JP7128045B2 - chocolate improver - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to improvers for chocolate.

In the past, most chocolates had a hard physical property called snapping, but in recent years, with the diversification of tastes, chocolates with various textures have been proposed, and are particularly popular. It is chewy (sometimes described as "bite") soft chocolate. (Hereinafter, it may be simply referred to as soft chocolate or soft chocolate.)
Soft chocolate (1) does not have a good snapping property unlike conventional chocolate, (2) has a soft bite unlike conventional chocolate, and (3) has a good melting in the mouth equal to or greater than that of conventional chocolate. It is characterized by having

It is known that soft chocolate can be obtained by increasing the water content in chocolate or replacing part of the fats and oils in chocolate with fats and oils having a lower melting point than cocoa butter to form an oil phase. there is As one method for obtaining soft chocolate, a method has been proposed in which part of the cocoa butter and/or hard butter in the oil and fat content of chocolate is replaced with liquid oil, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. It's here.
However, by blending liquid oil, there is a problem that sweating phenomenon easily occurs and the physical properties become unstable over time. In addition, there is a problem that meltability in the mouth tends to deteriorate and an oily feeling tends to occur.
In addition, it is difficult to obtain chocolate with a strong cacao flavor because it is difficult to mix a large amount of cacao butter derived from cacao because it tends to cause a deterioration in the quality of chocolate. rice field.
In order to make the cacao flavor feel strong, when a large amount of cocoa butter derived from cacao is added, for example, to 30% by mass or more in the oil content of chocolate, it is necessary to perform tempering for the purpose of obtaining good melting in the mouth. Therefore, tempering type soft chocolate has been studied in recent years.

For example, the following hard butters for soft chocolate have been disclosed as oils and fats for obtaining tempering-type soft chocolate.
In Patent Document 2, the content of tri-saturated triglycerides is 0.1 to 1% by mass, the content of oleoyl dipalmitin is 30 to 65% by mass, and the content of 1(3)-oleoyl dipalmitin (PPO) is 1% by mass/ A hard butter having a weight percent of 2-oleoyl dipalmitin (POP) of 0.4 or less is disclosed.
In Patent Document 3, a triglyceride (SUX) in which an unsaturated fatty acid (U) is bonded to the 2-position of the triglyceride and a saturated fatty acid (S) is bonded to at least one of the 1- and 3-positions (SUX) (where X is a saturated or unsaturated fatty acid ), in which the solid fat coefficient (SFI) at a temperature (t) 7.5 ° C lower than the temperature corresponding to 5% [SFI (t) is 40% or more and contains 20% or more by weight of a specific triglyceride having a melting point of 15 to 28°C.
However, even when these hard butters for soft chocolate are used, it has been difficult to obtain soft chocolate that has a desirable soft texture, melts in the mouth, and has a rich cacao flavor peculiar to chocolate.

By the way, when producing tempering chocolate, an oil and fat composition called CBI (cacao butter improver, or cocoa butter improver), which is a chocolate improver, is added to the oil phase for the purpose of controlling the physical properties and texture of chocolate. known to contain.
However, although CBI has been disclosed to improve snapping property and heat resistance, CBI has been used to improve the texture and flavor of soft chocolate, such as soft chewing, melting in the mouth, and expression of rich cacao flavor. CBI has not been disclosed.

JP-A-2008-228677 JP 2014-117257 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 03-043042

The subject of this invention exists in the following two points.
1) To obtain a chocolate having a strong cacao flavor even when used in soft chocolate 2) To obtain a chocolate having good melt-in-the-mouth and chewability even when used in soft chocolate

As a result of studies by the present inventors, it was found that symmetrical S2U triglycerides (SUS: S is a saturated fatty acid residue, U is an unsaturated fatty acid residue), i.e., oils containing a large amount of asymmetric S2U triglycerides (SSU), causes poor solidification, softening of the texture of chocolate, etc., resulting in deterioration of quality, so it should be avoided. It was common knowledge of those skilled in the art, but on the contrary, it is a chocolate improver for adjusting the flavor and texture of soft chocolate that is soft to chew. I found out.

In particular, the content of S2U, the ratio of SUS in S2U, the ratio of each measurement value of SFC (solid fat content) at 20 ° C and 30 ° C, and the mass ratio of stearic acid and palmitic acid are improved chocolates within specific ranges It was found that by adding a certain amount of ingredients, chocolate with a very good cacao flavor expression (flavor release) and good meltability in the mouth and a soft chewy texture can be obtained.
The present invention is based on this finding, and by incorporating a chocolate improver containing oils and fats satisfying the following conditions (1) to (4), chocolate in which the above problems are solved can be obtained.
(1) S2U content is 50 to 70% by mass.
(2) The ratio of SUS in S2U (SUS/S2U) is 0.25 to 0.60.
(3) The ratio of SFC (SFC-20) at 20°C to SFC (SFC-30) at 30°C (SFC-20/SFC-30) is 3 or more.
(4) The saturated fatty acid in the constituent fatty acid composition is substantially composed of stearic acid and palmitic acid, and the mass ratio (St/P) of stearic acid and palmitic acid is 0.05 to 7.0.

The following two effects are obtained by the chocolate improving material of the present invention.
First, a chocolate with a strong cocoa flavor is obtained.
Also, a chocolate with good melt-in-the-mouth and chewiness is obtained.

The details of the present invention will be described below.
The chocolate improver of the present invention is characterized by containing oils and fats satisfying the following conditions (1) to (4). Such a chocolate improver of the present invention can provide softness in chewing and good meltability in the mouth, and a strong cacao flavor.
(1) S2U content is 50 to 70% by mass.
(2) The ratio of SUS in S2U (SUS/S2U) is 0.25 to 0.60.
(3) The ratio (SFC-20/SFC-30) between the SFC measurement value (SFC-20) at 20°C and the SFC measurement value (SFC-30) at 30°C is 3 or more.
(4) The saturated fatty acid in the constituent fatty acid composition is substantially composed of stearic acid and palmitic acid, and the mass ratio (St/P) of stearic acid and palmitic acid is 0.05 to 7.0.

First, the conditions (1) to (4) to be satisfied by the oils and fats contained in the chocolate improving material of the present invention will be described.
In the present invention, S is a saturated fatty acid, U is an unsaturated fatty acid, SU is a disaturated monounsaturated triglyceride, SSU is a 1,2-saturated-3-unsaturated triglyceride, and SUS is a 1,3-saturated- 2-unsaturated triglyceride, St means the mass ratio of stearic acid in the constituent fatty acids, and P means the mass ratio of palmitic acid in the constituent fatty acids.

