharide thickeners such as carboxymethylcellulose, lactose, starch, silicon dioxide, etc. Excipients, sweeteners such as glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose, sorbitol, stevia, fine particle silicon dioxide, magnesium carbonate, disodium phosphate, anti-caking agents such as calcium oxide etc, vitamins, flavors, An antioxidant, a brightener, etc. are mentioned, These 1 type (s) or 2 or more types are suitably selected and used.
When formulating glycerin into a liquid form, glycerin may be dissolved or dispersed in the liquid. Examples of the liquid for dissolving or dispersing glycerin include water, ethanol, propylene glycol and the like.

The flavor improving agent of this invention can be used for the flavor improvement of various food-drinks.
For example, the flavor improving agent of the present invention masks the miscellaneous taste of food and drink, and the flavor that is too strong as the flavor of food and drink with the addition of a very small amount without changing the texture and basic flavor balance. It can be suitably used as a possible masking agent.
Examples of the above-mentioned miscellaneous taste and too strong flavor include bitterness, astringency, astringency, pungent taste, acidity, canned odor, retort odor, livestock odor, fish odor, pasture odor, soybean odor, yeast extract odor, etc. Be Among them, the masking agent of the present invention is particularly suitable for masking of meat odor and pasture odor in meat products and processed meat products, or pasture odor in milk and dairy products.

Here, as the above meat products and processed meat products, processed foods such as meat, meat or fish, processed foods such as raw ham, grilled meat, steak, simmered food, fried food, fried rice, fried rice, fried rice, Kunsei, Boiled pork, Roast beef, Hamburger, Meatballs, Meat dumplings, Meat loaf, Meat patties, Chicken nuggets, Meat croquettes, Munch cutlet, Chicken squash, Shumai ingredients, Dumpling ingredients, Meat bun ingredients, Beef bowl ingredients Ham, ham steak, sausage, sashimi, sashimi, grilled fish, boiled fish, fried fish, dried fish, fish paste, fish paste, fish paste, fish paste, fish paste, fish paste, fish pen, fish sausage, salted fish, boiled fish, delicacies and the like.
In addition, examples of the types of meat or meat include cattle, pigs, chickens, sheep, horses, deer, horses, deer, whales, bears and other meats and meats, and types of fish meat include salmon, walleye pollack, hoki and thailand. Fishes such as tuna, swordfish, sardines, mackerel, horse mackerel, saury, eel, sea bream, hailfish, carp, crucian carp, marine seafood such as seals, whales, etc., molluscs such as octopus, squid, Examples include marine crustaceans such as krill, lobster, and shrimp.
As the above milk and milk products, raw milk, milk, special milk, raw goat milk, sterilized goat milk, raw sheep milk, partially skimmed milk, skimmed milk, processed milk, cream, cream cheese, butter, cheese, concentrated whey, Ice creams, whipped cream, concentrated milk, skimmed concentrated milk, sugar-free milk, sugar-free skimmed milk, sweetened milk, sweetened skimmed milk, whole milk powder, cream powder, whey powder, buttermilk powder, sugared milk powder, Examples include prepared milk powder, fermented milk, lactic acid bacteria beverage, milk beverage, skim milk powder, protein concentrated whey powder, calcium caseinate, sodium caseinate, potassium caseinate, magnesium caseinate, whey protein concentrate, total milk protein and the like.

  In addition, the masking agent of the present invention can be used not only for the above-mentioned meat products and processed meat and meat products, and various food and drink other than milk and dairy products. Specifically, for example, miso, soy sauce, noodle soup, sauce, soup stock, pasta sauce, dressing, mayonnaise, tomato ketchup, worcester sauce, pork cutlet sauce, seasonings such as sprinkles, ingredients of soups, caleru, white sauce, tea pickled Instant cooked foods such as ingredients, soup ingredients, miso soup, soup, consommé soup, soups such as potage soup, processed vegetables such as pickles, potato chips, snacks such as rice crackers, breads, confectionery breads, cookies, etc. Food products, boiled foods, fried foods, grilled dishes, curry, stew, gratin, cooked foods such as rice, rice porridge, rice balls etc., noodles foods such as pasta, udon, ramen etc., processed foods such as margarine, shortening, fat spread, flavor fat spread For confectionery bakery such as flower paste and rice cake Ingredients, mixed powder for bread, mixed powder for cake, mixed powder for fried foods, confectionery such as chocolate, candy, jelly, ice cream and gum, Japanese confectionery such as buns and castella, coffee, coffee milk, Examples include black tea, milk tea, soy milk, nutrition drinks, vegetable drinks, vinegar drinks, juices, colas, mineral water, sports drinks, and other alcoholic drinks such as beer, wine, cocktails, and sours.

