WO2018038215A1 - Binder, bound and formed food, and method for producing same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention addresses the problem of providing a binder, a bound and formed food, and a method for producing same, and solves this problem by providing: a binder that contains pullulan and a branched α-glucan mixture having the aforementioned characteristics (A) to (C) at quantities whereby the [pullulan / branched α-glucan mixture] mass ratio is within the range of 1.5-4 in terms of anhydride; a bound and formed food; and a method for producing same. (A) Glucose is used as a constituent sugar. (B) Included is a branched structure having a glucose polymerization degree of 1 or higher, the branched structure being linked, via a bond other than an α-1,4 bond, to a non-reducing terminal glucose residue positioned at one end of a linear glucan that is linked via an α-1,4 bond and has a glucose polymerization degree of 3 or higher. (C) Isomaltose is produced by isomaltodextranase digestion, the isomaltose being formed in an amount of 5 mass% or more relative to the solids of the product of digestion.

Description

Binder, binder-molded food, and method for producing the same

The present invention relates to a binder, a binder-molded food, and a method for producing the same, and more specifically, a binder excellent in binding power for binding small or granular food materials to each other, and the binder The present invention relates to a binder-molded food obtained by using the above and a production method for producing the binder-molded food on an industrial scale with a high yield.

In recent years, for example, binder-molded foods such as granola bars have been attracting attention. For the production of binder-molded foods, a binder is usually used to bind small pieces or granular food materials. Is used.

In binder-shaped foods, the binder used in the production of them is not only easy to produce, but also easy to manufacture, and the shape retention and storage stability of the resulting binder-shaped foods It plays an extremely important role by greatly affecting the yield and product life of binder-molded foods through handling and impact resistance. Conventionally, binders mainly containing saccharides containing polysaccharides (eg, starch syrup, starch, dextrin, agar), gums, thickeners, alginic acid, proteins, etc. have been used. Binders mainly composed of pullulan, which is a polysaccharide, are attracting attention because they are superior in binding properties and moldability compared to other binders. However, the binding agents mainly composed of pullulan proposed so far have insufficient binding power depending on the application target. In order to eliminate such drawbacks, a proposal to increase the binding force of pullulan by adding other ingredients such as viscous polysaccharides and plasticizing substances to pullulan, or by adding a cohesion improver, viscosity adjusting substance, etc. (See Patent Document 1). However, as described in Patent Document 2, as proposed in Patent Document 1, even when pullulan and other components are used in combination, the binding force of the binder mainly composed of pullulan is not necessarily increased. There is still room for improvement. On the other hand, Patent Document 2 proposes a binder containing a saccharide having an average degree of polymerization of 4 or less together with pullulan. However, the content of the proposed saccharide is extremely large, because of the sweetness caused by the saccharide. In addition, the binder disclosed in Patent Document 2 has problems such as affecting the taste of the final product, and its use is limited.

Patent Document 3 discloses a binder mainly composed of one or more selected from pullulan, dextrin, agar, gum, alginic acid, protein and the like, and a molded food using the same. The binder used is a powdered binder, and in order to obtain a light food texture, the dried dry edible material piece is mixed with the powdered binder to form a powdery binder. Only a technique for moistening the agent and drawing out a desired binding force is disclosed.

In any case, the binding force of the pullulan-based binders proposed so far is not sufficient. Prior to the filing of this application, pullulan was the main binding force, and it was applied to the production of binder-molded foods. In this case, it is possible to bind and mold small or granular food materials with a high bulk density, and to produce a binder molded food with excellent shape retention, storage stability and impact resistance. No binder has yet been provided that can be produced on a scale with good yield.

JP-A 61-246239 JP-A-5-306350 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-91748

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, has excellent binding power, can bind small and / or granular food materials with high bulk density, and retains shape.・ Binding mainly composed of pullulan that can easily provide a molded food with excellent storage stability, handleability, impact resistance and long product life, and small pieces using the binder Another object of the present invention is to provide a binder-shaped food obtained by binder-molding granular food materials and a method for producing the same.

As a result of various studies on binders that firmly bind food materials, the present inventors have found that the binder mainly composed of pullulan is a water-soluble dietary fiber material for the pullulan, and will be described later. A binding agent containing a branched α-glucan mixture having a specific characteristic in a specific ratio in a mass ratio in terms of anhydride is excellent in binding power and substantially changes the taste of the food material to be bound. It has been found that it has excellent characteristics. Furthermore, the present inventors have shown that the binder is excellent in workability when filling a mold with a small piece and / or granular food material, and has a high bulk density and small pieces and / or granules. Not only can the food material be filled into the mold, it is excellent in workability for taking out the compacted and / or granular food material from the mold, and the binder is used. For example, it is relatively easy to obtain a binder molded food with excellent shape retention, storage stability, handleability, impact resistance, and long product life, and the binder exhibits excellent characteristics. The present inventors have newly found that it is possible to produce the binder-formed foods provided on an industrial scale with good yield.

That is, the inventors of the present invention used pullulan and a branched α-glucan mixture having the following characteristics (A) to (C) at a mass ratio [pullan / branched α-glucan mixture] in terms of anhydride. The present invention solves the above problems by providing a binder contained in a range of 1.5 to about 4, a binder molded food obtained using the binder, and a method for producing the same.

<Characteristics of branched α-glucan mixture>
(A) glucose as a constituent sugar,
(B) Linked to a non-reducing terminal glucose residue located at one end of a linear glucan having a degree of glucose polymerization of 3 or more linked via an α-1,4 bond via a bond other than an α-1,4 bond. A branched structure having a glucose polymerization degree of 1 or more,
(C) Isomaltose is produced by digestion with isomalt dextranase to produce 5% by mass or more of the solid content of the digest.

The present invention also solves the above problems by providing a binder-molded food manufactured using the binder of the present invention and a method for manufacturing the same.

According to the binder of the present invention, small and / or granular food materials can be firmly bound with high bulk density, and shape retention / storage stability, handleability, and impact resistance can be improved. The advantage is that it is possible to produce a binder-shaped food that is excellent and has a long product life. In addition, according to the binder of the present invention, when the food material is bound and formed using the mold, there is an advantage that the filling operation into the mold and the removing operation from the mold can be performed with good workability. In addition, the binder-molded food produced using the binder has excellent characteristics such as shape retention / storage stability, handleability, excellent impact resistance, and long product life. . Furthermore, according to the manufacturing method of the binder molded food of this invention, the advantage that the binder molded food which has the said outstanding characteristic can be easily provided with a sufficient yield on an industrial scale is acquired.

The binder according to the present invention is a binder containing pullulan and a branched α-glucan mixture having specific characteristics at a specific mass ratio.

The pullulan used in the present invention has a structure in which a plurality of maltotrioses are regularly arranged via α-1,6 bonds, is easily soluble in water, hardly dissolves in ethanol, and pullulanase (EC 3.2.1). .41) means a polysaccharide which mainly produces maltotriose when hydrolyzed. In practicing the present invention, those having a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of less than about 5,000,000, preferably about 1,000,000 from the viewpoints of binding force, adhesive strength, viscosity, handleability and the like. Less than, more preferably from 10,000 to 700,000, even more preferably from about 50,000 to 600,000, even more preferably from about 150,000 to 500,000. For example, the trade name “Food Additive Pullulan” (pullulan content of about 94% by mass, moisture content of about 2% by mass, manufactured by Hayashibara Co., Ltd.) is a pullulan marketed as a food additive, and its weight average molecular weight is about Since it is in the range of 150,000 to 500,000, it can be suitably used in the practice of the present invention.

The branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention is, for example, a branched α-glucan mixture (hereinafter simply referred to as “branched α-glucan mixture”) disclosed by the same applicant as the present application in International Publication No. WO2008 / 136331. Say.) The branched α-glucan mixture is obtained by using starch as a raw material and reacting with various enzymes, and is usually a mixture mainly composed of a plurality of types of branched α-glucan having various branched structures and glucose polymerization degrees. Is in form. As a method for producing the branched α-glucan mixture, α-glucosyltransferase disclosed in the pamphlet of International Publication No. WO2008 / 136331 is allowed to act on starch, or in addition to the α-glucosyltransferase, maltotetra Amylases such as ose-producing amylase (EC 3.2.1.60), starch debranching enzymes such as pullulanase (EC 3.2.1.41), isoamylase (EC 3.2.1.68), , Cyclomaltodextrin glucanotransferase (EC 2.4.1.19) (hereinafter referred to as “CGTase”), starch branching enzyme (EC 2.4.1.18), or JP-A-2014-054221 Α-1,4 glucan having a degree of polymerization of 2 or more disclosed in publications and the like is transferred to a glucose residue in starch. Examples thereof include a method in which one or a plurality of enzymes having an activity to act on starch is used in combination. In carrying out the present invention, the branched α-glucan mixture disclosed in the pamphlet of International Publication No. WO2008 / 136331, among others, derived from Bacillus circulans PP710 (FERM BP-10771) and / or Arthrobacter globiformis PP349. (FERM BP-10770) -derived α-glucosyltransferase alone or in combination with starch debranching enzymes such as pullulanase and isoamylase, and / or CGTase, and a branched α-glucan mixture obtained by acting on starch raw materials A branched α-glucan mixture having a water-soluble dietary fiber content of about 75% by mass or more, preferably about 80% by mass or more per solid content in terms of anhydride is particularly preferably used. It is done. The culture of Bacillus circulans PP710 (FERM BP-10771) contains α-glucosyltransferase and amylase, and the enzyme mixture has a maltose and / or glucose polymerization degree. When it is acted on three or more α-1,4 glucans, it has a feature that the branched α-glucan mixture having a high water-soluble dietary fiber content is stably formed. These above-mentioned branched α-glucan mixtures contain α-1,4 bonds derived from the raw starch and have a lot of various bonds other than α-1,4 bonds. As a result, for example, when binding dried foods together, the binding force is increased and the formability is improved, and the shape retention, storage stability, and impact resistance are superior. It is presumed that a binder-formed food is obtained. By the way, the branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention is usually in the form of a mixture of a number of branched α-glucans having various branched structures and glucose polymerization degrees (molecular weights). It is technically impossible to isolate a branched α-glucan and determine or quantify the structure. However, even if the structure of the individual branched α-glucan, that is, the binding mode and order of binding of the constituent glucose residues cannot be determined by today's technology, the branched α-glucan mixture is The entire mixture can be characterized by various properties required by various physical, chemical, or enzymatic methods commonly used in the art.

