WO2009113627A1

WO2009113627A1 - Food material and method of using the same

Info

Publication number: WO2009113627A1
Application number: PCT/JP2009/054791
Authority: WO
Inventors: 典子三輪; 義和中西
Original assignee: 味の素株式会社; 天野エンザイム株式会社
Priority date: 2008-03-14
Filing date: 2009-03-12
Publication date: 2009-09-17
Also published as: JP5385894B2; JPWO2009113627A1

Abstract

Provided is a highly water-absorbing material that is usable for various purposes such as imparting a high water absorptivity to an inexpensive natural material, improving the texture of a food or controlling the viscosity thereof. A crosslinked wheat gluten network structure is formed followed by deamidation with the use of a protein deamidase.

Description

Food materials and their use

[Description of related applications]
The present invention is based on the priority claim of Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-066766 (filed on Mar. 14, 2008), the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Shall.
The present invention relates to a food material having a high water absorption capacity derived from wheat gluten and a method for using the same.

In recent years, highly absorbent materials and food materials have been widely used in various industries such as medical, hygiene products, agriculture, food, and packaging, and their production volume has been increasing. Recently, in particular, due to increasing interest in environmental issues, there has been an increasing need for highly water-absorbing materials that are biodegradable from conventional synthetic products, and research and development of highly safe alternatives using natural products has progressed. (Non-Patent Document 1). Among them, polysaccharides and proteins that are also used as food materials are the most studied materials. Among polysaccharides, alginic acid, guar gum, xanthan gum, carrageenan, starch, etc. (Patent Documents 1 to 5) and protein Then, animal gelatin and the like are known (Patent Documents 6 to 8). However, although polysaccharides and gelatin are excellent in water absorption and water retention, they are poor in dispersibility in water and lack in ease of use due to large changes in physical properties due to temperature changes. In addition, there is a problem that it is not easy to stably supply both quality and quantity, and the price is unstable and expensive. Furthermore, these are often subjected to a chemical crosslinking treatment or the like in order to increase water absorption, and most of them are not supposed to be eaten.

Water-absorbing materials as food materials are also useful for improving texture in food production, processing, and cooking. Examples of examples reported so far include structured soy protein with high water absorption ability such as hamburger That can provide a fresh succulent feeling (Patent Document 9), and that an edible water-absorbing material obtained by amylase treatment of starch can be used to improve the texture of cooking clothes, particularly frying batters (Patent Document 9) 10) etc. Examples of methods for providing processed foods or frozen foods with improved quality from food materials having water absorption include examples using dry granular soybean protein, dry granular wheat protein, etc. (Patent Document 11). However, in any case, the water absorption is several times to several tens of times its own weight, and it is difficult to say that the water absorption rate is excellent. As described above, no material that is inexpensive and has a sufficiently high water absorption capacity has been found as a material useful for improving the texture of food.

On the other hand, many reports on deamidation of wheat protein have been made so far (Patent Documents 12 to 13, Non-Patent Documents 2 to 5). Patent Document 12 discloses that wheat gluten modified with protein deamidating enzyme has increased solubility and dispersibility, and has not been suitable for use in coffee / whitener, acidic beverages such as juice, dressing, mayonnaise, It can be used in cream, can also be used as a highly dispersible tempura powder, and dough containing modified gluten has low plasticity and excellent extensibility, so bread, crackers, piskets, cookies, pizza, Or it is disclosed that it is suitable for the production of pie crust. However, in both cases, insoluble wheat gluten is deamidated to improve dispersion solubility, emulsification, and foaming properties. As in the present invention, insoluble wheat gluten can be obtained by deamidation. There have been no reports of examples of creating a material having high water absorption by performing a crosslinking treatment so as not to dissolve.
JP 2001-226525 A JP 2003-117390 A JP 2003-154262 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-96181 JP-A-10-001501 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-8800 JP 2004-035093 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-012806 JP 2003-235461 A JP 09-154519 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-090686 JP 2000-50887 A JP 2001-218590 A Latest Trends in Polymer Gels CMC Publishing p.176 Journal of Japanese Society for Food Science and Technology Vol. 49, No. 10 (October 2002) p.639-645 J. Food Sci, Vol. 67, Nr8, p.2896-2901 (2002) Agric Biol Chem, 50, p.1989-1994 (1986) Nippon Nogei Kagaku Kaishi, 55 (10), 983-989 (1981)

The entire disclosed contents of Patent Documents 1 to 13 and Non-Patent Documents 1 to 5 are incorporated herein by reference. The following is an analysis of the related art according to the present invention.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a highly water-absorbing food material that can be used for various applications including improving the texture of food and a method for using the same.