First, condition (1) will be described.
The fat contained in the chocolate improver of the present invention must contain 50 to 70% by mass of S2U triglycerides in the triglyceride composition.
When oils and fats having an S2U triglyceride content within the above range are used in soft chocolate described later, soft chocolate with a soft chew and good meltability in the mouth can be obtained.
If the S2U triglyceride content is outside the above range, when used in soft chocolate, the soft chocolate will have excessively soft chewing hardness or excessively hard physical properties, which is not preferable.
The S2U triglyceride content is preferably 53% by mass or more, more preferably 55% by mass or more. Moreover, it is preferably 67% by mass or less, more preferably 65% by mass or less. The triglyceride composition can be analyzed, for example, by triglyceride molecular species analysis performed by reverse phase HPLC. This reversed-phase HPLC can be performed under any conditions in accordance with the "Standard Oil Analysis Test Method 2.4.6.2" established by the Japan Oil Chemists' Society, for example, measurement under the following conditions is possible.
・Detector: Differential refractometer ・Column: docosil column (DCS)
・ Mobile phase: acetone: acetonitrile = 65: 35 (volume ratio)
・Flow rate: 1ml/min
・Column temperature: 40°C
・Back pressure: 3.8 MPa

When used in soft chocolate, from the viewpoint of obtaining a favorable chewiness, melting in the mouth, and a favorable cacao flavor, the amount of PSO (palmitoyl-stearyl-oleoyl-triglyceride), which is a so-called mixed acid triglyceride, in S2U triglycerides is 25. It is preferably at least 30% by mass, more preferably at least 30% by mass, and most preferably at least 35% by mass. Although the upper limit of the content is not particularly limited, it is 50% by mass from the viewpoint of industrial productivity. PSO is a triglyceride in which palmitic acid, stearic acid, and oleic acid are respectively bonded to the three OH groups of glycerol regardless of the bonding positions of the 1-3 positions.

In addition to the S2U triglyceride content described above, in order to suppress quality deterioration such as sweating and improve melting in the mouth, the content of SU2 triglycerides in the triglyceride composition of fats and oils contained in the chocolate improving material is preferably 20 to 35% by mass, more preferably 22 to 32% by mass. In the above triglyceride composition, the U3 triglyceride is preferably 5% by mass or less. SU2 triglycerides are monosaturated diunsaturated triglycerides and U3 triglycerides are triunsaturated triglycerides.

In the above triglyceride composition, the content of S3 triglyceride is preferably 0.3 to 5.0% by mass, and 1.0 to 5.0%, from the viewpoint of obtaining an appropriate softness in chewing and a preferable meltability in the mouth. It is more preferably 1.5 to 4.0 mass %, most preferably 2.0 to 3.5 mass %. S3 triglycerides are trisaturated triglycerides.

Next, condition (2) will be described.
In the fats and oils contained in the chocolate improving material of the present invention, it is necessary that the ratio of SUS to S2U triglycerides is 0.25 to 0.60.
When the ratio of SUS triglycerides in S2U triglycerides is within the above range, the chocolate containing the product of the present invention has a favorable meltability in the mouth.
If the ratio of SUS in the S2U triglycerides is less than 0.25, a phenomenon such as blooming that degrades the quality of chocolate occurs over time, which is not preferable. If it exceeds 0.60, the resulting chocolate will be too hard to chew and will have a mouthfeel.
In addition, the term "left in the mouth" refers to the sensation that remains in the mouth after dissolving in the mouth (melting in the mouth). is obtained.
The ratio of SUS in S2U triglycerides is preferably 0.25 to 0.55, more preferably 0.25 to 0.45, still more preferably 0.28 to 0.43, most preferably 0 0.30 to 0.40.

Next, condition (3) will be described.
In the fats and oils contained in the chocolate improving material of the present invention, the ratio of SFC (SFC-20) at 20 ° C. to SFC (SFC-30) at 30 ° C. (SFC-20/SFC-30) is 3 or more. There must be When the ratio is 3 or more, it is possible to obtain a soft chocolate that preferably melts smoothly in the mouth when used in soft chocolate.
If the SFC-20/SFC-30 value is 3 or more, it is possible to obtain a chocolate having preferable melting in the mouth, but the SFC-20/SFC-30 value is preferably 4 or more, more preferably 5 or more. is.
Although there is no upper limit to the value of SFC-20/SFC-30 from the viewpoint of melting in the mouth, it is preferably 200 or less, and 20 or less from the viewpoint of achieving both shape retention at room temperature and melting in the mouth. more preferably 10 or less, most preferably 9 or less. The above SFC is measured as follows. That is, the fat contained in the chocolate improver is held at 60°C for 30 minutes to completely melt the fat and then held at 0°C for 30 minutes to solidify. It is further held at 25°C for 30 minutes for tempering, and then held at 0°C for 30 minutes. After holding this for 30 minutes at each measurement temperature for SFC, the SFC is measured.

Next, condition (4) will be described.
In the fat and oil contained in the chocolate improving material of the present invention, the saturated fatty acid (S) in the constituent fatty acid composition is substantially composed of stearic acid and palmitic acid, and the mass ratio (St/P) of stearic acid and palmitic acid is It should be between 0.05 and 7.0. By setting the mass ratio to 0.05 to 7.0, when the product of the present invention is contained in soft chocolate, it is possible to obtain chocolate having good melting in the mouth, softness in chewing, and good flavor release. A flavored chocolate is obtained. The content of fatty acids such as stearic acid and palmitic acid in the constituent fatty acid composition is, for example, "Japan Oil Chemistry Society Standard Oil Analysis Test Method 2.4.2.3-2013" or "Japan Oil Chemistry Society Establishment It can be measured by a capillary gas chromatograph method with reference to "Standard Oil Analysis Test Method 2.4.4.3-2013".

In the present invention, "substantially composed of stearic acid and palmitic acid" means that the sum of the contents of stearic acid and palmitic acid in the saturated fatty acids of the fatty acids contained in the chocolate improving material of the present invention is It means 90% by mass or more, preferably 95% by mass or more.
In the present invention, saturated fatty acids having 14 or less carbon atoms are preferably less than 5% by mass in the saturated fatty acids in the constituent fatty acid composition.
St/P is preferably 0.1 to 3.0, more preferably 0.3 to 2.0, from the viewpoint of expressing the cacao flavor more strongly from the middle to the last in accordance with the melting in the mouth of the obtained chocolate. More preferably, it is most preferably 0.5 to 1.5.
By adjusting the St/P to the above range, a chocolate with a stronger cacao flavor than conventional chocolate can be obtained.

