JPH0657123B2 - Flowable sweetener composition containing meso-erythritol microcrystals - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Purpose of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a sweetener composition containing erythritol microcrystals, which is non- or low-cariogenic, low-calorie and free-flowing. The sweetener composition of the present invention is used in applications such as fondant, table top sugar and icing,
In particular, it is a non- or low cariogenic, low calorie and flowable sweetener composition suitable for fondant-like applications.

(Prior Art) Generally, a fondant is a composition in which an aqueous solution of sucrose is boiled down and then cooled with stirring to give a pure white fluid composition. It is contained, and each of its crystals is in a state of being wrapped in syrup. This fondant has moderate fluidity and plasticity and is used for decoration of bread, cakes, cores of candy, etc., and has the role of enhancing sweets, sweetness, and smooth taste. Is what you do.

However, the conventional fondant has the drawbacks that sucrose is used and thus it easily causes tooth decay and consumes too much calories.

On the other hand, Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 56-18180 describes a method for producing a low-calorie, non-cariogenic fondant using meso-erythritol together with saccharin. The present inventors attempted to produce fondant according to the method described in the patent publication, and in that method, since the crystal rate of meso-erythritol was high, it grew into a large crystal and was powdery or rough. It became a rock-like solidified state, and the desired fluidity of fondant could not be obtained.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The present invention improves on the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and has various applications in which non-or low caries, low calorie, high fluidity and smooth mouth feel are provided. In particular, it is intended to provide a sweetener composition suitable for applications such as fondant.

(b) Structure of the Invention (Means for Solving the Problems) The inventors of the present invention have conducted various species studies in order to solve the above problems, and as a result, have determined that mesoerythritol and other saccharides have a constant quantitative ratio. It was possible to achieve the purpose by using water and by containing water in a fixed ratio.

That is, the meso-erythritol microcrystal-containing flowable sweetener composition of the present invention contains meso-erythritol and at least one saccharide other than meso-erythritol selected from sugars and sugar alcohols as a main ingredient. The amount ratio of meso-erythritol to other saccharides is 0.4 to 2.0 parts by weight with respect to 1 part by weight of meso-erythritol, and the water content is 5 to 25% by weight with respect to the composition. It is a composition characterized by being.

Erythritol is a sugar alcohol of four-carbon sugar, D type,
There are 3 types of L type and meso type, D type and L type do not exist naturally, but meso type is natural algae, mushrooms,
It is contained in sake, wine, soy sauce, etc. Meso-erythritol (hereinafter, simply referred to as “erythritol”) has the following structural formula, has a molecular weight of 122, a melting point of 119 ° C., is white crystals, is well dissolved in water, and is non-digestible (that is, non-calorie). Sex), non-cariogenic and non-brown denaturing, and is a carbose sugar alcohol as described above.

According to the panel test results, the sweetness intensity and sweetness of erythritol are slightly weaker than sucrose, slightly stronger than glucose, and correspond to 75-85% sweetness of sucrose. It has a sweetness similar to that of sucrose, but the aftertaste is less than that of sucrose. Since erythritol is hardly digested, it is a low-calorie sweetener suitable for preventing diabetic diseases and obesity.

A conventional fondant produced using sucrose needs to boil sucrose for a long time, but the production of the sweetener composition of the present invention is extremely easy as compared with this. For example, 1 part by weight of erythritol contains 0.4 to 4 parts of other sugars.
2.0 parts by weight was added, and water was added at a rate of 5 to 25% by weight based on the composition.
It can be easily produced by heating at 0 ° C. to dissolve and then stirring to cool the mixture to room temperature while precipitating crystals. Also,
A composition obtained by heating, melting and mixing the above-mentioned quantitative ratio of erythritol and other sugars is finally added to the composition.
It can also be easily produced by adding water in an amount of ˜25 wt% and cooling with stirring to precipitate crystals.

In the preparation of the sweetener composition of the present invention, in order to make the contained erythritol crystals finer, a triple roll or the like is used as necessary to grind the crystal particles to about 20 μm. It is also possible to process.

Other sugars to be mixed with erythritol to obtain the sweetener composition of the present invention, glucose, monosaccharides such as fructose,
There are oligosaccharides such as maltose and sucrose, and sugar alcohols, and non-cariogenic saccharides such as xylitol, soribitol, maltitol, lactitol, reduced starch decomposition products, coupling sugar, and palatinose are preferable.

