JPH0310645A - Liquid material sealed gelatinous food and production thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the title gelatinous food preservable for a long period of time, having a gelatinous layer not to melt, having excellent shape retention and appearance of fluid material free from aging phenomena by sealing a fluid material in the center of the main body of gelan gum-containing gelatinous main material. CONSTITUTION:For example, a fluid material 31 which has <=4 deg.C difference in dextrose equivalent between a main body material 11 and the fluid material and is frozen at <=-10<= is immersed in the sol-like main body material 11 containing gelan gum having 5-15 deg.C higher gelatinous temperature than the gelatinous temperature of the main body material, solidified, the main body material 11 is gelatinized to give the aimed gelatinous food.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a fluid-filled gel-like food and a method for producing the same. The present invention relates to a gel-like food containing a fluid such as a jelly or a pudding, in which a fluid such as a cream or a liquid is encapsulated in a gel-like food such as a jelly or a pudding, and a method for producing the same.

[Conventional technology]

Many gel-like foods are used as desserts or confectionery such as jelly, pudding, watermelon, mousse, and bavarois. To make these foods even more delicious, they are sometimes eaten with fruit sauce, cream, etc. When selling such gel-like foods and sauces, the sauces were stored in separate packaging and the sauces were poured onto the gel-like food when eaten. It takes time and money to package food and sauces separately, and there is also the hassle of removing each sauce from the package before eating. Therefore, it has been considered to pre-spray or coat the produced gel-like food with a sauce and then package the product in a hermetically sealed state for sale.

However, gel foods must be heat sterilized due to food hygiene issues. In this heat sterilization step, the gel food becomes a sol due to high heat, so the sauces and the gel food mix. If the food is cooled in this state, a gelled food will be created with the sauces and gelled food mixed together, which will impair the taste and appearance and deteriorate the quality, reducing the commercial value of the food.

For example, heat sterilization of gel-like foods is carried out at a temperature of 80 to 85 °C or higher for acidic desserts, and a higher temperature of 110 to 120 °C or higher for neutral desserts. A reliable bactericidal effect cannot be achieved, and in particular, the produced gel-like food cannot be stored for a long period of time or distributed at room temperature.

However, none of the conventional gelling agents used in the past have a temperature resistance up to such high temperatures.

For example, among common gelling agents, gels containing carrageenan, gelatin, locust bean gum, and xanthan gum, etc. will melt under the above heating conditions, causing sauces and surrounding gel materials to melt. It is not possible to keep them in shape by preventing them from mixing. Agar is 80'
The gel will not melt if the heating temperature is around C, but it will melt if the temperature is higher than that, so there may be variations in the heat sterilization temperature, and in the case of the above-mentioned neutral desserts, the sauces may not be able to retain their shape. Oh (I can't do that.

Therefore, methods have been proposed to prevent sauces and gel foods from mixing.
There is a method disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 79758.

In this method, sauces made of jam-like or cream-like materials are once frozen and immersed in a liquid jelly-like material constituting a gel-like food. Then, the liquid jelly around the frozen sauce is cooled and a thin gel layer is formed. When liquid jelly-like substances and sauces are heat sterilized in this state, even if the sauces melt due to high heat and return to a fluid state, the sauces and liquid jelly-like substances are covered with a thin gel layer, so the sauces and liquid jelly-like substances are It does not mix with other substances. Thereafter, if the entire liquid jelly is cooled and gelled, a gel food consisting of the liquid jelly with sauces encapsulated therein can be obtained.

However, even with this method, if the heat resistance of the gel layer covering the sauces is low, the gel layer will melt during heat sterilization, resulting in the sauces and liquid jelly-like material being mixed together.

In this prior art, the gelling agent for the liquid jelly-like material is only described as having a melting point higher than the temperature at which it is sealed and heated, but does not list a specific gelling agent. If a general gelling agent such as the one mentioned above is used, it cannot withstand heat sterilization at high temperatures. Therefore, in the prior art, amylopectin is used as a gelling agent for sauces, and since amylopectin has relatively excellent heat resistance, the fluidity of sauces during heat sterilization is reduced, and the gel layer is It is thought that this, together with the formation, improves the shape retention of the sauces and prevents the sauces and the liquid jelly from mixing [Problem to be solved by the invention] However, in the above-mentioned prior art, Since amylopectin is used as a gelling agent for sauces, they have the disadvantage of poor storage stability.

