JPH1014531A - Food colorant - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a food colorant rich in nutrients, having excellent coloring performance and suitable for the coloring of edible Konjak (paste made of the starch of devil's tongue) dispensing with the finely pulverizing process and the highly purifying process in contrast with conventional colorant by using powdery of dried Jew's-ear. SOLUTION: Jew's-ear (Auricularia auricula) dried e.g. in the sun is crushed with a crusher such as a roll mill or a high-speed cutter to produce powder having particle diameter of <=2mm. The food colorant has low caloric value and contains nutrients necessary for human body such as proteins, calcium, iron, fibers and vitamin D in balanced state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a food coloring and edible konjac using a black jellyfish.

[0002]

2. Description of the Prior Art Black jellyfish belongs to a variant of basidiomycetes (Jellyfish), and is well known as edible mushrooms (fruit bodies) occurring in elderberry and oaks. It has a shape similar to a human earlobe and is soft, and is called "wood ear" in Japan and China.

Many such edible black jellyfish are commercially available in the form of a dried product. Usually, the edible jellyfish is immersed in water to absorb water until it becomes soft, and is used as a cooking material in small pieces.

Among the food additives, natural food colorings of black or black-purple (hereinafter abbreviated as black) include chlorophyll copper compounds (sodium copper chlorophyllin) obtained from terrestrial or aquatic plants. ) Etc. are known.

[0005]

Incidentally, the above-mentioned conventional black natural food coloring has no preservability (stability) unless the coloring components contained in the raw materials are purified, and usually, the granules are not granulated. Unless the particles are crushed to a diameter of about 10 μm or less, a product having good coloring properties cannot be obtained, and such a purification step and a fine crushing step require considerable trouble. is there.

[0006] On the other hand, edible konjac, which is known as a food containing a black-purple pigment, is a food containing konjac potatoes as a raw material and having relatively low calories and a high content of dietary fiber.
In recent years, its value as a health food has been increasing,
This has the problem that the content of vitamins and calcium necessary for the body is relatively low.

The inventor of the present application has focused on the fact that jellyfish has a relatively low calorie and that the dried product is rich in calcium, vitamin D, iron, phosphorus, fiber, potassium, etc. The inventors of the present invention have repeatedly studied the use as foods, and have found that dried powdered jellyfish has excellent coloring properties, and have reached the present invention.

[0008] That is, the first object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is not necessary to finely pulverize a food coloring material made of a natural material or to purify it to a high degree of purity. It is to provide a black food coloring of a natural material which can be prepared at a low temperature.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a black food coloring containing nutrients necessary for the body.

A third object of the present invention is to provide an edible konjac, which is a low-calorie food, containing nutrients that are often insufficient in the body and colored in a natural black color. is there.

[0011]

In order to solve the above first and second problems, the present invention provides a food coloring agent comprising dried black jellyfish powder. The powder is preferably a powder having a particle size of 2 mm or less.

Alternatively, in order to solve the above third problem, an edible konjac containing the food coloring is provided.

The food colorant of the present invention is not a colorant obtained by isolating and purifying only the pigment, but contains a black natural pigment derived from dried black jellyfish together with other nutrients. As well as food safety.

The black jellyfish is a food containing a large amount of both vitamin D and calcium, and can efficiently absorb calcium in the body by a synergistic effect of both components.

[0015] On the surface of the jellyfish, short hairs of about 0.1 to 0.2 mm in length are purple-brown,
The pulverized dried product containing such short hairs, even if it contains coarse particles having a particle size exceeding 2 mm, is stably excellent in coloring power due to the fine black fibers. In particular, dried black jellyfish having an average particle size of 2 mm or less is preferable because it has good coloring properties as a food coloring agent.

The edible konjac containing a food coloring agent comprising the powder of dried black jellyfish as described above becomes a black colour, which is preferable for the food, and also contains calcium and vitamins which are liable to be lacking in edible konjac. D,
Nutrients such as iron, phosphorus, fiber and potassium are fortified,
Become a healthier food.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The black jellyfish used in the present invention is a black jellyfish (Auricularia auricula) belonging to the order Jellyfish known as edibles. These can be used alone or in combination of two or more.

In order to dry the raw jellyfish, natural (sunlight) drying or forced hot air drying is performed. Forcibly dried ones lose vitamin D, but sun dried ones do not, and are the preferred drying method to preserve nutrients. Of course, a commercially available dried jellyfish may be used.

