JP7486293B2 - Dairy food and drink and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a dairy food or drink containing a lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid and cheese, and a method for producing the same.

As an example of a fermented dairy product containing cheese, the following Patent Document 1 describes a method for producing an acidic dessert, which comprises first heating and dissolving a mixture of a gelling agent, dairy product, sugar, and water, adjusting the pH of the mixture to 5.0 to 7.0 with a pH adjuster, and then adding and dissolving yogurt or cheese alone or a mixture of these.

In addition, the following Patent Document 2 describes a method for producing cheese-containing yogurt, which comprises dissolving cheese in water, adding and mixing milk, and, if necessary, an appropriate amount of sugar, emulsion stabilizer, etc. to produce a yogurt mix, homogenizing the yogurt mix, sterilizing it by heating, cooling it to an appropriate temperature, inoculating it with a yogurt lactic acid bacteria starter, filling it into a container, and fermenting it at an appropriate temperature for an appropriate period of time.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-232453 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-135449

However, when cheese is added to dairy foods and beverages that contain a lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid, such as yogurt, if the amount of cheese added is small, the cheese flavor is weak, and if the amount of cheese added is large, the characteristic flavor derived from the cheese is incompatible with the flavor of the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid, so there is a problem that a dairy food and beverage with a good cheese flavor cannot be obtained.

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a dairy food or drink that contains a lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid and cheese and has a good cheese flavor, and a method for producing the same.

As a result of intensive research conducted by the inventors to achieve the above object, they discovered that the cheese flavor of a dairy food or drink containing a lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid and cheese can be enhanced by adding milk powder in addition to the dairy ingredients in the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid, and thus completed the present invention.

That is, one aspect of the present invention is a dairy food or drink that includes a lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid made from a dairy ingredient, milk powder not derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid, and cheese.

In the dairy food and drink of the present invention, it is preferable that the milk raw material contains milk powder, and the ratio of the milk powder derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid to the total amount of the milk powder derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid and the milk powder not derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid is more than 0% by mass and not more than 60% by mass, and the ratio of the milk powder not derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid is 40% by mass or more and less than 100% by mass.

In addition, in the dairy food or drink of the present invention, it is preferable that the total amount of the milk powder derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid and the milk powder not derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid is 5 to 30% by mass.

In addition, it is preferable that the dairy food or drink of the present invention contains 1.6 to 9.5% by mass of the cheese.

The dairy food and drink of the present invention preferably further contains a gelling agent and/or a thickening agent.

In addition, in the dairy food and drink of the present invention, the cheese preferably includes cream cheese and Camembert cheese.

Furthermore, the cheese preferably includes cream cheese, Camembert cheese, and white cheddar cheese.

The other aspect of the present invention is a method for producing a dairy food or beverage, which comprises mixing ingredients including a lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid made from a dairy ingredient, milk powder not derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid, and cheese, homogenizing the mixture, and filling the mixture into a container.

In the method for producing a dairy food or drink of the present invention, it is preferable to use a milk powder as the dairy raw material, and mix the raw materials so that the ratio of the milk powder derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid to the total amount of the milk powder derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid and the milk powder not derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid is more than 0% by mass and not more than 60% by mass, and the ratio of the milk powder not derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid is 40% by mass or more and less than 100% by mass.

In addition, in the method for producing a dairy food or drink of the present invention, it is preferable that the total amount of the milk powder derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid and the milk powder not derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid is 5 to 30 mass %.

In addition, in the method for producing the dairy food or drink of the present invention, it is preferable to mix ingredients other than the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid into the syrup, and then mix the syrup with the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a dairy food or drink that contains a lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid and cheese and has a good cheese flavor.

The dairy food and drink of the present invention contains a lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid made from a milk ingredient, milk powder not derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid, and cheese. Below, the preferred aspects of these ingredients are specifically described.

The lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid used in the present invention is obtained by fermenting a medium material containing a milk ingredient with lactic acid bacteria.

As the milk raw material for the above-mentioned medium raw material, for example, powdered milk such as skim milk powder and whole milk powder, raw milk such as cow's milk and goat's milk, condensed milk, cream, etc. can be used.

The medium raw material may also contain sugars such as glucose, fructose, isomerized sugar, sucrose, etc., peptides to promote fermentation by lactic acid bacteria, yeast extract, various minerals, etc. The medium raw material is preferably sterilized before use in lactic acid fermentation.

