JP7486956B2 - Oil and fat composition for choux pastry - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an oil and fat composition for choux pastry. More specifically, the present invention relates to an oil and fat composition for choux pastry that is easy to produce, has excellent texture, flavor, color, etc., and produces a voluminous, well-shaped choux pastry that can be stably obtained. In particular, the present invention relates to an oil and fat composition for choux pastry that can produce a choux pastry that is superior to conventional choux pastry in terms of skin hardness and void volume, which determine the texture and quality of the choux pastry.

Generally, the method of making choux pastry begins with boiling water, adding butter or other fats, adding wheat flour to the boiled water and stirring thoroughly, and finally adding eggs to prepare the dough for the choux pastry. The dough for the choux pastry thus obtained is squeezed out and baked in an oven or the like to produce a choux pastry with holes.
The quality of the choux pastry, i.e., the texture (crispness, hardness), flavor, color, and shape, are important factors that determine the quality of the choux pastry. Among these, the hardness of the pastry and the volume of voids are particularly important factors that determine the texture and quality of the choux pastry.

As mentioned above, in the method of making choux pastry, a choux pastry with gaps can be produced by baking a choux pastry starter dough, and these gaps are filled with a filling such as custard cream to produce a food product containing choux pastry (such as a cream puff). However, if the pastry is hard, the volume of the gap is small, or partitions form in the gap (hereinafter referred to as "holes"), problems arise in that the filling cannot be filled sufficiently. For this reason, there has been a demand for choux pastry that is soft and has a sufficiently large volume of gaps.

However, compared to bread and confectionery, producing choux pastry with excellent texture and taste requires skill, and it is extremely difficult to consistently produce such choux pastry. Therefore, various efforts have been made to consistently produce choux pastry with good texture and quality.
For example, Patent Document 1 introduces a technique that enables anyone to stably and easily produce choux pastry by using an oil-in-water emulsion composition containing 5 to 70% fat and oil and 1.5 to 5% sodium caseinate. However, there is room for further improvement in terms of production suitability and the volume of the baked dough, and an alternative production method has been desired.
Patent Document 2 proposes a method for producing choux pastry in which the aqueous phase does not contain phosphates, but contains 0.07 to 0.14% by weight of enzyme-treated egg yolk oil and 3 to 6% by weight of sodium caseinate, thereby improving the solubility of sodium caseinate. However, this method requires the addition of raw materials in the production process, and is unlikely to facilitate the production process. Therefore, there has been a demand for a technology for stably producing high-quality, well-shaped choux pastry without the addition of a solubilizing agent.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-266750 JP 2015-112063 A

The object of the present invention is to provide an oil and fat composition for choux pastry that is easy to produce, has excellent texture, flavor, color, etc., and produces a voluminous choux pastry with a good shape. In particular, the object of the present invention is to provide an oil and fat composition for choux pastry that produces a choux pastry with a soft hardness and a sufficiently large void volume.

The inventors have conducted extensive research into the production of choux pastry using various milk proteins and milk peptides, and have discovered that by using an oil and fat composition containing an aqueous solution containing milk proteins and/or milk peptides with specific properties, choux pastry can be produced that is easy to produce, has excellent texture, flavor, color, etc., and is voluminous and well-shaped, thus completing the present invention. They have also discovered that the resulting choux pastry has a soft texture and a sufficiently large volume of voids, thus completing the present invention.

