JPH0335759A - Packaged spongy food - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the subject packaged spongy food capable of providing a spongy food having rich flavor and soft mouth feeling by baking before eating by sealing a frothed egg white material containing an egg white-derived solid matter and a thickening agent in a specified ratio into a heat-resistant vessel and heating the resultant sealed material in a specified condition. CONSTITUTION:An egg white raw material such as a raw egg is blended with a thickening agent such as pectin so that the ratios of the egg white-derived solid matter and the thickening agent may be 0.8-10wt.%, preferably 2-8wt.% and 0.03-4wt.%, preferably 0.05-3.5wt.%. The resultant mixture is kneaded sufficiently so that uniform foams may be obtained and the frothed material is subsequently sealed into a heat-resistant vessel. The sealed material is heated at 120 deg.C for 4min. or in a milder condition, thus obtaining the objective packaged spongy food capable of providing a spongy food having a fine composition by microwave-heating, etc., directly before eating.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a sponge-like food such as a sponge-like confectionery, and more particularly to a sponge-like food having a soft texture that can sufficiently swell when baked.

(Prior art) Sponge-like confectionery, such as soufflé, is produced by adding cheese or chocolate flavor or sugar to a foamed egg white product obtained through a foaming process that incorporates air bubbles into egg whites, and then heating and baking the mixture. . In recent years, sponge confectionery in containers has been developed that allows sponge confectionery to be easily eaten at home by distributing the sponge confectionery sealed in a container, opening the package at home, and then baking it in a heating cooking device such as a toaster oven. has been done. These containerized sponge cakes are made by preparing egg white foam, sealing it in the container, and then retort sterilizing it to kill microorganisms in the egg white foam and coagulate the thermocoagulable protein by heating. A sponge-like structure is formed within the container.

At home, after opening the container, the sponge cake can be eaten with the sponge structure swollen by heating and baking it in a toaster oven or the like.

However, although the sponge structure of these packaged sponge sweets swells when heated and baked, the swollen sponge structure is rough and has a poor texture, so even if you are looking for a soft texture when eating sponge sweets, you will not be disappointed. Ta. In addition, even after firing, the sponge structure did not swell properly, and -
There is a problem in that the sponge structure that swells up after baking also shrinks in a short period of time, resulting in a dense sponge structure that becomes hard and unsuitable for consumption.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> Therefore, the present invention provides a sponge-like structure that swells sufficiently when heated and baked at home, retains its swelling even after baking, and has a soft texture with good texture. The purpose is to provide sweets.

(Means for Solving the Problems) As a result of intensive studies to solve the above problems, the present inventor has developed an egg white foam product obtained by foaming egg white raw materials to which a predetermined amount of thickener has been added. The inventors have discovered that the above-mentioned problems can be solved by heating the container under mild conditions after the container is sealed, and have completed the present invention.

That is, in the present invention, the solid content derived from egg white is reduced to 0.8 to 1.
A foamed egg white containing 0% by weight and 0.03 to 4% by weight of a thickener was sealed in a heat-resistant container at 120°C for 4 hours.
The present invention provides a spongy food product obtained by heat treatment under milder conditions than those corresponding to 1 minute.

The egg white foam used in the present invention may be raw eggs, concentrated egg whites, dried egg whites rehydrated, or the like. You can also use frozen concentrated egg whites by thawing them. By using a combination of egg white foam and a thickener, the air bubbles in the egg white foam are retained, and heat sterilization increases gelling power, making it possible to produce a sponge-like food with a soft texture. be.

Examples of the thickener include various gums such as pectin, xanthan gum, taragant gum, guar gum, and locust bean gum, pectin, gelatin, and carrageenan. Two or more of these thickeners may be used in combination. When the pH of the egg white foam is set to 4.5 or lower, the foam becomes insufficiently foamed due to acid denaturation of the egg white, and the texture of the baked food tends to be rough. The use of pectin is preferred to overcome this problem.