The lactic acid bacteria used for fermentation are not particularly limited, and examples thereof include Lactobacillus bacteria such as Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus gasseri, Lactobacillus zeae, Lactobacillus johnsonii, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. delbrueckii, and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, Streptococcus bacteria such as Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactococcus bacteria such as Lactococcus lactis, Lactococcus plantarum, and Lactococcus raffinolactis, Leuconostoc bacteria such as Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Leuconostoc lactis, and Enterococcus bacteria such as Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium.

Examples of Bifidobacterium bacteria include Bifidobacterium breve, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidobacterium animalis, Bifidobacterium adolescentis, Bifidobacterium anguulatum, Bifidobacterium catenulatum, and Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum.

These microorganisms can be used alone or in combination of two or more kinds. Among them, Lactobacillus casei, Streptococcus thermophilus, Bifidobacterium breve, Bifidobacterium bifidum, etc. are preferably used because they give the resulting dairy product a good flavor.

The fermentation conditions can be the same as those for normal fermented milk, for example, fermentation at 30 to 40°C until the pH reaches 2 to 6, preferably 3 to 5.5. The fermentation method can be selected appropriately from static fermentation, agitation fermentation, shaking fermentation, aeration fermentation, etc., and is suitable for the fermentation of the microorganisms used.

In the present invention, the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid obtained by pre-fermentation in this manner can be used as one of the ingredients for dairy foods and beverages, while still containing live lactic acid bacteria.

In addition, in the present invention, in order to enhance the cheese flavor, powdered milk not derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid is contained. Any powdered milk can be used as the powdered milk, such as skim milk powder, whole milk powder, or adjusted milk powder, but skim milk powder is particularly preferred.

When milk powder is used as a medium raw material for the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid in the dairy food or beverage of the present invention, the total amount of milk powder derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid and milk powder not derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid in the entire dairy food or beverage is preferably 5 to 30% by mass, and more preferably 10 to 20% by mass. Furthermore, the ratio of milk powder not derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid to the total amount is preferably 40% by mass or more and less than 100% by mass, and more preferably 60% by mass or more and less than 100% by mass. Furthermore, it is more preferable that the ratio is 79% by mass or more and less than 100% by mass.

In the present invention, the cheese flavor can be effectively enhanced by the total amount of the milk powder derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid and the milk powder not derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid being in the above range. If the total amount of the milk powder derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid and the milk powder not derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid is less than 5% by mass, the effect of enhancing the cheese flavor is weak, and if it exceeds 30% by mass, the compatibility between the characteristic flavor derived from cheese and the flavor of the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid becomes poor, making it difficult to obtain a dairy food or drink with a good cheese flavor, and the product tends to be difficult to dissolve and easily form lumps.

In the present invention, various types of cheese can be used as the cheese, but it is particularly preferable to use one or more types selected from cream cheese, Camembert cheese, white cheddar cheese, and blue cheese. These cheeses have a cheese flavor that is relatively compatible with the flavor of the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid, and can impart a cheese flavor suitable for dairy foods and beverages containing the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid. These cheeses can be preferably used in powder form.

The amount of cheese contained in the entire dairy food or drink is not particularly limited and may be set appropriately depending on the type of cheese, but is preferably 1.6 to 9.5% by mass, and more preferably 3.2 to 7.6% by mass. If the cheese content is less than 1.6% by mass, the cheese flavor will be weak, and if it exceeds 9.5% by mass, the distinctive cheese flavor will tend to become stronger.

In addition, when cheese powder is used, the content should be within the above-mentioned cheese content range when calculated by converting the weight of the cheese powder into the weight before concentration, since cheese powder is generally concentrated. For example, for cheese powder with a concentration rate of 1.8 times, the content is preferably 1 to 5 mass%, more preferably 2 to 4 mass%. The concentration rate of the cheese powder is not particularly limited, but for example, cream cheese with a concentration rate of 1.9 times, Camembert cheese with a concentration rate of 1.9 times, and white cheddar cheese with a concentration rate of 1.6 times can be preferably used. Here, as the cheese, any cheese can be used, such as processed cheese, natural cheese, fresh type, white mold type, blue mold type, semi-hard type, hard type, washed type, and chevre type, but processed cheese and natural cheese are particularly preferred.

The dairy food and drink of the present invention may also contain gelling agents and/or thickening agents such as gelatin, agar, pectin, succinoglycan, xanthan gum, locust bean gum, starch, and modified starch. The gelling agents and/or thickening agents impart appropriate viscosity and shape retention, such as a creamy, jelly-like, or pudding-like texture, to the resulting dairy food and drink, thereby contributing to imparting a good texture.