Since amylopectin is made of starch, it cannot avoid aging over time, and as it ages, flavor deterioration and syneresis occur. Therefore, it is not preferable for food products intended for long-term storage, and in particular, it has been impossible to distribute them at room temperature. Unless you use a gelling agent that easily ages like amylopectin,
Although the above problem does not occur, all of the general gelling agents mentioned above have insufficient heat resistance, so at present there is no gelling agent that does not cause aging phenomena and has excellent heat resistance. Ta.

Another problem with the prior art is that when frozen sauces are added to a liquid jelly, the sauce sinks to the bottom of the liquid jelly or floats up. there were. If frozen sauces are on the surface or bottom of the liquid jelly, the gel layer will not fully cover the sauces and retain their shape during heat sterilization, and the sauces may If even a portion of the sauce is exposed, it will flow out and the sauce cannot be encapsulated in the gel-like food. Furthermore, the position of the liquid in the produced gel-like food is uneven, resulting in an unsightly appearance and a significant loss of commercial value.

Such problems are relatively less of a problem when amylopectin is added to the sauces, but they become a particularly serious problem when the use of amylopectin is avoided for the reasons mentioned above.

Therefore, as described above, the present invention eliminates the need to use amylopectin as a gelling agent for sauces in gel-like foods in which sauces, that is, fluids are encapsulated in a gel-like body. Even if sterilized by high heat,
A fluid-filled gel food that does not mix with the gel body, does not cause aging such as flavor deterioration even after long-term storage, maintains stable quality performance, and has an excellent appearance. The purpose is to provide a manufacturing method.

[Means to solve the problem]

A fluid-filled gel-like food according to claim 1 of the present invention that solves the above-mentioned problems is one in which a fluid is sealed in the center of a gel-like body containing gellan gum.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 4, and will be described in detail with reference to this drawing. A fluid-filled gel food has a structure as shown in Figure 4, for example, and is made of synthetic resin,
A cup-shaped container 20 or the like made of paper coated with metal or synthetic resin is filled with a gel-like body lO such as fruit juice jelly,
A fluid 30 such as fruit sauce is enclosed in a floating state in the center of the gel-like body 10. The upper surface of the container 20 is sealed with a synthetic resin film 40 or the like. In this state, the gel-like body 1 is ready to be transported and sold.
0 is carried out using the same material as a normal gel-like food, and is produced by solidifying a sol-like main body material containing fruit juice etc. into a gel-like state using a suitable gelling agent. Specific examples include jellies such as fruit jelly, coffee jelly, and wine and liquor jelly, puddings and mousses using dairy products and fats and oils, and sour milk jellies using yogurt and cheese.

Gellan gum is caused by Pseudomonas elodea bacteria.
It is a type of high-molecular polysaccharide produced from carbohydrates by fermentation, and is known to be able to be used as a gelling agent for foods. Gellan gum has excellent heat resistance and does not melt even when heated above 120°C. As the gelling agent for the gel-like body IO, it is necessary to use a small amount (the above-mentioned gellan gum), but gellan gum may be used alone, or other gelling agents may be used in combination.Specifically, , agar, carrageenan, locust bean gum, xanthan gum, pectin, gelatin, and other gelling agents can be used in combination.

The fluid 30 may be combined with the gel body 10, such as fruit sauces made from fruit juice or pulp, vegetable sauces, creams made from dairy products or eggs, nutty creams made from peanuts or almonds, chocolate sauce, etc. A liquid or paste-like material that is eaten by hand is used. When adding a thickener to these fluids 30, amylopectin is not preferable because it causes the aging phenomenon described above, and among the usual thickeners, pectin, carrageenan, locust bean gum, guar gum, xanthan gum, and tamarind are used. Seed polysaccharides, agar, etc. are preferred, and the gellan gum mentioned above can also be used. The fluid 30 can also be used as a liquid with low viscosity, but if it is given gelling properties to the extent that it does not lose its fluidity by using a gelling agent with excellent heat resistance such as gellan gum, it is possible to The shape retention stability of the fluid 30 during the sterilization process becomes even better, which is preferable. The shape of the fluid 30 is preferably spherical because it is easy to manufacture and looks good, but it can also be formed into any other shape such as a cylinder or a prism.

The overall shape and packaging form of the gel-like food may be the one filled in the cup-shaped container 20 as described above and the top surface sealed with the film 40, or the same shape and packaging form as those of various ordinary dessert foods and confectioneries. It can be carried out in

The method for producing a fluid-filled gel food according to claim 2 is a method for producing the fluid-filled gel food according to claim 1, which comprises: In the sol-like body material containing gellan gum, a fluid whose sugar content difference with the gel body is within 4 degrees and which has been frozen at -10°C or lower is added? By M, the sol-like body material is solidified around the frozen fluid to form a gel layer, and then the whole body material is heat sterilized, and then the whole body material is cooled and gelled.

