JP7349707B2 - Seasoning granules and their manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to seasoning granules, a method for producing the same, and the like.

Seasonings with high salt concentrations are known to be difficult to freeze-dry because they cannot be frozen under normal freezing conditions. In particular, when soy sauce, which contains salt and amino acids, etc., is freeze-dried, it repeatedly boils and foams, making it difficult to obtain a dry product. has been considered.

Recently, solid soy sauce to enjoy the texture has been developed using the freeze-drying method, and Patent Document 1 describes a method in which agar is blended with a seasoning, heated to dissolve the agar, and then cooled to form a jelly. A method for producing a granular freeze-dried seasoning with a crunchy texture by cutting the jelly-like solid into pieces, freezing it, and then freeze-drying it. is listed.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-18005

The present invention provides a method for producing seasoning granules that can be applied to various seasonings, a method that can produce seasoning granules that have good breakability and a strong crunchy texture, and a method that can produce seasoning granules that have good breakability and a strong crunchy texture. The present invention provides seasoning granules that can be used as seasoning granules.

As a result of studies to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventor heated a mixture of seasoning and starch, crushed the gel-like mixture formed after cooling, and then freeze-dried the mixture to make it crunchy. It was discovered that seasoning granules with a strong texture can be produced, leading to the present invention.

That is, the present invention relates to the following aspects [1] to [4].
[1] A mixture of seasoning and starch, in which the weight ratio of solid content: water is 30:70 to 80:20, contains 10% by weight or more of starch, after heat gelatinization, A method for producing seasoning granules, which comprises crushing a cooled gel-like mixture and freeze-drying it.
[2] The production method according to [1], wherein the solid content contains 15% by weight or more of starch.
[3] Contains seasonings and starch, has a starch content of 15% by weight or more, a moisture content of 2.0% by weight or less, a bulk specific gravity of 0.30g/mL or more, and has good breakability and is crunchy and strong. Freeze-dried seasoning granules with texture.
[4] Contains seasoning and starch, has a starch content of 15% by weight or more, a moisture content of 2.0% by weight or less, a bulk specific gravity of 0.30g/mL or more, and has good breakability and is crunchy and strong. Freeze-dried seasoning granules having a texture obtained by the production method according to [1] or [2].

According to the present invention, various types of seasonings can be made into seasoning granules having a strong crunchy texture. In addition, the resulting seasoning granules have a firm texture, do not feel stuck to the teeth when chewed, have good breakability, and have low hygroscopicity, so they have a long shelf life. It is also excellent.

The seasoning granules of the present invention are obtained by heating a mixture of seasoning and starch to gelatinize the starch in the mixture, and crushing and freeze-drying the gel-like mixture formed after cooling. .

The seasoning used in the present invention is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include soy sauce, sauce, ketchup, miso, etc. However, as long as it can season food, it is not limited to existing seasonings, and may be appropriately prepared seasonings. For example, seasonings such as salt, sodium glutamate, and amino acids may be used by dissolving them in a liquid such as water. The salt concentration and solid content concentration are not particularly limited, and seasonings with high salt concentration or high solid content concentration may be used. For example, seasonings in which the salt concentration in the mixture after mixing with starch is about 0.5 to 20% by weight. It may be a fee.

The starch used in the present invention is a refined starch, and examples thereof include corn starch, potato starch, sweet potato starch, wheat starch, tapioca starch, etc., and one type or two or more types can be used.

The mixture of seasoning and starch only needs to contain 10% by weight or more of starch, preferably 10 to 20% by weight, and the weight ratio of solids to water in the mixture is solids:moisture. = 30:70 to 80:20, preferably 30:70 to 75:25, more preferably 30:70 to 70:30, and when the mixture has this composition, it can be used during freeze-drying of various seasonings. The seasoning granules of the present invention can be obtained by suppressing foaming and by freeze-drying with good drying properties.

In the method of the present invention, the mixture may be heated to gelatinize the starch in the mixture, and the heating conditions are not particularly limited. It is preferable to heat to a temperature of .degree. C. or higher, and more preferably to a temperature of 70.degree. C. or higher. Next, the cooling conditions are not particularly limited as long as a gel-like mixture can be formed by cooling, and cooling may be performed at about -40 to 10°C. For example, cooling may be performed rapidly at -30°C and then brought to room temperature.

The crushing performed in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as the gel-like mixture can be made crumbly, and can be performed using a mesh, a mincer, a mixer, a chopper, or the like. The shape after crushing is mostly paste-like, and depending on the starch concentration and crushing method, it may be granular, but this is not because crushing forms granules before drying and eliminates the need for a coarse crushing process after drying. The purpose of the crushing of the present invention is to destroy the higher-order structure of the gel after gelatinization of starch, and by doing so, it is possible to improve the drying properties during freeze-drying even if the gel is in paste form. The temperature of the gel-like mixture at the time of crushing is preferably a temperature at which crushing is easy, for example, -10 to 20°C is preferable, and about -8 to 15°C is more preferable.