When the flavor improving agent of the present invention is used as a masking agent, the amount of the flavor improving agent of the present invention added to the food or drink is not particularly limited, and is appropriately determined according to the food or drink to be used and the strength of the masking effect to be obtained. The
In general, the preferable addition amount of the flavor improving agent of the present invention is preferably 0.000001 to 0.1 parts by mass as a pure part of glycerin contained in the flavor improving agent with respect to 100 parts by mass of food and drink. Preferably it is 0.000005-0.05 mass part, More preferably, it is 0.000005-0.01 mass part.
In addition, when food / beverage products are meat products and processed meat foods, the preferable addition amount of the flavor improving agent of this invention with respect to food / beverage products is as a pure content of glycerol contained in a flavor improving agent with respect to 100 mass parts of food / beverage products. Preferably, it is 0.000001-0.05 mass part, More preferably, it is 0.000005-0.01 mass part, More preferably, it is 0.00005-0.005 mass part.
Moreover, when food / beverage products are milk and dairy products, the preferable addition amount of the flavor improving agent of this invention with respect to food / beverage products is as a pure content of glycerol contained in a flavor improving agent with respect to 100 mass parts of milk or dairy products. Preferably, it is 0.00001-0.1, More preferably, it is 0.00005-0.05 mass part, More preferably, it is 0.0001-0.01 mass part.

The flavor improving agent of the present invention can also be suitably used as a salty taste enhancer capable of obtaining sufficient effects even with a very small amount of use without changing the taste quality of food and drink.
In addition, about the kind of food / beverage products which become the object of addition of the flavor improving agent of this invention, if it is food / beverage products which have a salty taste, it will not restrict | limit, for example, the food / beverage products similar to the food / beverage products used as a masking agent Can be used.

  In addition, the amount added to food and drink when using the flavor improving agent of the present invention as a salty taste enhancer is not particularly limited, depending on the type of food and drink to be used, salt content in food and beverage, strength of salty taste enhancement effect sought. In general, the pure content of glycerin contained in the flavor improving agent is preferably 0.0000001 to 0.1 parts by mass, and more preferably 0.000 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the food or drink. It is 000001-0.05 mass parts, More preferably, it is 0.000005-0.01 mass parts.

Next, the salt composition of the present invention will be described.
The salt composition of the present invention comprises sodium chloride and the above-mentioned flavor improving agent (saltiness enhancer), and is a seasoning having enhanced saltiness while maintaining the taste equivalent to that of conventional sodium chloride only. It is a fee.
In the salt composition of the present invention, the ratio of sodium chloride and flavor improver (salt enhancer) is preferably as the pure content of glycerin contained in the flavor improver (salt enhancer) with respect to 100 parts by mass of sodium chloride. Is 0.0001 to 1.5 parts by mass, more preferably 0.001 to 0.5 parts by mass, and still more preferably 0.003 to 0.3 parts by mass.
If the ratio of the flavor improving agent (salt taste enhancer) is less than 0.0001 parts by mass, the salty taste enhancing effect is hardly recognized, and if it exceeds 1.5 parts by mass, the salty taste enhancing effect is weakened and the taste quality may be adversely affected. .

In the salt composition of the present invention, for the purpose of reducing the sodium chloride content, a part of sodium chloride, preferably 80% or less, more preferably 60% or less of sodium chloride is replaced with a known sodium chloride substitute. Can do.
As the sodium chloride substitute, potassium chloride, an alkali metal salt of an organic acid and the like can be mentioned, and in particular, in the salt composition of the present invention, sodium chloride is substituted more while maintaining equivalent taste and saltiness. It is preferable to use potassium chloride in that it is possible.

  The salt composition of the present invention, in addition to the sodium chloride and the flavor improver (salt enhancer), flavor materials such as matcha tea and coffee, sugars, anti-caking agents, vitamins, flavors, spices, colorants, Other components such as antioxidants and brighteners may be included. Content of these other components in the salt composition of this invention becomes like this. Preferably it is 70 mass% or less, More preferably, it is 30 mass% or less, More preferably, it is 10 mass% or less.

Next, the food / beverage products of this invention are described.
The food and drink of the present invention is a food and drink using the flavor improving agent of the present invention, or a food and drink containing the above-mentioned salt composition of the present invention.

