Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12G—WINE; PREPARATION THEREOF; ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES; PREPARATION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES NOT PROVIDED FOR IN SUBCLASSES C12C OR C12H
  • C12G3/00—Preparation of other alcoholic beverages
  • C12G3/04—Preparation of other alcoholic beverages by mixing, e.g. for preparation of liqueurs
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23G—COCOA; COCOA PRODUCTS, e.g. CHOCOLATE; SUBSTITUTES FOR COCOA OR COCOA PRODUCTS; CONFECTIONERY; CHEWING GUM; ICE-CREAM; PREPARATION THEREOF
  • A23G9/00—Frozen sweets, e.g. ice confectionery, ice-cream; Mixtures therefor
  • A23G9/04—Production of frozen sweets, e.g. ice-cream
  • A23G9/045—Production of frozen sweets, e.g. ice-cream of slush-ice, e.g. semi-frozen beverage
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF
  • A23L5/00—Preparation or treatment of foods or foodstuffs, in general; Food or foodstuffs obtained thereby; Materials therefor
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12G—WINE; PREPARATION THEREOF; ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES; PREPARATION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES NOT PROVIDED FOR IN SUBCLASSES C12C OR C12H
  • C12G3/00—Preparation of other alcoholic beverages
  • C12G3/04—Preparation of other alcoholic beverages by mixing, e.g. for preparation of liqueurs
  • C12G3/05—Preparation of other alcoholic beverages by mixing, e.g. for preparation of liqueurs with health-improving ingredients, e.g. flavonoids, flavones, polyphenols or polysaccharides
  • C12G3/055—Preparation of other alcoholic beverages by mixing, e.g. for preparation of liqueurs with health-improving ingredients, e.g. flavonoids, flavones, polyphenols or polysaccharides extracted from plants
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF
  • A23L19/00—Products from fruits or vegetables; Preparation or treatment thereof

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a method for producing frozen, finely ground, infused liquor, i.e., a method that includes subjecting raw fruit and/or vegetables to a freezing process, a finely ground process, and an alcohol infusion process.
• Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose methods for obtaining an infused liquid by subjecting the raw materials to a freezing process, a finely ground process, and an alcohol infusion process.
• the infused liquid obtained in this way retains the flavor of the raw materials and has a better flavor than conventional products, and is known to be suitable for producing beverages and foods.
• the inventor further investigated the method for producing frozen, finely ground, infused liquor and found that using a relatively low alcohol content in the alcohol infusion process has the advantage of improving the richness of the flavor of the resulting infused liquid.
• a relatively low alcohol content in the alcohol infusion process has the advantage of improving the richness of the flavor of the resulting infused liquid.
• such an alcohol content also imparts an unpleasant taste to the infused liquid.
• the richness of the flavor of the soaked liquid refers to the richness felt when ingesting the soaked liquid and the solid feeling it gives as it passes through the throat.
• the unpleasant taste of the soaked liquid refers to the complex aftertaste felt when ingesting it, and depending on the consumer's preferences and the circumstances in which it is consumed, the unpleasant taste may be unacceptable.
• the objective of the present invention is to reduce the unpleasant taste that occurs in the soaking liquid when a relatively low alcohol content is used in the alcohol soaking step of the method for producing frozen, finely ground, soaked alcohol.
• a method for producing a beverage or food product comprising the steps of: (a) freezing one or more raw fruits and/or vegetables to obtain a frozen product; (b) finely pulverizing the frozen product to obtain a frozen finely pulverized product; (c) immersing the finely ground product, either as is or after thawing to form a paste, in an aqueous liquid containing 20 v/v% or less alcohol to obtain an immersion liquid; and (d) adding alcohol to the immersion liquid to increase the alcohol content of the immersion liquid to obtain an alcohol-adjusted liquid.
• step (d) The manufacturing method according to [1], wherein in step (d), the alcohol content of the immersion liquid is increased by 1 v/v % or more.
• step (d) The method according to [1] or [2], wherein the raw fruit and/or vegetable is one or more selected from citrus fruits.
• step (c) The method according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein in step (c), the immersion is carried out at 40° C. or higher.
• step (c) the pH of the liquid during the immersion is less than 4.0.
• a method for reducing unpleasant flavors in beverages or foods comprising: (a) freezing one or more raw fruits and/or vegetables to obtain a frozen product; (b) finely pulverizing the frozen product to obtain a frozen finely pulverized product; (c) immersing the finely ground material, either as is or after thawing to form a paste, in an aqueous liquid containing 20 v/v % or less alcohol to obtain an immersion liquid; and (d) adding alcohol to the immersion liquid to increase the alcohol content of the immersion liquid, thereby obtaining an alcohol-adjusted liquid.