In the present invention, after crushing the gel-like mixture, it may be freeze-dried according to a conventional method. For example, after crushing, it may be placed in a container, pre-frozen, and then dried under reduced pressure (vacuum), and the product temperature at the start of drying may be -25 The temperature is preferably from ~-10°C, preferably from 15 to 55% by weight, and more preferably from -20 to -15°C. The pressure inside the closed system during depressurization is preferably 250 Pa or less, more preferably 20 to 100 Pa. For example, after drying, the dried product can be crushed and sieved, or it may be pre-frozen and crushed, then sieved and dried.

The seasoning granules of the present invention contain a seasoning and starch, and the starch content is preferably 15% by weight or more, more preferably 15-70% by weight, even more preferably 20-65% by weight, particularly preferably 30-60% by weight. Weight%, water content is preferably 2.0% by weight or less, more preferably 0.1 to 2.0% by weight, and bulk specific gravity is preferably 0.30g/mL or more, more preferably 0.35 to 0.55g/mL. mL, more preferably 0.40 to 0.50 g/mL, and are seasoning granules having a strong crunchy texture. In addition, the seasoning granules have low hygroscopicity and have excellent storage stability.

The seasoning granules of the present invention are not particularly limited as long as they are non-spherical, but the maximum length of the seasoning granules is preferably 50 μm to 20 mm, more preferably 100 μm to 15 mm, even more preferably 300 μm to 10 mm, and can be obtained by sieving. Can be done. For sieving, a sieve according to JIS standard Z8801-1:2006 having an optimum mesh size to obtain the above-mentioned particle size can be used.

The seasoning granules of the present invention can be sprinkled or mixed into rice, noodles, salads, soups, fried foods, grilled foods, egg dishes, tofu, carpaccio, snacks, sweets, etc., either alone or mixed with other ingredients. It can be used for various purposes.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically explained with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples. In the present invention, all percentages of raw materials and raw materials are percentages by weight unless otherwise specified. In addition, moisture content was measured by a reduced pressure drying method (70° C. for 5 hours at a reduced pressure of 1 to 10 kPa).

Add 13 g of corn starch dispersed in 36 g of water to 51 g of a seasoning liquid containing 17% salt and 38% sodium glutamate, and heat the mixture to 75°C or higher to gelatinize the starch. Place the mixture in a cooling tray. and cooled to form a gel-like mixture. The gel-like mixture is strained and crushed through a mesh with an opening of 5 mm, the paste-like mixture is placed in a drying tray, the surface is smoothed, pre-frozen in a freezer according to a conventional method, and then dried under reduced pressure. The obtained plate-shaped dry solid was roughly crushed, and a mesh-pass product with an opening of 5 mm was collected to obtain seasoning granules. In addition, to crush the gel-like mixture, cool the gelatinized mixture in a -30°C freezer for 2 hours, then take out the frozen gel-like mixture from the freezer and bring it to a temperature that can be strained (about -5°C). I went back.

[Comparative example 1]
36 g of water was added to 51 g of the seasoning liquid of Example 1, and the mixture was heated to 75°C or higher. The mixture was placed in a cooling tray, cooled in a -30°C freezer for 2 hours, and then taken out of the freezer. It was liquid. The liquid mixture was placed in a drying tray and sufficiently cooled in a freezer for pre-freezing according to a conventional method, but it did not freeze and began to foam in the dryer during vacuum drying and was scattered outside the tray.

[Comparative example 2]
Freeze-drying was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the gel mixture was not crushed, and the obtained plate-shaped dry solid was roughly crushed, and a mesh pass product with an opening of 5 mm was collected to obtain seasoning granules.

Regarding Example 1 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2, each raw material weight and each raw material ratio, each solid content weight and each solid content ratio, solid content in raw materials: water, crushing treatment of gel-like mixture, presence or absence of foaming during drying. Table 1 summarizes the texture and moisture content of the seasoning granules obtained, as well as the evaluation results of each method.
In addition, if foaming was observed during drying, the drying itself was not successful, so it was rated as ×, and if foaming was not observed, the texture was evaluated.