First, the food / beverage products using the flavor improving agent of this invention are described.
In addition, the kind of food / beverage products and the usage-amount of the said flavor improving agent of this invention in food / beverage products are as above-mentioned.
The method for adding the flavor improving agent of the present invention in foods and drinks is not particularly limited, and is mixed, sprayed, sprayed, dissolved, etc. on foods and drinks or their materials during the production, processing, cooking, food and drinks, etc. This is done by any means.

Here, the food and drink of the present invention will be specifically described by using a flavor improving agent as a masking agent and the food and drink as a meat product or meat and meat processed food using meat, meat or fish as an example. To do.
In addition, about the kind of the said livestock meat, animal meat, or fish meat, Furthermore, the kind of the said meat product and livestock meat processed food is as above-mentioned.
Also, as the form of the above-mentioned meat, meat or fish meat, blocks, slices, fillets, rhinoceros eyes, mince, mince, sticks, shreds, ground meat and other meat lumps and bone mass are used, but they have high flavor. From the viewpoint of obtaining the improvement effect, it is preferable to use blocks, slices, dices, sticks and shreds, and in particular, sliced products are preferably used in that homogeneous taste improvement effect can be obtained from the surface to the inside.
The livestock meat, animal meat, or fish meat is not limited to raw meat, and may be a frozen product, a frozen thawed product, a refrigerated product, a chilled product, or a molded meat or a fat-injected meat. Moreover, you may use the said animal meat, animal meat, or fish meat by mixing 2 or more types of animal meat, animal meat, or fish meat.

As a specific method of adding the masking agent of the present invention to the above meat, meat or fish, the meat, meat or fish is dipped in an immersion liquid to which the masking agent is added, and processing such as mincing or slicing is carried out as necessary. A method of cooking such as baking, simmering or frying later, a method of spraying, spraying or injecting the masking agent of the present invention before cooking, a masking agent of the present invention is added to a batter solution used for frying A method of adding the masking agent of the present invention to the simmered juice when manufacturing the boiled food, a method of adding the masking agent of the present invention as one of the raw materials when manufacturing the kneaded product, etc. The method using an immersion liquid is preferable in that a stable effect can be obtained.
Moreover, it is also possible by the method of adding the masking agent of this invention, and the method of adding the masking agent of this invention to a pickle liquid, when manufacturing mince meat and molded meat.

As a method for adding the masking agent of the present invention, in the case of using a dipping solution, batter solution or stewed juice, the concentration of glycerin in the solution is preferably 0.00001 to 5% by mass, more preferably 0. 0.0005 to 2 mass%, more preferably 0.0002 to 0.5 mass%.
If the concentration of glycerin in the liquid is less than 0.00001% by mass, the amount of glycerin added to livestock meat, animal meat or fish meat cannot be in the above preferred range, and if it exceeds 0.5% by mass, There is a possibility that a concentration gradient of glycerin is generated in the meat of meat or fish and the texture of the resulting meat product is not uniform.
Moreover, in the case of the method using immersion liquid, batter liquid, or stewed juice, the preferable contact time with a liquid, livestock meat, animal meat, or fish meat is 1 minute-24 hours, More preferably, it is 10 minutes-2 hours.

Moreover, the food / beverage products of this invention are specifically mentioned using the case where a flavor improving agent is used as a masking agent, and the said food / beverage products are milk and dairy products, or food / beverage products using milk and dairy products. explain.
The types of milk and dairy products are as described above.
As a specific method of adding the masking agent of the present invention to the milk or dairy product or food and drink using the milk or dairy product, a method of directly adding the masking agent of the present invention to milk or dairy product, milk The method of adding the masking agent of the present invention at the time of manufacturing food and drink using dairy products, and the method of spraying, spraying and injecting the masking agent of the present invention to food and drink using milk and dairy products , Etc.

Next, the food / beverage products of this invention containing the salt composition of this invention are described.
Content of the salt composition of this invention in the food / beverage products of this invention containing the salt composition of this invention is not specifically limited, It determines suitably according to the food / beverage products to be used and the intensity | strength of the salty taste calculated | required.
In addition, as food and drink as referred to in the present invention, it is not particularly limited, and can be used without any problem as long as it is a food that uses salt consisting of only sodium chloride, for example, miso, soy sauce, noodle soup, Sauce, soup, pasta sauce, dressing, mayonnaise, tomato ketchup, worcester sauce, pork cutlet sauce, sprinkle, herb salt, seasoning such as seasoning salt, raw material of soup, calereau, white sauce, raw material for soup, raw material for soup etc Cooked food, soup such as miso soup, soup, consomme soup, potage soup, processed livestock such as ham, sausage, cheese , Potato chips, confectionery snacks such as rice crackers, bakery foods such as bread, confectionery bread, cookies Boiled, fried, grilled, curry, stew, gratin, rice, porridge, cooking food such as rice balls and the like.
In addition, even if it is food / beverage products which do not contain salt, if it is a foodstuff which contains salt at the time of eating and drinking, it can be used.