That is, the branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention is characterized by the characteristics (A) to (C) as a whole. That is, this branched α-glucan mixture is a glucan having glucose as a constituent sugar (characteristic (A)), and is connected to one end of a linear glucan having a glucose polymerization degree of 3 or more linked through α-1,4 bonds. It has a branched structure with a glucose polymerization degree of 1 or more linked to a non-reducing terminal glucose residue located through a bond other than an α-1,4 bond (characteristic (B)). The “non-reducing terminal glucose residue” in the characteristic (B) means a glucose residue located at the terminal that does not exhibit reducing property among the glucan chains linked through α-1,4 bonds. The “bond other than α-1,4 bond” means a bond other than α-1,4 bond such as α-1,2 bond, α-1,3 bond, α-1,6 bond and the like.

Furthermore, the branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention is characterized in that isomaltose is produced by digestion with isomalt-dextranase to produce 5% by mass or more of isomaltose per solid content of the digest (characteristic (C)). The digestion with isomaltodextranase in the characteristic (C) means that isomaltdextranase is allowed to act on a branched α-glucan mixture to cause hydrolysis. Isomalt dextranase is an enzyme that has been assigned the enzyme number (EC) 3.2.1.94 by the International Union of Biochemical and Molecular Biology, and is adjacent to the reducing end of the isomaltose structure in α-glucan. It is an enzyme that hydrolyzes regardless of the binding mode of α-1,2, α-1,3, α-1,4, and α-1,6 bonds. Preferably, isomalt dextranase derived from Arthrobacter globiformis (eg, Sawai et al., “Agricultural and Biological Chemistry”, Vol. 52, No. 2). 495-501 (1988)).

The ratio of isomaltose per solid in the digest produced by isomalt-dextranase digestion is the isomaltose structure that can be hydrolyzed with isomalt-dextranase in the structure of the branched α-glucan constituting the branched α-glucan mixture According to the characteristic (C), the structure of the branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention can be characterized as an entire mixture by an enzymatic method.

While having the above-mentioned characteristics (A) and (B), isomaltose is digested with isomalt-dextranase to obtain 5% by mass or more, preferably 10% by mass or more, more preferably, per digested solid. 15% by mass or more, more preferably 20% by mass or more and 70% by mass or less, still more preferably 20% by mass or more and 60% by mass or less, and further preferably 20% by mass or more and 50% by mass or less. The mixture has good compatibility with pullulan, and when combined with pullulan at a specific mass ratio, the binding property between food materials is effectively improved and the food materials are bound to each other as compared with pullulan alone. Since it exhibits excellent characteristics such as good workability, it is suitably used as an active ingredient of the binder of the present invention.

Further, as a more preferable example of the branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention, the characteristic (D) that the water-soluble dietary fiber content determined by high performance liquid chromatograph (enzyme-HPLC method) is 40% by mass or more. What has it is mentioned.

“High-performance liquid chromatographic method (enzyme-HPLC method)” (hereinafter simply referred to as “enzyme-HPLC method”) for determining the content of water-soluble dietary fiber is the name of Ministry of Health and Welfare Notification No. 146 dated May 20, 1996. Nutrition labeling standards and methods described in “Food fiber” in paragraph 8 in “Methods for analysis of nutritional components, etc. (methods listed in the third column of the first table in the separate table of nutrition labeling standards)” Then, it is as follows. Specifically, a sample for gel filtration chromatography is prepared by decomposing the sample by a series of enzyme treatments with heat-stable α-amylase, protease, and glucoamylase, and removing proteins, organic acids, and inorganic salts from the treatment solution with an ion exchange resin. Prepare the solution. Next, it is subjected to gel filtration chromatography, and the peak areas of undigested glucan and glucose in the chromatogram are obtained. The respective peak areas and glucose in the sample solution obtained separately by the glucose oxidase method by a conventional method are obtained. The amount is used to calculate the water soluble dietary fiber content of the sample. Throughout this specification, “water-soluble dietary fiber content” means the water-soluble dietary fiber content determined by the “enzyme-HPLC method” unless otherwise specified.

The water-soluble dietary fiber content indicates the content of α-glucan that is not degraded by α-amylase and glucoamylase, and the characteristic (D) shows the structure of the branched α-glucan mixture as a whole by enzymatic methods. It is one of the characteristic indicators.

The water-soluble dietary fiber content is 40% by mass or more and less than 100% by mass, preferably 50% by mass or more and less than 95% by mass, and more preferably 60% by mass or more and 90% by mass. The branched α-glucan mixture of less than 70% by mass and more preferably less than 85% by mass has good compatibility with pullulan and is more preferably used as an active ingredient of the binder according to the present invention.

Furthermore, a more preferable example of the branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention includes a branched α-glucan mixture having the following characteristics (E) and (F). The characteristics (E) and (F) can be confirmed by methylation analysis.
(E) the ratio of α-1,4 linked glucose residues to α-1,6 linked glucose residues is in the range of 1: 0.6 to 1: 4;
(F) The sum of α-1,4-bonded glucose residues and α-1,6-bonded glucose residues accounts for 55% or more of all glucose residues.

As is well known, methylation analysis is a generally used method for determining the binding mode of monosaccharides constituting polysaccharides or oligosaccharides (Ciucanu et al., “Carbohydride et al.”). Rate Research (Carbohydrate Research), Vol. 131, No. 2, pages 209 to 217 (1984)). When methylation analysis is applied to analysis of glucose binding mode in glucan, first, all free hydroxyl groups in glucose residues constituting glucan are methylated, and then fully methylated glucan is hydrolyzed. Next, methylated glucose obtained by hydrolysis is reduced to form methylated glucitol from which the anomeric form has been eliminated, and further, a free hydroxyl group in this methylated glucitol is acetylated to give partially methylated glucitol acetate (note that , “Partially methylated glucitol acetate” is sometimes simply referred to as “partially methylated product”). By analyzing the resulting partially methylated product by gas chromatography, various partially methylated products derived from glucose residues that have different binding modes in glucan have a peak area that occupies the peak area of all partially methylated products in the gas chromatogram. % (%). Then, the abundance ratio of glucose residues having different binding modes in the glucan, that is, the abundance ratio of each glucoside bond can be determined from the peak area%. “Ratio” for partially methylated product means “ratio” of peak area in gas chromatogram of methylation analysis, and “%” for partially methylated product means “area%” in gas chromatogram of methylated analysis. Shall.

The “α-1,4-bonded glucose residue” in the above (E) and (F) means the glucose residue bonded to other glucose residues only through the hydroxyl groups bonded to the 1st and 4th carbon atoms. It is detected as 2,3,6-trimethyl-1,4,5-triacetylglucitol in methylation analysis. The “α-1,6-bonded glucose residue” in the above (E) and (F) is bonded to other glucose residues only through the hydroxyl groups bonded to the 1st and 6th carbon atoms. It is a glucose residue and is detected as 2,3,4-trimethyl-1,5,6-triacetylglucitol in methylation analysis.

Ratio of α-1,4-bonded glucose residue and α-1,6-bonded glucose residue obtained by methylation analysis, and α-1,4-bonded glucose residue and α-1,6 bond The ratio of the glucose residues to the total glucose residues can be used as one of the indicators for characterizing the structure of the branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention as a whole by chemical methods.

The characteristic that the ratio of the α-1,4-bonded glucose residue to the α-1,6-bonded glucose residue is in the range of 1: 0.6 to 1: 4 in (E) above is 2,3,6-trimethyl-1,4,5-triacetylglucitol and 2,3,4-trimethyl-1, detected when the branched α-glucan mixture used in the invention is subjected to methylation analysis It means that the ratio of 5,6-triacetylglucitol is in the range of 1: 0.6 to 1: 4. In addition, the characteristic of (F) that “the total of α-1,4-bonded glucose residues and α-1,6-bonded glucose residues occupy 55% or more of all glucose residues” is In the methylation analysis, the branched α-glucan mixture used in the invention was subjected to 2,3,6-trimethyl-1,4,5-triacetylglucitol and 2,3,4-trimethyl-1,5,6-trimethyl. It means that the total with acetylglucitol accounts for 55% or more of partially methylated glucitol acetate. Usually, starch does not have glucose residues bonded only at the 1- and 6-positions, and α-1,4-bonded glucose residues occupy most of all glucose residues. The requirements of (E) and (F) mean that the branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention has a completely different structure from starch.

In addition to the α-1,4 bond and α-1,6 bond present in starch having the above characteristics (E) and (F), “α-” located at the non-reducing end not present in starch A branched α-glucan mixture having a considerable amount of “1,6-linked glucose residues” is preferably used as the branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention.

Furthermore, as a more preferable example of the branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention, a branched α-glucan mixture having the following properties (G) and (H) in addition to the above properties (A) to (F) can be mentioned. It is done. The characteristics (G) and (H) can also be confirmed by methylation analysis.

(G) α-1,3 linked glucose residues are 0.5% or more and less than 10% of all glucose residues; and (H) α-1,3,6 linked glucose residues are all glucose residues. 0.5% or more of the group.

In the above (G), “the α-1,3-bonded glucose residue is 0.5% or more and less than 10% of all glucose residues” means that the hydroxyl group at the C-1 position and the hydroxyl group at the C-3 position This means that the glucose residues bound to other glucose via only the glucose are present in the range of 0.5% to less than 10% of the total glucose residues constituting the glucan. The branched α-glucan mixture having the above characteristic (G) can be preferably used in the present invention, and among them, α-1,3-linked glucose residues are in the range of 1 to 3% of the total glucose residues. A branched α-glucan mixture is more preferably used in practicing the present invention.

Further, in the above (H), “the α-1,3,6-bonded glucose residue is 0.5% or more of all glucose residues” means that in addition to the hydroxyl group at the C-1 position, C-3 This means that the glucose residues bonded to other glucose via the hydroxyl group at the C-position and the hydroxyl group at the C-6 position are present in 0.5% or more of the total glucose residues constituting the glucan. The branched α-glucan mixture having the above property (H) can be preferably used in the present invention. Among them, the α-1,3,6-linked glucose residue is one of all glucose residues constituting the glucan. A branched α-glucan that is 10% to 10%, preferably a branched α-glucan in the range of 1 to 7% is more preferably used in the practice of the present invention.