In addition to the above ingredients, the dairy food and drink of the present invention may contain sugars such as glucose, fructose, isomerized sugar, sucrose, palatinose, trehalose, lactose, and xylose; sugar alcohols such as sorbitol, xylitol, erythritol, lactitol, palatinit, reduced starch syrup, and reduced maltose syrup; high-intensity sweeteners such as aspartame, advantame, sucralose, and stevia; milk proteins such as milk protein concentrate, whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate, casein, and caseinate; dairy ingredients other than skim milk powder such as cream; emulsifiers such as sucrose fatty acid esters, glycerin fatty acid esters, and lecithin; acidulants; and flavors such as yogurt, berry, citrus, quince, perilla, apple, mint, grape, and apricot.

In particular, by adding milk protein, it is possible to provide dairy foods and beverages with high protein content and high nutritional value. In this case, it is preferable to add milk protein so that the protein content in the dairy foods and beverages is 3% by mass or more.

As the milk protein, total milk protein can be used, which can be obtained, for example, by removing low molecular weight components such as lactose and minerals from skim milk through membrane processing using an ultrafiltration membrane device (UF membrane device) or the like.

The main components of total milk protein are casein protein and whey protein. That is, total milk protein contains both casein protein and whey protein components.

In this embodiment, the ratio of casein protein to whey protein in the total milk protein is not particularly limited and can be appropriately set by a person skilled in the art. Examples of total milk proteins include MPC (Milk Protein Concentrate), MPI (Milk Protein Isolate), MCI (Miceller Casein Isolate), and TMP (Total Milk Protein), but commercially available products can be used as appropriate and are not particularly limited. As MCI (Miceller Casein Isolate), for example, "Refit MCI88" (product name, manufactured by Nippon Shinyaku Co., Ltd.) can be used.

An acidulant can be added to adjust the pH of the dairy food or drink of the present invention. As the acidulant, for example, organic acids such as tartaric acid, lactic acid, malic acid, phytic acid, citric acid, ascorbic acid, acetic acid, etc., and fruit juices such as berry and citrus fruits are preferably used, and in particular, one or more selected from tartaric acid, lactic acid, malic acid, phytic acid, citric acid, ascorbic acid, and lemon juice are preferably used. In particular, malic acid, lactic acid, phytic acid, tartaric acid, and lemon juice are preferred.

The dairy food or drink of the present invention is preferably adjusted to pH 4.9 or less, and more preferably to pH 4.0 to 4.9, by adding the acidulant. Adjusting the pH to 4.9 or less has the effect of reducing the bitterness derived from milk proteins.

The dairy food and drink of the present invention can be produced by mixing and homogenizing the above-mentioned ingredients and filling them into a container. In this case, it is preferable to prepare the dairy food and drink by preparing a lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid in advance, dissolving the other ingredients in water to produce a syrup, and mixing the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid and the syrup. It is preferable to prepare the syrup by mixing and dissolving the ingredients other than the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid in a specified amount of water, sterilizing the mixture, and then mixing it with the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid.

The dairy food and drink of the present invention thus obtained can be made creamy, jelly-like, pudding-like, or other desired properties by adjusting the ingredients, such as the presence or absence of the gelling agent and/or thickener described above, and can be made into a dessert with a soft texture that is easy to eat. Furthermore, the flavor derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid is imparted with a cheese flavor to create a delicious dairy food and drink with a cheese flavor.

The dairy food and drink of the present invention includes yogurt (hard type, soft type, etc.), chilled desserts, etc., and the form is not particularly limited.

The present invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to examples, but these examples are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention in any way.

[Test Example 1] (Relationship between addition of skim milk powder and cheese texture)
A cheese-flavored dairy food or drink was produced according to the composition shown in Table 1 below. The unit of the composition amount in the table is mass %.

In addition, "Refit MCI88" (product name, manufactured by Nippon Shinyaku Co., Ltd.) in Table 1 is a total milk protein with a ratio of casein protein to whey protein of 9:1.

The bacterial liquid (lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid) was prepared by dissolving and sterilizing the medium raw materials, inoculating them with lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus casei YIT9029 strain), and culturing them at 37°C until the pH reached 3.6.

The syrup was made by mixing and dissolving the ingredients shown in Table 1, sterilizing at 120±2°C for 3 seconds, and cooling to below 40°C.