• the present invention can improve the manufacturing method of frozen, finely ground, soaked liquor. Specifically, it can reduce the unpleasant taste that occurs in the soaking liquid obtained when a relatively low alcohol content is used in the alcohol soaking step of the manufacturing method. As a result, it is possible to obtain a soaking liquid that is rich in flavor and has little unpleasant taste, which can contribute to the manufacturing of beverages and foods with excellent taste.
• alcohol used in this specification means ethanol unless otherwise specified.
• Freezing process In the production method of the present invention, first, a step of freezing one or more raw fruits and/or vegetables to obtain a frozen product is carried out.
• the raw fruit and/or vegetables are frozen and solidified.
• the freezing machine or method used for freezing there are no limitations on the freezing machine or method used for freezing, and any of the following may be used: air freezing, air blast freezing, contact freezing, brine freezing, and freezing using liquid nitrogen.
• a preferred freezing method is a freezing method using liquid nitrogen.
• the temperature of liquid nitrogen is -196°C.
• the freezing temperature is preferably below the brittle temperature of the raw fruit or vegetable used.
• "brittleness temperature” refers to the temperature at which an object becomes suddenly brittle (brittle and easily broken) at low temperatures. The brittleness temperature can be determined by applying conventional methods used for polymers, etc.
• the raw fruit may be, but is not limited to, citrus fruits (oranges such as Valencia oranges and navel oranges, grapefruits such as grapefruits, lemons, limes, shikuwasa, daidai, yuzu, kabosu, sudachi, citron, bush citrus fruits such as natsumikan, hassaku, hyuganatsu, sweetie, dekopon, other citrus fruits, iyokan, tankan, mandarin oranges, unshu mikan, ponkan, Kishu mikan, kumquats, kumquats, etc.), apples, grapes, peaches, tropical fruits (pineapple, guava, banana, mango, acerola, lychee, papaya, passion fruit, etc.), other fruits (plums, pears, apricots, plums, berries, kiwi fruit, etc.), strawberries, melons, etc.
• citrus fruits ranges such as Valencia oranges and navel oranges,
• the fruit is preferably a citrus fruit, more preferably selected from the group consisting of oranges, grapefruits, and citrus fruits, more preferably selected from the group consisting of oranges, grapefruits, lemons, and limes, more preferably lemons.
• raw vegetable ingredients include leafy stem vegetables, fruit vegetables (excluding those sold as fruits in the market), flower vegetables, and root vegetables, as well as beans and edible plant seeds, including perilla, ginger, chili peppers, herbs (e.g., mint, lemongrass, coriander, Italian parsley, rosemary), and wasabi.
• preferred vegetables are tomatoes, celery, carrots, parsley, spinach, watercress, bell peppers, lettuce, cabbage, beets, gingers (ginger, leaf ginger), and perilla (green shiso, red shiso).
• fruit and “vegetable” refer to the whole of raw fruits or vegetables, including juice and solids, or parts thereof, except in special cases, and are to be distinguished from “fruit juice” and “vegetable juice”.
• fruit juice and “vegetable juice” refer to the juice of fruits or vegetables obtained in advance by a process such as squeezing, and do not include the juice of fruits and/or vegetables that is contained in the final product, etc., as a result of using the whole of the fruit and/or vegetable as a raw material.
• the frozen product is finely pulverized to obtain a frozen finely pulverized product.
• the frozen and pulverized product is immersed, either as is or after being thawed into a paste, in an aqueous liquid containing 20 v/v % or less of alcohol to obtain an immersion liquid.
• An aqueous liquid containing 20 v/v % or less alcohol is a mixture of water as a solvent and alcohol, which may further contain small amounts (e.g., 20 w/v % or less) of other components.
• the alcohol content of the aqueous liquid is preferably 1 to 20 v/v %, more preferably 1 to 15 v/v %, and even more preferably 5 to 15 v/v %. By using such an alcohol content, the flavor of the resulting immersion liquid is improved.
• the soaking temperature is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, 0°C or higher, 20°C or higher, or 40°C or higher. If the soaking temperature is 40°C or higher, the flavor intensity of the resulting soaking liquid will be further enhanced.
• the soaking temperature means the liquid temperature during soaking.
• the upper limit of the temperature is not important, but may be, for example, below the boiling point of the solvent, or below 60°C. Therefore, the preferred soaking temperature is 0°C or higher and below the boiling point of the solvent, 20°C or higher and below the boiling point of the solvent, or 40°C or higher and below the boiling point of the solvent.
• the pH of the liquid during soaking is not particularly limited, but is, for example, less than 4.0, or 2.8 or less. By adopting such a pH, the flavor of the resulting soaked liquid is further enhanced.
• the lower limit of the pH is not particularly limited, but is about 2.0. Therefore, the preferred pH range is 2.0 or more and less than 4.0, or 2.0 to 2.8.