The content ratio of erythritol and the other saccharide in the composition of the present invention is 0.4 to 2.0 parts by weight of the other saccharide with respect to 1 part by weight of erythritol. This is because when the same amount ratio is less than 0.4 parts by weight, it is not possible to suppress the growth of erythritol crystals, resulting in a composition with a rough texture or a composition in a solidified state, and a composition with a smooth mouthfeel and fluidity. This is because no substance can be obtained, and when the same amount ratio exceeds 2.0 parts by weight, the amount of erythritol crystals to be precipitated is too small to form a fondant-like composition. That is,
The amount ratio of erythritol and other saccharides is set within the above range in order to obtain a fondant-like sweetener composition which contains a large amount of fine crystals of erythritol uniformly.

The water content of the composition of the present invention is 5 to 25% by weight based on the sweetener composition. Is this rough when the water content is less than 5% by weight?
This is because it becomes a solidified state, and when it exceeds 25% by weight, the microcrystals of erythritol precipitate and separate into a transparent sugar solution and white erythritol microcrystals.

If desired, the sweetener composition of the present invention may contain other food ingredients or food additive ingredients in addition to the above ingredients. Examples of other food ingredients or food additive ingredients that can be blended include powdered juice, jams, instant coffee, peanut butter, dairy products, flavors, and other extract ingredients for various foods. And, when such other food ingredients or food additive ingredients are blended, the crystals of erythritol may grow to have a slightly rough texture, but in such a case, the crystals may be finely divided through a triple roll or the like. It can be crushed into pieces.

Furthermore, a small amount of a non-sugar sweetener such as aspartame, sodium saccharin, acesulfame potassium, stevioside, and glycyrrhizin can be added to the composition of the present invention to adjust and improve the sweetness and sweetness.

The fluidity of the sweetener composition of the present invention can be appropriately adjusted by increasing or decreasing the water content within the above range, and can be adapted to a wide range of applications from syrups to icing agents.

(Examples, etc.) Hereinafter, examples and comparative examples will be described in more detail.
The invention is not limited by these examples.

Example 1 Erythritol (manufactured by Nikken Chemical Co., Ltd., hereinafter the same) 45
g and 45 g of sorbitol powder (manufactured by Nikken Chemical Co., Ltd., the same applies below) to which 10 g of water had been added were placed in a pan for 10
After heating to 0 ° C. to dissolve, the mixture was gradually cooled to 25 ° C. with stirring using a pestle in a mortar. The composition and physical properties of the obtained sweetener composition are as shown in Table 1, and the texture was fine and smooth, and were suitable for icing and the like.

Comparative Example 1 Erythritol 38.0 and saccharin sodium 0.1 g
After adding 61.9g of water to boil it at 118 ℃,
A sweetener composition was prepared by cooling to 38 ° C. and stirring vigorously. The production of this sweetener composition is described in JP-B-56-1.
This is an attempt to manufacture a fondant according to the method described in Japanese Patent No. 8180. The composition and physical properties of the obtained sweetener composition were as shown in Table 1.

Example 2 50 g of erythritol, 35 g of maltitol (manufactured by Towa Kasei Co., Ltd.) and 15 g of water were placed in a pan and heated to 100 ° C. to dissolve them, and then the solution was gradually cooled to 25 ° C. with stirring in a mortar. Then, a fondant-like sweetener composition was obtained. The composition and physical properties of this sweetener composition were as shown in Table 2.

Comparative Example 2 Erythritol 84.9 g, saccharin sodium 0.1 g,
And 15 g of water were placed in a pan and heated to 100 ° C. to dissolve them, and then a sweetener composition was prepared in the same manner as in Example 2. The composition and physical properties of the sweetener composition were as shown in Table 2.

Example 3 50 g of erythritol and coupling sugar (Hayashibara Biochemical Laboratory Co., Ltd., Brix 76 °, 20 ° C.) 50 g
Was placed in a pan and heated, the heating was stopped at 105 ° C., and the mixture was gradually cooled with stirring to precipitate erythritol microcrystals to obtain a sweetener composition.