The solid content derived from egg white is 0 in the egg white foam product using the above egg white raw material.
．． The thickener is used in an amount of 8 to 10% by weight (hereinafter simply expressed as %), preferably 2 to 8%, and the thickener is contained in the egg white foam at a rate of 0.03 to 4%, preferably 0.05~3
．． It is used so that it is contained in a proportion of 5%. The solid content derived from egg white refers to the powder weight of the egg white raw material after drying. If the solid content derived from egg white is less than 0.8% or if the thickener is less than 0.03%, it is disadvantageous that the expanded state of the food after baking will not be maintained sufficiently. be. On the other hand, if the solid content derived from egg white exceeds 10% or the thickener exceeds 4%, the texture of the food after baking becomes hard and does not melt in the mouth, or the texture of the food becomes pasty. Cheap.

Usually, the egg white foam can be produced by mixing the above-mentioned egg white raw material and the above-mentioned thickener using a mixing device such as a mixer at, for example, 5 to 15°C until the two are mixed and air bubbles are uniformly dispersed. In this case, it is preferable to prepare the egg white foam by dissolving the thickener in water in advance so that the thickener can work properly.

Furthermore, if necessary for foaming, water, a seasoning liquid containing various seasonings, etc. may be added. Egg white foam prepared in this way usually has about 35 to 7
It has a volume of 5 cc, and contains 0.8 to 10% solid content derived from egg white, 0.03 to 4% thickener, and 45 to 70% water per total weight.

In addition, the size of the bubbles contained in the foamed material is 0.02 to 0.
．． About 51Q11, preferably 0.02 to 0.2 tm
That's about it.

It is preferable to adjust the pH of the egg white foam to 3.5 to 4.5 from the viewpoint of flavor and quality maintenance. By maintaining such a pH range, it is possible to suppress the growth of microorganisms within the sealed container while giving the spongy food a desirable flavor.

To adjust the pH, use citric acid, malic acid, lactic acid, fumaric acid,
Various acidulants such as tartaric acid and phosphoric acid can be mentioned. These acidulants are preferably dissolved in water and mixed.

By preparing the egg white foam at such a pH and heat-treating it under the mild conditions specified in the present invention, the texture and swelling retention of the spongy food is good even after baking, and at the same time Food that can be stored at room temperature will be provided. If the pH of the egg white foam is less than 3.5, the acidity of the food will be too strong, which is not preferable. If the pH of the egg white foam increases, its storage stability will be poor, but it may be stored at a low temperature. The pH of the egg white foam may be measured by directly inserting a pH meter into the liquid egg white foam.

By mixing cheese paste, chocolate paste, sugar, fresh cream, flour, etc. with the egg white foam whose pH has been adjusted as described above, a spongy food with high palatability as a confectionery and richer in flavor is produced. be able to. Moreover, when salad flavor is added, it is suitable as a food. Additionally, these spongy foods can be seasoned to make them suitable as baby food.

Cheese paste should preferably be 1 part cream cheese and 1 part water.
It is desirable to use a mixture of 1. The above-mentioned cheese paste may be used generally in an amount of 5 to 30% in the egg white foam. Examples of the sugars include granulated sugar, glucose, liquid sugar, etc., which may be added in the form of powder or aqueous solution, and usually in an amount of 10 to 30% in the foamed product. Also,
Fresh cream is effective in achieving smooth melt-in-the-mouth texture of foods, and to achieve the same effect, it is particularly preferable to use acid-resistant cream. Fresh cream may normally be used in an amount of 2 to 15% in the foamed product.

Furthermore, wheat flour is effective in adding body to the texture of foods, and in achieving the same effect, it is especially important to add zero
．． It is preferable to use 5 to 5%.

In addition, when mixing the egg white foam and each of the above raw materials, the mixing is performed at a temperature of 20 ° C. or lower, preferably 15 ° C. or lower,
In addition, the mixing operation is performed within, for example, 12 minutes, preferably 1 to 8 minutes.
Do it in minutes.