That is, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an oil and fat composition for choux pastry skin, comprising an aqueous solution containing milk protein and/or milk peptide, wherein the viscosity of the aqueous solution at 20°C when the concentration of the milk protein and/or milk peptide is 20% by mass is 50 mPa·s or less, and the milk protein and/or milk peptide is derived from casein.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an oil and fat composition for choux pastry skin, characterized in that the oil and fat composition is margarine and/or fat spread.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there can be provided an oil and fat composition for choux pastry skin, characterized in that the oil and fat composition contains 0.1 to 10 mass % of the milk protein and/or milk peptide.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a choux pastry obtained by using the oil and fat composition for choux pastry described above can be provided.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a food product containing the above-mentioned choux pastry can be provided.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a quality improving agent for choux pastry skin, which contains an aqueous solution containing milk protein and/or milk peptide as an active ingredient, characterized in that the viscosity of the aqueous solution at 20°C when the concentration of the milk protein and/or milk peptide is 20% by mass is 50 mPa·s or less, and the milk protein and milk peptide are derived from casein.

According to the present invention, by using an oil and fat composition containing an aqueous solution containing milk proteins and/or milk peptides with specific properties, it is possible to easily and stably produce choux pastry that is excellent in texture, flavor, color, etc., has a good volume, and is well shaped. In particular, according to the present invention, the choux pastry is soft and has a sufficiently large void volume, so that anyone can easily produce choux pastry of better quality than before.

Photographs showing the upper appearance of choux pastries of Examples 3-4 of the present invention and Comparative Examples 4-6. Photographs of cut surfaces of choux pastries of Examples 3 to 4 of the present invention and Comparative Examples 4 to 6.

The oil and fat composition for choux pastry of the present invention will be described step by step below.
In the present invention, the term "choux pastry" is not particularly limited as long as it is baked using grain flour, fats and oils, and eggs as main ingredients. All of these ingredients may be commercially available. In addition, in the present invention, the term "choux pastry" refers to the choux pastry that constitutes the outer shell of Western confectionery such as cream puffs, eclairs, swans, Paris Brest, and ring choux.

The "grain flour" of the present invention includes strong flour, medium flour, weak flour, whole wheat flour, brown rice flour, rye flour, corn flour, rice flour, etc., and one or more of these can be used, but in order to achieve the natural crispy texture inherent to choux pastry, it is preferable to use strong flour, medium flour, or weak flour.
The amount of grain flour relative to the choux pastry dough raw material is preferably 1 to 45% by mass, more preferably 10 to 40% by mass, and even more preferably 15 to 35% by mass.

The "oil" used in the present invention is an edible oil, for example, edible vegetable oil such as soybean oil, soybean germ oil, rapeseed oil, corn oil, sesame oil, sesame salad oil, perilla oil, linseed oil, peanut oil, safflower oil, high oleic acid safflower oil, sunflower oil, high oleic acid sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, grape seed oil, macadamia nut oil, hazelnut oil, pumpkin seed oil, walnut oil, camellia oil, tea seed oil, perilla oil, borage oil, olive oil, rice bran oil, wheat germ oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, cacao butter, algae oil, etc. The amount of oil relative to the choux pastry dough raw material is preferably 1 to 40% by mass, more preferably 5 to 30% by mass, and even more preferably 10 to 25% by mass.
In order to produce a choux pastry that is excellent in texture, flavor, color, and the like, has a good volume, and is well shaped, the fat or oil used in the choux pastry starter dough raw material is preferably a choux pastry fat or oil composition that contains an aqueous solution containing milk protein and/or milk peptide, and the fat or oil is added to the choux pastry starter dough raw material as a choux pastry fat or oil composition. In order to achieve the desired effect, it is necessary that the viscosity of the aqueous solution at 20°C when the milk protein and/or milk peptide has a concentration of 20% by mass is 50 mPa·s or less, and that the milk protein and milk peptide are derived from casein.

In the present invention, "milk protein" is a general term for proteins derived from milk, and is a protein consisting of casein and whey protein. So-called whole milk powder and skim milk powder are also included as long as they meet the conditions. Furthermore, "milk peptides" are obtained by decomposing milk proteins, which are natural components derived from milk, into molecules in which at least several amino acids are bonded. More specifically, examples of such peptides include whey peptides and casein peptides, which are obtained by hydrolyzing milk proteins such as whey (milk serum protein) or casein with an enzyme such as proteinase, filtering the hydrolyzed product, and sterilizing and/or concentrating the filtrate obtained by drying.