The α-1,3-linked glucose residue can be analyzed based on “2,4,6-trimethyl-1,3,5-triacetylglucitol” detected in methylation analysis, The fact that “α-1,3-linked glucose residues are 0.5% or more and less than 10% of all glucose residues” defined by the characteristic (G) means that the branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention is methylated When subjected to analysis, it can be confirmed that 2,4,6-trimethyl-1,3,5-triacetylglucitol is present at 0.5% to less than 10% of the partially methylated glucitol acetate. it can. In addition, α-1,3,6-linked glucose residues can be analyzed based on “2,4-dimethyl-1,3,5,6-tetraacetylglucitol” detected in methylation analysis. The above-mentioned property (H) defines that “the α-1,3,6-linked glucose residue is 0.5% or more of the total glucose residues” means that the branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention is methylated. Confirm that 2,4-dimethyl-1,3,5,6-tetraacetylglucitol is present at 0.5% or more but less than 10% of partially methylated glucitol acetate when subjected to chemical analysis. Can do.

Further, the branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention can be characterized by the weight average molecular weight (Mw) and the value (Mw / Mn) obtained by dividing the weight average molecular weight (Mw) by the number average molecular weight (Mn). it can. The weight average molecular weight (Mw) and the number average molecular weight (Mn) can be determined using, for example, size exclusion chromatography. Further, since the average glucose polymerization degree of the branched α-glucan molecules constituting the branched α-glucan mixture can be calculated based on the weight average molecular weight (Mw), the branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention has an average glucose It can also be characterized by the degree of polymerization. Incidentally, the average glucose polymerization degree can be obtained by subtracting 18 from the weight average molecular weight (Mw) and dividing the molecular weight by 162 which is the amount of glucose residue. The branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention preferably has an average glucose polymerization degree of usually 8 to 500, preferably 15 to 400, more preferably 20 to 300. The branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention exhibits the same properties as ordinary glucan in that the viscosity increases as the average glucose polymerization degree increases, and the viscosity decreases as the average glucose polymerization degree decreases. Therefore, when importance is attached to the viscosity, a branched α-glucan mixture having a desired average glucose polymerization degree may be appropriately selected and used.

Mw / Mn, which is a value obtained by dividing the weight average molecular weight (Mw) by the number average molecular weight (Mn), the closer to 1, the smaller the variation in the degree of glucose polymerization of the branched α-glucan molecules constituting the branched α-glucan mixture. Means that. As the branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention, those having an Mw / Mn of usually 20 or less can be used, but those having a Mw / Mn of preferably 10 or less, more preferably 5 or less are more suitably used. When a branched α-glucan mixture having a more uniform glucose polymerization degree is required, a mixture having a small variation in glucose polymerization degree and Mw / Mn closer to 1 may be selected and used.

The branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention may be produced by any method as long as it has the characteristics (A) to (C). For example, a branched structure having a glucose polymerization degree of 1 or more linked to a non-reducing terminal glucose residue of a linear glucan having a glucose polymerization degree of 3 or more linked through an α-1,4 bond via an α-1,6 bond A branched α-glucan mixture obtained by allowing an enzyme having an action of introducing sucrose to act on starch can be suitably used in the practice of the present invention. As a more preferred example, International Publication No. WO2008 / 136331 Pamphlet And a branched α-glucan mixture obtained by allowing α-glucosyltransferase disclosed in (1) to act on starch. In addition to the α-glucosyltransferase, liquefied α-amylase (EC 3.2.1.1), saccharified α-amylase (EC 3.2.1.1), maltotetraose-producing amylase (EC 3.2.1.60), amylase such as maltohexaose-producing amylase (EC 3.2.1.98), isoamylase (EC 3.2.1.68) and pullulanase (EC 3.2.1). When the starch debranching enzyme such as .41) is used in combination, the molecular weight of the branched α-glucan mixture can be reduced, so that the molecular weight, the degree of glucose polymerization and the like can be adjusted to a desired range. Furthermore, the degree of polymerization disclosed in cyclomaltodextrin glucanotransferase (EC 2.4.1.19), starch branching enzyme (EC 2.4.1.18), and JP-A No. 2014-054221. A branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention is formed by using two or more α-1,4 glucans together with an enzyme having an activity of transferring α-1,6 to an internal glucose residue of starch. -Glucan can be further branched to increase the water-soluble dietary fiber content of the branched α-glucan mixture. It is also optional to make a branched α-glucan mixture in which a saccharide hydrolase such as glucoamylase is further allowed to act on the branched α-glucan mixture thus obtained to further increase the water-soluble dietary fiber content. Furthermore, a trehalose structure is introduced into the reducing end of the branched α-glucan constituting the branched α-glucan mixture by allowing a glycosyl trehalose producing enzyme (EC 5.4.99.15) to act on such a branched α-glucan mixture. Alternatively, the reducing power of the branched α-glucan molecule may be reduced by reducing the reducing end of the branched α-glucan molecule by hydrogenation, etc., or by performing fractionation by size exclusion chromatography or the like. It is also optional to obtain a branched α-glucan mixture having a molecular weight distribution that falls within this range.

The branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention is as described above, but the branched α-glucan mixture sold as isomaltextrin (trade name “Fiber Rixa”) by Hayashibara Co., Ltd. Can be used as an optimal branched α-glucan mixture.

The binding agent of the present invention comprises the pullulan and the branched α-glucan mixture in a mass ratio in terms of anhydride [pullulan / branched α-glucan mixture] of about 1.5 to about 4, preferably About 1.6 to about 3, more preferably about 1.7 to about 3, and even more preferably about 2 to about 3. When the mass ratio is below the lower limit of the mass ratio or exceeds the upper limit, the intended effect achieved by the binder of the present invention may be remarkably reduced or may not be exhibited. The binder containing the pullulan and branched α-glucan mixture in the above mass ratio is not only pullulan alone but also a component other than pullulan, a water-soluble dietary fiber such as indigestible dextrin, polydextrose, inulin, or Compared with starch hydrolysates such as dextrin and starch syrup, it has excellent binding properties between food materials, and if the binder of the present invention is used, shape retention, storage stability, impact resistance, etc. Can be produced easily with good yield on an industrial scale.

As a more preferred embodiment of the binder of the present invention, the total of the pullulan and the branched α-glucan mixture having the above-mentioned characteristics in terms of anhydride is usually about 90% by mass or more, preferably about 90% by mass or more. Is about 95% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less, more preferably about 98% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less. In addition, when the total amount of pullulan and the branched α-glucan mixture having the above characteristics is less than 90% by mass in terms of anhydride, the expected effect of the binder of the present invention is obtained. This is not preferable because it may be significantly reduced or not exhibited.

In a more preferred embodiment of the binder of the present invention, the total of pullulan and the branched α-glucan mixture is generally about 10 to about 30% by mass, more preferably about 10 to about 20% by mass. %, More preferably from about 10 to about 15% by weight, and even more preferably from about 10 to about 13% by weight. When the total amount of pullulan and the branched α-glucan mixture in the aqueous solution is less than 10% by mass, the expected effect of the binding agent of the present invention is significantly reduced or cannot be exhibited. This is not preferable. In addition, when the total amount of pullulan and the branched α-glucan mixture in the aqueous solution exceeds 30% by mass, an effect corresponding to the blending amount cannot be expected, and the cost is not preferable.

Next, the binder molded food of the present invention will be described. The binder-molded food of the present invention is a binder-molded food in which small and / or granular food materials are binder-molded using the binder, and the food materials are bound to each other. This is a binder-molded food that is binder-molded through an adhesive. The amount of the binder contained in the binder-molded food of the present invention is usually about 0.1 to about 30% by mass, more preferably about 1 to about 30% by mass in terms of anhydride, based on the solid content of the food material. 20% by weight, more preferably about 2 to about 10% by weight. In addition, when the amount of the binder contained in the binder molded food is less than 0.1% by mass in terms of anhydride per solid content of the food material, the shape retention of the binder molded food of the present invention Properties, storage stability, handleability, impact resistance, and product life are significantly reduced or cannot be exhibited. In addition, when the amount of the binder contained in the binder-molded food exceeds 30% by mass in terms of anhydride, based on the solid content of the food material, it is difficult to expect an effect corresponding to the blending amount. It is not preferable in terms of cost.

The food material constituting the binder-molded food of the present invention is mainly food materials that can be eaten by humans, especially dry food materials (including materials such as freeze-dried food and dried baby food). means. However, the binder-molded food of the present invention can be in a form applicable to animals other than humans. In such a case, a known feed material (including pet food) or feed material can be used instead of the food material. Hereinafter, for convenience, food materials that can be eaten by humans will be mainly described as food materials constituting the binder-shaped food of the present invention.

Specific examples of food materials that can be eaten by humans constituting the binder-shaped food of the present invention include puffed cereals (puffed rice, rice crackers, carbonated rice crackers, gouffle, pon confectionery, corn flakes, popcorn, rice cakes (rice cakes, Chestnuts, lightning, rocks, etc.), oysters, chicks, etc.], pregelatinized rice, dried noodles (dried products such as udon, buckwheat, Chinese noodles, pasta), instant dried noodles, and their breaks and breaks Or crushed materials; snacks (biscuits, dry bread, crackers, potato chips, pretzels, etc.), granola, dried castella, dried sponge cake, and their broken, broken or crushed materials; dried seeds (almonds, cashews) , Hazelnut, brazil nut, pecan nut, ginnan, chestnut, walnut, coconut, pistachio, -Nuts, pecans, rice, barley, wheat, millet (dried products such as strawberries, strawberries, buckwheat seeds), sesame seeds, hemp seeds, poppy seeds, yam seeds, lotus seeds, castor seeds, pine nuts , Dried products such as sunflower seeds), and ruptured, broken or crushed products thereof; grapes, plums, gummy, peaches, apples, pears, kiwis, oysters, figs, mangoes, bananas, happies, pineapples, plums , Blueberries, strawberries, citrus fruits (dried mandarin oranges, bundan, hachiman, lemon, orange, navel, grapefruit, etc.) and other dried pulps, and their broken, broken or crushed pieces; dried vegetables (potatoes) , Pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot, radish, lotus root, persimmon, cabbage, lettuce, Chinese cabbage, tincture, arugula, corn, lobster, perilla, burdock, asparagus, Seri, Nazuna, Gokyo, Jacobella, Hotokenoza, Eggplant, Persimmon, Onion, Soybeans, Red Beans, Empty Beans, Sesame, Pea, Buckwheat, Tomato, Cucumber, Goya, Herbs, etc.), and Seeds, and Their Breaks In addition, dried products such as dried whole eggs (whole egg powder), dried mushrooms, dried seaweeds (Aosa, Aonori, Akamok, Asakusanori, Kombu, Proboscis, Hijiki, Mozuku, Wakame) ), Dried seafood (sword-tip swordfish, cherry shrimp, dried noodles, iriko, crows, etc.), chocolate (including crunch chocolate), dried meat (beef jerky, etc.), and their broken, broken, or crushed materials Can be illustrated.