In addition to the above conditions (1) to (4), the oil and fat used in the chocolate improving material of the present invention preferably satisfies the following condition (5).
(5) The rising melting point is 25-35°C.
The fat used in the chocolate improving material of the present invention has a rising melting point of 25 to 35 ° C., so that when it is contained in soft chocolate, soft chocolate that has both shape retention at room temperature and melting in the mouth is obtained. It is preferable because it can be obtained.
Even if it is outside the above range, it is possible to obtain soft chocolate by including it in soft chocolate.
However, when the rising melting point of the oil used in the chocolate improving material of the present invention is less than 25°C, the resulting soft chocolate melts well in the mouth, but the shape retention at room temperature tends to deteriorate, and it is difficult to chew. Dashi may become too soft.
In addition, when the rising melting point of the fat used in the chocolate improving material of the present invention is higher than 35 ° C., sufficient shape retention at room temperature can be obtained, but melting in the mouth tends to deteriorate. Biting may become too hard.
The rising melting point can be measured in accordance with the "Japan Oil Chemists' Society standard oil analysis test method 3.2.2.2-2013", but the outline is described in (i) to (iv) below.
(i) One end of a capillary tube with an inner diameter of 1 mm, an outer diameter of 2 mm or less, and a length of 50 to 80 mm, which is open at both ends, is dipped into a completely melted sample, filled to a height of about 10 mm, and then rapidly cooled and solidified, Leave at 20-0°C for 1 hour.
(ii) The capillary tube in which the sample was prepared was brought into close contact with the lower part of a thermometer with a length of 385 to 390 mm, a mercury bulb length of 15 to 25 mm, and a 0.2°C scale using a rubber ring or an appropriate method, and the lower end of the capillary and Align the bottom edge of the thermometer.
(iii) This thermometer is immersed in a suitable size beaker (500 to 1000 ml capacity) filled with water, and the lower end of the thermometer is placed at a depth of about 30 mm below the surface of the water.
(iv) The water in the beaker is heated with stirring so that the temperature rises by 0.5 to 2° C./min.

Examples of oils and fats that can be used in the chocolate improver of the present invention include soybean oil, rapeseed oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, olive oil, peanut oil, rice oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil, and coconut oil. , monkey fat, mango fat, milk fat, beef tallow, lard, cocoa butter, fish oil, whale oil, and other vegetable and animal fats, as well as physical or chemical treatments such as hydrogenation, fractionation, and transesterification of these fats. Oils and fats that have been treated with one or more kinds are included, and a mixture of two or more oils selected from these can also be used.
In the chocolate improver of the present invention, one or more of these fats and oils are selected and contained so as to satisfy the above conditions (1) to (4).

In particular, from the viewpoint of achieving both shape retention and melting in the mouth at room temperature, and from the viewpoint of setting the ratio of SUS in S2U triglycerides to the above range, transesterified fat is added to part or all of the chocolate improving material. It is preferable to use, and it is particularly preferable to use random transesterified fats and oils.
When the 1,3-regiospecific transesterified fat is selected in the chocolate improving material of the present invention, it usually contains a large amount of SUS triglyceride, and when used for soft chocolate, soft chocolate is preferable. may not be obtained.
In the present invention, hydrogenation and fractionation may be further performed after the transesterification treatment, and in the present invention, this case is also treated as transesterified fat.

Here, the method for producing the transesterified fat that is preferably used in the chocolate improving material of the present invention will be described.
A transesterified fat that satisfies all of the above (1) to (4) can be obtained, for example, according to the following method.
First, the sum of the contents of palmitic acid and stearic acid is 95% by mass or more of the saturated fatty acid content in the constituent fatty acids, and the mass ratio of palmitic acid to stearic acid (St/P) is preferably 0.05. -8, more preferably 0.2-2.0, most preferably 0.3-1.5.
Oils and fats used to obtain such oil-and-fat formulations are not particularly limited. Kernel oil, coconut oil, monkey tallow, mango fat, milk fat, beef tallow, lard, cacao butter, fish oil, whale oil, and other vegetable and animal fats, as well as physical processes such as hydrogenation, fractionation, transesterification, etc. Alternatively, one or two or more of the oils and fats that have been subjected to one or more chemical treatments can be selected and mixed to form the above oil and fat blend.

In particular, from the viewpoint of increasing the content of stearic acid and palmitic acid in the constituent fatty acid composition, adjusting St / P to the above preferable range, and reducing the trans fatty acid content or suppressing its increase, extremely hardened oil is used. It is preferable to include it in the oil-and-fat formulation.
Examples of extremely hardened oils and fats that can be used include extremely hardened palm oil, extremely hardened soybean oil, extremely hardened rapeseed oil, high oleic sunflower oil, and high erucine rapeseed oil.
In the case of using extremely hardened fats and oils, it is preferable to use extremely hardened fats and oils having an iodine value of 3 or less, and it is preferable to use extremely hardened fats and oils having an iodine value of 1 or less from the viewpoint of not substantially containing trans fatty acid content. more preferred.

Random transesterification is then performed on the prepared fat and oil blend.
Random transesterification may be a method using a chemical catalyst or a method using an enzyme. Examples of the chemical catalyst include alkali metal catalysts such as sodium methylate. Lipases derived from the genera Alcaligenes, Rhizopus, Aspergillus, Mucor, Penicillium and the like can be mentioned. The lipase can be used as an immobilized lipase by immobilizing it on a carrier such as an ion-exchange resin, diatomaceous earth, or ceramics, or it can be used in the form of powder.
In addition, SFC-20 / SFC-30 of the oil and fat blend subjected to random transesterification is preferably 0.5 to 2.5 from the viewpoint of efficient separation during the separation described below, and 0.7 ~2.4 is more preferred, and 1.0 to 2.3 is most preferred.

The oil-and-fat blend that has undergone random transesterification as described above is separated by solvent fractionation or crystallization, which will be described in detail below, and the obtained low-melting point or middle-melting point is added to the chocolate improver of the present invention, It is preferably contained as a transesterified fat that satisfies the above conditions (1) to (4). In order to obtain a transesterified fat that satisfies the above conditions (1) to (4), the fractionation operation may be performed multiple times. In this case, the solvent fractionation may be carried out in two or three or more stages under different conditions, the crystallization may be carried out in two or three or more stages under different conditions, or the solvent fractionation and crystallization may be combined. good.
The method of fractionation can be selected arbitrarily, but when the St/P of the fat to be fractionated is less than 0.4, it is preferable to use solvent fractionation, otherwise it is preferable to fractionate by crystallization.

Here, the case of performing solvent fractionation will be described below.
When solvent fractionation is performed, the solvent to be used is not particularly limited as long as it dissolves the transesterified oil to be fractionated, but acetone or hexane can be selected because the obtained fractionated oil is used for food. preferable.
The amount of the solvent used is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of industrial productivity, it is preferable to add 50 parts by mass or more of the solvent to 100 parts by mass of the transesterified oil to be subjected to fractionation, and 100 to 1000 parts by mass. More preferably, 200 to 500 parts by mass is most preferably added.

When dissolving fats and oils in a solvent, the high-melting-point fraction to be removed by fractionation needs to be sufficiently dissolved once. The temperature at which the oil dissolved in the solvent is cooled and held (cooling temperature) varies depending on the type of organic solvent, but when acetone is used, it is preferably 0 to 30 ° C. -10°C to 20°C is preferable.
The time for holding at the cooling temperature (cooling time) is preferably 0.1 to 100 hours, more preferably 0.5 to 50 hours, from the viewpoint of sufficiently precipitating the high melting point fraction. more preferred.
Furthermore, the cooling rate is preferably 20° C./hour or less from the viewpoint of efficiently precipitating the high melting point fraction while preventing the inclusion of the low melting point fraction and the middle melting point fraction, and from the viewpoint of industrial productivity. It is preferably 0.1 to 15°C/hour.