An embodiment of the manufacturing method according to the present invention is shown in the order of steps in FIGS. 1 to 4, and will be described in detail accordingly.

As shown in FIG. 1, a suitable container 20 or the like is filled with a body material 11 in a sol form, that is, a fluid state before gelling, and a frozen fluid 31 is added to the sol body material 11. When immersed, as shown in FIG.
The sol-like main body material 11 around 1 is gelled to form a thin gel layer 12. Note that the same effect can be obtained even if the container 20 containing the frozen fluid 31 is filled with the sol-like main body material 11.

The sol-like main body material 11 is made of various materials constituting the gel-like main body 10 described above. Sol-like main body material 11
Although the gelling temperature varies depending on the raw material components such as fruit juice and the type of gelling agent added, it is usually about 30 to 50°C. If the temperature of the sol-like main body material 11 is too low, the viscosity becomes high, resulting in poor workability, and when filling the sol-like main body material 11 into a container 20 or the like, the sol-like main body material 11 may turn into a gel. Filling becomes impossible, or the frozen fluid 31 becomes unable to penetrate to an appropriate position in the center of the main body material 11. Furthermore, if the temperature of the sol-like main body material 11 is too high, even if it comes into contact with the frozen fluid 31 and is cooled, a gel layer 12 of sufficient thickness will not be formed, and the fluid 30 will not be preserved in the heat sterilization process described later. Formation becomes impossible. From this point of view, as described above, it is necessary to maintain the sol-like main body material 11 at a temperature 5 to 15 degrees Celsius higher than the gelling temperature, and more preferably at a temperature 5 to 10 degrees Celsius higher than the gelling temperature. Keep it.

The fluid 30 is molded by pouring it into an appropriate mold according to the desired shape as described above, and then frozen at a predetermined temperature. If the freezing temperature is high, the gel layer 12 will not be sufficiently formed around the frozen fluid 31, and the lower the freezing temperature, the better the gel layer 12 will be formed. It is necessary, and preferably carried out at -15°C or lower.

The difference in sugar content between the fluid 30 and the sol-like body material 11 influences the position of the fluid 30 in the sol-like body material 11 . That is, since a difference in sugar content affects a difference in specific gravity, by adjusting the sugar content of the fluid 30 and the sol-like main body material 11 and keeping their specific gravity close to each other, the frozen fluid 31 can be It can be immersed in 1A while floating in the center. For that purpose, a fluid 30 and a sol-like main body material l? -111 The difference in sugar content must be within 4°, more preferably within 2°. Particularly, within the above range, when the sugar content of the sol-like main body material 11 is lower than the sugar content of the fluid 30, the formation of the gel layer 12 is performed better.

It is also possible to measure the specific gravity of the produced sol-like main body material 11 and the fluid 30 and adjust the specific gravity of the two by adding sugar or the like, but
Since it is time-consuming and complicated to adjust the specific gravity one by one after manufacturing 0, it is preferable to adjust the sugar content in advance as described above.

In order to reliably place the frozen fluid 31 in the center of the sol-like main body material 11, a rotating retort machine is used to stabilize the position of the frozen fluid 31 using rotational force or centrifugal force.
If heat sterilization is used in combination, the frozen fluid 31 can be positioned more reliably.

After the gel layer 12 is formed around the frozen fluid 31, as shown in FIG. 3, heat sterilization is performed, for example, with the top opening of the container 20 sealed with a synthetic resin film 40 or the like.

By heat sterilization, the frozen fluid 31 returns to a fluid state.

The heat sterilization process is carried out in the same way as the conventional heat sterilization process for gel-like foods, and the heating temperature varies depending on the material of the gel-like food, as described above. The temperature can be freely set as long as the temperature is within the range where 12 does not melt. Specifically, 8
It is carried out at about 0 to 120°C.

Sol-like main body material 11 and fluid 3 that have been heat sterilized
0 is cooled to a temperature below the gelation temperature of the sol-like main body material 11, and as shown in FIG. 4, a gel-like food product in which fluid 30 is suspended in the gel-like main body 10 is obtained. Note that the gel layer 12 covering the fluid 30 is a gel-like body 1.
It becomes one with 0.

(Function) When gellan gum is included in the material of the gel body 10,
The heat resistance of the gel layer 12 formed around the frozen fluid 31 is extremely high (so even if heat sterilization is performed using high heat,
There is no need to worry about the gel layer 12 melting.