As a result of intensive studies in view of the above problems, the present inventors have formed a cross-linked network structure on wheat gluten, which is a vegetable protein, and further subjected to deamidation treatment. It was found that a food material derived from wheat gluten having double water-absorbing ability and water retention was obtained. Furthermore, the present inventors have completed the present invention by finding that the superabsorbent material thus obtained becomes a general-purpose material that can be used for improving the texture of foods and other uses. That is, the present invention is as follows.
(1) A food material obtained by a method comprising a step of forming a crosslinked network structure in wheat gluten and a step of allowing protein deamidase to act.
(2) The food material according to (1), wherein the step of forming a crosslinked network structure of wheat gluten is by heat treatment.
(3) The food material according to (1) or (2), wherein the amount of protein deamidase to act is 1 to 1000 units per gram of wheat gluten.
(4) A method for producing processed foods using the food material according to (1) to (3).
(5) The method according to (4), wherein the processed food is a hamburger or an oil-in-water emulsion food.
(6) A viscosity modifier for foods using the food material according to (1) to (3).
(7) A method for producing a cream using the food material according to (1) to (3).

According to the present invention, a highly water-absorbing food material that can be used for various purposes can be obtained easily and at low cost from wheat gluten, which is a relatively inexpensive food material.

It is a state after water absorption of the modified gluten material (Example 1). It is a figure which shows the thickening effect in a concentrated liquid food (Example 3).

The wheat gluten used in the present invention will be described. Gluten, the main protein in wheat flour, is industrially produced as a by-product of wheat starch production. Today, raw materials such as ginger and processed into powders, granules, textures or fibers are widely used in various forms such as raw materials in the food industry. The wheat gluten of the present invention is not limited to such a raw material form, but as a chemical property, a high molecular weight material that is not hydrolyzed as much as possible is preferable. For example, dried and powdered vital gluten (active gluten) without impairing the functional properties of gluten is a preferred material for the superabsorbent food material of the present invention.

In the present invention, it is important to include a step of forming a cross-linked network structure on wheat gluten and a step of allowing protein deamidase to act, and the order thereof is not limited, but preferably a cross-linked network structure is formed on wheat gluten. After the formation, protein deamidase should be allowed to act. In order to make it easy to use the obtained food material for processed foods and the like, it is desirable to further undergo a drying step. Examples of the drying method include hot air drying, vacuum drying, and freeze drying.

Here, the cross-linked network structure of wheat gluten in the present invention will be described in detail. In general, gluten forms a three-dimensional network structure having strong viscoelasticity by kneading with water. This is called a gluten network, and is obtained when gliadin and glutenin, which are gluten constituent proteins, hydrate and interact with each other. The cross-linked network structure of wheat gluten referred to in the present invention is also of the same type. More specifically, it means that the cross-linked structure is stronger than the above-mentioned gluten network and has increased hardness. That is, the step of forming a crosslinked network structure in wheat gluten in the present invention means that the wheat gluten that has formed a network in the presence of moisture further has an intra- and inter-molecular SS bond, a hydrophobic bond, a hydrogen bond, etc. This means that a stronger cross-linked structure is formed.

As the method, a heat treatment that is simple, economical, and has no hindrance to eating is particularly suitable, but of course not limited thereto. As conditions for the heat treatment, the heating temperature is preferably in the range of 50 ° C. to 200 ° C., more preferably in the range of 70 ° C. to 170 ° C. If the heating temperature is too low, the wheat gluten is water-solubilized by the subsequent deamidation treatment, rather than forming a crosslinked structure, so that the superabsorbent material of the present invention cannot be obtained. Further, when the heating temperature exceeds 200 ° C., an appropriate cross-linked network structure is not formed and coloring is performed, so that a preferable highly water-absorbing material cannot be obtained. Examples of the heating method include hot water heating, microwave heating, steam heating, heat extrusion processing using an extruder, and the like. In this case, the amount of water is preferably 0.1 to 100 times the amount of gluten in weight ratio. Of course, the heating method is not limited to these types.