From Example 1 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2, the method of Comparative Example 1, which does not use starch, did not freeze the seasoning liquid and freeze-drying was not successful, but by incorporating starch into the raw material and heat gelatinization, , it became possible to freeze-dry seasoning liquids. Furthermore, when the gel-like mixture was not crushed, the granules were hard but had poor breakability, resulting in a texture that stuck to the teeth, and the seasoning granules of the present invention could not be obtained, but when the gel-like mixture was crushed. It was found that seasoning granules with good breakability and a crunchy texture could be obtained by this method. This is because the water content of the seasoning granules was 0.6% in Example 1 and 4.5% in Comparative Example 2, so even though the shape after drying was the same plate, it was gel-like before drying. It is thought that crushing the mixture destroyed the higher-order structure of the gel, making it easier for water to evaporate and improving drying properties.
Therefore, it has been found that it is important for the seasoning granules of the present invention to contain starch as a raw material, to be gelatinized after gelatinization, and then to be crushed and freeze-dried.

[Test Example 1]
According to the method of Test Examples 4 and 7 of Patent Document 1, low-salt soy sauce was freeze-dried as Test Examples 1-1 and 1-2. It should be noted that the mixture before pre-freezing was a jelly-like granular material, and there was no need for coarse crushing after freezing, and seasoning granules were obtained by simply drying.
In addition, Test Examples 1-3 and 1-4 were prepared by changing the agar in Test Examples 1-1 and 1-2 to corn starch. Furthermore, Test Example 1-5 was prepared using 33 g of corn starch and 60 g of water. The mixture before pre-freezing was in the form of a paste, and if no foaming was observed during drying, the plate-shaped dried product after freezing was roughly crushed to obtain seasoning granules in the same manner as in Example 1.
The low-salt soy sauce used had a solid content of 30.0% and a salt content of 8.8%.

Regarding Test Examples 1-1 to 1-5, each raw material weight and each raw material ratio, each solid content weight and each solid content ratio, solid content in the raw material: moisture, presence or absence of foaming during drying, and the resultant seasoning granules. The texture and evaluation results of each method are summarized in Table 2.
In addition, if foaming was observed during drying, the drying itself was not successful, so it was rated as ×, and if foaming was not observed, the texture was evaluated.

From Test Examples 1-1 and 1-2, when making low-salt soy sauce granules, the method of Patent Document 1, which uses agar, yields low-salt soy sauce granules, but the texture is weak and crunchy. It was found that granules with a strong texture could not be obtained. In addition, from Test Examples 1-3 and 1-4, it was found that simply replacing agar with starch using the method described in Patent Document 1 did not result in successful freeze-drying and the seasoning granules of the present invention could not be obtained.

On the other hand, from Test Example 1-5, when the raw material contains 11.0% starch, the solid content:moisture ratio in the raw material is 32:68, and the amount of starch relative to the total solid content is 34.7%, the rupture property It was found that the seasoning granules of the present invention having good texture and a strong crunchy texture could be obtained.

[Test Example 2]
In order to freeze-dry tamari soy sauce, the low-salt soy sauce in Test Examples 4 and 7 of Patent Document 1 was changed to tamari soy sauce, and Test Examples 2-1 and 2-3 were carried out using the same raw material weight. In addition, since the solid content is different between low-salt soy sauce and tamari soy sauce, in Test Examples 2-1 and 2-3, the solid content ratio of agar to the total solid content is different from Test Examples 4 and 7 of Patent Document 1. Therefore, the ratio was adjusted to be the same as the solid content ratio of agar to the total solid content in Test Examples 4 and 7 of Patent Document 1, and tamari soy sauce was freeze-dried as Test Examples 2-2 and 2-4. did. The mixture before pre-freezing was in the form of a paste, and even if no foaming was observed during drying, it became a plate-like dry product after drying, so it was coarsely crushed to obtain seasoning granules.
In addition, Test Examples 2-5 to 2-8 were prepared by changing the agar in Test Examples 2-1 to 2-4 to corn starch. Furthermore, Test Example 2-9 was prepared using 33 g of corn starch and 127 g of water. The mixture before pre-freezing was in the form of a paste, and if no foaming was observed during drying, the dried plate-like material after freezing was roughly crushed into seasoning granules in the same manner as in Example 1.
The tamari soy sauce used had a solid content of 44.6% and a salt content of 14.2%.

Regarding Test Examples 2-1 to 2-9, each raw material weight and each raw material ratio, each solid content weight and each solid content ratio, solid content in the raw material: moisture, presence or absence of foaming during drying, and the resultant seasoning granules. The texture and evaluation results of each method are summarized in Table 3. For Test Examples 2-4, 2-8, and 2-9, the moisture content and bulk density of the granules were also measured and listed in Table 2.
In addition, if foaming was observed during drying, the drying itself was not successful, so it was rated as ×, and if foaming was not observed, the texture was evaluated.

From Test Examples 2-1 to 2-4, when making tamari soy sauce granules, even if the raw material ratio is the same or the solid content ratio of agar to the total solid content is the same in the method of Patent Document 1 using agar, Either the freeze-drying itself does not work, or even if seasoning granules are obtained, they have a weak texture that is brittle and melt, and the granules with a crisp texture like those obtained in Test Examples 1-1 and 1-2 are I couldn't get it. Therefore, it was found that by changing the seasoning from low-salt soy sauce to tamari soy sauce, which has about 1.5 times the solid content and about 1.6 times the salt content, the granules described in Patent Document 1 cannot be obtained.