In order to obtain the desired effect, it is necessary that the viscosity of the aqueous solution of the "milk protein" or "milk peptide" in the present invention at 20% by mass is 50 mPa·s or less at 20°C. Here, the "viscosity" refers to the viscosity measured at 6 or 60 rpm with a Brookfield viscometer. Thus, a viscosity of 50 mPa·s or less means that the viscosity is low even when added at a high concentration of 20% by mass, and the use of "milk protein" and/or "milk peptide" with such properties is one of the important features of the present invention.
When "milk protein" and "milk peptide" are used in combination, it is preferable that the proportion of milk peptide is greater than the proportion of milk protein. For example, the proportion of milk peptide is preferably 50% by mass or more, more preferably 70% by mass or more, and even more preferably 80% by mass or more.

In addition, the "milk protein" or "milk peptide" in the present invention must contain a casein-derived product. If it is only derived from whey, the desired effect of the present invention will not be obtained. Here, the casein content is preferably 80% by mass or more. The "casein content" means that, when the total protein or peptide contained in the milk protein and/or milk peptide is taken as 100% by mass, the casein-derived protein or peptide is 80% by mass or more. In other words, one of the important features of the present invention is to use a "milk protein" or "milk peptide" in the present invention that contains a large amount of casein-derived products. The casein content can be measured by any method. For example, Western blotting using an antibody, ELISA kit, and quantitative determination of sulfur and phosphorus using HPLC can be mentioned.
It is assumed that when a product containing a large amount of casein is used, the colloidal particles formed by casein are stabilized as a dispersed layer, which is beneficial for the choux pastry. Also, since a product with a low viscosity was effective, it is believed that the finer the colloidal particles, the greater the stability. However, this is an attempt to theoretically explain the principle of the present invention, and the principle of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned mechanism.

In the present invention, the "milk protein" or "milk peptide" is used in the form of an aqueous solution containing milk protein and/or milk peptide. The water used in the aqueous solution may be any water, for example, purified water such as distilled water or ion-exchanged water. The milk protein and/or milk peptide is added to such water and stirred and mixed to obtain an aqueous solution. The stirring and mixing may be carried out by a conventional method, and any mixer may be used.
The amount of water contained in the aqueous solution is not particularly limited, but is preferably 30 to 99% by mass, more preferably 35 to 90% by mass, and most preferably 40 to 85% by mass.

It is preferable that the aqueous solution containing the above-mentioned milk protein and/or milk peptide is mixed with the above-mentioned "fat" and used as one of the ingredients of the choux pastry starter dough in the form of an oil-and-fat composition for choux pastry.
The oil and fat composition for choux pastry of the present invention contains the above-mentioned oil and fat (edible oil and fat) and the above-mentioned aqueous solution containing milk protein and/or milk peptide, and is preferably prepared by stirring and emulsifying the aqueous solution as the water phase and the oil and fat as the oil phase with a homomixer or the like, and then adding the emulsified oil and fat composition to the choux pastry dough raw material for use. The oil and fat composition is preferably in the form of margarine and/or fat spread, and is particularly preferably in the form of margarine. These oil and fat compositions for choux pastry can be produced by the usual method for producing margarine or fat spread.
The amount of the milk protein and/or milk peptide contained in the choux pastry oil composition is preferably 0.1 to 10% by mass, more preferably 0.5 to 8% by mass, and even more preferably 0.8 to 5% by mass.
The amount of the aqueous solution contained in the oil and fat composition for choux pastry is preferably 1 to 40% by mass, more preferably 2 to 30% by mass, and even more preferably 3 to 25% by mass. By setting the amount within such a range, the effects of the milk protein and/or milk peptide having specific properties can be maximized.
The amount of the oil and fat composition for choux pastry relative to the choux pastry dough raw material is the same as the above-mentioned oil and fat, and is preferably 1 to 40% by mass, more preferably 5 to 30% by mass, and even more preferably 10 to 25% by mass.