The heating time is not particularly limited, and may be appropriately set according to the heating temperature, the heating equipment, or the desired physical properties of the water-absorbing material. Specifically, for example, in the case of a steam autoclave, it may be set to 60 minutes immediately after reaching the internal temperature of 121 ° C.

Necessity of heat treatment may be performed for wheat gluten not having a cross-linked network structure, and for wheat gluten having a cross-linked network structure from the beginning, heating is not necessary, or based on that, What is necessary is just to add heat processing suitably. And the wheat gluten which has the crosslinked network structure obtained in this way may be in any form of granular, powder, fiber, gel, liquid or suspension.

As a method for forming a crosslinked network structure in wheat gluten, a treatment with an oxidizing agent or a protein crosslinking agent may be mentioned in addition to the heat treatment.

The protein deamidase treatment in the present invention is a treatment for deamidation of wheat gluten without hydrolysis, and the enzyme has an action of deamidating a glutamine residue of a protein or peptide. Examples thereof include protein deamidase (hereinafter sometimes referred to as protein glutaminase), transglutaminase, peptide glutaminase, and the like. The most suitable enzyme in the present invention includes protein glutaminase described in JP-A No. 2000-50887 and WO 2006/075751, which catalyzes only the deamidation of a carboxyamide group of a glutamine residue of a protein. The activity of protein glutaminase is measured by a method improved from the method described in JP-A-2000-50887 <Reference 1>, that is, the following method. Note that the contents of Reference 1 are incorporated herein by reference.
(1) Add 10 μl of an aqueous solution containing protein deamidase to 100 μl of 176 mM phosphate buffer (pH 6.5) containing 30 mM Z-Gln-Gly, and incubate at 37 ° C. for 10 minutes, and then add 100 μl of 12% TCA solution. In addition, the reaction is stopped.
(2) At this time, appropriately dilute with 20 mM phosphate buffer (pH 6.0) so that the enzyme concentration becomes 0.05 mg / ml, and after centrifugation (12000 rpm, 4 ° C., 5 minutes) Quantification of NH3 with kit ammonia (Roche) is performed.
(3) Add 10 μl of supernatant and 190 μl of 0.1M triethanolamine buffer (pH 8.0) to 100 μl of reagent II solution (F-kit accessory), leave it at room temperature for 5 minutes, and then use 100 μl to determine the absorbance at 340 nm. taking measurement. To the remaining 200 μl, 1.0 μl of reagent III (attached to F-kit, glutamate dehydrogenase) is added, and the mixture is allowed to stand at room temperature for 20 minutes, and then the remaining 200 μl of absorbance at 340 nm is measured. The ammonia concentration in the reaction solution is obtained from a calibration curve representing the relationship between the ammonia concentration and the amount of change in absorbance (340 nm) prepared using the ammonia standard solution attached to F-kit.
(4) The protein concentration is measured using a protein assay CBB (Coomassie Brilliant Blue) solution (manufactured by Nacalai Tesque) at a detection wavelength of 595 nm. BSA (Pierce) is used as Standard.
(5) The activity of protein deamidase is determined by the following formula.
Specific activity (unit / mg) = (ammonia concentration in reaction solution (μmol / ml) × reaction solution amount (ml) × enzyme dilution ratio) ÷ (enzyme amount (ml) × protein concentration (mg / ml) × reaction time (Min))

In the food material having a high water absorption capacity of the present invention, the amount of deamidation is better as much as possible in order to impart as much water absorption power as possible. When performing deamidation with an enzyme, the amount of reaction of the enzyme is larger. Moderate. Therefore, for this purpose, the reaction conditions and methods should be set appropriately by increasing the reaction time as much as possible, determining the reaction temperature from the optimum temperature and temperature stability of the enzyme to be used, and conducting the reaction with stirring. The amount of protein deamidase is preferably 1 to 1000 units per gram of wheat gluten, and is preferably reacted at 10 to 60 ° C. for 10 minutes to 18 hours. After the enzyme reaction, it may be left as it is, or if it is desired to stop the reaction, an enzyme deactivation step, for example, a heat treatment may be performed.

The food material of the present invention may be in any form of granules, powders, fibers, gels, liquids or suspensions. When stored for a long period of time and used for various purposes, it is preferable to dry the water-absorbing wheat gluten into a powder form.