The food and drink of the present invention containing the salt composition of the present invention are characterized in that the saltiness per sodium chloride content is enhanced while maintaining the taste quality of the food and drink. Furthermore, when the salt composition of the present invention is obtained by replacing a part of the sodium chloride with a sodium chloride substitute such as potassium chloride, the salty taste per sodium chloride content is further enhanced. In addition, the kind of salt substitute and the amount of substitution are as described above.
In other words, when the salt composition of the present invention is used to replace the salt contained in the conventional food and drink, even if the addition amount is reduced, the salty taste equivalent to the conventional food and drink is equivalent to the taste quality. The food / beverage products which contain the salt composition of this invention can be used very preferably as a low-salt food / beverage product.
Therefore, the reduced-salt food or drink of the present invention is simply a reduced-salt food or drink in which the sodium chloride content is simply reduced, or a reduced-salt food or drink in which part or all of sodium chloride is replaced with a sodium chloride substitute, It is a reduced salt food and drink with extremely good taste quality, and reduced sodium chloride content as compared to a reduced salt food and beverage which has a reduced sodium chloride content using a conventional salt taste enhancer It is a food and drink.
In the present invention, the low-salt food or drink is a food in which the sodium chloride content is reduced by 10 to 90% by mass, preferably 20 to 80% by mass, more preferably 30 to 70% by mass, compared to normal food or drink. is there. If the proportion of reduced sodium chloride content is less than 10% by mass, it is meaningless to say that it is a reduced salt food and drink, and if it is reduced by more than 90% by mass, the salt composition of the present invention also has the same strength. It becomes difficult to obtain the salty taste.
When the food or drink of the present invention is a low-salt food or beverage, the content of the salt composition of the present invention in the food or beverage of the present invention is 10 for the above reason compared to the content of food or beverage having a normal sodium chloride content. It is preferable that the content is reduced to ˜90 mass%, preferably 20 to 80 mass%.

  In addition, as a method of making food-drinks contain the salt composition of this invention, the method of adding the salt composition of this invention at the time of manufacture of food-drinks or food-drinks can mainly be used. Specifically, a method of adding the flavor improving agent of the present invention as a salty taste enhancer to a food or drink, together with or separately from sodium chloride at the time of production or eating, food and beverage containing the flavor improving agent of the present invention as a salty taste enhancer Products include sodium chloride added at the time of production or eating and drinking, food and drink containing sodium chloride, the method of adding the flavor improving agent of the present invention as a saltiness enhancer at the time of production or eating, and the like. That is, sodium chloride and the flavor improving agent of the present invention are preferably contained in the food or drink as a salty taste enhancer in the food or drink preferably in the above-mentioned preferable ratio and content before eating or drinking the food or drink Good.

Next, the method for masking food and drink according to the present invention will be described.
The masking method of food and drink according to the present invention is to add the flavor improving agent according to the present invention as a masking agent to food and drink, and while maintaining the basic flavor of food and drink, miscellaneous taste and too strong flavor of food and drink Masking.
The method of adding the flavor improving agent of the present invention to a food or drink as a masking agent is not particularly limited, and it may be mixed or sprayed into the food or drink or its material during processing, cooking, eating or drinking, etc. It is carried out by any means such as spraying or dissolving.
The addition amount to the food / beverage products of the flavor improving agent (masking agent) of this invention is as above-mentioned.

Next, the salty taste enhancing method for food and drink according to the present invention will be described.
The method for enhancing the salty taste of a food or drink according to the present invention is to add the flavor improver of the present invention as a salty taste enhancer to a food or drink, and enhance the salty taste while maintaining the taste of the food or drink. .
The amount of the flavor improver (salt taste enhancer) of the present invention added to a food or drink is generally as pure glycerin contained in the flavor improver (salt taste enhancer), and generally 100 parts by weight of the food or drink. Preferably, it is 0.0000001 to 0.1 parts by mass, more preferably 0.000001 to 0.05 parts by mass, and still more preferably 0.000005 to 0.01 parts by mass.