Any "eggs" can be used in the present invention. For example, chicken eggs are preferred, and one or more types selected from fresh eggs, liquid eggs, egg whites, egg yolks, frozen eggs, frozen egg whites, frozen egg yolks, dried eggs, dried egg whites, dried egg yolks, other egg products, and egg processed products can be used.
The amount of eggs in the choux pastry dough raw material is preferably 20 to 50% by mass, more preferably 25 to 50% by mass, and even more preferably 30 to 45% by mass.

The "other ingredients" of the present invention include, first of all, "water", as a matter of course. As described above, the "water" may be any water, and the amount of water (including that derived from the above ingredients) in the choux pastry dough ingredients is preferably 20 to 50% by mass. For example, if the amount is less than 20% by mass, sufficient voids will not be formed in the choux pastry, and if the amount is more than 50% by mass, sufficient volume will not be obtained.
In addition, examples of the "other raw materials" of the present invention include sugars such as fructose, glucose, sucrose, maltose, lactose, sorbitol, maltitol, and the like; organic acid salts such as sodium citrate, phosphates, and the like; inorganic salts such as salt, calcium chloride, and the like; starches such as corn starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, rice starch, and various processed starches; emulsifiers such as polyglycerol fatty acid esters, sucrose fatty acid esters, sorbitan fatty acid esters, monoglycerides, and organic acid monoglycerides, vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin E, and vitamin C, dairy products such as milk, whole milk powder, skim milk powder, milk powder, and creaming powder, processed products such as cocoa powder, chocolate, chocolate chips, caramel, cheese, and nuts, as well as seasonings, flavorings, colorings, leavening agents, modifiers, preservatives, and the like that can be appropriately blended.

The present invention also includes foods containing the choux pastry of the present invention. Examples include cream puffs, eclairs, swans, Paris Brest, ring choux, etc., which are made by wrapping or sandwiching one or more types of filling such as custard cream, cream, jam, marshmallow, bean paste, etc., in choux pastry. Foods containing the choux pastry of the present invention also include those in which the surface of the choux pastry is coated or covered with chocolate, sugar, oils and fats, etc. to create a combination of flavors.

The method for producing the choux pastry of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is a conventional method. Details of the method for producing the choux pastry are described in "Confectionery Dictionary" edited by Watanabe Takeo, Asakura Publishing Co., Ltd., 1981, pp. 358-361.
Here, the conventional recipe will be specifically described. Choux pastry is produced by boiling water and fats and oils, adding flour and kneading until it becomes a paste, then adding eggs and adjusting the consistency to an appropriate level, squeezing it onto a baking tray or the like, and baking it in an oven. Another method is to fry it using a fryer instead of an oven. It is desirable to bake the choux pastry as quickly as possible after kneading before its properties change, but it is also possible to freeze the choux pastry after kneading, and then thaw and bake the frozen choux pastry.

As described above, when the concentration of the milk protein and/or milk peptide is 20% by mass, the viscosity of the aqueous solution at 20°C is 50 mPa·s or less, and the aqueous solution containing the milk protein and milk peptide derived from casein not only improves the texture, flavor, color, etc. of the choux pastry, but also allows the production of a choux pastry with a good shape and good volume. Therefore, the present invention also relates to a quality improver for choux pastry, which contains the aqueous solution containing the milk protein and/or milk peptide as an active ingredient. In addition, the quality improver for choux pastry of the present invention may contain the aqueous solution described above as an active ingredient, and may also contain other substances such as excipients such as starch, other quality improvers, etc., as long as the effect of the present invention is not impaired. The amount of milk protein and/or milk peptide and the amount of the aqueous solution containing them are similar to those described above.

EXAMPLES Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples and comparative examples, but the present invention is not limited to these in any way.
In the following description, "%" refers to mass % unless otherwise specified.