The food material of the present invention obtained by the step of forming a cross-linked network structure in wheat gluten and the step of allowing protein deamidase to act is an oil-in-water emulsified food such as mayonnaise, processed food such as hamburg, moisturizing cream, etc. Can also be used as a food-use viscosity modifier. The amount of the food material of the present invention added to food, cosmetics and the like is not particularly limited, but is preferably about 0.01 to 20% by mass.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples. The present invention is not limited in any way by this example.

Distilled water (10 g, 20 g, 30 g, 40 g) was added to 1 g of gluten (Nacalai Tesque) and heated at 121 ° C. for 20 minutes by an electric autoclave to obtain a heat-treated product of gluten. Thereafter, 100 units of protein glutaminase prepared by the method described in WO2006 / 075752 was added and reacted at 50 ° C. for 4 hours (Products 1 to 4 of the present invention). After allowing to cool, the water absorption state was visually observed, and the characteristics of the gel after water absorption were further examined. As comparative examples, those not heated and those not added with protein glutaminase were also prepared in the same manner (Comparative products 1 and 2). The results are summarized in Table 1. FIG. 1 shows the state of the comparative product 2 and the inventive products 1 to 4 after water absorption of the gluten material.

In Comparative Product 1, gluten was solubilized by the deamidation reaction with protein glutaminase, and a water-absorbing gel could not be prepared. In Comparative product 2, as shown in FIG. 1 (left end), water-containing gluten forms a strong cross-linked network structure by heating and absorbs a small amount of water in the gap. Was watering. On the other hand, in the products 1 to 4 of the present invention, the surrounding water was almost completely absorbed. These water-absorbing gels were paraffin-like when the amount of water was low, but changed to a softer and softer as the amount of water increased. The physical properties of the obtained product were not jelly-like, but were close to those of starch-like paste that flowed when shaken vigorously. The water-absorbing gels 1 to 4 of the present invention were further heat-treated in a boiling bath for 15 minutes, but no water separation was confirmed. Thereafter, they were stored at a low temperature (4 ° C.) for 1 month, but they were not separated during the period, and it was confirmed that the products of the present invention had good storage stability. It was also confirmed that the water absorption state of the product of the present invention was not greatly influenced by the environmental temperature. Further, when the gel was subjected to a reduction treatment after water absorption, that is, after 1% β-mercaptoethanol was added and heat treatment was performed, the gel disintegrated and liquefied. It was suggested that SS bond is involved in the formation of.

Furthermore, the water-absorbing gels of the products 1 to 4 of the present invention were freeze-dried to examine whether they absorb water again. When 1 g of the freeze-dried product was added with the same amount of water as initially contained, the water was absorbed quickly and all the water was absorbed as before drying. Thereby, it was thought that this invention product can be utilized in various fields, such as a foodstuff, as a highly water-absorbing material.

２００ 200 parts by weight of distilled water was added to 100 parts by weight of wheat gluten (trade name: Baiten, Rocket Japan Co., Ltd.), and the mixture was heat-treated at 121 ° C. for 5 minutes with a steam autoclave. After cooling, the lyophilized product was pulverized with a cooking mixer to obtain a powdery sample. Then, 4 L of water was added to 100 g of the sample, and 10,000 units of the protein glutaminase used in Example 1 was added and reacted at 50 ° C. for 4 hours. The product was heated until the product temperature reached 80 ° C. to inactivate the enzyme, then cooled and freeze-dried. Using the superabsorbent wheat gluten lyophilized powder thus prepared (product of the present invention), a hamburger was made in accordance with the recipe shown in Table 2. The amount of superabsorbent wheat gluten (product of the present invention) was 0.5 to 5%. In addition, about the 5% addition product of this invention goods, instead of reducing the compounding quantity of meat, the hamburger which increased the water of the same amount was also created. For comparison, egg white protein (Taiyo Kagaku), gluten (Baiten, Rocket Japan), skim milk powder (low heat type, Yotsuba Dairy) and Nalginate (Manugel, Kelco International Ltd) are used as existing food texture improvers. ) Hamburger with each added. Moreover, a hamburger containing no additives other than meat was made as a prototype and used as a control product. The raw materials were kneaded with a food mixer for 1 minute, and 100 g of each test section was made into hamburger dough. Four hamburgers of 20 to 25 g were taken into a mold, and the molding yield, heating yield, and texture after baking (soft feeling, juicy feeling) were evaluated.