In the method for enhancing saltiness according to the present invention, since the highest quality saltiness can be obtained, it is preferable that the food and drink to be added be sodium chloride.
In that case, generally the addition amount to the food-drinks of the flavor improving agent (salt taste enhancer) of this invention is a pure content of glycerin contained in a flavor improving agent (salt taste enhancer), ie, the following food / beverage Except when the product is a low-salt food or drink, the amount is preferably 0.0001 to 1.5 parts by mass, more preferably 0.001 to 0.5 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of sodium chloride contained in the food or drink. More preferably, it is 0.003 to 0.3 parts by mass.
When the amount of the flavor improver (salt taste enhancer) added to the food or drink is less than 0.0001 parts by mass or more than 1.5 parts by mass as a pure component of glycerin, the salty taste enhancing effect is hardly recognized. When it exceeds 0.15 mass part, there exists a possibility of having a bad influence on the taste quality of food-drinks.

  In addition, as a method for adding a flavor improver (salt taste enhancer) to a food or drink containing sodium chloride, a method of adding a flavor improver (salt taste enhancer) as a raw material during the production of food or drink, In addition, it is possible to use either a method of adding or mixing to a food or drink containing sodium chloride.

In addition, in the salty taste enhancement method of the food / beverage products of this invention, saltiness can be strengthened, without changing the taste quality of food / beverage products, by adding a very small amount of the flavor improving agent (salt taste enhancer) of this invention. Even if the sodium chloride content contained in the conventional food and drink is reduced, the food and drink having the same salty taste and the same taste as the conventional food and drink can be obtained.
That is, in the method for enhancing salty taste of the present invention, the food and drink to which the flavor improving agent (saltiness enhancer) of the present invention is added is preferably a reduced salt food and drink. In this case, the obtained food or drink is also a reduced salt food or drink.
Specifically, when the flavor improver (salt enhancer) of the present invention is added during the production of food and drink, by reducing the sodium chloride content by using the flavor improver (salt enhancer) of the present invention, A low-salt food or beverage having a low taste and poor taste can be a food or beverage having a salty taste and taste quality equivalent in strength to a food or beverage having a normal sodium chloride content.
In addition, when the flavor improving agent (saltiness enhancer) of the present invention is added to food and drink, it is reduced in salt by using for a low salt food and drink with low taste and poor taste because the content of sodium chloride is small. Although food / beverage products have little sodium chloride content, they can be made into food / beverage products which have the same salty taste and taste quality as food / beverage products having a normal sodium chloride content.

  Furthermore, in the salty taste enhancing method for foods and beverages of the present invention, a part of sodium chloride contained in the foods and beverages to which the flavor improving agent (salt flavor enhancing agent) of the present invention is added is replaced with a salt substitute such as potassium chloride. Therefore, it is also possible to reduce the sodium chloride content of food and drink. In addition, the kind of salt substitute and the amount of substitution are as described above.

In the method for enhancing the salty taste of a food or drink according to the present invention, when the food or drink to which the flavor improving agent (salt flavor enhancing agent) of the present invention is added is a reduced salt food or drink, the amount of the flavor improving agent (salt flavor enhancing agent) of the present invention is added. Is preferably 0.0001 to 3.75 parts by mass, more preferably 0.001 based on 100 parts by mass of sodium chloride contained in food and drink as a pure portion of glycerin contained in the flavor improving agent (saltiness enhancer). To 1.25 parts by mass, more preferably 0.003 to 0.75 parts by mass.
If the amount of flavor improver (salt enhancer) added to sodium chloride is less than 0.0001 parts by mass or more than 3.75 parts by mass as a pure component of glycerin, it is difficult to recognize the effect of enhancing salty taste. If it exceeds 3.75 parts by mass, the taste and quality of the food and drink may be adversely affected.

In addition, the flavor improving agent of this invention can be used also for masking of a pharmaceutical.
The above-mentioned medicine is not particularly limited as long as it is an oral medicine, and examples thereof include cold medicine, gastrointestinal medicine, headache medicine, toothpaste and the like.
The addition amount and addition method of the masking agent of the present invention for pharmaceuticals are the same as the addition amount and addition method for the aforementioned food and drink.

[Experimental Example 1]
Glycerin is prepared, and 0.0001 part by mass, 0.001 part by mass, 0.01 part by mass, 0.1 part by mass, 0.5 part by mass, and 1.5 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of sodium chloride, respectively. A salt composition was prepared by adding and mixing 10 parts by mass, and the following salty strength and taste were evaluated.

<Salt taste strength, taste quality evaluation method>
Nine panelists were allowed to lick the salt composition obtained in Experimental Example 1 above and sodium chloride consisting of 100% sodium chloride prepared as a control, and the saltiness intensity and taste quality were classified into four levels according to the following paneler evaluation criteria. The evaluation was conducted, and the total score was evaluated in five steps in the following <Evaluation criteria>, and the results are shown in Table 1 and Table 2, respectively.