<Analysis method>
The triacylglycerol content was measured according to AOCS Ce5-86.
The content of each fatty acid was measured according to AOCS Ce1f-96.

<Oils and fats>
[Edible fats and oils] A mixture of palm oil (manufactured by The Nisshin Oillio Group, Ltd.), palm olein (manufactured by The Nisshin Oillio Group, Ltd.), and hardened palm oil (manufactured by The Nisshin Oillio Group, Ltd.) in a ratio of 90:8:2 was used as the edible fat and oil described below.

<Milk proteins, milk peptides>
The following milk proteins and peptides were used:
[Milk Protein 1] Skim milk powder (Yotsuba Dairy Co., Ltd.)
[Milk Protein 2] Sodium caseinate (Fonterra Japan Co., Ltd.)
[Milk Protein 3] Kyopro (Whey Protein) (Kyodo Dairy Co., Ltd.)
[Milk peptide 1] C800 (Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd.)
[Milk Peptide 2] Whey Peptide HW-3 (Unitech Foods Co., Ltd.)

<Preparation of milk protein and milk peptide aqueous solutions>
The above milk protein and milk peptide were mixed with distilled water to prepare 5% by mass, 10% by mass, and 20% by mass aqueous solutions of milk protein and milk peptide, respectively. The viscosity was measured at 20°C using a B-type viscometer BM model (product name: TOKIMEC VISCOMETER) according to a conventional method. The results are summarized in Table 1.

<Preparation of oil and fat composition for choux pastry>
According to the formulations in Tables 2 and 3 below, an oil phase and an aqueous phase were prepared, and then rapidly cooled and plasticized in a combinator in a conventional manner to prepare oil and fat compositions for choux pastry skin (margarine) in Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3. In Table 2, the milk protein and milk peptide used in the aqueous phase were the 5% by mass aqueous solutions of milk protein and milk peptide in Table 1.

<Production of Choux Pastry>
According to the composition in Table 3 below, choux pastry of Examples 3 to 4 and Comparative Examples 4 to 6 was produced in a conventional manner. Specifically, first, the oil and fat composition for choux pastry with the composition shown in Table 2 below, water, and salt were placed in a pan and heated to boiling. After heating to boiling, the heating was stopped once, and sieved weak flour was added and kneaded well. The mixture was further kneaded while heating at low heat. The pan was removed from the heat, transferred to a mixer bowl, and while rotating at low speed, loosened whole eggs were added little by little (about 5 ml/sec). The choux pastry dough thus obtained was squeezed out (20 g ± 0.5 g) onto a baking sheet and baked in an oven with upper heat at 200°C and lower heat at 205°C for 20 minutes to produce the following choux pastry.

<Evaluation of Choux Pastry>
The texture, flavor, color, and shape of the choux pastry produced as described above were evaluated according to the following evaluation method. Note that the above evaluation is the average result of six choux pastry productions performed under the same conditions.

<How to evaluate choux pastry>
(1) Method for evaluating ease of manufacturing: A comprehensive evaluation was made by five experienced panelists in accordance with the following criteria.
◎: Good hardness when squeezed out ○: No problem with hardness when squeezed out △: Can be squeezed out, but a little hard ×: Hardness that cannot be squeezed out (2) Method for Evaluating Texture Five experienced panelists made a comprehensive evaluation according to the following criteria.
◎: Crisp and soft texture ○: Fairly crisp, but lacks soft texture (feels a bit hard)
△: Not crisp and not soft to the touch (feels hard)
×: Uncrisp and hard. (3) Evaluation Method of Flavor: Five experienced panelists made a comprehensive evaluation according to the following criteria.
◎: Moist and delicious ○: Lacking in moistness, but delicious △: Feels a little dry and not very tasty ×: Feels dry and not tasty (4) Method for evaluating color tone Five experienced panelists made a comprehensive evaluation according to the following criteria.
: Beautiful browning, very good ◯: Browning is evident, good △: Browning is slightly light, somewhat poor ×: Browning is light, poor (5) Evaluation method for shape The shape was evaluated comprehensively by five experienced panelists according to the following criteria.
◎: The volume and shape are good. ○: The volume and shape are somewhat good. △: The volume and shape are somewhat poor. ×: The volume and shape are poor.