By using the sol-like main body material 11 whose temperature is 5 to 15 degrees Celsius higher than the gelling temperature, the main body material 11 maintains a good sol state, and handling such as filling the main body material 11 into a container is easy, and it is possible to avoid freezing. When the fluid 31 is immersed,
The frozen fluid 31 smoothly enters the inside of the sol-like main body material 11.

Also, the thickness is sufficient so that the sol-like main body material 11 around the fluid 31 is well cooled when it comes into contact with the frozen fluid 31, and the fluid 31 can reliably retain its shape during the heat sterilization process. A gel layer 12 is formed.

If the fluid 30 is frozen at -10° C. or lower, the gel layer 12 is formed quickly and with sufficient thickness by cooling the sol-like main body material 11 described above.

If the difference in sugar content between the fluid 30 and the sol-like main body material 11 is within 4 degrees, the specific gravity of the two will be almost similar, and when the frozen fluid 31 is added to the sol-like main material 11, the frozen fluid 31 is placed in a floating state at an appropriate depth in the main body material 11, and the gel layer 12 is reliably formed all around the frozen fluid 31, which allows the fluid 30 to maintain its shape well, and when finished. Even in a gel-like food product, the fluid 30 is reliably encapsulated in the center of the gel-like main body 10.

〔Example〕

Next, specific embodiments of the invention will be described.

Example 1 (a+ Ingredients of gel body 10 (unit: weight %)
Sugar: Added to specified sugar content Gelling agent: Table 1 below Sodium citrate: 0.2 Citric acid: 0.25 Flavor: 0.1 fbl Ingredients of fluid 30 (Unit: weight %) Sugar: Added thickener until the specified sugar content
...Table 1 below Unshu fruit juice ...10 Sodium citrate ...0.1 Citric acid ...0.2 Flavoring agent ...0.1 (C) Heat sterilization conditions ...85℃, 30
In addition to the materials and conditions described above, gel-like foods were manufactured under the conditions shown in Tables 1 and 2. Note that Table 1 shows Examples that fall within the scope of this invention, and Table 2 shows Comparative Examples that fall outside the scope of this invention. Furthermore, the performance of gel-like foods produced under these production conditions is shown in Tables 3 and 4.

From the above results, it was demonstrated that all the gel-like foods according to the examples of the present invention are high-quality products in which the fluid 30 is well encapsulated in the gel-like body 10. In addition, in Comparative Examples 1.1 and 1.2, the shape of the fluid 30 collapsed during heat sterilization because a gelling agent with poor heat resistance was used for the gel body 10. Comparative example 1.3
The shape retention of the fluid 30 was good, but the fluid 30
Aging occurred due to the use of amylopectin as a thickener. In Comparative Example 1.4, the sugar content of the fluid 30 was too high compared to the sol-like main body material 11, so the frozen fluid 31 sank within the sol-like main body material 11, and the gel layer 12 was not sufficiently formed. During heat sterilization, the fluid 30 collapsed to the bottom. In Comparative Example 1.5, since the freezing temperature of the fluid 30 is high, the gel F is formed by cooling the sol-like main body material 11.
i12 was not formed sufficiently, and the fluidized bed 3 was not formed during heat sterilization.
0 has collapsed. In Comparative Example 1.6, the filling temperature of the sol-like main body material 11 was close to the gelling temperature, so the sol-like main body material 11 gelled during filling, and the fluid 3
I couldn't enter 0. In Comparative Examples 1 and 7, the filling temperature of the sol-like main body material 11 was higher than the gelling temperature, so the gel layer 12 was not sufficiently formed by cooling with the frozen fluid 31, and the fluid 30 was not formed during heat sterilization. collapsed. In Comparative Example 1.8, the sugar content of the fluid 30 was 11.
As in Comparative Example 4, the sugar content was too high.
In Comparative Example 1.9, the lower part of the fluid 30 collapsed, and the fluid 30
Contrary to Comparative Examples 1.4 and 1.9, the fluid 30 floats up from the sol-like main body material 11, and the gel layer 12 is not sufficiently formed. The upper part of the fluid 30 collapsed during heat sterilization.

Example 2 - Sugar 20 as fluid 30 (M amount %, same below)
, Wenzhou fruit juice 30. An orange sauce consisting of LM pectin 1.0, sodium citrate 0.1, citric acid 0.15, and flavoring 0.1 was used. The sugar content of this orange sauce is 2
It was 4.2. The orange sauce was molded into a round container and frozen at -20°C.

As the gel body 10, sand wJ24, apple juice lO,
Gellan gum 0.25, calcium lactate 0.05, sodium citrate 0.2, citric acid 10.25, fragrance 0.1
A fruit jelly mix consisting of was prepared by heating.