• the immersion period is also not limited, but is typically from about 10 hours to several months, or from about half a day to about three days, and may be several months.
• the ratio of the frozen pulverized material to the aqueous liquid in the immersion step is not limited, but typically, about 1 g to about 500 g, about 5 g to about 300 g, or about 10 g to about 200 g of frozen pulverized material is used per 1 L of the aqueous liquid.
• the soaking liquid may be used in the next process as is, or may be used in the next process after removing solids through a solid separation means such as filtration.
• the alcohol content in a beverage or aqueous liquid can be measured by any known method, for example, by a vibration density meter. Specifically, a sample is prepared by removing carbon dioxide from the beverage using filtration or ultrasound as necessary, and the sample is then steam distilled, the density of the resulting distillate is measured at 15°C, and the alcohol content can be calculated by conversion using "Table 2: Conversion table of alcohol content, density (15°C) and specific gravity (15/15°C)," which is an appendix to the National Tax Agency's Specified Analysis Method (National Tax Agency Ordinance No. 6 of 2007, revised June 22, 2007). Alternatively, gas chromatography or HPLC may be used.
• Alcohol content adjustment step Next, alcohol is added to the infusion liquid to increase the alcohol content of the infusion liquid, thereby obtaining an alcohol-adjusted liquid, which reduces the unpleasant taste of the infusion liquid.
• the alcohol content is preferably increased by 1 v/v or more, more preferably 5 v/v% or more, more preferably 10 v/v% or more.
• Adding alcohol to increase the alcohol content includes not only adding alcohol itself, but also adding a liquid containing a relatively high content of alcohol.
• a liquid containing a relatively high content of alcohol is an alcohol-containing aqueous liquid, which is the same as an aqueous liquid containing 20 v/v% or less alcohol, excluding the alcohol content.
• the alcohol-containing aqueous liquid may be distilled alcohol or brewed alcohol.
• the alcohol-containing aqueous liquid is distilled alcohol or a dilution thereof, examples of which are as described above in the soaking process.
• the resulting alcohol-adjusted solution may be stored for a certain period of time, for example, from 1 hour to 10 weeks, from 1 day to 10 weeks, or from 1 week to 3 weeks.
• the storage temperature is not limited as long as the alcohol-adjusted solution is not heated, but is typically room temperature, 25°C or lower, 10°C or lower, or 5°C or lower.
• the alcohol-adjusted solution may be used as a beverage or food as it is, or may be mixed with other ingredients to produce a beverage or food, if necessary.
• Another example of a raw material that can be used in the method of the present invention is fruit juice.
• the content of fruit juice in the beverage or food obtained by the method of the present invention is not particularly limited, but is, for example, less than 8.0 w/w% in terms of the fruit juice percentage.
• the lower limit of the fruit juice percentage is not particularly important.
• the "fruit juice ratio" in a beverage is calculated using the amount of fruit juice (g) contained in 100 g of beverage according to the following conversion formula.
• the concentration ratio is calculated in accordance with the JAS standard, excluding the sugar refractometer readings for sugars, honey, etc. added to the fruit juice.
• Fruit juice percentage (w/w%) ⁇ amount of fruit juice (g)> x ⁇ concentration ratio> / 100 mL / ⁇ specific gravity of beverage> x 100
• the fruit juice may be in any form, such as straight fruit juice obtained by squeezing fruit and using the fruit juice as is, or concentrated fruit juice obtained by concentrating the straight fruit juice, etc.
• clear fruit juice or cloudy fruit juice may be used, and whole fruit juice obtained by crushing the whole fruit including the skin and removing only particularly hard solids such as seeds, fruit puree obtained by straining fruit, or fruit juice obtained by crushing or extracting the pulp of dried fruit may also be used.
• the type of fruit from which the juice is made is not particularly limited, but for example, juice obtained from the fruits mentioned above in relation to the freezing process can be used.
• the beverage may contain vegetable juice.
• the above statements regarding fruit juice also apply mutatis mutandis to vegetable juice.
• Carbon dioxide gas can be added to the beverage using methods commonly known to those skilled in the art, including, but not limited to, dissolving the carbon dioxide in the beverage under pressure, mixing the carbon dioxide and the beverage in a pipe using a mixer such as a Zuhenhagen carbonator, or spraying the beverage into a tank filled with carbon dioxide to allow the carbon dioxide to be absorbed into the beverage, or mixing the beverage with carbonated water.
• a mixer such as a Zuhenhagen carbonator
• Carbon dioxide pressure can be adjusted using any of these methods as appropriate.
• the carbon dioxide gas pressure when the beverage contains carbon dioxide gas, is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.7 to 4.5 kgf/cm 2 , and more preferably 0.8 to 2.8 kgf/cm 2.
