JPH08131097A - Production of particle gel and beverage containing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain the particle gel having an uniform fine particle size, having an excellent gel-forming ability in spite of a liquid, and giving beverages having characteristic throat touches, by swelling konjak powder in water in the presence of an alcohol, immersing the swollen konjak paste in an alkaline solution, and subsequently heating. CONSTITUTION: Konjak powder (preferably arranged into a particle size of 30-80 mesh) is swollen with water in the presence of an alcohol (preferably ethanol or water-containing alcohol). The swollen product is immersed in an alkaline solution, and subsequently heated at a temperature of generally >=90 deg.C to produce the objective particle gel. The concentration of the alcohol is preferably >=60%. The alcohol is used in an amount of >=2 times, preferably 2-10 times, that of the konjak powder. The treatment for immersing the swollen product in the alkaline solution is preferably carried out by swelling the konjak in the water in the presence of the alcohol, and subsequently directly adding an alkaline earth metal hydroxide to the swollen product to control the pH of the solution to approximately 11.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a micro spherical konjac gel,
The present invention relates to a beverage containing the production method and the obtained granular gel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Jelly-like foods and drinks, such as juice containing pulp, have been used as foods and drinks with high palatability due to their unique throat and so on. Various researches and developments on gels and gels have been made. Most of them are, for example, an aqueous solution of sodium alginate or the like is dropped into an aqueous solution of a divalent metal salt of Mg or the like to form a spherical jelly having a diameter of several mm, but the obtained jelly is reversibly dissolved due to a change in pH. However, there is a disadvantage in that its use, that is, the liquid properties of foods and drinks obtained by blending the same are restricted.

Further, konnyaku granular gel, so-called konjac, is known together with thread konjac, which is used to form gel before forming gel in the konjac manufacturing process. The particles of the obtained crushed mulberry were large and uneven, and could not be used as a beverage or the like.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a new microspherical konjac which is required in the food and drink field, which has a fine and uniform particle size and retains an excellent gel-like morphology regardless of the liquidity. The point is to provide a method for producing a gel.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new beverage containing the gel obtained by the above method.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems As a result of intensive studies conducted by the present inventors from the above object, when swelling commercially available konnyaku refined powder (particles) in water in the presence of alcohol, binding between the particles, It was found that each grain swells moderately without agglomeration, etc., and this becomes a irreversible microspherical gel that meets the above purpose by heating and gelling, and the present invention was completed here. It was

That is, according to the present invention, a method for producing a fine spherical konjac gel characterized by swelling konjac refined powder in water in the presence of alcohol, immersing it in an alkaline solution, and then heating it to gel, Provided is a microsphere-shaped konjac gel, and a beverage comprising the microsphere-shaped konjac gel obtained by the method.

The fine spherical konjac gel obtained by the present invention can be made into a substantially uniform fine particle size by simply adjusting the particle sizes of the konjac fine powder used as the raw material, and depending on the degree of swelling with water. It can be easily adjusted to an appropriate hardness. Therefore, it is very useful especially as a drink having a unique throat.

The method of the present invention will be described in detail below. As the konjac refined powder used as a raw material in the method of the present invention,
Any of those usually commercially available can be used. In particular, it is preferable that the particles are passed through a sieve so as to have a uniform size of about 30 to 80 mesh.

In the method of the present invention, the konjac refined powder particles having the specific particle size are first swollen in water in the presence of alcohol. The alcohol used here is preferably ethanol or hydrous ethanol in consideration of the fact that the resulting gel is used as food and drink, and may be various alcoholic beverages such as sake and shochu. The use of the alcohol prevents the above-mentioned konnyaku fine powder particles from binding and agglomerating with each other, and provides a finely swelled product and eventually a gel (dehydration effect).
Can play. The concentration used is usually about 10% or more, preferably 60% or more. If the alcohol concentration is too low, the intended effect of the present invention due to its use, that is, the effect of preventing mutual binding of particles cannot be sufficiently exhibited, and the particle size of the swollen material and thus the gel becomes uneven, and the average size becomes large. is there. The swelling operation of konjac fine powder with water in the presence of alcohol is more preferably carried out by first mixing konjac fine powder with alcohol and then adding water thereto. Here, the amount of alcohol with respect to the konjac fine powder is preferably about twice or more, and the amount of water is preferably about 2 to about 10 times.