The cooling operation can be performed by jacket cooling, a heat exchanger, or the like. The cooling operation may be performed by standing still or while stirring, but it is preferable to perform the cooling under stirring from the viewpoint of maintaining good dispersion of the precipitated crystals and uniformly cooling the entire system. Whether or not the seed agent is added is appropriately selected, and when it is added, it can be added at any timing. As for fractionation, only crystals of the high-melting point fraction generated by cooling are separated by filtration, and then the solvent is removed by heating or the like to obtain the low-melting point part and the middle-melting point part.

Next, the case of fractionation by crystallization will be described.
Crystallization refers to cooling and crystallization of a melted fat and oil to precipitate a crystalline portion, which is then separated into a crystalline portion and a liquid portion.
The method of cooling and crystallization is not particularly limited, and examples include (1) a method of cooling and crystallization while stirring, (2) a method of cooling and crystallization while standing still, and (3) cooling while stirring. (4) A method of cooling and crystallization under still standing and then fluidizing by mechanical stirring. In order to obtain a crystallized slurry that can be easily separated, it is preferable to adopt any one of the methods (1), (3) and (4), and more preferably the method (1) is selected.

The crystallization temperature is preferably such that the ratio of the crystal part in the crystallization slurry, that is, the SFC (solid fat content) of the transesterified fat at the crystallization temperature falls within the following range.
In the crystallization in the present invention, the ratio of the crystal part in the crystallization slurry obtained by the above cooling crystallization, that is, the SFC (solid fat content) at the crystallization temperature is preferably 10 to 70%, It is preferably 30-60%, most preferably 35-55%.
By setting the solid fat content (SFC) within the above range, it is possible to further improve the efficiency of selectively separating the oil and fat components useful as the chocolate improver of the present invention.
The cooling temperature and time are not particularly limited as long as the SFC of the transesterified oil is within the above range. , preferably by cooling to 30 to 50°C and maintaining at that temperature for 30 minutes to 80 hours, preferably 1 to 70 hours, so that the SFC in the above range can be preferably satisfied.

In addition, in the crystallization of the present invention, when the completely dissolved transesterified oil and fat is cooled to an SFC within the above range, it may be cooled rapidly or slowly, or a combination of these may be used. The SFC may be adjusted within the range, but in order to facilitate the separation of the crystal part and the liquid part of the obtained crystallization slurry and to improve the yield of the obtained liquid part, the crystals of the transesterified oil precipitate. Slow cooling is preferable in the temperature range below.
In the present invention, when the transesterified fat is rapidly cooled, the cooling rate is preferably 5° C./hour or more, more preferably 5 to 20° C./hour. The rate is preferably 0.3-3.5° C./hour, more preferably 0.5-3.0° C./hour.

Here, in the temperature zone below which the crystals of the transesterified fat crystals precipitate, in the process of cooling to the temperature at which a suitable SFC in the above range is obtained, the aging process of the crystals precipitated by cooling is performed once or twice or more. It is preferable from the viewpoint of improving the yield and obtaining a soft chocolate that melts in the mouth.
The aging step of the crystals in the present invention refers to the operation of making the crystals more uniform and at the same time further crystallization to make the crystalline part and the liquid part into a crystalline state that can be easily separated by filtration, and as a result, improving the yield. .

Specifically, it may be held at an arbitrary temperature of 25 to 60° C., preferably 30 to 50° C., for 30 minutes to 80 hours in a constant temperature state. Although the upper limit of the number of aging steps is not particularly limited, it is usually 5 times, preferably 4 times.
The crystallization conditions are appropriately adjusted according to the composition of the transesterified oil to be crystallized. Preferred crystallization conditions are, for example, after rapid cooling from a completely dissolved state to 44 to 50° C. in 1 to 2 hours. , 25 to 43°C, and more preferably 32 to 43°C, the crystallization is preferably carried out once or twice or more at an arbitrary temperature until the crystallization slurry is obtained. It should be noted that the temperature transition between each aging step is preferably carried out by slow cooling.

As a method for separating the crystalline part and the liquid part, natural filtration, suction filtration, pressure filtration, centrifugation, or a combination thereof can be used. It is preferable to select a press filtration using a press, belt press, or the like. When the transesterified fat is crystallized, the solid fat content at the crystallization temperature is high, and if the crystallized slurry is highly viscous or looks like lumps, it will be slurried by pressure during press filtration, so press filtration is particularly important. is suitable.

A preferred pressure for fractionation by press filtration is 0.2 MPa or higher, more preferably 0.5 to 5 MPa. The pressure during compression is preferably gradually increased from the initial stage of compression to the final stage of compression, and the pressure increase rate is 1 MPa/min or less, preferably 0.5 MPa/min or less, and more preferably 0.1 MPa/min or less. is. If the pressurization speed is higher than 1 MPa/min, the yield of the low-melting point portion or middle-melting point portion of the obtained transesterified fat may decrease.

By performing solvent fractionation or crystallization as described above, a random transesterified oil that can be preferably used in the chocolate improver of the present invention is obtained.
The fat contained in the chocolate improving material of the present invention preferably contains 70% by mass or more of the low melting point portion or the middle melting point portion of the transesterified fat obtained as described above, and 80% by mass or more. It is more preferably contained, more preferably 85% by mass or more, and most preferably 90% by mass or more. In addition, an upper limit is 100 mass %. In the present invention, the above fats and oils can be used as they are as the chocolate improving agent of the present invention.

In addition, when the chocolate improving material of the present invention contains the low melting point part or the middle melting point part of the above transesterified fat, by mixing and containing other fats and oils in the chocolate improving material, the chocolate improving material of the present invention can be obtained. It is also possible to adjust the hardness of the soft chocolate obtained by using the chocolate improver.

As other oils and fats, it is preferable to include palm fractionated middle melting point (palm mid fraction) and shea fractionated high melting point (shea stearin) in the chocolate improving material of the present invention. It is preferable because the chewability can be adjusted without impairing the meltability in the mouth and the remaining aftertaste in the mouth of the obtained soft chocolate.

When the chocolate improver of the present invention contains the low melting point portion or middle melting point portion of the transesterified fat, the content of these other fats and oils is preferably 0 to 30% by mass.

From the viewpoint of sufficiently obtaining the effect of the present invention, the amount of oil and fat in the chocolate improving material is preferably 80% by mass or more, more preferably 85% by mass or more, and 90% by mass or more. is most preferred. In addition, the upper limit of the amount of fats and oils in the chocolate improver is 100% by mass.

