JPH0690687A - Food composition and its production - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a food composition easy to take, preservable for a long time, capable of continuous biting for a long time somewhat strongly for the purpose of addressing the problem of the decline in biting function of the moderns, also enjoyable in its taking as a food. CONSTITUTION:The objective food composition can be obtained by freezing a devil's tongue-like material essentially containing (A) glucomannan and a sweetener and, as necessary, containing (B) at least one kind selected from polysaccharides and proteins, followed by dehydration and drying; or, can be obtained by freezing a devil's tongue-like material essentially containing (C) glucomannan and, as necessary, containing the component B, followed by thawing and dehydration and then immersion in an aqueous solution of a sweetener followed by drying.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a food that is persistent in the mouth and a method for producing the same. More specifically, it relates to a food composition that can be chewed in the mouth for a long time and is swallowable, and a method for producing the same. Such foods are useful for enhancing the chewing function of humans and for developing the undeveloped tissues in the oral cavity.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As foods that can be chewed for a long time in the mouth,
There are gums, gummy candies, and currants. Gum is a popular confectionery, but it does not require much chewing power, is insufficient for improving chewing function, and finally needs to be taken out of the mouth and discarded. Gummy candies are confectioneries containing gelatin and sugar as main components, and unlike gums, they are confectioneries to eat. Some of these gummy candies are manufactured for the purpose of enhancing chewing power, but their duration in the mouth is shorter than that of gums. Although Japanese sprouts are an ancient Japanese food that you can enjoy chewing, they have the drawbacks that they require the trouble of baking and then eating them, and that they tend to get caught between your teeth and have a unique odor.

In addition, the streaks of meat and vegetables cannot be swallowed without chewing for a long time. However, some people like it, but it is often said that it is not preferable, and they rarely eat it alone. Also, although some rice crackers are hard, it is not enjoyable to chew for a long time.

[0004]

The present invention has been pointed out that the masticatory function of modern humans is deteriorated, and is one of the methods for solving this problem. It is an object of the present invention to provide a food which can be bitten for a long time with a certain amount of force and is enjoyable to eat as a food, and a food which can be stored for a long time and can be easily eaten.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] As a result of intensive studies to solve the above problems, the present inventors found that konjak was frozen and then dehydrated and dried, and was excellent in hardness and durability. The present invention has been found and further improved to complete the present invention. That is, the present invention is to produce a konjak-like substance according to a conventional method for producing konjak, which is mainly composed of glucomannan, konjak flour, and purified konjak mannan, which is then heated after adding an alkali. In the drying step, a sweetener and, if necessary, a polysaccharide and a protein are blended before addition of an alkali, or a frozen and thawed and dehydrated product is dipped in an aqueous solution of the sweetener and dried. And its manufacturing method.

[0006] The glucomannan used in the present invention is a kind of plant storage polysaccharide, and is konjac glucomannan mainly contained in konjac potato. Glucomannan also exists in iris and iris, but it is not commercially available.

The sweetener used in the present invention includes monosaccharides such as glucose, fructose and galactose, sucrose,
Lactose, galactooligosaccharides, fructooligosaccharides, maltooligosaccharides, palatinose, and other oligosaccharides available for food, sorbitol, maltitol, lactitol, erythritol, reduced starch decomposing products, etc. And starch decomposition products such as starch syrup. Sweetening substances such as licorice extract, stevia and aspartame can also be supplementarily used for correcting sweetness, but they are not essential in the present invention.

The core of the food composition of the present invention is a dried product of a konjak-like substance containing glucomannan as a main component, and the sweetener not only imparts sweetness but also has a shape and a texture when dried. It is used for the purpose of maintenance. Further, a polysaccharide or a protein can be added if necessary for the purpose of adjusting the texture. Starch, cellulose, egg white, whey protein, plasma protein, etc., and heat-coagulable proteins and gelatin strengthen the tissues made of glucomannan and have the effect of increasing hardness and prolonging the oral duration. is doing

The method for producing the food composition of the present invention is basically based on the method of producing an ordinary konjak, in which a konjak-like substance is prepared, once frozen and then dried. As the substance containing glucomannan, raw konjac potato, konjac flour, purified konjac mannan, etc. are used. A konjak-like product can be prepared by dissolving these glucomannan-containing substances and, if necessary, other raw materials such as sweeteners, polysaccharides and proteins in water, and then adding slaked lime and heating.