The food material can be used as it is, but when the moisture content exceeds 10% by mass, the moisture content of the food material is usually less than 10% by mass, preferably by a known appropriate drying method. Is preferably adjusted to be less than 5% by mass, more preferably less than 3% by mass.

In addition, the binder-molded food of the present invention contains polysaccharides (carrageenan, pectin, gum arabic, xanthan gum, gellan gum, agar, tragacanth gum, tamarind seed as components other than the pullulan and branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention. Gum, guar gum, locust bean gum, starch, chitosan, etc.), high-intensity sweeteners (saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame K, sucralose, neotame, adventame, sucralose, saccharin, stevioside, stevia extract, etc.), preservative, coloring One or two or more appropriate amounts of agents, stabilizers, flavoring agents, fats and oils, and the like can be combined in an appropriate combination. What is necessary is just to set suitably as a compounding quantity of the said other component based on the kind and the kind, shape, size, etc. of the target binder-shaped food, and usually each component is bound in terms of anhydride. 0.0001% by mass or more, preferably 0.001 to 30% by mass, more preferably 0.01 to 20% by mass, and still more preferably 0.01 to 10% by mass based on the mass per solid content of the molded food. The quantity chosen from the range of mass% can be illustrated. In addition, the other components are added in a necessary amount at one or more steps until the binder-shaped food of the present invention is completed, or divided into appropriate amounts and divided into a plurality of times for the total amount. Can be added. Each of the above components is a known process such as mixing, mixing, kneading, dipping, spraying, spraying, applying, pouring, etc., in one or more steps until the production of the binder-shaped food of the present invention is completed. One or two or more methods can be added / mixed as appropriate.

Examples of the preservative include amino acids such as glycine, alanine and polylysine; salt, acetate, citrate, calcium carbonate, potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate, calcium oxide, calcium hydroxide, disodium phosphate, phosphoric acid Salts such as tripotassium and potassium sorbate; acids such as sorbic acid, benzoic acid, paraoxybenzoic acid esters, propionic acid; and natural such as garlic juice, plum extract, salmon extract, propolis extract, fermented milk, egg white lysozyme Examples include mold preservatives.

Examples of the colorant include red potato, crab shell powder, astaxanthin, vegetable pigment, red potato pigment, concentrated faffia pigment oil, gardenia yellow, brownish brown, cochineal pigment, gardenia yellow pigment, gardenia blue pigment, flavonoid pigment, caramel Pigments, β-carotene, carotenoid pigments, natural pigments such as charcoal; and Red No. 2, Red No. 3, Red No. 104, Red No. 105, Red No. 106, Yellow No. 4, Yellow No. 5, Blue No. 1, Dioxide A synthetic colorant such as titanium can be exemplified.

Examples of the stabilizer include cyclic tetrasaccharide, α-cyclodextrin, β-cyclodextrin, γ-cyclodextrin and the like.

Examples of the flavoring agent include reducing monosaccharides such as glucose, fructose, palatinose (isomaltulose), maltose, isomaltose, maltotriose, isomaltotriose, panose, maltotetraose, maltopentaose. Or oligosaccharides; sorbitol, maltitol, isomaltitol, trehalose (α, α-trehalose, α, β-trehalose, or β, β-trehalose), lactitol, panitol, sucrose, raffinose, erulose, lactosucrose, α- Sugar alcohol and non-reducing oligosaccharides such as glycosyl trehalose, α-glycosyl-α-glycoside, α-glycosyl sucrose; sugar-bound starch syrup, maltose-rich syrup, trehalose-rich syrup, maltotetraose-rich syrup Mixed sugar-containing syrup such as panose-rich syrup, lactosucrose-rich syrup, maltitol-rich syrup; high-intensity sweeteners (saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame K, sucralose, neotame, advantame, sucralose, saccharin, stevioside, Stevia extract, etc.); edible plants or their extracts including peppermint, spearmint, basil mint, pineapple mint, lemon balm, rosemary, sage, olive and other herbs; fruits; and other sweetness, sourness, bitterness Various food materials having salty taste, umami taste, pungent taste, or astringent taste can be exemplified. In practicing the present invention, one or more appropriate amounts of the above-mentioned flavoring agents can be used in appropriate combination.

Examples of the fats and oils include salad oil, cacao butter, rapeseed oil, soybean oil, sunflower seed oil, peanut oil, rice bran oil, corn oil, safflower oil, olive oil, grape seed oil, sesame oil, evening primrose oil, palm oil, shea Vegetable oils such as fat, monkey fat, cacao butter, coconut oil, palm kernel oil, margarine; animal fats such as milk fat, beef tallow, lard, fish oil, whale oil, butter; Or, two or more kinds of mixed oils; and processed fats and oils obtained by curing these oils and fats, fractionally distilling them, and performing transesterification and the like can be exemplified. The amount of animal and vegetable oil and fat and the amount of sugar (anhydrous equivalent) when coating the food material are usually about 5% by mass or more, preferably about 10 to about 30 with respect to the food material. % By weight, more preferably from about 10 to about 20% by weight, and even more preferably from about 10 to about 15% by weight.

Examples of the carbohydrate include reducing properties such as glucose, fructose, sucrose, palatinose (isomaltulose), maltose, isomaltose, panose, maltotriose, maltotetraose, maltopentaose, and powdered reduced maltose starch syrup. Monosaccharides and oligosaccharides: sorbitol, maltitol, isomaltitol, trehalose (α, α-trehalose, α, β-trehalose, or β, β-trehalose), lactitol, panitol, sucrose, raffinose, elulose, lactosucrose , Α-glycosyl trehalose, α-glycosyl-α-glycoside, α-glycosyl sucrose and other sugar alcohols and non-reducing oligosaccharides; rare sugars (D-allose, D-psylose, D-tagatose, erythritol, xylitol, etc.) , Syrup, sugar-bound syrup, maltose-rich syrup, trehalose-rich syrup, maltotetraose-rich syrup, panose-rich syrup, lactosucrose-rich syrup, mixed sugar-containing syrup, etc. it can.

Although there are no particular restrictions on the shape, shape, and size of the binder-molded food of the present invention, it is usually spherical, hemispherical, cubic, rectangular, polygonal, and easily sized for human consumption. Examples include an ellipsoidal shape, a gourd shape, a columnar shape, a plate shape, a rod shape (a bar shape such as a serial bar and a granola bar), a conical shape, a triangular pyramid shape, and a quadrangular pyramid / pyramid shape. The size that the human can easily ingest is usually a size of 5 cm or less, preferably 0.01 to 3 cm, more preferably 0.05 to 1 cm, and still more preferably 0.1 to 0.5 cm. Means.

Such a binder-molded food of the present invention is a binder-molded food with a high bulk density that is excellent in shape retention, storage stability, and impact resistance, and is being transported, stored, and distributed in stores. It has excellent characteristics such as excellent impact resistance and handling, and long product life.

Next, the method for producing the binder molded food of the present invention will be described. The said manufacturing method is a manufacturing method of a binder-shaped foodstuff including the process of making the binder of this invention adhere to the surface of a small-piece-like and / or granular food material.

The food material having the shape, form and size described above is used as the above-mentioned small piece and / or granular food material. Such a food material can be used as it is, but if necessary, for example, by blowing warm air or hot air at room temperature or above room temperature under normal pressure or reduced pressure to the food material, What adjusted the content to 10 mass% or less normally is used suitably. In addition, drying of the said food material is not limited to 1 process, It is also optional to implement in 2 processes or more. In addition, the food material after the moisture adjustment can be used as it is, but when the surface of the food material is porous or hygroscopic, the surface of the food material has animal and vegetable oils and / or carbohydrates. Is generally about 5% by weight or more, preferably about 10 to about 30% by weight, more preferably about 10 to about 20% by weight, and more preferably about The surface of the food material may be coated, adhered, sprayed, sprayed or applied so as to be 10 to about 15% by weight. The amounts of animal and vegetable oils and saccharides (anhydride equivalent) used for coating are usually about 5% by mass or more, preferably about 10 to about 30% by mass, more preferably about It is 10 to about 20% by mass, more preferably about 10 to about 15% by mass. In the coating, the animal and vegetable oils and / or sugars may be simply adhered, spread, sprayed or applied to the surface, but preferably, the animal and vegetable oils and / or sugars are adhered to the surface, dispersed, sprayed, Alternatively, the applied food material is usually 80 ° C. or higher, preferably 90 to 150 ° C., more preferably 100 to 130 ° C., 5 to 30 minutes, preferably 5 to 20 minutes, more preferably. Is heated for 10-20 minutes and then allowed to cool to room temperature to form a relatively homogeneous coating of animal and vegetable oils and / or sugars on the surface of the crushed and / or granular food material. Well, when the small and / or granular food material has such a coating on the surface, when the food material is bound to each other via the binder, the binding agent On the surface of the food material without substantially penetrating the tissue Rate well retained, advantage can be attached can be obtained. As a result, the binding property and moldability of the food materials are enhanced, and a binder molded food product having a high bulk density can be obtained, and its shape retention / storage stability and impact resistance can be improved more effectively. Can do.

The step of attaching the binder to the surface of the small and / or granular food material in the method for producing a binder-shaped food according to the present invention means that the binder is added under the temperature condition at room temperature or higher. Means the process of bringing into contact with food materials and attaching the binding agent to part or all of its surface. Usually used in the production of binder-shaped foods, mixing, blending, kneading, spraying, spraying, application Or the means to immerse can be used individually or in combination of those suitably. Specifically, when the binder used in the present invention is in a powder form, the binder is adhered to the surface of the food material by appropriate means. However, when carried out on an industrial scale, usually the binder in the form of an aqueous solution is mixed, mixed or kneaded with the food material, or the binder is sprayed on the surface of the food material, sprayed, Or it is preferable to apply | coat or to immerse and attach the said food material to the said binder. The amount of the binder to be attached is preferably about 0.1 to about 30% by mass, more preferably about 1 to about 20% by mass, and more preferably, in terms of anhydride, based on the solid content of the food material. Is preferably in the range of about 2 to about 10 weight percent. When the amount of the binder to be adhered is less than about 0.1% by mass, the intended action and effect as the binder may be significantly reduced or may not be exhibited, which is not preferable. Further, when the amount of the binder to be adhered exceeds about 30% by mass, it is not possible to expect an effect corresponding to the blending amount, and it is not preferable in terms of cost.