The chocolate improving material of the present invention can be used in addition to the above-mentioned oils and fats, as long as it does not impair the function as the chocolate improving material of the present invention, or the flavor and texture of the chocolate containing the chocolate improving material of the present invention. It is possible to contain subcomponents of
Examples of subcomponents that the chocolate improving material of the present invention can contain include emulsifiers, antioxidants, coloring agents, flavoring agents, and the like.
Emulsifiers include glycerin fatty acid ester, sucrose fatty acid ester, sorbitan fatty acid ester, propylene glycol fatty acid ester, glycerin organic acid fatty acid ester, polyglycerin fatty acid ester, polyglycerin condensed ricinoleic acid ester, calcium stearoyl lactylate, sodium stearoyl lactylate, polyoxyethylene. fatty acid esters, polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid esters, and lecithin.
In the present invention, it is preferable to use one or more of glycerin fatty acid ester, sorbitan fatty acid ester, sucrose fatty acid ester, and lecithin. When the above emulsifier is used, the amount added is preferably in the range of 0.01 to 5 parts by mass, more preferably 0.03 to 3 parts by mass, per 100 parts by mass of the chocolate improver.

The antioxidant is not limited as long as it does not impair the flavor, but it is preferable to use tocopherol or tea extract.

The chocolate improving material of the present invention described so far is used for chocolate, which is the original application, as well as creams that use chocolate and have an oil phase as a continuous phase, such as butter cream and sugar cream. It can be widely used as a raw material for margarine, shortening, ice cream, whipped cream, etc. Among them, it is particularly preferable to use it for tempering chocolate, especially tempering soft chocolate, which will be described later.

Next, the chocolate of the present invention will be described.
The chocolate of the present invention contains the above-described chocolate improving agent as one of the chocolate raw materials.
The chocolate of the present invention includes not only chocolate and quasi-chocolate specified by the National Chocolate Industry Fair Trade Council, but also raw chocolate, white chocolate, color chocolate, and other oil-processed foods using cacao mass, cocoa butter, cocoa, etc. Raw materials selected from cacao mass, cocoa powder, various powdered foods such as milk powder, oils and fats, sugars, emulsifiers, flavors, pigments, etc. are mixed in an arbitrary ratio, and rolled and conched by a conventional method It means what you get.

In the present invention, the chocolate improver can be used without any problem in both tempering chocolate and non-tempering chocolate. However, it is preferable to use the product of the present invention in tempering chocolate from the viewpoint of obtaining chocolate with a strong cacao flavor by containing a large amount of cacao butter, and from the viewpoint that the effect of improving the texture of the present invention can be obtained more remarkably.
Tempering is a cooling operation performed while satisfying certain temperature conditions during the production of chocolate, and is an operation for arranging the arrangement of triglyceride molecules and producing fat crystals having an appropriate crystal form. By performing a tempering operation, it is easy to make chocolate with good melting in the mouth. Tempering type chocolate means chocolate that has undergone this tempering operation during the chocolate manufacturing process.

Moreover, it is preferable that the chocolate of this invention is a soft chocolate among the said chocolate. Soft chocolate refers to chocolate that does not have the good snapping property that general chocolate has and is soft when chewed. Although there is no clear definition of soft chocolate, in the present invention, as the soft chocolate, the SFC of the oil content in the chocolate is 40 to 70% at 20 ° C., 10 to 60% at 25 ° C., and 0 to 30% at 30 ° C. Some chocolates are soft chocolates, more preferably 45-55% at 20°C, 15-40% at 25°C and 0-11% at 30°C.
Therefore, the product of the present invention is most preferably used in tempering soft chocolate.

The content of the chocolate improver in the chocolate of the present invention is preferably 60% by mass or less, more preferably 10 to 40% by mass, and still more preferably 10 to 30% by mass, in the fat and oil contained in the chocolate. %. The lower limit of the content of the chocolate improver in the chocolate of the present invention is preferably 5% by mass of the oil content of the chocolate improver in the fats and oils contained in the chocolate.

When the content of the chocolate improver is 60% by mass or less, the cacao flavor of the chocolate tends to be sufficient, and when used in soft chocolate, it is easy to prevent the chewing from becoming excessively soft, which is preferable for soft chocolate. Flavor and texture are easy to make. When the amount is 10% by mass or more, the effect of the product of the present invention is easily obtained, and when it is used in soft chocolate, it is difficult to chew it hard and it is easy to obtain good meltability in the mouth.

The content of cacao butter in the oil phase of the chocolate of the present invention is preferably 30% by mass or more, more preferably 40 to 90% by mass, and still more preferably 70 to 90% by mass of the fat contained in the chocolate. be.

In the present invention, it is possible to replace part of the cacao butter in the oil phase of the chocolate with any tempering type hard butter. The replacement ratio can be any ratio, but in order to obtain a good chocolate flavor, the mass ratio of cacao butter and tempering type hard butter in the oil phase should be 1:0.01 to 2. is preferred, and 1:0.05 to 1 is more preferred. When part of the cacao butter in the oil phase of chocolate is replaced with tempered hard butter, the total amount of cacao butter and tempered hard butter is within the preferred content range of cacao butter in the oil phase of chocolate. preferably within
In addition, when the chocolate of the present invention contains milk fat derived from dairy products, the amount in the oil phase is 20% by mass or less, preferably 15% by mass or less to achieve both shape retention and melting in the mouth at room temperature. It is preferable from the viewpoint of planning.

The present invention will be described in further detail below based on examples. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the examples.
<Study 1>

(Production example 1)
In accordance with the composition of Table 1, fats and oils liquefied by heating were mixed in a four-necked flask to obtain a fat composition. The St/P of this oil/fat blend was 1.0.
After that, the liquid temperature was adjusted to 90° C., 0.2% by mass of sodium methoxide was added to 100 parts by mass of the fat and oil mixture, and the mixture was heated under vacuum for 1 hour to conduct a random transesterification reaction. After that, citric acid is added to neutralize sodium methoxide, further white clay is added to bleach, and fats and oils E1 (sometimes simply referred to as E1), which is a transesterified fat and oil blend, are described later. The same applies to E2 to E7.) was obtained. The resulting SFC-20/SFC-30 of E1 was 1.2.

(Production example 2)
In the same manner as in Production Example 1, an oil-and-fat formulation was prepared according to the formulation shown in Table 1. The St/P of this oil/fat blend was 6.6. After that, a random transesterification reaction was carried out in the same manner as in Production Example 1 to obtain E2. The SFC-20/SFC-30 of the obtained E2 was 1.1.

(Production example 3)
In the same manner as in Production Example 1, an oil-and-fat formulation was prepared according to the formulation shown in Table 1. The St/P of this oil/fat blend was 0.1. After that, a random transesterification reaction was carried out in the same manner as in Production Example 1 to obtain E3. The SFC-20/SFC-30 of the obtained E3 was 1.3.

(Production example 4)
In the same manner as in Production Example 1, an oil-and-fat formulation was prepared according to the formulation shown in Table 1. The St/P of this oil/fat blend was 0.6. After that, a random transesterification reaction was carried out in the same manner as in Production Example 1 to obtain E4. The SFC-20/SFC-30 of the obtained E4 was 1.2.