<Paneler salty strength evaluation criteria>
I feel a clearly enhanced saltiness compared to the control .... I feel a slightly enhanced saltiness compared to the 2-point control .... I feel almost the same saltiness as the 1-point control .... 0 points. I feel a weaker salty taste than the control ... 1 point
I don't feel any flavor other than sodium chloride ... I feel a flavor other than 2 points sodium chloride, but I don't feel uncomfortable as a salty taste ... I feel a flavor other than 1 point sodium chloride and feel uncomfortable as a salty taste There is a sense of taste that is unbearable 0 points ... 1 point <Evaluation criteria>
:: The total score of nine panelists is 15 to 18 points :: The total score of nine panelists is 9 to 14 △: The total score of nine panelists is 5 to 8 points x: total of nine panelists Points 0 to 4 points XX: Total score of 9 panelists is less than 0 points

From the above results, when glycerin is added in an amount of 100 parts by mass of sodium chloride of 0.0001 to 1.5 parts by mass, a salty taste enhancing effect is observed. It can be seen that the saltiness is almost the same level as sodium chloride. Moreover, in addition to being able to sense flavor (sweetness) other than saltiness as it is 10 mass parts or more, the discomfort as saltiness comes to be revealed, and it turns out that a different taste is felt.
That is, glycerin can be used very suitably as a salty taste enhancer.

<Flavor evaluation test>
Example 1
Glycerol is prepared, and the following evaluation test 1 (bitter taste), evaluation test 2 (astringency), evaluation test 3 (convergence taste), evaluation test 4 (pungency), evaluation test 5 (sour taste), evaluation test 6 (salt taste) ).

[Evaluation Test 1 (Bitterness)]
Two cups of a 0.02 mass% aqueous solution of quinine hydrochloride were prepared, and 0.001 part by mass of glycerin was added to and dissolved in 100 parts by mass of the quinine aqueous solution, and the other was not added. Here, when comparing the bitterness of both, the quinine hydrochloride aqueous solution to which glycerin was added had reduced only the bitterness compared to the additive-free quinine hydrochloride aqueous solution, making it very easy to drink.

[Evaluation test 2 (astringent)]
Two cups of 0.1% by weight aqueous solution of tea polyphenol were prepared, and 0.001 part by mass of glycerin was added and dissolved in 100 parts by mass of tea polyphenol aqueous solution, and the other was not added. Here, when comparing the astringency of both, the tea polyphenol aqueous solution to which glycerin was added had a reduced astringency compared to the additive-free tea polyphenol aqueous solution, making it very easy to drink.

[Evaluation Test 3 (Astringency)]
Two cups of a 0.1% by weight aqueous solution of magnesium chloride were prepared, and 0.001 part by weight of glycerin was added and dissolved in 100 parts by weight of the aqueous magnesium chloride solution, and the other was not added. Here, when comparing the astringency of both, the magnesium chloride aqueous solution to which glycerin was added had a reduced astringency only compared to the additive-free magnesium chloride aqueous solution, making it very easy to drink.

[Evaluation test 4 (spicy)]
Two cups of 2% by weight aqueous solution of “Goshimoto Wasabi” (manufactured by Suga Foods) were prepared, 0.001 part by mass of glycerin was added and dissolved in 100 parts by mass of the wasabi aqueous solution, and the other was not added. Here, when comparing the pungent taste of the two, the wasabi aqueous solution to which glycerin was added had a reduced pungent taste compared to the non-added wasabi aqueous solution, making it very easy to drink.

[Evaluation test 5 (acidity)]
Two cups of a 0.7% by weight citric acid aqueous solution were prepared, and 0.001 part by weight of glycerin was added and dissolved in 100 parts by weight of the citric acid aqueous solution, and the other was not added. Here, when comparing the acidity of the two, the citric acid aqueous solution to which glycerin was added had only a reduced acidity as compared to the non-added citric acid aqueous solution, which made it very easy to drink.

[Evaluation test 6 (salty)]
Two cups of 2% by weight saline were prepared, and 0.001 part by mass of glycerin was added and dissolved in 100 parts by mass of the saline, and the other was not added. When the saltiness of both was compared here, the salt solution which added glycerin was strengthened in saltiness compared with the salt solution without addition.

  As understood from the above evaluation tests 1 to 6, it was found that although glycerin enhances only salty taste, it has a specific effect of masking other flavors (bitter, astringent, astringent, pungent, sour).