The composition and physical properties of the obtained sweetener composition were as shown in Table 3.

Comparative Example 3 10 g of water was added to 90 g of erythritol, and the mixture was put in a pan and heated to dissolve it. The heating was stopped at 105 ° C., and the mixture was gradually cooled with stirring to obtain a sweetener composition.

The composition and physical properties of this sweetener composition were as shown in Table 3.

Example 4 45 g of erythritol and reduced starch degradation product (Mitsubishi Kasei Foods Co., Ltd., trade name Oligotose H-70, Brix.70 °) 45
g was put in a pan, 10 g of water was added and heated, the heating was stopped at 110 ° C., and the mixture was slowly cooled with stirring to precipitate erythritol microcrystals to obtain a sweetener composition.

The composition and physical properties of this sweetener composition were as shown in Table 4, the fluidity was good, and the sweetener composition was suitable as a table top sugar.

Comparative Example 4 15 g of water was added to 85 g of erythritol, and the mixture was put in a pan and heated to dissolve it. The heating was stopped at 110 ° C., and the mixture was slowly cooled with stirring to precipitate erythritol crystals to obtain a sweetener composition.

The composition and physical properties of this sweetener composition were as shown in Table 4.

Comparative Example 5 Erythritol 60 g, sorbitol 20 g and water 20
g was put in a pan and heated to dissolve, heating was stopped at 110 ° C., and the mixture was gradually cooled with stirring to obtain a sweetener composition. The composition and physical properties of this composition were as shown in Table 5.

Comparative Example 6 Erythritol 20 g, sorbitol 80 g and water 20
g was put in a pan and heated to dissolve, heating was stopped at 110 ° C., and the mixture was gradually cooled with stirring to obtain a sweetener composition. This composition comprises 17.9% by weight of erythritol, 71.4% of sorbitol.
Although the content was 1% by weight and the water content was 10.7% by weight, sufficient crystals were not deposited, and a transparent sugar solution and a white precipitate were separated, which did not become fondant-like.

Comparative Example 7 Erythritol 47.5 g, sorbitol 47.5 g and water 5 g
Was placed in a pan and dissolved by heating, heating was stopped at 110 ° C., and crystals were precipitated while stirring and gradually cooling to obtain a sweetener composition. The composition and physical properties of this composition are shown in Table 6.

Comparative Example 8 Erythritol 50 g, sorbitol 50 g and water 50
g was put in a pan, heated and dissolved, and heating was stopped at 110 ° C., and the mixture was stirred while being gradually cooled to obtain a sweetener composition. The composition of the composition was erythritol 35.7% by weight, sorbitol 35.7% by weight, and water 28.6% by weight. In this composition, precipitation of crystals was not sufficient, and transparent sugar solution and white crystals were separated from each other, so that it did not become fondant-like.

Example 5 200 g erythritol and 200 g sorbitol powder
After adding 110g of water to a pan and putting it in a pan to heat and dissolve it,
When 50 g of skimmed milk powder was added and stirred, and further pulverized with a Büler three-roll mill SDY type (manufactured by Buehler Miada Co., Ltd.), a sweetened condensed milk having good smoothness and fluidity was obtained.

Non-fat sweetened condensed milk using normal sucrose has a solid content of 100 g.
While 380 cal per liter (see "Fourth Edition Food Composition Table", page 156, published by Joshi Nutrition University Press), this sweetened condensed milk has 212 cal per 100 g of solid content, which is about 1/2 of low calorie. , And low caries.

(c) Effects of the invention (i) Erythritol microcrystals are uniformly dispersed in the sugar solution, and the growth of the microcrystals is suppressed. Therefore, the erythritol microcrystals have a smooth texture and an appropriate fluidity, and are fondant. Suitable for various applications such as, table top sugar, and icing.

(ii) Non-or low cariogenic and low in calories.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A meso-erythritol and at least one saccharide other than meso-erythritol selected from sugars and sugar alcohols as a main agent, and the meso-erythritol and the other saccharide have a quantitative ratio of meso-erythritol. -Erythritol 1
Flowable sweetener composition containing meso-erythritol microcrystals, characterized in that 0.4 to 2.0 parts by weight of other sugars and 5 to 25% by weight of water content relative to the composition. .