The molding yield was set to the total hamburger weight after die cutting (g) / total hamburger dough weight (g) × 100 (%). In addition, the evaluation of workability and moldability was represented by x: bad, Δ: neither good nor bad, ○: good, ◎: very good. The heating yield was weight after heating (g) / weight before heating (g) × 100 (%). As for the heating method, the primary heating is baking with a hot plate (230 ° C., 2 minutes each side), and further the range heating (500 W, 1 minute) after leaving them at room temperature for 5 hours is the secondary heating. The heating yield and the secondary heating yield were measured. For the texture, sensory evaluation was performed by five skilled evaluators. The evaluation of the soft feeling was evaluated as 11 grades of ± 5 points with 0 as the control product. Harder -5, softer 5. The evaluation of the juicy feeling was made into a 6-point evaluation of 0-5, with 0 being “not juicy” and 5 being “very juicy”.

Table 3 shows the results of the molding yield of hamburger dough. The molding yield increased as the amount of superabsorbent gluten (the product of the present invention) increased (the products of the present invention 1 to 3). The molding yield was also improved in the case where the amount of minced meat was reduced with the 5% added product and the amount of water was increased instead (invention products 4 and 5). In both the control product and the comparative products 1 to 4, the fabric adhered to the hands and containers, the workability was poor, and the molding yield was low compared to the products 1 to 5 of the present invention.

The results of the primary heating yield are shown in Table 4. The yield after firing increased as the amount of superabsorbent gluten (the product of the present invention) increased (the products of the present invention 1 to 3). Even when the amount of meat was reduced and the amount of water was increased instead, the heating yield increased (

Products

4 and 5 of the present invention). As a result of sensory evaluation, Na alginate was effective for the juicy feeling, but hamburger added with 0.5% of the product of the present invention was also excellent in both softness and juicy feeling. Compared to that, the 2% and 5% additions were hard and crumbly, but this is because the water in the hamburg was absorbed by the superabsorbent gluten, and the greater the added amount, the stronger the tendency. It was. When the amount of superabsorbent gluten added was increased to 5%, the amount of water added was also increased at the same time, so that it was not too hard and an appropriate soft feeling and juicy feeling could be provided (Invention product 4 and 5).

The results of the secondary heating yield are shown in Table 5. The yield after heating the range increased as the amount of superabsorbent gluten (the product of the present invention) increased (the products of the present invention 1 to 3). As before, the heating yield increased even when the amount of meat was reduced and the amount of water was increased instead (

Products

4 and 5 of the present invention). As a result of sensory evaluation, regarding the juicy feeling, Na alginate having problems in workability and moldability was also effective here, but hamburger added with 0.5% of the product of the present invention was also as soft and juicy. I had a feeling. What was added 2% or more became harder and more harsh, but by increasing the amount of water added, it was not too hard and improved softness and juiciness. (Invention products 4 and 5).

Thus, by using the superabsorbent gluten material of the present invention, a hamburger excellent in workability, moldability, and texture can be obtained, so that quality deterioration due to processing is suppressed, that is, food such as a juicy feeling and soft feeling. It can be expected to improve the quality by improving the feeling, further increase the production yield, and thereby reduce the cost.

After adding 2%, 3%, 5% of the superabsorbent gluten material prepared by the method described in Example 2 to the concentrated liquid food (PEMVest: Ajinomoto Pharma) and mixing well, the viscosity (B-type viscometer Use, room temperature). Moreover, sensory evaluation (n = 3) was performed about the taste. As shown in FIG. 2, the viscosity increased as the additive concentration of the product of the present invention increased. When 3% was added, the container flowed slowly when the container was tilted. When 5% was added, it was a miso-like paste that did not flow even when tilted. As a result of sensory evaluation, all of the products to which the product of the present invention was added had a milder mouthfeel than the additive-free products, and the bitterness was masked, making it easier to drink. When 2% was added, a slight trolley was felt as compared with no addition, and when 3% was added, bitterness was reduced, and when 5% was added, bitterness was not felt much. Conventionally, thickeners used as commercially available trowels such as gelatin and agar require temperature control to obtain dispersion / solubility, workability problems and desired physical properties. That is not necessary. The physical properties can be controlled by changing the amount added, which is advantageous in terms of ease of use.