Further, the method for producing a binder-shaped food according to the present invention may include a step of molding the small and / or granular food material having the binder attached on the surface thereof. That is, the method for producing a binder-molded food according to the present invention includes a step of attaching a binder to the surface of a small piece and / or granular food material. Shape, rectangular parallelepiped shape, gourd shape, ellipsoidal shape, columnar shape, plate shape, rod shape (bar shape such as cereal bar, granola bar), conical shape, triangular pyramid shape, quadrangular pyramid / pyramid shape, etc. , Appropriate shape, size, material [metal, silicon, thermosetting resin, thermoplastic resin, general-purpose plastic (polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyvinyl acetate, polyurethane, polytetrafluoroethylene, ABS resin, AS Resin, acrylic resin, etc.), engineering plastic (engineering plastic), fiber reinforced plastic (glass fiber reinforced plastic, Carbon fiber reinforced plastic, etc.), wood, glass, earthenware, etc.] mold or mold, usually at room temperature or above room temperature, contents under reduced pressure, normal pressure, pressurized, pressed condition, The food materials can include a step of binding and molding via a binder. In the case where the binder-molded food of the present invention is produced on an industrial scale, it is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-5-328903, JP-A-6-303907, JP-A-6-327409, and the like. An apparatus for producing a fatty oily confectionery food can be used as appropriate.

In the method for producing a binder-shaped food according to the present invention, for the purpose of further enhancing the binding property between the food materials, the binder-molded product is further dried and / or dried after the step of binding-molding the food material. It is also optional to provide a heating step. As the drying and / or heating step, a known method usually used in this field can be applied. The temperature in the drying step is usually room temperature or higher, preferably 50 ° C. or higher, more preferably 60 to 150 ° C., further preferably 70 to 120 ° C., and still more preferably 70 to 110. A temperature of 80 ° C., more preferably 80 to 110 ° C. is employed. The temperature in the heating step is usually 70 ° C. or higher, preferably 80 ° C. or higher, more preferably 90 ° C. or higher, more preferably 100 to 200 ° C., still more preferably 100 to 150 ° C., and further preferably. The temperature is preferably 100 to 140 ° C, more preferably 100 to 130 ° C. The time for drying or heating the food material is usually within 60 minutes, preferably 5 to 40 minutes, more preferably 5 to 30 minutes, and even more preferably 5 to 20 minutes. Desirable from the viewpoint of energy efficiency. Moreover, it is also optional to carry out the drying and / or heating step by blowing hot air at the temperature to the food material. In addition, the said drying process can also be implemented under pressure reduction conditions. Further, the drying step is not limited to one step and is carried out in two or more steps, and the water content of the binder molded product as the final product is usually 10% by mass or less, preferably 3 to Adjust to a range of 7% by mass. If the moisture content of the binder molded product is less than 3% by mass, the binder molded product becomes too hard, which is not preferable. Conversely, if the moisture content exceeds 10% by mass, the binder molded product becomes soft. It is not preferable because it is too long or has poor storage stability.

According to the production method of the present invention, the food materials can be uniformly formed as a whole, regardless of the type, shape, and size of the food materials, the appearance is good, the bulk density is high, and the High quality binder-molded foods with excellent formability, storage stability and impact resistance can be manufactured easily and stably with good yield and work efficiency.

The characteristics of the binder, the bound molded food, and the method for producing the bound molded food of the present invention described above are summarized as follows.
(1) The binder-molded food of the present invention is formed by uniform binding of food materials as a whole, has a good appearance, has a high bulk density, is excellent in shape retention / storage stability, and impact resistance. Excellent in impact resistance and handling during transportation, storage, and distribution at stores, and has a relatively long product life.
(2) The production method of the present invention can produce a binder-molded food having the excellent characteristics shown in (1) with high yield, efficiently and stably at low cost.
(3) The binder of the present invention makes it possible to provide the binder molded food and the method for producing the same as shown in the above (1) and (2).

In addition, although it demonstrated centering on the case where it uses for the manufacturing method of a binder molded food as a use of the binder which concerns on this invention, the said binder is by no means limited only to such a use. Other uses of the binder include, for example, binding, bonding, and covering materials such as foods, chemicals, cosmetics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, quasi drugs, feeds, feeds, and other raw materials. Can be illustrated.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail based on experiments.

<Experiment 1: Effect of binder on physical properties of binder-molded food>
(1) Outline In producing a binder-molded food, a binder mainly composed of pullulan is frequently used to bind food materials together. However, such a binder is used to bind the food materials uniformly using the binder before heating, workability, and work to extract the binder molded food before heating from the mold. There is a point that should be improved, and there are also points that should be improved in the shape retention, impact resistance, touch, and unpleasant adhesion to the teeth of the binder-molded food obtained by heating. The inventors of the present invention independently found out. Therefore, the present inventors have made various studies focusing on the combined use of pullulan and other components in a binder mainly composed of pullulan in order to improve these disadvantages.

(2) Experimental method <Preparation of binder>
Pullulan (trade name “Food Additive Pullulan”, pullulan content approximately 94% by weight, moisture content approximately 2% by weight, manufactured by Hayashibara Co., Ltd.) and water-soluble dietary fiber materials (4 types) and starch hydrolysates shown in Table 1 below (2 types) were dissolved in purified water at room temperature at the blending ratio shown in Table 2 below without drying treatment, and test samples 1 to 18 were prepared as various aqueous binders. The control was an aqueous solution containing only pullulan.

<Preparation of Binder Molded Food>
Under a temperature condition of 20 ° C., as a food material, commercially available gouffle (trade name “Kobe Fugetsu-do Gofull 15S”, manufactured by Tokyo Fugetsu-do Co., Ltd.) is pulverized by a crusher, and one side of a piece is about 3 to about 4 mm. A small piece of goofle is obtained, and 50 g of it is taken into a bowl, 7 g of salad oil is added with stirring, 7 g of maltose is added, heated at 130 ° C. for 10 minutes, allowed to cool to room temperature, and then tested as a binder. 10 g of any of Samples 1 to 18 was added and mixed, and each test sample was made to adhere almost uniformly to the surface of the small piece of goofle. In addition, salad oil and maltose were used because the surface of the small piece goofle is porous and hygroscopic, so that the surface is coated in advance with oils and fats, This is to increase the adhesion efficiency of the binder to the surface of the goofle. Next, a small piece of goofles that slightly exceeds the volume of each recess is placed on each recess of a plastic mold (hereinafter referred to as “mold”) having a plurality of hemispherical recesses having a diameter of about 3 cm. Then, the mold surface is leveled with a stainless steel spatula, and the dents are filled with the small pieces of gophers, and the gophers are bonded to each other (this series of operations is called "molding operation"). Then, the mold containing the small piece gouffle is inverted, and a vibration is applied, and a hemispherical gouffle mass is extracted from the opening of the mold (this series of operations is referred to as “demolding operation”). ), And heated at 100 ° C. for 20 minutes to obtain a binder molded food. The control was prepared in the same manner as described above using an aqueous solution containing only pullulan.

<Workability when preparing a binder molded food using test samples 1 to 18 and sensory evaluation of the obtained binder molded food>
Skilled craftsmen evaluated the following evaluation items (a) to (d) for workability when preparing a binder molded food using test samples 1 to 18 and the obtained binder molded food.

(A) Workability: Ease of filling and extracting from the mold small pieces of food material with a binder attached during molding / demolding work;
(I) Shape retention: the degree of deformation of the binder-shaped food before heating during demolding, and the degree of loss of shape when the binder-shaped food after heating is lightly picked with a fingertip;
(C) Texture: good texture when eating a binder-formed food after heating, and no unpleasant adhesion to the teeth; and (D) bulk of the binder-molded product obtained after molding. Density: Molding operation was performed using the same amount of binding-molded foods that were bound using each test sample, and the number of binding moldings obtained after molding was counted, and the control binding moldings were counted. Compared to the control, the bulk density is “good (high)” and “equivalent” when “the number is small”, “the number is the same”, and “the number is large”, respectively. And “Inferior (Low)”. In this evaluation, the fact that the number of binder molded products obtained after the molding operation is smaller than that of the control means that the mass of the food material filled in each depression of the mold is large, that is, one binder molded product. This means that the bulk density per hit is high.

Each of the evaluation items (A) to (D) was evaluated by skilled craftsmen in the following three stages A to C.
A: Good (high) compared to the case of using a control (an aqueous solution consisting only of pullulan).
B: It is almost the same as the case of using the control (aqueous solution consisting only of pullulan).
C: It is inferior (low) compared with the case of using a control (an aqueous solution consisting only of pullulan).
The results are shown in Table 2.

As is clear from the results shown in Table 2, the binder molded foods obtained using the test samples 2 to 18 were evaluated as “B” or “C” in the evaluation items (A) to (C), that is, as a control. It was evaluated that it was almost the same as the case of using the aqueous solution of 1, or inferior (low) compared to the case of using the aqueous solution of the control. On the other hand, in the case of the test sample 1, the evaluation items (a) to (c) were all evaluated as “A”, that is, all were higher than when the control aqueous solution was used. In addition, regarding the evaluation item (d), all of the test samples 2 to 18 were evaluated as “C”, that is, inferior (lower) compared to the case of using the control aqueous solution, whereas the test sample In the case of 1, it was evaluated as “A”, that is, higher than when the control aqueous solution was used. Specifically, in the case of the test sample 1, the bulk density was about 10% higher than the control. In addition, the bulk density was evaluated based on the number of hemispherical gouffle lumps obtained by the molding operation and the number of control gouffle lumps as shown in the evaluation item (d). Here, in the case of the test sample 1, the bulk density was higher than that of the binder-molded foods obtained using the test samples 2 to 18 because the test sample 1 was adhered to the surface of the small piece goofle. In addition, the goules have good binding properties, and each of the dents in the mold is more densely packed with the small pieces of gourds, whereas the small pieces of gourds with the test samples 2 to 18 attached to the surfaces thereof In this case, since the binding property between the goofles was inferior, the amount of small piece-like gourds filled in each depression was small, and as a result, the bulk density of the obtained binder-molded food was inferior to that of the control. (Low) result.

From the experimental results described above, the test samples 2 to 18 have none of the evaluation items (A) to (D) evaluated as “A”, and conversely, the items evaluated as “C”. There was one or more. In contrast, the test sample 1 containing pullulan and the branched α-glucan mixture at a ratio of 10: 5 has a mass ratio [pullulan / branched α-glucan mixture] of 2.0 (= 9. Since all of the evaluation items (a) to (e) were evaluated as “A”, the test sample 1 was determined to be the most excellent binder.