As is clear from Table 3, in the evaluation by sensory measurement, it was found that by using an oil and fat composition (Examples 1-2) containing an aqueous solution in which the viscosity at 20°C when the concentration of milk protein and/or milk peptide is 20% by mass is 50 mPa·s or less and the milk protein and/or milk peptide is derived from casein, it is possible to obtain a choux pastry (Examples 3-4) that is easy to manufacture and has excellent texture, flavor, color, and shape.

Next, the hardness, volume, height, weight, specific volume, and incidence of voids of the choux pastry obtained above were measured. The results are shown in Table 4.

<Quality evaluation of choux pastry>
(1) Evaluation method of crust hardness The crust hardness was measured as the average value of nine choux pastry samples. The crust hardness was measured after baking using a creep meter (YAMADEN CREEP METER RE2-33005B) with a φ4 cm cylindrical plunger.
(2) Evaluation method for the volume, height, weight, and specific volume of the crust The volume, height, weight, and specific volume of the crust were measured as average values for five choux pastry samples. The volume, height, weight, and specific volume of the crust were measured using a 3D laser volume meter (ASTEX 3D Laser Volume Measurement Selnac-WinVM2100) for the baked choux pastry.
(3) Evaluation method for the incidence of voids The incidence of voids was calculated by dividing a choux pastry in half and counting how many voids were present in each of the nine halves. The lower this value, the better the internal structure of the choux pastry is and the larger the volume of the voids is.

As is clear from Table 4, even in the evaluation by mechanical measurement, the viscosity of the aqueous solution at 20°C when the concentration of milk protein and/or milk peptide is 20% by mass is 50 mPa·s or less, and it was found that by using the oil and fat composition (Examples 1-2) containing an aqueous solution containing milk protein and/or milk peptide, including those derived from casein, a choux pastry with a soft hardness and easy to eat was obtained (Examples 3-4). In addition, the volume, height, weight, and specific volume of the pastry were also good compared to the comparative example, and it was confirmed that a choux pastry with high commercial value was obtained. In particular, it was found that the incidence of voids was low, the internal phase was good, and the volume of the voids was large. Therefore, it was found that it could be sufficiently filled with a filling material such as custard cream.

Claims (6)

An oil and fat composition for choux pastry, comprising an aqueous solution containing milk protein and/or milk peptide,
The content of milk peptide in the total amount of the milk protein and/or milk peptide is 50% by mass or more,
The viscosity of the aqueous solution at 20°C when the concentration of the milk protein and/or milk peptide is 50 mPa s or less at 20% by mass, and
The milk proteins and milk peptides are derived from casein.
An oil and fat composition for choux pastry. The oil and fat composition for choux pastry crust according to claim 1, characterized in that the oil and fat composition is in the form of margarine and/or fat spread. The oil and fat composition for choux pastry according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the oil and fat composition contains 0.1 to 10% by mass of the milk protein and/or milk peptide. Choux skin obtained using the oil and fat composition for choux skin described in any one of claims 1 to 3. A food product containing the choux pastry according to claim 4. A quality improver for choux pastry, comprising an aqueous solution containing milk protein and/or milk peptide as an active ingredient,
The content of milk peptide in the total amount of the milk protein and/or milk peptide is 50% by mass or more,
The viscosity of the aqueous solution at 20°C when the concentration of the milk protein and/or milk peptide is 50 mPa s or less at 20% by mass, and
The milk proteins and milk peptides are derived from casein.
A quality improver for choux pastry.