JPH1118682A - Soft candy - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a soft candy capable of preventing the generation of fungus and decomposition without adding an anti-fungal agent or an antiseptic agent and not getting a dissolution of a confectionery base material by having pieces of fruit containing a specific amount of trehalose at the surface or inside of the candy. SOLUTION: This soft candy is obtained by having pieces of a fruit containing >=5% trehalose in a confectionery base material having 0.4-0.65 water content activity and water-based system. The trehalose is a kind of sugar distributed among animals, plants and microorganisms, and a non-reductive disaccharide obtained by 1, 1 bonding of 2 molecules of glucose. The trehalose has a characteristic to be substituted with water content in cells in animals or plants very rapidly as its property, and is effective for water maintenance of a food. Also, since it reduces the activity of water content, it has an effect of preventing the separation of water.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a soft candy containing fruit pieces.
In soft candy containing fruit pieces on the surface or inside, the sugar content of the contained fruit pieces is at least 5%.
The present invention relates to a soft candy excellent in preservability, characterized by containing trehalose in an amount of not less than 10%.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in confectionery in general, many confections containing fruit pieces on the surface or inside thereof have been commercialized. Usually, fruit pieces are added to confectionery in many cases because of the difference between the water content of the fruit pieces to be added and the moisture of the confectionery material used as the base material. If the water content is not adjusted, the storage period of the confectionery product is significantly reduced due to decay, mold, and the like, resulting in quality deterioration. As a method for preventing such quality deterioration, a technique that has been frequently used in the past is to reduce the moisture of the fruit pieces to be added to the confectionery by a method such as drying with heat, and to reduce the moisture of the confectionery material serving as the base material to be added. It's about balancing.

[0003] For example, there is a confectionery in which raisins and the like are added inside the biscuit. In this case, the fruit pieces added inside the biscuit dough are heated together in an oven for baking the biscuit dough, and the water content is increased. It is reduced to less than 10%. Furthermore, by gradually penetrating and diffusing water into the biscuit serving as the base material, the water content of the fruit pieces and biscuits becomes about 5%, so that rot and mold can be suppressed. When this method is used, it is limited to the case where the moisture of the confectionery including the fruit pieces is low, and it is necessary to remove the moisture from the fruit pieces. This method is not applicable to confectionery having a higher moisture content than baked confectionery.

[0004] The technique of adding fruit pieces to chocolate has heretofore been performed. In this case, the moisture content of the chocolate is extremely low at 1% or less, and the chocolate base material is an oil / fat base. Because of the fats and oils such as cocoa butter, it is possible to prevent moisture from penetrating into the chocolate base material, and by completely covering the fruit pieces with chocolate, it is possible to prevent the fruit pieces from deteriorating due to mold and rot. Things.

[0005] A method of adding fruit pieces to confectionery such as chewing candy or caramel having a water value of about 6% to 15% and in which the confectionery material is easily dissolved by moisture has conventionally been used. Methods have been devised and used to increase the sucrose content of a piece. According to this method, the fruit pieces are immersed in a highly concentrated solution of sucrose and dried to increase the sucrose content in the fruit pieces, reduce the water content, and transfer the water from the fruit pieces to the base confectionery. It is intended to stabilize the moisture so that it does not occur.

However, according to this method, sucrose does not have a sufficient water-retaining capacity, and when stored for a long period of time, moisture is transferred from the fruit pieces to the confectionery base material, and in the process, chewing candy or caramel and fruit In many cases, the portions in contact with the pieces are dissolved to cause quality deterioration such as dissolution of the confectionery due to moisture. Further, when the leaching of water is remarkable, mold may be generated on the joint surface with the base material, which is insufficient as a measure against quality deterioration.

[0007] There is also a method in which the water content is reduced to 10% or less by heating and drying the fruit pieces to be added. However, the flavor of the fruit pieces is lost by drying, and the texture of the fruit pieces is reduced. It also gives a dry, dry feel and cannot be marketed as product quality. Furthermore, once again, if stored for a long time,
The sugar in the fruit pieces is mainly fructose and it is easy to absorb moisture, so the moisture of the confectionery base to be added may permeate the fruit pieces, in which case the joining of the fruit pieces and the confectionery material On the surface, dissolution of the material, generation of mold, and progress of decay may be observed, and this is not a means for solving the problem.