(Production example 5)
In the same manner as in Production Example 1, an oil-and-fat formulation was prepared according to the formulation shown in Table 1. The St/P of this oil/fat blend was 0.6. After that, a random transesterification reaction was carried out in the same manner as in Production Example 1 to obtain E5. The SFC-20/SFC-30 of the obtained E5 was 1.1.

(Production example 6)
In the same manner as in Production Example 1, an oil-and-fat formulation was prepared according to the formulation shown in Table 1. The St/P of this oil/fat blend was 1.25. After that, a random transesterification reaction was carried out in the same manner as in Production Example 1 to obtain E6. The SFC-20/SFC-30 of the obtained E6 was 1.2.

(Production Example 7)
In the same manner as in Production Example 1, an oil-and-fat formulation was prepared according to the formulation shown in Table 1. The St/P of this oil/fat blend was 0.49. After that, a random transesterification reaction was carried out in the same manner as in Production Example 1 to obtain E7. The SFC-20/SFC-30 of the obtained E7 was 1.4.

Next, the oils and fats E1 to E7 obtained in Production Examples 1 to 7 were subjected to fractionation treatment as described in the following Examples 1 to 5 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 to obtain chocolate improvers EF1 to EF7. .

(Example 1)
In Example 1, crystallization was performed in one step. The fat E1 obtained in Production Example 1 was heated and completely melted (60° C.), and then charged into a jacketed glass crystallizer. The charged fat E1 was rapidly cooled at 7.0 ° C / hour until the fat temperature reached 46 ° C, and after the fat temperature reached 46 ° C, it was aged for 3 hours at that temperature, and the fat temperature was further reduced to 35 ° C. After the temperature of the fat and oil reached 35°C, a crystallization slurry was obtained through an aging process for 10 hours at this temperature. The process from charging the fat E1 into the crystallization tank to finishing the aging process for 10 hours was performed while stirring the fat E1 at 50 rpm. The resulting crystallized slurry is subjected to filtration, fractionation, and compression, and the obtained low-melting-point portion is purified by a conventional method to obtain a chocolate improver EF1 (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as EF1. EF2 to EF7 is also the same).

(Example 2)
In Example 2, crystallization was performed in two stages. The fat E2 obtained in Production Example 2 was heated and completely melted (70° C.), and then charged into a jacketed glass crystallizer. The added fat E2 was rapidly cooled at 12.0 ° C./hour until the fat temperature reached 46 ° C. After the fat temperature reached 46 ° C., it was aged for 2.5 hours at that temperature, and the fat temperature was further reduced to 42.0 ° C. After the fat temperature reached 42°C, the oil and fat temperature reached 42°C, and then an aging process was carried out at that temperature for 3 hours to obtain a crystallization slurry. The process from charging the fat E2 into the crystallization tank to finishing the aging process for 3 hours was performed while stirring the fat E2 at 50 rpm.
This crystallization slurry was once filtered and fractionated to remove the high melting point portion, and the obtained low melting point portion was subjected to the second stage of crystallization. The low-melting-point part obtained in the first stage of crystallization is completely dissolved (60℃), and then put into the jacketed glass crystallization tank again, and the oil temperature reaches 35℃ at a rate of 12.5℃/hour. After quenching and fat temperature reaching 35° C., a crystallization slurry was obtained through an aging process at this temperature for 29 hours. The process from the introduction of the low melting point portion into the crystallization tank to the completion of the aging step for 29 hours was performed while stirring the low melting point portion at 50 rpm. This crystallized slurry was subjected to filtration, fractionation and compression, and the obtained low-melting-point portion was purified by a conventional method to obtain a chocolate improver EF2.

(Example 3)
In Example 3, fractionation was performed by solvent fractionation. A solution obtained by adding 400 parts by mass of acetone to 100 parts by mass of the oil E3 obtained in Production Example 3 was adjusted to 45 ° C. and rapidly cooled at 12.5 ° C./hour until the liquid temperature reached 20 ° C. After the temperature reaches 20 ° C, the resulting crystal part is filtered off, the solvent is removed, and the obtained low melting point is refined by a conventional method through a maturation process at that temperature for 2 hours. Chocolate The improved material was EF3. The solvent fractionation was carried out in a jacketed glass crystallization tank, and when the liquid temperature reached 40° C., 4.2 parts by weight of the seed agent was added to 100 parts by weight of the solvent-fat solution.

(Example 4)
In Example 4, crystallization was performed in one step. The fat E4 obtained in Production Example 4 was heated and completely melted (60° C.), and then charged into a jacketed glass crystallizer. The added fat E4 was rapidly cooled at 7.0 ° C / hour until the fat temperature reached 46 ° C, and after the fat temperature reached 46 ° C, it was aged for 5 hours at that temperature, and the fat temperature was further reduced to 35.0. After the fat temperature reached 35°C, the oil was aged at 35°C for 11 hours to obtain a crystallization slurry. The process from charging the fat E4 into the crystallization tank to finishing the aging process for 11 hours was performed while stirring the fat E4 at 50 rpm. This crystallized slurry was subjected to filtration fractionation and compression, and the obtained low-melting-point portion was purified by a conventional method to obtain a chocolate improver EF4.

(Example 5)
In Example 5, crystallization was performed in one step. The fat E4 obtained in Production Example 4 was heated and completely melted (60° C.), and then charged into a jacketed glass crystallizer. The added fat E4 was rapidly cooled at 8.0 ° C / hour until the fat temperature reached 44 ° C. After the fat temperature reached 44 ° C, it was aged for 5 hours at that temperature, and the fat temperature was further reduced to 33 ° C. After the temperature of the fat and oil reached 33°C, the mixture was aged at that temperature for 18 hours to obtain a crystallization slurry. The process from charging the fat E4 into the crystallization tank to finishing the aging process for 18 hours was performed while stirring the fat E4 at 50 rpm. This crystallized slurry was subjected to filtration fractionation and compression, and the obtained low-melting-point portion was purified by a conventional method to obtain a chocolate improver EF4-2.

(Example 6)
In Example 6, crystallization was performed in one step. The fat E4 obtained in Production Example 4 was heated and completely melted (60° C.), and then charged into a jacketed glass crystallizer. The added fat E4 was rapidly cooled at 8.0 ° C./hour until the fat temperature reached 44 ° C. After the fat temperature reached 44 ° C., it was aged for 5 hours at that temperature. After the fat temperature reached 25°C, the oil was aged at 25°C for 31 hours to obtain a crystallization slurry. The process from charging the fat E4 into the crystallization tank to finishing the aging process for 31 hours was performed while stirring the fat E4 at 50 rpm. This crystallized slurry was subjected to filtration fractionation and compression, and the obtained low-melting-point portion was purified by a conventional method to obtain chocolate improver EF4-3.