In the present invention, the swollen product obtained above is then immersed in an alkali and then gelled by heating. The alkali used here is preferably a hydroxide of an alkali metal such as sodium or potassium, or an alkaline earth metal such as calcium, and the pH of the liquid is adjusted to about 11 with this alkali.
It is preferable to prepare before and after, and the heat treatment after the above alkali immersion is generally carried out under a temperature condition of about 90 ° C. or higher so that a desired gel is formed.

In this way, the desired microspherical konjac gel of the present invention can be obtained. As described above, the granular gel has fine and uniform spherical morphology in which each particle is substantially constant,
When this is made into a food or drink (beverage), it imparts a unique texture, particularly its unique throat. The particle size is usually about 0.5 mm to about 3 mm, depending on the size of the powder particles and the degree of swelling.
You can freely change and decide up to the range. The hardness changes depending on the swelling rate, and becomes softer as it swells.

Therefore, the present invention also provides a beverage, especially a soft drink, containing the above-mentioned granular gel of the present invention.

The beverage of the present invention comprises the above-mentioned granular gel as an essential component, and after washing and draining the gel as necessary, it is well known that it is commonly used in beverages, such as sugar, fruit juice, acid and pigment. And the like are added to the beverage composition. The components that can be used in the beverage composition are arbitrary and are not particularly limited. Typical examples thereof include carbohydrates such as starch, monosaccharides, disaccharides, sugar alcohols and dextrins; proteins such as soybean protein, wheat gluten, casein, collagen and albumin; soybean oil, corn oil,
Examples include fats and oils such as cottonseed oil, lard, head, and hydrogenated fats; various vitamins; minerals and the like. In addition, seasonings, flavors, spices, colorants, amino acids and the like can be optionally added to the above composition to improve the taste, flavor and the like of the resulting beverage. The amount of the microspherical konjac granule gel of the present invention in the beverage composition is not particularly limited, but is generally 5 to 5.
It is preferably selected from the range of about 80% by weight. The form of the beverage composition thus prepared, specifically, health drinks, nutritional drinks, fruit juice drinks, favorite beverages such as coffee,
Examples include soup and vegetable puree.

[0015]

EXAMPLES In order to explain the present invention in more detail, preparation examples of the microsphere-shaped konjac gel of the present invention and soft drinks using the same will be given as examples. In addition, "parts in each example" means "parts by weight".

Example 1 Konjac fine powder 5 parts Ethyl alcohol 10 parts Water 10 parts Sodium hydroxide 0.5 parts Citric acid 0.7 parts Orange juice 100 parts Sugar 5 parts First, the above-mentioned konjac refined powder 5 parts and ethyl alcohol 10 parts 10 parts of water is added to the mixture, and the mixture is stirred. After 10 minutes or more, swelling and dehydration will be in a well-balanced state, so 0.5 parts of sodium hydroxide is added to this to adjust the pH to 11 or higher, and then heated to 90 ° C or higher for 1 minute or more. Store to obtain the gel of the present invention. The average particle size of this product is about 0.5 mm.

Then, this product is washed with a large amount of water and p
H8 or less, 0.7 part of citric acid was added thereto to adjust the pH to 4 or less, and this was mixed with 100 parts of orange juice and 5 parts of sugar to obtain the beverage of the present invention.

Example 2 Konjac refined flour 5 parts Shochu (40%) 20 parts Baked egg shell calcium 0.5 part Citric acid 0.3 part Coconut milk 100 parts Sugar 10 parts First, the above-mentioned konjac refined powder 5 parts and shochu (40) %) 20 parts. After 10 minutes or more, swelling and dehydration will be in a well-balanced state, so 0.5 parts of calcined egg shell calcium is added to this to adjust the pH to 11 or higher, and then heated to 90 ° C or higher for 1 minute or more. Store to obtain the gel of the present invention. The average particle size of this product is about 1 mm.

Then, this product is washed with a large amount of water and p
H8 or less, add 0.3 parts citric acid to this to bring the pH to 6 or less, and at the same time 100 parts coconut milk and 10 parts sugar.
Parts to obtain the beverage of the present invention in the form of a dessert beverage.

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Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A method for producing a fine spherical konnyaku granule gel, which comprises swelling konnyaku refined powder in water in the presence of alcohol, immersing it in an alkaline solution, and then heating it for gelation. 2. A micro spherical konjac gel obtained by the method according to claim 1. 3. A beverage comprising a micro spherical konjac gel obtained by the method according to claim 1.