The egg white foam prepared in this way, or the egg white foam further mixed with the above additives, generally contains 45 to 75%
Preferably it has a moisture content of 50-68%. The above moisture content allows the foamed egg white to maintain a stable foamed state until heat sterilization and maintain sufficient swelling even after baking. When the water content is less than 45%, the texture of the baked tissue tends to be poor and the texture tends to be poor in the mouth. If it exceeds 75%, the foaming state becomes unstable, and the spongy structure tends not to maintain its swollen state after firing.

The egg white foam obtained in this manner has an overrun of 35 to 18 as defined by the following formula at the time it is sealed in a container.
0%, preferably 50 to 150%.

Overrun (%) = If the overrun is less than 35%, the amount of bubbles in the egg white foam is insufficient and a soft texture cannot be obtained after baking. If the overrun exceeds 180%, bubble retention becomes unstable, which is not preferable.

The egg white foam is sealed in a container and then subjected to heat treatment, but it is preferably sealed in a heat-resistant container. In order to fill the egg white foam into a heat-resistant container, various filling devices such as a piston feeder may be used.

The material of the heat-resistant container may be any material as long as it can withstand the heat treatment and heating in a toaster oven at home, and metals such as aluminum are exemplified.

Various heat-resistant synthetic resins can be used as the material for the microwave oven container.

The egg white foam filled in the heat-resistant container as described above is subjected to heat treatment. The heat treatment kills or reduces microorganisms mixed in the egg white foam, and
The spongy food of the present invention can be obtained by solidifying a coagulable raw material such as egg white contained in the foam and fixing the air bubbles.

The above heat treatment is performed under milder conditions than the conditions corresponding to 4 minutes at 120°C. Heat treatment at 120° C. is a commonly used means for ordinary sterilization treatment, and the treatment is usually performed at the same temperature for 20 minutes or more, preferably 25 minutes or more. However, when heat sterilization is carried out at 120℃ for such a long time,
When baked before eating, the sponge structure of the food becomes bread-like and the structure becomes rough, resulting in a product that lacks a soft texture and melts in the mouth. Moreover, the resulting sponge-like food tends to brown.

Conditions that are milder than conditions equivalent to 4 minutes at 120°C include less than 4 minutes in the case of heat treatment at 120°C;
Preferably for 1 to 2 minutes, when processing at 100°C, 6
less than 0 minutes, preferably 3 to 40 minutes, less than 90 minutes, preferably 5 to 70 minutes when treated at 90°C, less than 150 minutes, preferably 10 to 120 minutes when treated at 80°C, and further at 70°C. In the case of treatment, conditions may include treatment for less than 240 minutes, preferably 15 to 200 minutes. In particular, it is preferable to process at 80 to 100°C for 3 to 80 minutes. If the treatment temperature is lower than 70° C., the fixation of air bubbles during the heat treatment will be insufficient, and the foamed product will not expand even after baking, resulting in poor expansion of the sponge-like food. Therefore, 70℃
for more than 15 minutes.

Heat treatment is required. Further, heat treatment at a temperature exceeding 120° C. is not preferable because the structure of the food after baking becomes rough. According to the heat treatment conditions within the above range, the food after baking will have good swelling, and the food will have a fine texture and will have a good texture and melt in the mouth. Furthermore, the bulge mentioned above in the baking machine is well maintained.

The heat treatment conditions may be appropriately selected within the above range depending on the storage form of the sponge-like food of the present invention. For example, when storing sponge-like foods at low temperatures, such as below 10°C, it is sufficient to process them at 7'0 to 100°C for 2 to 100 minutes.
When storing at room temperature, if the pH of the egg white foam is less than 4.0, store it at 70-80°C for 1-2 minutes, and the pH is about 4.0-80°C.
In the case of Nos. 4 and 5, the treatment may be carried out at 80 to 100° C. for 5 to 120 minutes.

If the pH of the egg white foam is low, the growth of microorganisms will be inhibited, making it possible to select milder heat treatment conditions.