[0008] That is, in the prior art, when the fruit piece to be added and the base material are heated to reduce the water content or the like, the periphery of the fruit piece to be added is made of a different material containing fats and oils such as chocolate. In the case of including in the
Although it is possible to manufacture products of quality that can withstand long-term storage, confectionery bases to which fruit pieces are added contain about 6 to 15% of water, and the base system is water-based. If water is used, moisture transfer in the fruit pieces will occur, and only short-term storage at the joint surface with the base material is sufficient, but only products that have a high risk of causing quality deterioration during long-term storage There is no technology for producing a product that is stable for long-term storage without impairing the texture and flavor of the fruit pieces.

[0009]

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a confectionery base material having a water content of 6% or more, a water activity of 0.4 or more and 0.65 or less, and an aqueous system. When fruit pieces are added and stored for a long period of time, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of mold and rot without adding an antiseptic or preservative, and to provide a product that does not dissolve the base of confectionery. It is an issue.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a confectionery base, which is characterized by the deterioration of the quality of the fruit pieces and the dissolution of the base, which are caused by increasing or decreasing the water content in the fruit pieces, Focusing on the transfer of water between the added fruit pieces, we conducted research on a method that does not cause deterioration in quality without impairing taste and texture. As a result, it was found that the problem could be solved by treating the fruit pieces with a syrup containing trehalose as a main component.

Trehalose is a kind of saccharide distributed in animals and plants and microorganisms in nature, and is a non-reducing disaccharide in which two molecules of glucose are linked by 1,1. Trehalose is characterized in that its replacement with intracellular water in animals and plants is performed very quickly, and is effective in retaining water in foods. It also has the function of reducing water activity and preventing water separation. The present invention focuses on the characteristics of trehalose, immerses the fruit pieces in a syrup containing trehalose as a main component, and replaces part of the water and sugar in the fruit pieces with trehalose. It was found that the above-mentioned problem that could not be solved can be solved.

More specifically, a piece of fruit is immersed in a syrup containing 20% trehalose, and then dried to remove water.
It is reduced to 0% to 12%. Trehalose used was trehalose, a food-grade starch derived from starch, mass-produced by Hayashibara Biochemical Research Institute and sold by Hayashibara Shoji. As for the fruit pieces to be immersed in the syrup, dried fruits such as raisins, dates, plums, and syrups of 50% to 60% of sucrose solutions such as peach and pineapple, and fresh fruits may be used.

A syrup containing trehalose as a main component
Table 1 shows how the sugar composition in the fruit pieces changes by immersing the fruit pieces. The sugar in the raisins impregnated with trehalose syrup was analyzed using a high performance liquid chromatograph. When this treatment was performed, the sugar composition contained in the raw fruit pieces was replaced with trehalose in an amount of 20% or more. You. In the fruit piece after the treatment, the water retention is improved and the water activity is reduced as compared with the fruit piece before the treatment. That is, since the movement of water between the fruit piece confectionery base materials is suppressed, the dissolution of the base material, generation of mold, and decay caused by the phenomenon are prevented.

As for the confectionery base to be combined with the fruit pieces, the subject of the present invention is chewing candy or caramel containing sucrose and starch syrup as main components. Vegetable oils and fats are boiled down to a predetermined temperature of 120 ° C. to 130 ° C. by using a device such as a cooker, and then, depending on the product, gelatin or a gelling agent is added or not, and in a mixer, fondant is added. Candy called soft candy, which is obtained by adding a fragrance and a pigment and then cooling.

As for the saccharides used, lactose, glucose, maltose and fructose may be added in addition to sucrose as a main component. Alternatively, instead of using sugars, sugar alcohols such as maltitol, sorbitol, lactitol, isomalt, erythritol, and xylitol can be used, or both sugars and sugar alcohols can be used in combination.

[0016] Further, as for the form in which the fruit pieces are mixed in the base material, even in the form completely contained in the base material,
A form in which a piece of fruit is partially exposed on the surface of the base material is also possible, and various forms of products can be obtained depending on the purpose of the product.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to examples.