Powdered agar (Ina Food Industry Co., Ltd.) was dispersed in water, then heated and dissolved, sterilized at 98°C for 10 minutes, and cooled to 60-65°C to prepare a 1% agar solution.

The pH of the mixture of the above-mentioned bacterial liquid and syrup was adjusted to 4.8 using tartaric acid or potassium carbonate, and then homogenized using a high-pressure homogenizer. The mixture was then adjusted to 30-34°C, and the above-mentioned agar liquid was added and mixed, then filled into a container, cooled and solidified, to obtain a dairy product.

The amounts of the bacterial liquid, skim milk powder in the bacterial liquid, skim milk powder in the syrup, and skim milk powder in the bacterial liquid + syrup for Samples No. 1 to 8 shown in Table 1 are shown in Table 2. The resulting dairy products were then evaluated for cheese feel, texture, preference, and free description of flavor, and the results are shown in Table 2.

As shown in Table 2, it can be seen that a cheese feel can be imparted by adding skim milk powder not derived from a bacterial liquid to a syrup. It was also found that when the ratio of skim milk powder not derived from a bacterial liquid to the total amount of skim milk powder in the entire dairy product is 40% by mass or more, the cheese feel is improved, and when it is 60% by mass or more, the cheese feel becomes even better and the texture becomes rich and smooth. Furthermore, it was found that when it is 79% by mass or more but less than 100% by mass, the cheese feel becomes even better.

[Test Example 2] (Relationship between total amount of skim milk powder and cheese texture)
Using the formulations in Table 3 below, cheese-flavored dairy foods and beverages were produced in the same manner as in Test Example 2. The unit of the formulation amounts in the table is % by mass.

The total amount of skim milk powder per dairy product for materials No. 9 to 15 shown in Table 3 is shown in Table 4. Each dairy product obtained was then evaluated for its cheese feel, preference, and free description of flavor, and the results are shown in Table 4.

As shown in Table 4, it was found that a cheese texture can be imparted by increasing the total amount of skim milk powder per dairy product to 5-30%, and that the cheese texture is even better when it is increased to 10-20%.

[Production Examples 1 to 3]
Dairy products 1 to 3 were produced in the same manner as in Test Example 1 using the compositions shown in Table 5 below.

The amounts of the bacterial liquid, skim milk powder in the bacterial liquid, skim milk powder in the syrup, and skim milk powder in the bacterial liquid + syrup for dairy products 1 to 3 shown in Table 5 are shown in Table 6. Each of the resulting dairy products was then evaluated for cheese feel, texture, preference, and free description of flavor, and the results are shown in Table 6.

Claims (6)

A dairy food or drink comprising a lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid made from a dairy raw material containing milk powder, milk powder not derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid, and cheese, the cheese including cream cheese and Camembert cheese, a total amount of the milk powder derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid and the milk powder not derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid being 5 to 30% by mass, a ratio of the milk powder derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid to the total amount of the milk powder derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid and the milk powder not derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid being more than 0% by mass and not more than 40% by mass, a ratio of the milk powder not derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid being 60% by mass or more and less than 100% by mass , and the cheese being contained in an amount of 1.6 to 9.5% by mass , and being a cream-like, jelly-like, or pudding-like yogurt or chilled dessert. The dairy food or drink according to claim 1 , further comprising a gelling agent and/or a thickening agent. The dairy food or drink according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the cheese comprises cream cheese, Camembert cheese, and white cheddar cheese. A method for producing a milk food or drink, comprising: a lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid made from a milk raw material containing milk powder; milk powder not derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid; and cheese, the cheese including cream cheese and Camembert cheese, the total amount of the milk powder derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid and the milk powder not derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid being 5 to 30% by mass; a ratio of the milk powder derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid to the total amount of the milk powder derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid and the milk powder not derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid being more than 0% by mass and not more than 40% by mass, a ratio of the milk powder not derived from the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid being 60% by mass or more and less than 100% by mass , and the cheese being 1.6 to 9.5% by mass , mixing and homogenizing the raw materials, and filling the raw materials into a container to obtain a milk food or drink that is a creamy, jelly-like, or pudding-like yogurt or chilled dessert. The method for producing a milk food or drink according to claim 4 , further comprising mixing ingredients other than the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid into a syrup, and then mixing the syrup with the lactic acid bacteria fermentation liquid. The method for producing a dairy food or drink according to claim 4 or 5 , wherein the raw material further contains a gelling agent and/or a thickening agent.