For the heat treatment, steam, hot water, hot air, far infrared rays, microwaves, or the like may be used as a heating medium. You may process these in combination.

In each household, after opening the container, the sponge-like food of the present invention can be baked using a heating device such as a toaster oven, and the resulting sponge-like food has a rich flavor and a soft texture. The sponge tissue is then maintained in a swollen state.

(Effects of the Invention) The sponge-like food of the present invention has a foamed egg white product having the above-mentioned composition and is heat-treated under milder conditions than the conditions equivalent to 4 minutes at 120°C. The air bubbles in the material are sufficiently fixed as a spongy structure, and the spongy structure is extremely fine. Therefore, when baked at home, a sufficient bulge can be obtained, and the bulge is maintained even after baking. Furthermore, the fine sponge structure gives the food a very soft texture when eaten, and has the characteristics of being excellent in melting in the mouth.

(Example) Concentrated egg white 17 parts (solid content derived from egg white 3.4 parts), 5
% pectin solution and 0.03 R of xandan gum were mixed and whipped with a whisk to obtain 27.03 parts of egg white foam.

Cheese paste (cream cheese/
20 parts of water (171 mixture), 16 parts of liquid sugar, 10 parts of 10% citric acid solution, 20.97 parts of water, and 6 parts of fresh cream were added and mixed for 1 minute (pH of the foamed material was approximately 4. .2,
The overrun was approximately 90%, and bubbles with a diameter of approximately 0.1 mm were uniformly contained). The above stirring and mixing operation was performed at a temperature of 10°C or lower.

65 g of the above egg white foam was filled into a gold aS pot-shaped container with a capacity of about 130 cc, and the opening of the container was sealed.

The container was placed in a retort pot and heat sterilized at 90° C. for 25 minutes to obtain a sponge-like confectionery packaged in a container.

The above sponge confectionery uniformly contained foam with a diameter of about 0.2 marks, and the overrun was about 90%.

The crystal could be stored for about 12 months at room temperature. Further, after storing the crystals at room temperature for about 3 months, the opening of the container was opened and the crystals were cooked in a toaster oven for about 5 minutes. When I took the crystal out of the toaster oven,
The spongy structure rose approximately 2 cm above the earthen bridge of the container, and the top surface of the confectionery was baked to a golden brown color. Also, when eaten, it was found that it had a fine texture,
It had a smooth texture and melted in the mouth. The above-mentioned raised spongy structure was maintained even after firing.

Claims (8)

[Claims] (1) An egg white foam containing 0.8 to 10% by weight of solids derived from egg white and 0.03 to 4% by weight of a thickener is sealed in a heat-resistant container at 120°C. A packaged sponge-like food obtained by heat treatment under milder conditions than those corresponding to 4 minutes. (2) The heat treatment conditions are 120°C for less than 4 minutes, 100°C
less than 60 minutes at ℃, less than 90 minutes at 90℃, 150 minutes at 80℃
The sponge-like food according to claim 1, which is either less than 240 minutes at 70°C or less than 240 minutes at 70°C. (3) The sponge-like food according to claim 1, wherein the heat treatment conditions are 80 to 100°C for 3 to 80 minutes. (4) The sponge-like food according to claim 1, wherein the egg white foam has a pH of 3.5 to 4.5. (5) The sponge-like food according to claim 1, wherein the pH of the foamed egg white product is less than 4.0, and the heat treatment conditions are 70 to 80°C for 1 to 2 minutes. (6) The sponge-like food according to claim 1, wherein the egg white foam has a pH of 4.0 to 4.5, and the heat treatment is performed at 80 to 100°C for 3 to 120 minutes. (7) The sponge-like food according to claim 1, wherein the egg white foam contains 0.5 to 5% by weight of wheat flour. (8) The egg white foam before the heat treatment has a diameter of 0.02 to
2. The sponge-like food according to claim 1, which contains air bubbles of 0.5 mm and has an overrun of 35 to 180%.