The fruit jelly thus obtained had a sugar content of 25.8° and a gelation temperature of 35°C.

The fruit jelly was filled into a container at 45° C., and the previously prepared frozen orange sauce was immediately added thereto. Next, the opening of the container was sealed, heat sterilized at 85° C. for 220 minutes, and then cooled to solidify the fruit jelly to obtain fruit jelly with sauce.

The resulting fruit jelly with sauce had a round orange sauce encapsulated in the center of the fruit jelly, and was good in both appearance and taste. It was kept at room temperature for 2 months. However, no quality deterioration such as aging of the sauce was observed.

Example 3 As the fluid 30, whole fat sweetened condensed milk 25 (car weight %, the same shall apply hereinafter), sugar 7, coconut oil 7, egg yolk 2.1, carrageenan 0.2, LM pectin 0.6, fragrance 0. A custard cream consisting of 1 was prepared, molded in the same round container as in Example 2, and frozen at -20°C. The sugar content of this custard cream was 25.9°.

As the gel body 10, 25% full fat sweetened condensed milk, 88% sugar, 5% fresh cream, 0.3% carrageenan, 0.1% gellan gum
A white mousse was prepared by heating and preparing 0.05% of locust bean gum and 0.2% of fragrance. The sugar content of this white mousse was 26.7°, and the gelation temperature was 45°C.

This white mousse was filled into a container at 56° C., and the previously prepared custard cream was immediately poured into the container. Next, the opening of the container was sealed and heat sterilized at 120° C. for 20 minutes, followed by cooling to solidify the white mousse to obtain a cream-filled mousse.

Similar to Example 2, this cream-containing mousse was also good in both appearance and taste. This was stored at room temperature for one month, but no quality deterioration such as aging of the sauce was observed.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the fluid encapsulated gel food and the manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention described above, since the material of the gel body contains gellan gum which has excellent heat resistance, even if heat sterilization is performed using high heat, The gel layer surrounding the fluid does not melt, and the fluid has good shape retention stability. Therefore, unlike conventional products, there is no problem of the gel layer melting and the fluid material mixing with the main body material, and the fluid material is encapsulated in a clearly separated state within the gel-like main body. A fluid-encapsulated gel-like food product is obtained. Moreover, since there is no need to use amylopectin as a gelling agent for sauces, it is possible to provide a gel-like food that does not undergo aging phenomena and can be stored for a long period of time, and it is also possible to distribute the product at room temperature.

The main body material is filled in a sol state at a temperature 5 to 15 degrees Celsius higher than the gelling temperature into a container for gelling, and the frozen fluid is put into the container, so filling the main body material, etc. It is easy to handle the frozen fluid, and at the same time, a sufficiently thick gel layer can be formed around the frozen fluid, improving the shape retention stability of the fluid due to the gel layer.

Since the fluid is frozen at -10°C or below and then introduced into the sol-like main material, the sol-like main material is cooled around the frozen fluid, and a gel layer is formed rapidly, and the gel layer is formed in a sufficient amount. It becomes thick.

Since the difference between the sugar content of the fluid and the main material is within 4°,
The specific gravity of the fluid and the sol-like body material become close, and when the frozen fluid is introduced into the sol-like body material, the frozen fluid is placed in a suspended state within the body material, and the surroundings of the frozen fluid are The gel layer is well formed over the entire product, and the finished product also has a good appearance because the fluid is neatly encapsulated in the center of the gel-like body.

As described above, according to the present invention, a gel layer that retains the shape of the fluid is extremely well formed in the heat sterilization process that is essential in the manufacturing process of gel-like foods, and the gel layer allows the fluid to be Because it has excellent shape retention stability, it can significantly improve the taste and flavor of fluid-filled gel foods, improve quality performance such as appearance, and provide products with high commercial value. .

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1 to 4 are schematic cross-sectional views sequentially illustrating the manufacturing process of a fluid-filled gel food according to an embodiment of the present invention. IO... Gel-like main body 11... Sol-like main body material 1
2... Gel layer 20... Container 30... Fluid object
31...Frozen fluid chart

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A fluid-filled gel-like food product, in which a fluid is sealed in the center of a gel-like body containing gellan gum. 2. Add a fluid that has been frozen to -10°C or below and has a sugar content difference of within 4° with the main body material in a sol-like main material containing gellan gum at a temperature 5 to 15°C higher than the gelling temperature. The sol-like body material is solidified around the frozen fluid by immersion to form a gel layer, and then the whole body material is heated and sterilized, and then the whole body material is cooled and gelled. A method for manufacturing food products.