The dried jellyfish as described above is pulverized by a pulverizer such as a roll machine or a high-speed rotating cutter to obtain powder. However, crushing with a household speed cutter, mixer, mill or the like is extremely dangerous because blades are spilled.

The particle size of such a granular material may be appropriately selected from, for example, micron-based fine powder to granular one, depending on the coloring application of the food to be added.
As a preferred specific particle size, the particle size when the maximum length is regarded as the particle size is 2 mm or less, more preferably 1 mm or less.
The mesh size is 0 mesh (particle size passing through a standard sieve with a mesh size of 1.65 mm) or less, and more preferably 20 mesh (particle size passing through a standard sieve with a mesh size of 0.83 mm). As the powder of jellyfish to be added to the edible konjac, those having a mesh size of 50 to 100 mesh are more preferable because of good coloring properties.

Jellyfish is a low-calorie food and contains protein, calcium, iron, fiber, vitamin D
The fact that it contains nutrients necessary for the body in a well-balanced manner is unique in general foods. In particular, since the content of dietary fiber and vitamin D is higher as the first and second ranks among all food fields shown in the Japanese Food Standard Analysis Table, the food consisting of dried black jellyfish When a coloring agent is used by adding it to health foods such as diets, it becomes a food that is very useful for aging.For example, compared to diet foods consisting only of konjac, the adverse effects of causing body modulation are extremely high. It is thought that there are few.

For reference, 10 pieces each of konjac and jellyfish
An extract of a component table per 0 g (Science and Technology Agency Resource Research Committee: “Fourth Edition Japanese Food Standard Analysis Table”, 1995) is shown below.

[0023]

[Table 1]

According to the composition table, konjac as a food contains about 97% by weight of water (hereinafter simply referred to as%), and as shown in Table 1, 0.1% of protein,
It contains 2.2% sugar, 0.1% fiber and 0.3% ash and contains calcium, which is due to the addition of calcium hydroxide as a coagulant. And konjac does not contain vitamin D.

Vitamin D has an effect of assisting the absorption of calcium in the body, but since the above konjac does not contain calcium, it is presumed that the calcium absorption rate is low even when taken alone.

On the other hand, black jellyfish contains vitamin D together with calcium at 16000 IU (1 IU is 0.026 IU).
(Micrograms), which means that calcium is contained in an extremely large amount, so that calcium can be efficiently taken into the body even if jellyfish is taken alone.

Incidentally, the vitamin D content of the dried shiitake mushroom is 840 IU, and the vitamin D content of the jellyfish is also extremely high as compared with the higher vitamin D content shown in Table 2 below. Recognize. The measured values in Table 2 were obtained under the guidance of the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 1994 under the guidance of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, as a new analytical technique called high performance liquid chromatography developed in the United States has made it possible to analyze vitamin D in recent years.
It was added to the food composition table in the year.

[0028]

[Table 2]

As is apparent from Table 1 above, when boiled jellyfish is boiled in water, calcium, potassium, iron, fiber, etc., in particular, are extremely reduced as compared with the dried product. From this fact, it can be understood that even if the jellyfish in a state where the dried product is immersed in water and returned or is similarly prepared is used as a food coloring, it is not possible to sufficiently ingest nutrients necessary for the body. In other words, by using dried jellyfish as a food coloring, nutrients necessary for the body can be efficiently ingested for the first time.

It is said that jellyfish has a special function of digesting fibrous substances, and its colloid adsorbs residues and other substances remaining in the digestive system and is discharged outside the body to clean the gastrointestinal tract. It is said that there is a property to do. The colloid swelled in the intestinal tract and increased in volume is expected to stimulate intestinal vibration (peristalsis) like dietary fiber, thereby promoting physiological defecation and eliminating constipation. For this reason, the food coloring of the present invention can be used not only for the purpose of dietary restriction but also for the purpose of improving the constitution by taking a small amount.

In addition, jellyfish contains a large amount of dietary fiber (7
4.18%) is a food that contains a large amount of dietary fiber compared to vegetable foods other than konjac,
This is also evident from Table 3 below (excerpt from the Science and Technology Agency Investigation Committee, "Fourth Edition Japanese Food Standard Analysis Table"). These measured values are the results of measuring various dietary fiber contents by a new measuring method under the guidance of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. It is said that dietary fiber is also effective in preventing obesity, preventing an increase in blood sugar level, and preventing arteriosclerosis, colorectal cancer and the like.