<Experiment 2: Effect of difference in content of pullulan and branched α-glucan mixture in binder on binding moldability of food material>
(1) Outline In Experiment 1, the binder containing pullulan and the branched α-glucan mixture in a specific mass ratio in terms of anhydride contains pullulan and other water-soluble dietary fiber material or starch hydrolyzate. It has been found that the binder has excellent binding properties compared to other binders. In view of the fact that Experiment 1 was conducted using an aqueous solution containing about 12% by mass in total of pullulan and branched α-glucan mixture in terms of anhydride, in this experiment, pullulan and branched Various test samples are prepared in the form of an aqueous solution containing about 5 to about 20 mass% of the α-glucan mixture in terms of anhydride, and the difference in the content of pullulan and branched α-glucan mixture in each test sample The effects of food materials on the binding moldability were investigated.

(2) Experimental method <Preparation of binder>
In the blending amounts shown in Table 3, pullulan and the branched α-glucan mixture shown in Example 1 (representative example of the branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention) are dissolved in purified water at room temperature to form an aqueous solution. Various test samples (test samples 19 to 23) as binders were prepared.

<Preparation of Binder Molded Food>
Various binder-shaped foods were prepared in the same manner as in Experiment 1 except that Test Samples 19 to 23 were used instead of Test Samples 1 to 18 used in Experiment 1.

<Evaluation of test sample and binder molded food obtained using the same>
The sample solutions 19 to 23 and the binder molded food obtained using them were evaluated in the same manner as in the evaluation method of Experiment 1. The results are shown in Table 3.

As shown in Table 3, in the test samples 19 to 23, the total solid content concentration (mass%) of the pullulan and branched α-glucan mixture is in the range of 5 to 19% by mass, and the anhydride of the pullulan and branched α-glucan mixture. The mass ratio in terms of conversion was in the range of 1.9 to 2.0. Of these test samples, the binder-molded foods obtained using test samples 19 to 21 are all “A” in terms of the workability of the evaluation item (a), that is, better than when the control aqueous solution is used. (High). In contrast, it was evaluated that the binder molded food prepared using the test sample 22 and the test sample 23 was “B”, that is, almost equivalent to the case where the control aqueous solution was used.

Further, in the case of the test samples 19, 20, 22, and 23, it was evaluated that the retention of the evaluation item (A) was “B”, that is, almost the same as when the control aqueous solution was used. On the other hand, the evaluation in the case of the test sample 21 was evaluated as “A”, that is, better (higher) than the case of using the control aqueous solution.

Furthermore, all of the binder-molded foods prepared using the test samples 20 to 23, excluding the test sample 19, have a texture of the evaluation item (c) of “A”, that is, compared to the case of using the control aqueous solution, It was evaluated as good (high).

In addition, all of the binder-shaped foods prepared using the test samples 20 to 23 except the test sample 19 have a bulk density of “A” as the evaluation item (d), that is, use a control aqueous solution. It was evaluated as good (high) compared to

Among the test samples 19 to 23, the test samples 20 to 23, that is, the mass ratio in terms of anhydride of the pullulan and branched α-glucan mixture is 2.0, and the total solid content of the pullulan and branched α-glucan mixture In the aqueous solution having a concentration of 10% by mass or more, preferably 10 to 19% by mass, among the four items of the evaluation items (A) to (D), two or more items were evaluated as “A”. It can be evaluated that the test samples 20 to 23 are extremely excellent as a binder used in the production of a binder molded food.

From these results, an aqueous solution in which the mass ratio in terms of anhydride of the pullulan and branched α-glucan mixture is 2 and the total solid concentration of the pullulan and branched α-glucan mixture is about 10 to about 20% by mass is obtained. Therefore, it was judged to be useful as the binder of the present invention.

<Experiment 3: Effect of Blending Ratio of Pullulan and Branched α-Glucan Mixture in Binder on Binding Property of Food Material>
(1) Outline Based on the results of Experiments 1 and 2, the weight ratio [pullulan / branched α-glucan mixture] of pullulan and branched α-glucan mixture in terms of anhydride was 2, and pullulan and branched α-glucan were It has been found that an aqueous solution having a total solid concentration of the mixture of about 10 to about 20% by mass is excellent as a binder. Based on this result, in this experiment, the influence of the mass ratio of pullulan and branched α-glucan mixture in terms of anhydride on the binder properties was further investigated.

(2) Experimental method <Preparation of binder>
In order to obtain the composition shown in Table 4, the pullulan and the branched α-glucan mixture shown in Example 1 (representative example of the branched α-glucan mixture used in the present invention) were dissolved in purified water at room temperature, Various test samples (test samples 24 to 32) as aqueous binders were prepared.

<Preparation of Binder Molded Food>
Various binder-shaped foods were obtained in the same manner as in Experiment 1 except that the test samples 24 to 32 were used instead of the test samples 1 to 18 used in Experiment 1.

<Evaluation of test sample and binder molded food obtained using the same>
The sample solutions 24 to 32 and the binder molded food prepared using them were evaluated in the same manner as the evaluation method in Experiment 1. The results are shown in Table 4.

As is clear from the results shown in Table 4, the binder molded foods obtained using the test samples 24 to 29 all have a workability of the evaluation item (a) of “A”, that is, a control aqueous solution. It was evaluated as good (high) compared to the case. On the other hand, all of the binder-shaped foods prepared using the test samples 30 to 32 were evaluated as “B”, that is, equivalent to the case where the control aqueous solution was used.

In addition, in any of the binder-molded foods prepared using the test samples 24 to 27 and the test samples 29 to 32, the shape retention of the evaluation item (A) is “B”, that is, when the control aqueous solution is used. Evaluated as equivalent. On the other hand, the binder-molded food prepared using the test sample 28 was evaluated as being good (high) in comparison with the case where the shape-retaining property of the evaluation item (A) was “A”, that is, using the control aqueous solution. . Furthermore, the binder-molded food prepared using the test sample 24 and the test sample 25 is evaluated as having a texture of the evaluation item (c) of “C”, that is, inferior to the case of using the control aqueous solution. In addition, in all of the test sample 26 and the test samples 30 to 32, the texture of the evaluation item (c) was evaluated as “B”, whereas when the test samples 27 to 29 were used, all “A”, That is, compared with the case where the control aqueous solution was used, it was evaluated as good (highly evaluated. Further, all of the binder-shaped foods prepared using the test samples 24 and 25 and the test samples 30 to 32 were evaluated items ( While the bulk density of D) was evaluated as “C”, all of the binder-molded foods prepared using the test samples 26 to 29 had a bulk density of “A” as the evaluation item (D). It was evaluated as good (high) compared to the case where the control aqueous solution was used.

As described above, among the test samples 24 to 32, the test sample 26 to 29, that is, the mass ratio [pullulan / branched α-glucan mixture] of pullulan and the branched α-glucan mixture in terms of anhydride is 1.5. It has been found that an aqueous solution in the range of 4.0 to 4.0 is excellent as a binder for producing a binder-molded food. Further, among the test samples 26 to 29, the test sample 27 to 29, that is, the mass ratio [pullulan / branched α-glucan mixture] of pullulan and the branched α-glucan mixture in terms of anhydride is 1.5 to 2 An aqueous solution in the range of .8 was found to be better as a binder for producing binder-shaped foods.

From the results of Experiments 1 to 3 described above, the mass ratio in terms of anhydride of the pullulan and branched α-glucan mixture is about 1.5 to about 4, and the total solid content concentration of the pullulan and branched α-glucan mixture However, an aqueous solution of about 10 to about 20% by weight is useful as the binder of the present invention, and in particular, the weight ratio of pullulan and branched α-glucan mixture in terms of anhydride is from about 1.5 to about The aqueous solution in the range of 3 was judged to be particularly useful as the binder of the present invention.

Further, in the production of the binder-molded food of the present invention, as a binder for uniformly binding food materials, a binder containing pullulan and a branched α-glucan mixture in a specific mass ratio in terms of anhydride. Compared with pullulan alone, (a) workability, (b) shape retention, (c) texture, and (d) bulk density of the binder-molded food are significantly improved or improved. It has been found that high-quality binder-molded foods can be easily manufactured with good yield on an industrial scale with good workability.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to the examples.

<Binder and Binder Molded Food>
With respect to 100 parts by mass of purified water, 10 parts by mass of pullulan (trade name “Food Additive Pullulan”, pullulan content of about 94% by mass, moisture content of about 2% by mass, Hayashibara Co., Ltd.) 5 parts by weight of a branched α-glucan mixture having the following characteristics (a) to (c) obtained according to the method disclosed in Example 5 of the Publication No. WO2008 / 136331 pamphlet, dissolved, A binder of the present invention in the form of an aqueous solution was obtained.

<Characteristics of branched α-glucan mixture>
(A) Glucose is used as a constituent sugar.
(B) Linked to a non-reducing terminal glucose residue located at one end of a linear glucan having a degree of glucose polymerization of 3 or more linked via an α-1,4 bond via a bond other than an α-1,4 bond. It has a branched structure with a glucose polymerization degree of 1 or more.
(C) Isomaltose is digested to produce about 40% by mass of isomaltose per solid content of the digest.
(D) The water-soluble dietary fiber content determined by high performance liquid chromatography (enzyme-HPLC method) is about 80% by mass.
(E) The ratio of α-1,4-bonded glucose residues to α-1,6-bonded glucose residues is about 1: 2.6.
(F) The sum of α-1,4-bonded glucose residues and α-1,6-bonded glucose residues occupies about 69% of all glucose residues.
(G) α-1,3-linked glucose residues are 2.5% of the total glucose residues.
(H) The α-1,3,6-linked glucose residues are 6.3% of the total glucose residues.
(G) The weight average molecular weight (Mw) by molecular weight distribution analysis based on a gel filtration high performance liquid chromatogram is about 4,700 daltons.
(Ko) The value (Mw / Mn) obtained by dividing the weight average molecular weight (Mw) by the number average molecular weight (Mn) is 2.1.
(Sa) The content of branched α-glucan having a degree of glucose polymerization (DP) of 9 or more per solid content is about 90% by mass.
(F) The total content of monosaccharides or oligosaccharides of DP1 to DP8 is about 10% by mass.
(S) DE is about 7.
(C) The water content is about 8%.