In addition, from Test Examples 2-5 to 2-8, it was found that if only the agar was replaced with starch using the method described in Patent Document 1, freeze-drying would not be successful, or even if seasoning granules were obtained, they would have poor breakability and be harmful to teeth. It was found that tamari soy sauce granules with a sticky texture, good breakability, and a strong crunchy texture could not be obtained.

On the other hand, from Test Example 2-9, when the raw material contains 11.0% starch, the solid content:moisture ratio in the raw material is 32:68, and the amount of starch relative to the total solid content is 34.6%, the solid content It has been found that the seasoning granules of the present invention, which have good breakability and a strong crunchy texture, can be obtained even when using tamari soy sauce, which has a high salinity and high salt content, as a raw material.

[Test Example 3]
34 g of common salt was dissolved in 166 g of water, 30 g (Test Example 3-1) or 45 g (Test Example 3-2) of corn starch was added, and then the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out to obtain seasoning granules.

Regarding Test Examples 3-1 and 3-2, each raw material weight and each raw material ratio, each solid content weight and each solid content ratio, solid content in the raw material: moisture, presence or absence of foaming during drying, and the resultant seasoning granules. The texture and evaluation results of each method are summarized in Table 4.
In addition, since no foaming was observed during drying in any case, the texture was evaluated.

From Test Example 3-1, even if the raw material contains 13.0% starch, if the solid content:moisture ratio in the raw material is 28:72, the granules will be brittle and have a fluffy texture, resulting in the seasoning of the present invention. It was found that no granules were obtained. On the other hand, from Test Example 3-2, when the raw material contains 18.4% starch and the solid content: water ratio of the raw material is 32:68, the present invention has good breakability and a strong crunchy texture. It was found that seasoning granules were obtained.
Therefore, it has been found that not only the starch ratio in the raw material but also the weight ratio of solid content to water in the raw material is important.

In order to obtain seasoning granules from various seasonings, each raw material of Examples 2-1 to 2-4 listed in Table 5 was used and the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out to obtain each seasoning granule. In Example 2-2, the method of crushing the gel mixture was changed from a mesh to a 1.8 mm mincing machine. In Example 2-4, corn starch was directly added to miso and sugar and heated.
Tamari soy sauce has a solid content of 44.6% and salt content of 14.2%, sauce has a solid content of 33.8% and salt content of 10.0%, and miso has a solid content of 55.5% and salt content of 13.0%. I used the one from

Regarding Examples 2-1 to 2-4, each raw material weight and each raw material ratio, each solid content weight and each solid content ratio, solid content in the raw material: moisture, presence or absence of foaming during drying, and the resultant seasoning granules. The texture and evaluation results of each method are summarized in Table 4. The water content and bulk density of the granules were measured for Example 2-1, and the water content of the granules was measured for Examples 2-3 and 2-4, and the results are listed in Table 5.
In addition, since no foaming was observed during drying in any case, the texture was evaluated.

From Examples 2-1 to 2-4, when the raw material contains 11.2 to 17.0% starch and the solid content:moisture ratio in the raw material is 36:64 to 67:33, the solid content is 33.8. The seasoning of the present invention has a moisture content of 2% or less, good breakability, and a strong crunchy texture even when various seasonings with a salt content of 10.0 to 14.2% are used as raw materials. It was found that granules were obtained.
Therefore, if the starch ratio and solid content:moisture ratio in the raw materials are as described above, various seasonings can be made into seasoning granules with good breakability and a strong crunchy texture by freeze-drying, and can be used for various seasonings. It was found that it was possible to make it into granules.

In addition, the texture of the seasoning granules obtained in Example 2-1 was compared after being allowed to stand for 30 minutes at 25°C and 60% humidity. It was found that the seasoning granules of the present invention had little change in hygroscopicity, had good breakability, and had a strong crunchy texture, and were seasoning granules with low hygroscopicity and excellent storage stability.

Claims (3)

A mixture of seasoning and starch, which has a solids:water weight ratio of 30:70 to 80:20 and contains 10% by weight or more of starch, is heated and gelatinized, then cooled. 1. A method for producing seasoning granules, which comprises crushing and freeze-drying a gel-like mixture. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the solid content contains 15% by weight or more of starch. Obtained by the production method according to claim 1 or 2, which contains seasoning and starch, has a starch content of 15% by weight or more, a water content of 2.0% by weight or less, and a bulk specific gravity of 0.30g/mL or more. , freeze-dried seasoning granules.