Burdock, sweet potato, and celery, which were conventionally regarded as a mass of dietary fiber, were only 3.58%, 2.32%, and 1.93%, respectively.

[0033]

[Table 3]

[0034] Incidentally, vitamin D is a component involved in bone formation and has a function of promoting calcium absorption from the intestine and regulating the amount of calcium dissolved from the bone. For this reason, deficiency of vitamin D tends to cause osteoporosis.
Currently, as a preventive drug for osteoporosis, D ₂ (ergocalciferol), D ₃ has (cholecalciferol), respectively ergosterol (pro D ₂₎ or 7-2 dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC pro D ₃₎ Generated by ultraviolet irradiation.

In addition to such osteoporosis remedy, natural dry jellyfish powder can be used. As mentioned above, if dried jellyfish powder, vitamin D
Although it contains 16000 IU, it becomes 0 when dissolved in water. Therefore, it is preferable to use a food colorant that is sterilized in a dry state.

The iron content of black jellyfish is 44 mg per 100 g, which is more than four times the iron content of 13 mg in 100 g of pig liver, which is said to be good for anemia. In addition, vitamin B ₂ included in the brown rice is 0.16mg in 100 g, fungus is 1.1mg in 100 g.

Thus, dietary fiber, iron, calcium,
Only jellyfish can ingest components necessary for the human body, such as phosphorus, potassium, vitamin B ₂ , and vitamin D, from plant foods other than meat and fish. Therefore, it is extremely preferable to use the food coloring made of dried jellyfish of the present invention also as a preventive for osteoporosis, which has become a serious social problem in an aging society like Japan.

The food colorant of the present invention generally has a wide range of uses as a black colorant. Examples of usable foods include edible konjac, bread (black bread), spaghetti and other noodles, tofu, cookies And confectionery dough, rice cakes, and edible cereal powder as food materials.

Particularly, in the case of edible konjac,
Jellyfish powder passing through 100 mesh, konjac powder 1
A preferable result is obtained by adding 5 to 8 parts by weight to 00 parts by weight. In addition, such a compounding ratio and the particle size of the jellyfish can be appropriately changed according to the taste of the user such as taste and color, and are not particularly limited to the above numerical ranges.

[0040]

【Example】

[Example 1] A commercially available dried jellyfish was passed through a roll-type crusher, then passed through a standard sieve of 20 mesh (mesh size: 0.83 mm), and the powder passed through was colored black (including black purple) food. Fees.

[Examples 2 and 3] A commercially available dried jellyfish was applied to a roll-type pulverizer and then 10 mesh (mesh 1.
(65 mm) standard sieve, and the powder passing through the sieve was used as a food coloring (Example 2).

50 g of the obtained food coloring of Example 2
The konjac potatoes are sliced and dried, and 840 g of crushed fine powder is uniformly mixed.
While stirring to 0 liter, add little by little (so as not to form lump), and even if the surface is agitated, it becomes viscous to the extent that it does not sink immediately. Left in place for 1 hour. Next, this was kneaded for 10 seconds under the condition that the rotor of the mixer was rotated at 120 times / minute, and lime water (125 g of lime dissolved in 10 liters of hot water at 50 ° C.) was added little by little. After thorough mixing, the mixture was quickly transferred to a mold to prevent air from entering, and solidified in about 2 hours.

After the coagulation was completed, the mixture was placed in cold water of 10 ° C. or less and cooled until the central temperature became 10 ° C. or less, to obtain edible konjac (Example 3).

The obtained edible konjac contains nutrients (iron, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin B ₂ , vitamin D) which are liable to be low in edible konjac, which is a low-calorie food, and has a natural dark purple color. It was colored.

[0045]

According to the present invention, as described above, a food coloring material comprising dried black jellyfish powder is used, so that a food coloring material of a natural material is finely powdered like a conventional coloring material. And it is an advantage that it is a food coloring agent that can be prepared relatively easily without requiring high purity purification. There is also an advantage that the food coloring is a black food coloring containing nutrients necessary for the body.

Further, the invention relating to an edible konjac containing a food coloring agent comprising a dried black jellyfish powder comprises a nutrient which tends to be insufficient in edible konjac, which is a low-calorie food, and also has a natural black color. There is an advantage that it is colored in a system color.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A food coloring material comprising a dried black jellyfish powder. 2. The food coloring material according to claim 1, wherein the powder is a powder having a particle size of 2 mm or less. An edible konjac containing the food coloring agent according to claim 1 or 2.