Next, as a food material at a room temperature of 25 ° C., 1 kg of a shard of gourd obtained by pulverizing a commercially available goofle (manufactured by Kobe Fugetsu Co., Ltd.) with a crusher so that one side of the shard is about 1 to about 2 mm. In a container, while stirring at the same temperature, 150 g of salad oil and 150 g of maltose are added in order, heated at 130 ° C. for 10 minutes, allowed to cool to room temperature, and then 200 g of the binder of the present invention is added to a small piece of gourd Disperse and adhere almost uniformly to the surface, fill a plastic mold with a plurality of hemispherical depressions with a diameter of about 3 cm, level the mold surface flatly with a stainless steel spatula, and bind the pieces of goofles together The hemispherical gourd lump obtained was taken out of the mold, placed in an oven, and heated at 100 ° C. for 20 minutes to obtain the binder-molded food of the present invention.

This product retains its shape and flavor almost immediately after being stored for more than 6 months at room temperature, and has excellent texture, texture, shape retention / storage stability, and impact resistance. It is a binder molded food product having a bulk density.

<Binder and Binder Molded Food>
For 100 parts by mass of purified water, 9 parts by mass of pullulan (trade name “Food Additive Pullulan”, pullulan content of about 94% by mass, moisture content of about 2% by mass, Hayashibara Co., Ltd.) 5 parts by weight of a branched α-glucan mixture having the following characteristics (a) to (c) obtained in accordance with the method disclosed in Example 3 of the Publication No. WO 2008/136331 pamphlet, dissolved, A binder according to the invention in the form of an aqueous solution was obtained.

<Characteristics of branched α-glucan mixture>
(A) Glucose is used as a constituent sugar.
(B) Linked to a non-reducing terminal glucose residue located at one end of a linear glucan having a degree of glucose polymerization of 3 or more linked via an α-1,4 bond via a bond other than an α-1,4 bond. It has a branched structure with a glucose polymerization degree of 1 or more.
(C) Isomaltose is digested to produce about 35% by mass of isomaltose based on the solid content of the digest.
(D) The water-soluble dietary fiber content determined by high performance liquid chromatography (enzyme-HPLC method) is about 76% by mass.
(E) The ratio of α-1,4-bonded glucose residues to α-1,6-bonded glucose residues is about 1: 1.3.
(F) The sum of α-1,4-bonded glucose residues and α-1,6-bonded glucose residues occupies about 70% of all glucose residues.
(G) The α-1,3-linked glucose residues are 3.0% of the total glucose residues.
(H) α-1,3,6-linked glucose residues are 4.8% of all glucose residues.
(G) The weight average molecular weight (Mw) by molecular weight distribution analysis based on the gel filtration high performance liquid chromatogram is about 6,200 daltons.
(Ko) The value (Mw / Mn) obtained by dividing the weight average molecular weight (Mw) by the number average molecular weight (Mn) is 2.2.
(S) The content of branched α-glucan having a degree of glucose polymerization (DP) of 9 or more per solid is about 91% by mass.
(F) The total content of monosaccharides or oligosaccharides of DP1 to 8 is about 9% by mass.
(S) DE is about 7.5.
(C) The water content is about 8%.

Next, as a food material at a temperature of 20 ° C., commercially available small corn flakes “Morinaga Corn Flakes 3M 500 g” (manufactured by Morinaga Seika Co., Ltd.) are used in a crusher, and each side of the fragments is in the range of about 3 to about 10 mm. It grind | pulverized so that it might become. Next, 1 kg of the obtained small piece of corn flakes is put in a container, and 200 g of the binding agent of the present invention is adhered almost uniformly to the surface of the small piece of corn flakes with stirring, and a plurality of hemispherical depressions having a diameter of about 2 cm are formed. Filled into a plastic mold having a single piece, leveled the mold surface flatly with a stainless steel spatula, bound cornflakes together, then removed the bound hemispherical cornflakes lump from the mold, put in a commercial oven, 100 It heated at 20 degreeC for 20 minute (s), and the binder molded food of this invention was obtained.

This product retains its shape and flavor almost immediately after being stored for more than 6 months at room temperature, and has excellent texture, texture, shape retention / storage stability, and impact resistance. It is a binder molded food product having a bulk density.

<Binder and binder molded food obtained using the same>
With respect to 100 parts by mass of purified water, 11 parts by mass of pullulan (trade name “food additive pullulan”, pullulan content of about 94% by mass, moisture content of about 2% by mass, manufactured by Hayashibara Co., Ltd.) and international 5 parts by weight of a branched α-glucan mixture having the following characteristics (a) to (c) obtained according to the method disclosed in Example 4 of the published WO 2008/136331 pamphlet, dissolved, and dissolved in an aqueous solution The binder of this invention in the form of was obtained.

<Characteristics of branched α-glucan mixture>
(A) Glucose is used as a constituent sugar.
(B) Linked to a non-reducing terminal glucose residue located at one end of a linear glucan having a degree of glucose polymerization of 3 or more linked via an α-1,4 bond via a bond other than an α-1,4 bond. It has a branched structure with a glucose polymerization degree of 1 or more.
(C) Isomaltose is produced by digestion with isomalt dextranase to produce about 45% by mass of isomaltose based on the solid content of the digest.
(D) The water-soluble dietary fiber content determined by high performance liquid chromatography (enzyme-HPLC method) is about 85% by mass.
(E) The ratio of α-1,4-bonded glucose residues to α-1,6-bonded glucose residues is about 1: 2.
(F) The sum of α-1,4-bonded glucose residues and α-1,6-bonded glucose residues occupies about 80% of all glucose residues.
(G) α-1,3-linked glucose residues are 1.4% of all glucose residues.
(H) The α-1,3,6-linked glucose residues are 1.7% of the total glucose residues.
(G) The weight average molecular weight (Mw) by molecular weight distribution analysis based on the gel filtration high performance liquid chromatogram is about 10,000 Daltons.
(Ko) The value (Mw / Mn) obtained by dividing the weight average molecular weight (Mw) by the number average molecular weight (Mn) is 2.9.
(S) The content of branched α-glucan having a degree of glucose polymerization (DP) of 9 or more per solid content is about 92% by mass.
(F) The total content of monosaccharides to oligosaccharides of DP1 to 8 is about 8% by mass.
(S) DE is about 6.
(C) The water content is about 7%.

Next, at a temperature of 15 ° C., as a food material, 500 g of “Komepon” (Kameda Seika Co., Ltd.), a commercially available pon confectionery, is placed in a container and stirred at the same temperature, 60 g of salad oil and α, α-trehalose. 60 g was sequentially added, heated at 130 ° C. for 10 minutes, allowed to cool, and then 100 g of the binding agent of the present invention was adhered almost uniformly on the surface of the confectionery, forming a cubical depression with a side of about 3 cm. Fill a plastic mold with multiple pieces, level the mold surface flatly with a stainless steel spatula, bind pon confectionery together, take out the resulting pon confectionery lump from the mold, put it in an oven, 100 ° C Was heated for 20 minutes to obtain a binder-molded food of the present invention.

This product retains its shape and flavor almost immediately after being stored for more than 6 months at room temperature, and has excellent texture, texture, shape retention / storage stability, and impact resistance. It is a binder molded food product having a bulk density.

<Binder and binder molded food obtained using the same>
With respect to 100 parts by mass of purified water, 10 parts by mass of pullulan (trade name “Food Additive Pullulan”, pullulan content of about 94% by mass, moisture content of about 2% by mass, Hayashibara Co., Ltd.) 4 parts by mass of a branched α-glucan mixture having the following characteristics (a) to (c) obtained according to the method disclosed in Example 5 of the Publication No. WO2008 / 136331 pamphlet, dissolved, A binder according to the invention in the form of an aqueous solution was obtained.

<Characteristics of branched α-glucan mixture>
(A) Glucose is used as a constituent sugar.
(B) Linked to a non-reducing terminal glucose residue located at one end of a linear glucan having a degree of glucose polymerization of 3 or more linked via an α-1,4 bond via a bond other than an α-1,4 bond. It has a branched structure with a glucose polymerization degree of 1 or more.
(C) Isomaltose is digested to produce about 47% by mass of isomaltose based on the solid content of the digest.
(D) The water-soluble dietary fiber content determined by high performance liquid chromatography (enzyme-HPLC method) is about 63% by mass.
(E) The ratio of α-1,4-bonded glucose residues to α-1,6-bonded glucose residues is about 1: 2.4.
(F) The sum of α-1,4-bonded glucose residues and α-1,6-bonded glucose residues occupies about 60% of all glucose residues.
(G) α-1,3-linked glucose residues are 2.3% of all glucose residues.
(H) The α-1,3,6-linked glucose residues are 2.1% of the total glucose residues.
(G) The weight average molecular weight (Mw) by molecular weight distribution analysis based on gel filtration high performance liquid chromatogram is about 1,000 Daltons.
(Ko) The value (Mw / Mn) obtained by dividing the weight average molecular weight (Mw) by the number average molecular weight (Mn) is 1.8.
(Sa) The content of branched α-glucan having a degree of glucose polymerization (DP) of 9 or more per solid content is about 90% by mass.
(F) The total content of monosaccharides or oligosaccharides of DP1 to DP8 is about 10% by mass.
(S) DE is about 7.
(C) The water content is about 8%.

Next, 1 kg each of commercially available peanuts and almonds was pulverized as a food material at a room temperature of 25 ° C. with a pulverizer so that one side of the pulverized product was about 2 to about 5 mm. Next, the entire amount of the pulverized product is taken into a container, and while stirring at the same temperature, 400 g of the binding agent of the present invention is sprayed on the pulverized product and adhered almost uniformly to the surface, and then a hemisphere having a diameter of about 2 cm Fill a plastic mold with a plurality of dents, level the mold surface flatly with a stainless steel spatula, bind the peanuts and almonds together, and obtain the hemispherical peanuts and almond blocks. The product was taken out from the mold, placed in an oven, and heated at 100 ° C. for 30 minutes to obtain a binder-molded food of the present invention.

This product retains its shape and flavor almost immediately after being stored for more than 6 months at room temperature, and has excellent texture, texture, shape retention / storage stability, and impact resistance. It is a binder molded food product having a bulk density.

<Binder and binder molded food obtained using the same>
With respect to 100 parts by mass of purified water, 10 parts by mass of pullulan (trade name “Food Additive Pullulan”, pullulan content of about 94% by mass, moisture content of about 2% by mass, Hayashibara Co., Ltd.) 4 parts by mass of a branched α-glucan mixture obtained according to the method disclosed in Example 3 of the pamphlet of published WO 2008/136331 and having the following characteristics (a) to (c) and dissolved: A binder according to the invention in the form of an aqueous solution was obtained.