(Comparative example 1)
The fat E5 obtained in Production Example 5 was heated and completely melted (60° C.), and then charged into a jacketed glass crystallizer. The charged oil E5 was quenched at 8.3°C/hour until the temperature of the oil reached 45°C, followed by aging at 45°C for 3 hours to obtain a crystallized slurry at 39.5°C. The process from the introduction of the fat E5 into the crystallization tank to the end of the aging process for 3 hours was performed while stirring the fat E5 at 40 rpm.
The temperature transition from 45°C to 39.5°C was performed by slow cooling at 1°C/hour.
The crystallized slurry was separated by filtration, the high melting point portion was removed, and the obtained low melting point portion was purified by a conventional method to obtain a chocolate improver EF5.

(Example 7)
The chocolate improver EF5 obtained in Comparative Example 1 was completely melted by heating (60° C.) and put into a jacketed glass crystallizer. The charged EF5 is rapidly cooled at 12.5°C/hour until the oil temperature reaches 35°C, and after the oil temperature reaches 35°C, the crystallization slurry is obtained through an aging process for 30 hours at that temperature. Obtained. The EF5 was stirred at 50 rpm during the process from the introduction of EF5 into the crystallization tank to the end of the aging process for 30 hours. This crystallized slurry was subjected to filtration fractionation and compression, and the resulting low-melting-point portion was purified by a conventional method to obtain chocolate improver EF5-2.

(Example 8)
The chocolate improver EF5 obtained in Comparative Example 1 was completely melted by heating (60° C.) and put into a jacketed glass crystallizer. The charged EF5 is rapidly cooled at 13.5°C/hour until the oil temperature reaches 33°C, and after the oil temperature reaches 33°C, the crystallization slurry is obtained through an aging process for 39 hours at that temperature. Obtained. The process from the introduction of EF5 into the crystallization tank to the end of the aging process for 39 hours was carried out while stirring EF5 at 50 rpm. This crystallized slurry was subjected to filtration fractionation and compression, and the resulting low-melting-point portion was purified by a conventional method to obtain chocolate improver EF5-3.

(Comparative example 2)
E6 obtained in Production Example 6 was heated and completely melted, and then charged into a jacketed glass crystallizer. The charged E6 was rapidly cooled at 15°C/hour until the temperature of the oil reached 48°C, followed by an aging process of 4 hours at each temperature of 48°C, 44°C, and 42°C to obtain a crystallization slurry. rice field. The steps from charging E6 into the crystallization tank to finishing the aging steps at the temperatures of 48° C., 44° C. and 42° C. were carried out while stirring the fat E6 at 50 rpm. The temperature transition from 48°C to 44°C was performed by slow cooling at 2°C/hour, and the temperature transition from 44°C to 42°C was performed by slow cooling at 1°C/hour.
The crystallized slurry was separated by filtration, the high melting point portion was removed, and the obtained low melting point portion was purified by a conventional method to obtain chocolate improver EF6.

(Example 9)
The oil E7 obtained in Production Example 7 was completely melted by heating (60° C.) and put into a jacketed glass crystallizer. The charged E7 is rapidly cooled at 8°C/hour until the fat temperature reaches 44°C, and after the fat temperature reaches 44°C, it undergoes an aging process for 3 hours at that temperature, and the fat temperature is further reduced to 35.0. After the fat temperature reached 35°C, the oil was aged at 35°C for 34.5 hours to obtain a crystallization slurry.
The process from charging the fat E7 into the crystallization tank to finishing the aging process for 34.5 hours was performed while stirring the fat E7 at 50 rpm. This crystallized slurry was subjected to filtration fractionation and compression, and the obtained low-melting-point portion was purified by a conventional method to obtain a chocolate improver EF7.

The "S2U content", "SUS/S2U", "PSO content in S2U", "S3 content", "SU2 content", " U3 content", "SFC-20/SFC-30", "sum of stearic acid and palmitic acid content in saturated fatty acid", "St/P", and "upper melting point" are measured by the above method. The results are detailed in <Table 2>. As Comparative Example 3, values for rapeseed oil are also shown in the same table.

(Examples 10-18, Comparative Examples 4-6)
Using the chocolate improvers EF1 to EF7 obtained in Examples 1 to 9 and Comparative Examples 1 to 2 and rapeseed oil as Comparative Example 3, soft chocolates A to K were prepared according to the formulations shown in Table 3 as follows. . In the soft chocolates of Examples 10 to 18 and Comparative Examples 4 to 6, the SFC of the oil content in the chocolate is 40 to 70% at 20°C, 10 to 60% at 25°C, and 0 to 30% at 30°C. Among them, the soft chocolates of Examples 10 to 18 and Comparative Examples 4 to 5 had an oil content SFC of 45 to 55% at 20°C, 15 to 40% at 25°C, and 0 at 30°C. It satisfied the range of ~11%.
The obtained soft chocolates A to K were evaluated in comparison with the control according to the sensory evaluation criteria described below. In the control product, the chocolate improver was replaced with tempering type hard butter.

<Method for producing soft chocolate>
Cocoa mass (oil content 55% by mass), cocoa butter, tempering hard butter ("Gemini" manufactured by ADEKA Co., Ltd., S2U content in triglyceride composition 60.9% by mass, SUS/S2U 0.88, SFC- 20/SFC-30 is 14.4, the sum of stearic acid and palmitic acid in the constituent saturated fatty acids is 96.4% by mass, St/P is 0.11), chocolate improver EF1 to EF7, or liquid oil , Whole milk powder (oil content 25% by mass), powdered sugar, and lecithin were put into a Hobart mixer, mixed for 3 minutes at medium speed using a beater, rolled and conched to obtain chocolate dough. . After tempering, the mixture was poured into a mold and cooled and solidified at 15°C. Furthermore, this was released from the mold and aged at 18° C. for one week to obtain soft chocolate.

<Sensory evaluation>
For "chewing out" and "melting in the mouth", sensory evaluation was performed by 10 expert panelists according to the following evaluation criteria, and the total score of the 10 panelists was used as the evaluation score. Table 5>. The evaluation was made by having the panelists eat soft chocolate at 18°C. Prior to evaluation, the degree of sensuality corresponding to each score was adjusted among the panelists in advance. 41-50 points: ◎+, 31-40 points: ◎, 21-30 points: ○, 11-20 points: △, 0-10 points: ×

<Evaluation Criteria>
• Biting out 5 points It has an appropriate hardness, and has extremely good softness in biting out.
3 points Good chewing softness.
1 point It does not crack, but the bite is hard. Or soft and slightly sticky.
0 points Biting is hard and cracks. or excessively soft and sticky.

Melting in the mouth: 5 points Very good melting in the mouth.
3 points Good.
1 point Slightly poor.
0 points Bad.

・Cacao flavor 5 points The cacao flavor is felt strongly.
3 points Cacao flavor is felt.
1 point Cacao flavor is felt weak.
0 points: No cacao flavor is felt.

The soft chocolates of Examples 10 to 18 containing the chocolate improvers obtained in Examples 1 to 9 were good in chewing, melting in the mouth, and cacao flavor. In particular, the soft chocolates A, D, E, F, H, I and K of Examples 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 had good chewing and melting in the mouth. It was a very desirable soft chocolate. Among them, the soft chocolates E and F were more excellent in softness in chewing, and also had a more favorable aftertaste.