<Manufacturing and evaluation of flavor improvers and foods>
[Examples 2 to 8]
Glycerin and water were dissolved and mixed in the formulation described in [Table 3] to prepare flavor improvers A to C of the present invention. (Examples 2 to 4)
Further, using the obtained flavor improver, hamburger (Example 5), cream cheese sauce (Example 6), soy milk (Example 7), and noodle soup (Example 8) are produced according to the following formulation and production method. did.

[Example 5]
60 parts by mass of ground beef from Australia, 25 parts by mass of chopped roasted onion, 6 parts by mass of whole eggs (net), 6 parts by mass of milk, 2.34 parts by mass of bread crumbs, 0.6 parts by mass of sodium chloride consisting of sodium chloride, 0 parts of pepper Add .06 parts by mass and 0.005 parts by mass of flavor improving agent A to a mixer bowl, mix at low speed for 1 minute using a tabletop mixer, divide the obtained mixture into 160 g and round it into an oval, Hamburg which is a food / beverage product of the present invention, which is a food / beverage product of the present invention, which is baked for 10 minutes in a fixed oven (set temperature: 190 ° C.) and contains 0.00015 parts by mass of glycerin as a pure component with respect to 100 parts by mass of the food / beverage product Got.
On the other hand, a comparative hamburger was obtained by the same composition and production method except that the flavor improving agent A was not added. When both hamburgers were comparatively tasted, the hamburger of the present invention had a texture and The meat odor and pasture odor were reduced without changing the basic flavor balance, making it extremely easy to eat.

[Example 6]
To 75 parts by mass of New Zealand cream cheese (New Zealand cream cheese: manufactured by Anchor), 25 parts by mass of milk was added little by little and mixed until smooth. Next, 0.003 parts by mass of the flavor improving agent B is added, and the mixture is further mixed until homogeneous, and 0.0012 parts by mass of glycerin as a pure component is contained with respect to 100 parts by mass of food and drink. The cream cheese sauce which is the food-drinks of this invention which became is obtained.
On the other hand, a comparative cream cheese sauce was obtained by the same composition and production method except that the flavor improver B was not added.
When the two cream cheese sauces were compared and tasted, compared to the cream cheese sauces for comparison, the cream cheese sauces of the present invention are extremely easy to eat because the grass odor is reduced without changing the texture and the basic flavor balance. there were.

[Example 7]
Add 0.001 parts by mass of the flavor improving agent C to 100 parts by mass of soya milk (delicious unadjusted soya milk: made by Kikkoman Beverage), mix until homogeneous, and add 0. Soymilk, which is a food and drink of the present invention, containing 00001 parts by mass was obtained.
On the other hand, a comparative soymilk without the flavor improver C was prepared.
When both soymilks were comparatively tasted, the soymilk of the present invention had a reduced bean odor without changing the texture and the basic flavor balance as compared with the comparative soymilk, and was very easy to drink.

Example 8
28.8 parts by mass of mirin was put in a pan and lightly boiled under heat, then 100 parts by mass of water and 28.8 parts by mass of soy sauce were added, mixed well and boiled. 5 parts by mass of bonito cuttings were added and the mixture was boiled again to stop the heat, and filtered with a strainer to obtain usually noodle soup. (Sodium chloride content = 2.6% by mass)
On the other hand, low-salt noodle soup A was obtained by the same production method except that the soy sauce was changed to low-salt soy sauce. (Sodium chloride content = 1.3% by mass)
Here, 0.1 part by mass of the flavor improving agent A is added to 100 parts by mass of the low-salt noodle soup A, sufficiently dissolved and mixed, and 0.003 parts by mass of glycerin as a pure part is contained with respect to 100 parts by mass of food and drink. The reduced salt noodle soup B which is the food and drink of the present invention was obtained.
Here, when the above-mentioned low-salt noodle soup A of the present invention and the above-mentioned normal noodle soup were subjected to comparative tasting, the low-salt noodle soup A of the present invention had no change in flavor balance including normal noodle soup for comparison and salty intensity. .