[0018]

Example 1 California raisin was used as a piece of fruit to be used, and replacement treatment was performed using trehalose. Trehalose was made into a 20 w / w% aqueous solution, and the raw raisins were immersed in the aqueous trehalose solution and left at 55 ° C. for 12 hours. After a lapse of time, the raw raisins were transferred onto a net to remove the sugar liquid attached to the raw materials. Then, it was dried in a thermostat at 30 ° C. for 12 hours to obtain raisins subjected to a trehalose substitution treatment. For the confectionery bases to be combined, soft candies were manufactured according to the formulation shown in Table 2. First, syrup, sucrose, sorbitol, and fat are mixed and boiled down to 130 ° C. Next, a 30 w / w% aqueous solution of gelatin is added to the boiled candy and mixed and stirred with an overmixer. After the gelatin aqueous solution is uniformly mixed, flavors and pigments are added and the mixture is heated to a temperature of 7.
Cool to 0 ° C. To the soft candy obtained after cooling, the trehalose-substituted raisin obtained by the above-mentioned method is added, followed by mixing and stirring. The obtained candy with trehalose-substituted raisins is transferred to a cooling board and cooled until the temperature reaches 40 ° C. Next, it is formed into a flat plate having a thickness of 10 mm by a rolling roll,
The resultant was cut into a shape of 0 mm × 20 mm to obtain a soft candy containing a target trehalose-substituted raisin.

[0019]

Example 2 Rum and California raisins were used and a replacement treatment was performed using trehalose. Trehalose is a 25% w / w aqueous solution, and 20% w / w rum is added to the aqueous trehalose solution. The raw raisins were immersed and left in this state at 55 ° C. for 12 hours. After a lapse of time, the raisins were transferred onto a net to remove rum and water adhering to the raw materials. Then, in a thermostat at 30 ° C., 1
It was dried for 2 hours to obtain raisins subjected to trehalose substitution treatment. The trehalose-substituted rum-soaked raisins obtained in this way, by the flavor retention function of trehalose,
Rum raisins were obtained with less rum flavor volatilization than before. As for the confectionery base to be combined, a soft candy was prepared according to the formulation shown in Table 2 as in Example 1, and the obtained trehalose-treated rum-soaked raisins were added, followed by mixing and stirring. The trehalose-substituted rum-soaked raisin-containing soft candy is transferred to a cooling plate and cooled to a temperature of 40 ° C.
Next, it was formed into a flat plate having a thickness of 10 mm with a rolling roll, and cut into a desired shape with a cutter to obtain a desired trehalose-substituted rum-soaked raisin soft candy.

[0020]

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1 As a comparative example, a soft candy was prepared using rum marinated raisins using conventional sucrose syrup without trehalose treatment.
Candy with trehalose-substituted rum-soaked raisins. First, sucrose is made into a 25 w / w% aqueous solution, and rum is further added at 20 w / w%. The raw raisins were immersed and left in this state at 55 ° C. for 12 hours. After a lapse of time, the raisins were transferred onto a net to remove rum and water adhering to the raw materials. Then, it was dried in a thermostat at 30 ° C. for 12 hours to obtain rum raisins. The obtained rum pickled raisins are rum pickled raisins called conventional rum raisins. With respect to the confectionery base to be combined, a soft candy was prepared in the same manner as in Examples 1 and 2 with the composition shown in Table 2, and rum-soaked raisins were mixed to obtain soft candy with rum-soaked raisins. Was.

The sugar compositions of the trehalose-treated rum-raisin raisin of Example 2 and the rum-raisin of Comparative Example 1 were analyzed by liquid chromatography. It was confirmed that rum raisin containing 0.2% and treated with sucrose contained 5.5% sucrose.

[0022]

The soft candies containing fruit pieces of Example 2 and Comparative Example 1 were stored under conditions of high temperature and high humidity, and subjected to a comparative test for mold generation. Conditions are water vapor permeability 2
The soft candies containing fruit pieces of Example 2 and Comparative Example 1 packaged using a packaging material of g / m ² were stored at a temperature of 30 ° C. and a relative humidity of 80% for 6 months, and the occurrence of mold was compared.
As a comparative method, the number of molds was analyzed by potato dextrose agar plating method. The product of Example 2 was negative /
0.1 g, and for Comparative Example 1, positive / 0.1 g
Met. That is, the soft candy according to the present invention, which has a fruit piece containing 5% or more of trehalose on its surface or inside, has a superior antifungal and antiseptic effect as compared with a conventional soft candy having a fruit piece. Thus, it is possible to provide a product that can withstand long-term storage compared to conventional products.

[0023]

[Table 1]

[0024]

[Table 2]

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Shinichi Goto 10-2-1, Takamido, Inazawa City, Aichi Prefecture 624 (72) Inventor Naohiko Katagiri 377-4 Kibitsu, Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture

Claims (1)

[Claims] Soft candy characterized by having a fruit piece containing 5% or more trehalose on the surface or inside