Soft chocolate B of Example 11 using chocolate improver EF2 containing relatively more stearic acid than palmitic acid, and chocolate improver EF3 containing relatively more palmitic acid than stearic acid were used. In soft chocolate C of example 12, the cocoa flavor is stronger than soft chocolates A, D, E, F, H, I and K of examples 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18. I couldn't. From this, it was suggested that the strength of the cacao flavor of the resulting soft chocolate can be controlled by adjusting the ratio of stearic acid and palmitic acid in the constituent fatty acids of the chocolate improver in the soft chocolate.

The soft chocolates G and J of Comparative Examples 4 and 5, which contain the chocolate improvers obtained in Comparative Examples 1 and 2, have poor melting in the mouth, insufficient flavor release, and the resulting cacao flavor. was inadequate. This is probably because the values of SFC-20/SFC-30 were low, and the change in physical properties against temperature changes during eating was gradual.

Soft chocolate L of Comparative Example 6 containing liquid oil will be described. In the soft chocolate L containing the liquid oil of Comparative Example 3, tempering is difficult to remove, and peeling from the mold (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as mold release) is very poor, and production is difficult. I had a problem. In addition, since the physical properties of the chocolate were excessively soft for soft chocolate, the soft chewing that is characteristic of soft chocolate could not be felt, and the texture was sticky. In addition, regarding the smooth melting in the mouth, which is required for soft chocolate, the excessively soft physical properties gave a sticky texture, and a favorable melting in the mouth could not be obtained.
<Study 2>

(Examples 5-1, 5-2, 6-1, 6-2, 8-1, 8-2, 9-1 and 9-2)
The low melting point part of the random transesterified oil obtained in Examples 5, 6, 8 and 9 was used as the base oil, and this base oil and the palm medium melting point part (palm mid fraction, melting point 33 ° C.) were used, A chocolate improver was prepared to control the chewing hardness of soft chocolate.

Specifically, the low melting point part of the random transesterified oil and fat obtained in Examples 5, 6, 8 and 9 and the middle melting point part of palm are respectively melted, and the ratio of the former to the latter is 90:10, A soft chocolate was produced by mixing the mixture at a mass ratio of 80:20 as a chocolate improver, and the chewability and meltability in the mouth were evaluated by sensory evaluation.
The blending and manufacturing method of the soft chocolate are the same as in Study 1.
In addition, the low melting point part of the random transesterified oil and fat obtained in Examples 5, 6, 8 and 9 and the middle melting point part of palm were melted, respectively, and the ratio of the former to the latter was 90: 10, 80: 20. Table 6 shows the details of what was mixed at a mass ratio of .
The low melting points of the random transesterified oils and fats obtained in Examples 5, 6, 8 and 9 are shown in Table 6, respectively, in Example 5, Example 6, Example 8 and Example 9. It is shown in the item of base oils and fats as a product.
In addition, soft chocolates using chocolate improvers EF4-2, EF4-3, EF5-3 and EF-7 (Examples 5, 6, 8 and 9) were used as controls for evaluation.

As a result of Study 2, soft chocolates produced using any of Examples 5-1, 5-2, 6-1, 6-2, 8-1, 8-2, 9-1 and 9-2 are cacao It had a strong flavor and good melting and chewing properties in the mouth.
In addition, even when any of the base oils and fats of Example 5, Example 6, Example 8, and Example 9 were used, as the content of the palm mid-melting point in the chocolate improver increased, It was confirmed that the chewability of the resulting soft chocolate gradually became harder than that of the control. Moreover, from this, it was found that it is possible to adjust the chewiness of the soft chocolate to be hard.
Comparing the bite hardness of each control, EF5-3 (Example 8) used product was the hardest among the 4 products examined, followed by EF-7 (Example 9) used product, EF4-2 (implemented Example 5) Used product, EF4-3 (Example 6) Used product.
A similar tendency was also confirmed by sensory evaluation when chocolate improvers using different base oils and fats containing the same amount of the middle melting point of palm were compared. This is presumed to be due to the content of S2U in the chocolate improver and SFC.
In addition, the meltability in the mouth of all soft chocolates is as good as the control, and even if the chocolate improver contains the palm middle melting point part and the chewing is adjusted to be hard, the meltability in the mouth is hindered. It was confirmed that it does not cause
In this way, by adding the palm mid-melting point part to the chocolate improver and adjusting the chewiness to be hard, the difference in texture between the hard chewy texture and the melt-in-the-mouth melt-in-the-mouth texture is achieved. A very pleasing soft chocolate was obtained. A particularly large difference in texture was obtained in the soft chocolate using the chocolate improving material of Example 5-2, which was mixed with the product of Example 5 and the palm middle melting point part at a mass ratio of 80:20. , and the remaining feeling in the mouth was also good.

Claims (5)

A chocolate improver containing oils and fats satisfying the following conditions (1) to ( 5 ).
(1) S2U content is 50 to 70% by mass.
(2) The ratio of SUS in S2U (SUS/S2U) is 0.25 to 0.60.
(3) The ratio of SFC (SFC-20) at 20°C to SFC (SFC-30) at 30°C (SFC-20/SFC-30) is 3 or more.
(4) The sum of the contents of stearic acid and palmitic acid in saturated fatty acids in the constituent fatty acid composition is 90% by mass or more, and the mass ratio (St/P) of stearic acid to palmitic acid is 0.05 to 7.0.
(In addition, the above S is a saturated fatty acid, the above U is an unsaturated fatty acid, the above S2U is a disaturated monounsaturated triglyceride, the above SUS is a 1,3-saturated-2-unsaturated triglyceride, and the above St is a stearin in the constituent fatty acids. The mass ratio of acid, P above means the mass ratio of palmitic acid in the constituent fatty acids)
(5) The rising melting point is 25-35°C. The chocolate improving material according to claim 1 , which is for tempering chocolate. Chocolate containing the chocolate improver according to claim 1 or 2 . 4. Chocolate according to claim 3 , which is soft chocolate. A soft chocolate containing a chocolate improver,
The chocolate improver contains oils and fats that satisfy the following conditions (1) to (4).
(1) S2U content is 50 to 70% by mass.
(2) The ratio of SUS in S2U (SUS/S2U) is 0.25 to 0.60.
(3) The ratio of SFC (SFC-20) at 20°C to SFC (SFC-30) at 30°C (SFC-20/SFC-30) is 3 or more.
(4) The sum of the contents of stearic acid and palmitic acid in saturated fatty acids in the constituent fatty acid composition is 90% by mass or more, and the mass ratio (St/P) of stearic acid to palmitic acid is 0.05 to 7.0.
(In addition, the above S is a saturated fatty acid, the above U is an unsaturated fatty acid, the above S2U is a disaturated monounsaturated triglyceride, the above SUS is a 1,3-saturated-2-unsaturated triglyceride, and the above St is a stearin in the constituent fatty acids. The mass ratio of acid, P above means the mass ratio of palmitic acid in the constituent fatty acids)