<Manufacture and evaluation of salt composition and food and drink>
Furthermore, according to the following mixing | blending and manufacturing method using the obtained flavor improving agent, the salt composition and the potage soup were manufactured. (Examples 9 and 10)
[Example 9]
The salt composition A of the present invention containing 3.5 parts by mass of flavor improver A with respect to 100 parts by mass of sodium chloride and sufficiently mixing, and containing 0.105 parts by mass of glycerin as a pure component with respect to 100 parts by mass of sodium chloride. It was.
Furthermore, by using the salt composition A of the present invention, the sodium chloride content is 0.9% according to a conventional method with the following composition, and glycerol is 0.0007 mass as a pure component with respect to 100 parts by mass of food and drink. A potage soup 1 containing 0.076 parts by mass as a pure component with respect to 100 parts by mass of sodium chloride contained in food and drink was produced.
On the other hand, a potage soup 2 having a sodium chloride content of 0.93% by mass, which is manufactured by the same method as that of the potage soup 1 except that a sodium chloride consisting of 100% sodium chloride without using any of the above glycerol is used Prepared as.
Here, when the two types of potage soup were compared and tasted, the potage soup 1 which is the food / drink product of the present invention is clearly more salty than the potage soup 2 which does not use glycerin, but no off-flavor is felt at all. It was salty with no change in quality.
<Potage soup mix>
Sweet corn (sodium chloride content 0.5%) 30 parts by weight, milk 5 parts by weight, skim milk powder (sodium chloride content 1.5%) 5 parts by weight, unsalted butter 1 part by weight, salt composition A 0.7 parts by weight , 1 part by weight of flour, 1 part by weight of gelatinized starch, 0.1 part by weight of white pepper, 56.2 parts by weight of water

[Example 10]
The present invention contains 0.1 part by mass of glycerin as a pure component with respect to 100 parts by mass of sodium chloride by adding and mixing thoroughly 3.5 parts by mass of flavor improving agent A with 55 parts by mass of sodium chloride and 45 parts by mass of potassium chloride It is referred to as salt composition B of the invention.
Furthermore, except that the salt composition B of the present invention was used, the sodium chloride content was 0.60% by mass and the glycerin was added to 100 parts by mass of the food / beverage product in the same composition and production method as the potage soup 1 of Example 9. Compared to 100 parts by mass of sodium chloride contained in foods and beverages as a pure component, 0.0007 parts by mass as pure component, 0.12 parts by mass as a pure component, reduced salt food and beverage with a normal sodium chloride content cut by 35% by mass A potage soup 3 was produced. Then, as in Example 9, when compared with Potage Soup 2, it was found that Potage Soup 3, which is a reduced-salt food product according to the present invention, has a saltiness of about the same strength as Potage Soup 2 having normal sodium chloride content. And, it was the same taste quality.

[Example 11]
The formulation of the potage soup 1 of Example 9 was carried out except that the addition amount of the salt composition A was changed from 0.7 parts by mass to 0.37 parts by mass, and 56.2 parts by mass of water was changed to 56.53 parts by mass. In the same composition and production method as the potage soup 1 of Example 8, the sodium chloride content is 0.59% by mass, glycerin is contained in 0.00037 parts by mass as a pure component with respect to 100 parts by mass of the foods and beverages. Potage soup 4 which is a salt-reduced food / beverage product in which the sodium chloride content is cut by 35% by mass, which is 0.063 parts by mass as a pure component, with respect to 100 parts by mass of sodium chloride contained therein was produced. Then, as in Example 9, when compared with Potage Soup 2, it was found that Potage Soup 4, which is a low-salt food or drink according to the present invention, has a saltiness of about the same strength as Potage Soup 2 having normal sodium chloride content. And, it was the same taste quality.

Claims (11)

Containing glycerin as an active ingredient, a masking agent Der Ru wind taste-improving agent of the meat odor. Containing glycerin as an active ingredient, a masking agent Der Ru wind taste-improving agent of grass smell. Containing glycerin as an active ingredient, salty taste enhancer der Ru wind taste-improving agent. It is a salt composition containing sodium chloride and glycerin, and contains 0.0001 to 1.5 parts by mass of glycerin with respect to 100 parts by mass of sodium chloride . The salt composition according to claim 4 , wherein a part of sodium chloride is substituted with potassium chloride. It is the food / beverage products using the flavor improving agent as described in any one of Claims 1-3 ,
The food and drink are meat products or processed meat products,
The food / beverage products which are 0.000001-0.1 mass parts as a pure part of the glycerol contained in a flavor improving agent with respect to 100 mass parts of the said food / beverage products. Food-drinks containing the salt composition of Claim 4 or 5 . The food / beverage product according to claim 7 , wherein the food / beverage product is a low-salt food / beverage product. A method for masking a meat odor or a pasture odor of a food or drink, wherein the flavor improving agent according to claim 1 or 2 is added to the food or drink. A method for enhancing the salty taste of a food or drink, comprising adding the flavor improving agent according to claim 3 to the food or drink. The method for enhancing the salty taste of a food or drink according to claim 10 , wherein the food or drink is a reduced salt food or drink.