<Characteristics of branched α-glucan mixture>
(A) Glucose is used as a constituent sugar.
(B) Linked to a non-reducing terminal glucose residue located at one end of a linear glucan having a degree of glucose polymerization of 3 or more linked via an α-1,4 bond via a bond other than an α-1,4 bond. It has a branched structure with a glucose polymerization degree of 1 or more.
(C) Isomaltose is digested to produce about 28.4% by mass of isomaltose based on the solid content of the digest.
(D) The water-soluble dietary fiber content determined by high performance liquid chromatography (enzyme-HPLC method) is about 42.1% by mass.
(E) The ratio of α-1,4-bonded glucose residues to α-1,6-bonded glucose residues is about 1: 0.62.
(F) The sum of α-1,4-bonded glucose residues and α-1,6-bonded glucose residues occupies about 83.7% of all glucose residues.
(G) α-1,3-linked glucose residues are 1.1% of all glucose residues.
(H) The α-1,3,6-linked glucose residues are 0.8% of the total glucose residues.
(G) The weight average molecular weight (Mw) by molecular weight distribution analysis based on gel filtration high performance liquid chromatogram is about 59,000 daltons.
(Ko) The value (Mw / Mn) obtained by dividing the weight average molecular weight (Mw) by the number average molecular weight (Mn) is 15.4.
(S) The content of branched α-glucan having a degree of glucose polymerization (DP) of 9 or more per solid content is about 92% by mass.
(F) The total content of monosaccharides or oligosaccharides of DP1 to 8 is about 9% by mass.
(S) DE is about 6.5.
(C) The water content is about 7%.

Next, commercially available “Dried Fruit Mix” (manufactured by Kojimaya) was pulverized as a food material at a temperature of 20 ° C. with a crusher so that one side of the crushed material was about 2 to about 5 mm. Next, 200 g of the obtained small dried fruit and 800 g of commercially available oats are put into a container, 120 g of rapeseed oil and 120 g of granulated sugar are sequentially added while stirring at the same temperature, and heated at 130 ° C. for 10 minutes, Next, 300 g of the binding agent of the present invention is almost uniformly attached to the surface of the mixture, and filled into a plastic mold having a plurality of semicylindrical depressions having a diameter of about 1 cm and a length of 10 cm. The mold surface is leveled with a stainless steel spatula, the mixture is bound to each other, the bound hemispherical mixture lump is taken out of the mold, placed in an oven, heated at 100 ° C. for 20 minutes, and the present invention. A binder molded food was obtained.

This product retains its shape and flavor almost immediately after storage for 6 months at room temperature, and has a high bulkiness with excellent texture, texture, shape retention / storage stability, and impact resistance. It is a binder molded food product having a density.

<Binder and binder molded food obtained using the same>
With respect to 100 parts by mass of purified water, 10 parts by mass of pullulan (trade name “Food Additive Pullulan”, pullulan content of about 94% by mass, moisture content of about 2% by mass, Hayashibara Co., Ltd.) 4 parts by mass of a branched α-glucan mixture obtained according to the method disclosed in Example 3 of the pamphlet of published WO 2008/136331 and having the following characteristics (a) to (c) and dissolved: A binder according to the invention in the form of an aqueous solution was obtained.

<Characteristics of branched α-glucan mixture>
(A) Glucose is used as a constituent sugar.
(B) Linked to a non-reducing terminal glucose residue located at one end of a linear glucan having a degree of glucose polymerization of 3 or more linked via an α-1,4 bond via a bond other than an α-1,4 bond. It has a branched structure with a glucose polymerization degree of 1 or more.
(C) Isomaltose is digested to produce about 28.4% by mass of isomaltose based on the solid content of the digest.
(D) The water-soluble dietary fiber content determined by high performance liquid chromatography (enzyme-HPLC method) is about 42.1% by mass.
(E) The ratio of α-1,4-bonded glucose residues to α-1,6-bonded glucose residues is about 1: 0.62.
(F) The sum of α-1,4-bonded glucose residues and α-1,6-bonded glucose residues occupies about 83.7% of all glucose residues.
(G) α-1,3-linked glucose residues are 1.1% of all glucose residues.
(H) The α-1,3,6-linked glucose residues are 0.8% of the total glucose residues.
(G) The weight average molecular weight (Mw) by molecular weight distribution analysis based on gel filtration high performance liquid chromatogram is about 59,000 daltons.
(Ko) The value (Mw / Mn) obtained by dividing the weight average molecular weight (Mw) by the number average molecular weight (Mn) is 15.4.
(S) The content of branched α-glucan having a degree of glucose polymerization (DP) of 9 or more per solid content is about 92% by mass.
(F) The total content of monosaccharides or oligosaccharides of DP1 to 8 is about 9% by mass.
(S) DE is about 6.5.
(C) The water content is about 7%.

Next, as a food material at a temperature of 25 ° C., a commercially available dried carrot (trade name “Dried (dried) shredded carrots”, Aszac Foods Co., Ltd.) was crushed with a side of about 3 to about 5 mm. It grind | pulverized so that it might become. Next, 1 kg of the obtained small carrot is put into a container, 150 g of olive oil and 150 g of sucrose are sequentially added while stirring at the same temperature, heated at 130 ° C. for 10 minutes, allowed to cool to room temperature, and then the present invention. 200 g of the binder was adhered almost uniformly to the surface of the crushed carrot, filled into a plastic mold having a plurality of hemispherical depressions with a diameter of about 2 cm, and the mold surface was leveled flat with a stainless steel spatula. The piece-like carrots were bound together, and the bound hemispherical carrot lump was taken out of the mold, placed in an oven, and heated at 100 ° C. for 20 minutes to obtain the bound molded food of the present invention.

This product retains its shape and flavor almost immediately after being stored at room temperature for more than a year, and has a high bulkiness with excellent texture, texture, shape retention / storage stability, and impact resistance. It is a binder molded food product having a density.

<Binder>
100 parts by mass of purified water, 10 parts by mass of pullulan (trade name “food additive pullulan”, pullulan content of about 94% by mass, moisture content of about 2% by mass, manufactured by Hayashibara Co., Ltd.) 5 parts by mass of any of the branched α-glucan mixtures used in Examples 1 to 5 were stirred and dissolved, filled in 1 kg each in a steel container, sterilized by heating, cooled, and 5 types of aqueous solutions according to the present invention. A binder was obtained.

All of the above binders were colorless, low-viscosity, easy to handle, and had excellent properties with a strong binding force to bind food materials together. Any of the binders can be used as, for example, a “tether” that binds various foods and drinks, increases the water retention of various foods and drinks, maintains their shape, and improves the texture. Can be used to

<Binder>
100 parts by mass of purified water, 12 parts by mass of pullulan (trade name “food additive pullulan”, pullulan content of about 94% by mass, moisture content of about 2% by mass, Hayashibara Co., Ltd.) 5 parts by mass of any of the branched α-glucan mixtures used in Examples 1 to 5 were stirred and dissolved, filled in 1 kg each in a steel container, sterilized by heating, cooled, and 5 types of aqueous solutions according to the present invention. A binder for a binder molded food was obtained.

All of the above binders were colorless, low-viscosity, easy to handle, and had excellent properties with a strong binding force to bind food materials together. In addition, all of the binders are used as, for example, “tethers” for binding various foods and drinks, to increase the water retention of various foods and drinks, to maintain their shapes, and to improve the texture. Can be used.

As described above, according to the binding agent of the present invention, small and / or granular food materials can be bound with a high bulk density, and shape retention / storage stability, handling properties, In addition, it is possible to easily provide a binder molded food having excellent impact resistance and a long product life. Further, according to the binder of the present invention, when the food material is bound and formed using the mold, there is an advantage that the filling operation into the mold and the taking-out operation from the mold can be performed well. In addition, according to the method for producing a binder molded food of the present invention, the binder molded food having the above-mentioned excellent characteristics can be produced on an industrial scale with a high yield. The influence of the present invention on the world is so great that its industrial significance is extremely great.

Claims (11)

1. Pullulan and a branched α-glucan mixture having the following characteristics (A) to (C) are contained in a mass ratio [pullulan / branched α-glucan mixture] in terms of anhydride in a range of 1.5 to 4. Binder consisting of:
   (A) glucose as a constituent sugar,
   (B) Linked to a non-reducing terminal glucose residue located at one end of a linear glucan having a degree of glucose polymerization of 3 or more linked via an α-1,4 bond via a bond other than an α-1,4 bond. A branched structure having a glucose polymerization degree of 1 or more,
   (C) Isomaltose is produced by digestion with isomalt dextranase to produce 5% by mass or more of the solid content of the digest.
2. 2. The binder according to claim 1, comprising a total of 90 mass% or more of pullulan and the branched α-glucan mixture in terms of anhydride per solid content.
3. 3. The binder according to claim 1, wherein the binder is in the form of an aqueous solution containing pullulan and the branched α-glucan mixture, and the solid content concentration of the aqueous solution is 10 to 30% by mass.
4. It is a binder-molded food formed by binding and molding small and / or granular food materials, and the food materials are bonded together via the binder according to claim 1 or 2. Characteristic binder-molded food.
5. 5. The binder-molded food according to claim 4, wherein the small and / or granular food material is coated with animal and vegetable oils and / or sugars.
6. 5. The piece-like and / or granular food material is one or more selected from baked confectionery, flake confectionery, snack confectionery, cereal food, dried fruit, and dried vegetable. Or the binder molded food of 5.
7. A method for producing a binder-molded food, comprising a step of attaching the binder according to any one of claims 1 to 3 to the surface of a small and / or granular food material.
8. The method for producing a binder-shaped food according to claim 7, wherein the food material in the form of small pieces and / or granules is previously coated with animal and vegetable oils and / or sugars.
9. Furthermore, the process of drying and / or heating the said piece-like and / or granular food material with the said binder adhering to the surface is carried out, The binder shaping | molding foodstuff of Claim 7 or 8 characterized by the above-mentioned. Production method.
10. 8. The piece-like and / or granular food material is one or more selected from baked confectionery, flake confectionery, snack confectionery, cereal food, dried fruit, and dried vegetable. The manufacturing method of the binder molded food in any one of thru | or 9.
11. 11. The binding according to claim 7, wherein the moisture content of the small and / or granular food material before adhering the binder to the surface is less than 10% by mass. A method for producing a molded food.