When this konjak-like product is dried as it is, it is very difficult to dry and the texture tends to be very hard. Therefore, once freezing is effective for preparing for drying and for obtaining a good texture. As a drying method, a freeze-drying method in which it is freeze-dried and then vacuum-dried, or a method in which it is thawed once after freezing and drained and then dried by ventilation drying or freeze-drying can be used. In the latter method, it is possible to remove the separated water and then to immerse the sweetener in the aqueous sweetener solution.

The amount of the sweetener used relative to glucomannan is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoints of maintaining taste and diet, maintaining sweetness and organization, preferably the same amount as glucomannan is used.
Double amount is good. Further, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Examples.

[0012]

【Example】

Example 1 To 100 parts by weight of konjak flour, 3000 parts by weight of boiling water at about 30 ° C and 500 parts by weight of sucrose were added and kneaded well, and then 15 parts by weight of slaked lime dissolved in 300 parts by weight of water was added. It was stirred. This was placed in a wooden mold and boiled in boiling water for 30 minutes. The obtained konjak-like product was cooled, cut into strips having a thickness of 4 mm, and left in a freezer at −30 ° C. for 24 hours. The frozen konjak-like product was naturally thawed at room temperature, drained, and further dried with a hot air dryer at 75 ° C. The obtained dried product had moderate hardness and sweetness when chewed in the mouth, and retained its texture even after chewing for 3 minutes. After continuing chewing for another 2 minutes, he could swallow without resistance.

Example 2 The konjak-like product obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 was cooled and then freeze-dried according to a conventional method. The obtained dried product, after being absorbed in the mouth, absorbed the moisture in the mouth and then exhibited the same texture as the dried product obtained in Example 1, and the chewing time and the swallowing time were also the same as in Example 1. It was

Example 3 2500 parts by weight of slightly hot water of about 30 ° C. was added to 100 parts by weight of konjak flour and kneaded well, and 15 parts by weight of slaked lime dissolved in 300 parts by weight of water was added and stirred. This was placed in a wooden mold and boiled in boiling water for 30 minutes. The obtained konjak-like product was cooled, cut in the same manner as in Example 1, frozen, and then naturally thawed at room temperature. This was drained, immersed in a 70% sorbitol solution for 1 hour, and then dried with a hot air dryer at 80 ° C. The obtained dried product had a texture similar to that of the dried product obtained in Example 1, and the chewing time and the swallowing time were also obtained in Example 1.
Was similar to.

[0015]

According to the present invention, it is possible to chew for several minutes,
In addition, it is possible to provide a food composition that has a suitable hardness and sweetness and is persistent in the mouth. It has been pointed out that such a food composition has a decreased chewing function due to changes in eating habits that hard foods have become generally disliked.Currently, in order to enhance the chewing function and the development of oral undeveloped tissues. Is useful for.

The glucomannan used in the present invention is useful as a dietary fiber which is a low calorie food material, and can impart various functions possessed by dietary fiber.
Further, by using a sweetener having a bifidobacterial growth function or a low cariogenic sweetener, a food having a plurality of functions can be provided.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A konjak-like substance containing glucomannan and a sweetener as essential components and, if necessary, one or more selected from polysaccharides and proteins is freeze-dried and then dried. Characteristic food composition and method for producing the same 2. A konjak-like substance containing glucomannan as an essential component and, if necessary, one or more selected from polysaccharides and proteins is thawed and dehydrated to obtain an aqueous sweetener solution. Food composition characterized by being dipped and then dried, and method for producing the same 3. The food composition according to claim 1 or 2, and the method for producing the same, wherein the sweetener is one kind or a mixture of two or more kinds selected from monosaccharides, oligosaccharides and sugar alcohols.