100 parts by weight of gluten (Nacalai Tesque) was added to 200 parts by weight of distilled water and heated at 121 ° C. for 20 minutes by an electric autoclave to obtain a heat-treated product of gluten. After cooling, the freeze-dried product was pulverized with a planetary ball mill (model P-6, Menor container, Fritsch Japan Co., Ltd.) using menor balls (φ20 mm, 25) for 10 minutes at 500 rpm and an average particle size of 51 .5 μm powder was obtained. This was weighed in a 1 g test tube, 20 g of water was added, 100 units of protein glutaminase used in Example 1 was added, and the mixture was reacted at 40 ° C. for 3 hours. After heating in a boiling bath for 10 minutes and then cooling, a fine and smooth cream was obtained (product of the present invention). When this was applied to the dry skin, it became smooth and moisturized. Thus, if the product of the present invention is used, it can be considered that it can be used for various uses such as fat substitution in foods or imparting a creamy feeling in addition to vegetable creams.

Supplied with 200 parts by weight of distilled water with respect to 100 parts by weight of commercially available wheat gluten (Rocket Japan, trade name: Baiten), the mixture was subjected to heat treatment at 121 ° C. for 5 minutes using a steam autoclave. After cooling, freeze-dried and pulverized 100 g of 4 g of water, add 10,000 units of protein glutaminase used in Example 1 and mix well, followed by enzyme treatment at 50 ° C. for 4 hours. went. Subsequently, after heating to 80 degreeC and inactivating protein glutaminase, this was freeze-dried and it was set as the sample of the modified wheat gluten raw material.

The raw materials having the composition shown in Table 6 were emulsified in an oil-in-water type to prepare an oil-in-water emulsified food. That is, in the formulation shown in Table 6, polysorbate 80, modified wheat gluten material and water are mixed and dissolved to prepare an aqueous phase, rapeseed oil as an oil phase raw material is added to this aqueous phase, and Hobart mixer (Hobart And pre-emulsified. Subsequently, the final emulsification was performed by a colloid mill (clearance: 4 / 1,000 inch, rotation speed: 3,000 rpm) to prepare an oil-in-water-type emulsified food, and the viscosity and pH were measured. Table 6 shows the results of measuring the viscosity and pH after adding 2% by mass of water, 20% saline and 20% acetic acid water to the oil-in-water emulsified food and mixing them thoroughly. The viscosity was measured using a Brookfield viscometer (manufactured by Brookfield) on a sample filled in a 100 ml beaker under the conditions of spindle: TC, rotation speed: 5 rpm. The pH was measured using a glass electrode type hydrogen ion concentration meter (Toa Denpa Kogyo Co., Ltd.).

From Table 6, the viscosity of the oil-in-water emulsified food is greatly increased by adding the modified wheat gluten material, but the oil-in-water emulsified food to which the modified wheat gluten material is added is 20% saline or 20%. It was found that the addition of% acetic acid water significantly reduced the viscosity. Thereby, it was confirmed that if a modified wheat gluten material is used, an oil-in-water emulsified food whose viscosity can be changed by an acidic substance such as salt or acetic acid can be obtained.

According to the present invention, a highly water-absorbing food material that can be used in various applications can be obtained easily and at low cost from wheat gluten, which is a relatively inexpensive food material. Useful.
It should be noted that the disclosures of the aforementioned patent documents and the like are incorporated herein by reference. Within the scope of the entire disclosure (including claims) of the present invention, the embodiments and examples can be changed and adjusted based on the basic technical concept. Various combinations and selections of various disclosed elements are possible within the scope of the claims of the present invention. That is, the present invention of course includes various variations and modifications that could be made by those skilled in the art according to the entire disclosure including the claims and the technical idea.

Claims

A food material obtained by a method comprising a step of forming a crosslinked network structure in wheat gluten and a step of allowing protein deamidase to act.
The food material according to claim 1, wherein the step of forming a cross-linked network structure of wheat gluten is by heat treatment.
The food material according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the amount of the protein deamidase to act is 1 to 1000 units per gram of wheat gluten.
A method for producing processed foods using the food material according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The method according to claim 4, wherein the processed food is a hamburger or an oil-in-water emulsion food.
A food viscosity modifier using the food material according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
A method for producing a cream using the food material according to any one of claims 1 to 3.