• the carbon dioxide gas pressure can be measured using a gas volume measuring device GVA-500A manufactured by Kyoto Electronics Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
• the sample temperature is set to 20°C
• the carbon dioxide gas pressure is measured after degassing (sniffing) the air in the container and shaking using the gas volume measuring device.
• the carbon dioxide gas pressure means the carbon dioxide gas pressure at 20°C.
• ingredients include various additives.
• various additives may be blended into the beverage or food obtained by the manufacturing method of the present invention, just as in normal beverages or foods, to the extent that the effects of the present invention are not hindered.
• various additives include acidulants, flavorings, vitamins, colorants, antioxidants, emulsifiers, preservatives, seasonings, extracts, pH adjusters, thickeners, quality stabilizers, etc.
• the type of beverage obtained by the method of the present invention is not particularly limited, but includes alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, fruit juice drinks, and energy drinks.
• the beverage is preferably a highball, chuhai, cocktail, sour, or the like.
• highball and chuhai refer to beverages containing water, distilled alcohol, and carbon dioxide. Highballs and chuhai may further contain fruit juice.
• sour refers to beverages containing spirits, sour fruit juice or flavoring, such as citrus juice or flavoring, and carbon dioxide, when used in connection with the beverage of the present invention.
• the term “cocktail” refers to an alcoholic beverage made by mixing fruit juice or the like with a base alcoholic beverage.
• the types of foods obtainable by the method of the present invention are not particularly limited, but include processed foods. Examples of such foods include jams, jellies, ice cream, yogurt, gum, cakes, and salads.
• the manufacturing method of the present invention may include other steps in addition to the steps described above, so long as the effect of the method is not impaired.
• the alcohol-adjusted liquid can be mixed with other ingredients as necessary and then packed into containers.
• the container form includes, but is not limited to, metal containers such as cans, plastic bottles, paper cartons, bottles, pouches, etc.
• a sterilization process can be carried out at one or more of the following: before, during, and after the container-packing process.
• the production method of the present invention can reduce the unpleasant taste in a beverage or food.
• the production method of the present invention is a method for reducing the unpleasant taste in a beverage or food.
• Example 1 Effect of soaking alcohol content
• Fresh lemon fruit was used as raw fruit.
• the lemon fruit was frozen using liquid nitrogen at -196°C.
• the frozen product was then placed in a freeze grinder (Rinrex Mill: Liquid Gas Co., Ltd.) and finely ground while still frozen to obtain a white powdery frozen finely ground product with a particle size of about 30 ⁇ m.
• the method described in the examples of Patent Document 1 was adopted for particle size measurement.
• the frozen finely ground product was then soaked in aqueous alcohol liquids (soaking liquids) with various alcohol contents for 15 hours at 20°C, and the resulting liquid was filtered using diatomaceous earth to remove solids, thereby obtaining a soaking liquid.
• the aqueous alcohol liquid used was a mixture of water and neutral spirits.
• a score of 1 indicates the thinnest state, and a score of 5 indicates the thickest state.
• a score of 1 indicates the strongest state, and a score of 5 indicates the weakest state.
• each panel used a standard product corresponding to each score to establish a common understanding in advance of the relationship between each score and taste.
• Example 2 Effect of adjusting alcohol content
• neutral spirits and water were added in various amounts to the immersion liquid obtained using an aqueous alcohol solution with an alcohol content of 10 v/v% to increase the alcohol content, thereby obtaining a number of alcohol-adjusted solutions.
• the adjusted solutions obtained were stored in a refrigerator for about one week, and then subjected to a sensory evaluation similar to that of Experiment 1. The results are shown below. For comparison, part of the data from Experiment 1 is also shown below (increase in alcohol content "0" v/v%).
• Example 3 Relationship between unpleasant taste reduction effect and alcohol content during immersion
• the alcohol content of the various alcohol immersion solutions (1 v/v% and 20 v/v%) obtained in Experiment 1 was increased in the same manner as in Experiment 2 to obtain alcohol-adjusted solutions, and the resulting adjusted solutions were subjected to sensory evaluation in the same manner as in Experiment 1. In all cases, the alcohol content was increased by 5 v/v%.
• the alcohol contents of the immersion solutions and the evaluation results are shown below.

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• Alcoholic Beverages (AREA)
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• 2023
  • 2023-04-10 JP JP2023063312A patent/JP2024150080A/ja active Pending
• 2024
  • 2024-04-05 AU AU2024255334A patent/AU2024255334A1/en active Pending
  • 2024-04-05 WO PCT/JP2024/014166 patent/WO2024214656A1/ja not_active Ceased
  • 2024-04-05 EP EP24788680.7A patent/EP4696765A1/en active Pending
  • 2024-04-05 CN CN202480021859.2A patent/CN121039267A/zh active Pending

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