JPH0352946B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention is suitable for using konjac in a variety of ways, such as adding it to various foods to improve texture, etc., and adding it to diet foods. Concerning a method for producing konnyaku jelly.

[Conventional technology]

Konjac has been used as a food since ancient times, but in recent years it has been in the spotlight due to its non-caloric nature and usefulness as a dietary leaf iver.

However, most of the konjac is used in the form of konnyaku, which we eat on a daily basis, and it can be added to other foods to give them a unique texture or to improve the physical properties of foods. Or “connection”
At present, it has not yet been fully utilized as a processed food material, such as as a food or for calorie control.

The reason for this can be said to be the delay in the development of technology to turn konjac raw materials such as konjac flour into superior processed food materials or food additives.

That is, in the conventional konjac manufacturing method, approximately 30 kg of konjac flour is added to 900 to 1,200 kg of water, the mixture is swollen to form konjac paste, and then 3 to 6% of lime is added to the konjac flour and mixed.

This is because the method of filling this mixture into containers, molds, etc. and heating it at a temperature of about 80° C. for about 60 minutes to obtain konnyaku is continued.

Therefore, when using konjac flour as a food ingredient in other processed foods, etc., it must be pulverized to make it easier to dissolve, swelled with water and added as konjac paste, or lime must be added. Methods such as mixing and adding konnyaku paste were used.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, these methods have the problem that the konjac mannan does not completely gel even in the final product stage, resulting in a sticky state remaining, or that the odor of slaked lime used as a coagulant for konjac remains. There was also the problem that the taste deteriorated due to the pH being biased toward the alkaline side.

Therefore, in order to improve physical properties and control calories, it would be desirable to add as much konjac as possible, but in reality, the amount used was severely limited.

Therefore, the present inventor has developed a konjac food additive and processed food that does not have the above-mentioned problems and does not cause separation of components in konjac or irreversible release of water and solid content even when stored for a long period of time. They conducted extensive research to obtain the materials.

[Means for solving problems]

As a result, we were able to successfully add konjac raw materials to foods and make them into a jelly-like form that is convenient for processing, thereby achieving the above objectives.

That is, in the present invention, water is added to konjac flour to cause it to swell and dissolve, then a basic amino acid is added and mixed, or water containing a basic amino acid is added to konjac flour to cause it to swell and dissolve, heated under alkaline conditions, and then cooled. The present invention provides a method for producing konjac jelly characterized by the following.

The present invention will be explained in detail below.

The konjac jelly of the present invention is different from the so-called konjac paste, which is made by swelling konjac flour with water. It is also different from konnyaku gel, which is obtained by adding alkali and heating. The konnyaku jelly of the present invention has properties that are exactly intermediate between the two.

Therefore, the konnyaku jelly of the present invention has a suitable viscosity and hardness, and is characterized in that it can be mixed into any food in any proportion.

Moreover, unlike simple konjac paste, the konjac jelly of the present invention has the property of causing a gelation reaction and completely gelling when heated during processing of additive foods.

Next, a method for producing konjac jelly of the present invention will be explained.

First, add 20 to 100 times the konjac flour, preferably 20
Add ~40 times as much water to swell and dissolve. Add basic amino acids to this konjac paste and mix well.
Or 20 to 100 times more than konjac flour, preferably 20 to 100 times
Dissolve the basic amino acid in 40 times the amount of water, and swell and dissolve the konjac flour in this solution.

When the swollen and dissolved konjac paste is heated under alkaline conditions and cooled, the desired konjac jelly can be obtained.

The heating temperature and time depend on the concentration of salts used and
Adjust the pH according to the desired physical properties of konnyaku jelly. If the PH of the konjac paste is high, the heating time will be short, and if the PH is low, the heating time will be long.

The konjac jelly of the present invention needs to be heated under alkaline conditions, and the pH of the konjac jelly obtained after cooling is in the range of 8.0 to 10.5, preferably 8.2 to 10.5.
It is desirable to adjust the pH to within the range of 10.0 when heating.

In that case, the heating temperature is 60 to 95℃, and the heating time is 5
A combination of conditions of ~210 minutes is selected.

The preferred combination of PH, temperature, and time is that the PH of the konnyaku jelly obtained after cooling is 8.0 to 10.5;
Preferably, they are selected so that the pH falls within the range of 8.2 to 10.0, and for this purpose, it is desirable to find their optimal combination conditions through preliminary experiments.

In the present invention, heating is terminated just before the konjac paste gels. If the appropriate heating conditions are exceeded, the konjac paste turns into a gel and loses its mixability, which is a characteristic of the konjac jelly of the present invention. In addition, if the heating conditions are low, gelling ability cannot be obtained by reheating, and the product remains as a paste forever, and as a food material it becomes the same as simply konjac paste swollen in water.

After heating, it is necessary to quickly cool the product to stop the reaction, and if this step is omitted, the konjac paste will turn into a gel.

The pH of the obtained konnyaku jelly is 8.0 to 10.5,
Preferably it is 8.2 to 10.0. If the pH exceeds 10.5, it will turn into ordinary konnyaku, making it difficult to mix with other foods, and if the pH is below 8.0, it will remain glue-like and will not solidify, reducing the product value. Undesirable.

The PH during production of the konjac jelly of the present invention is such that the PH of the obtained konjac jelly is 8 to 10.5, and it is characterized by being processed at a pH lower than the PH of normal konjac production. ing. In addition, in the 9.5 to 10.0 PH range, normal konjac can be made depending on the heating and cooling conditions, but in the present invention, the heating conditions are lower than those for normal konjac production, and the heating is stopped before gelation occurs and the konjac is immediately cooled. This is how konnyaku jelly is obtained.

The konjac raw material used in the present invention may be konjac yam, dried and crushed konjac yam, or purified konnyaku yam.

Further, the basic amino acids used in the present invention include arginine, histidine, lysine, citrulline-ornithine, etc. alone or in combination. Particularly preferred are arginine and lysine.

The amount of basic amino acids to be used is 1.25 to 20% by weight, preferably 1.25 to 15% by weight based on konjac flour.

By using basic amino acids, you can take advantage of the fact that basic amino acids have a high pH buffering ability, and you can obtain a stable pH and a jelly with stable quality. The advantage is that konjac jelly with good taste and no alkaline taste can be obtained.

The konnyaku jelly of the present invention can be added to various foods to help control calories, and can also be added to processed seafood foods and processed meat foods to improve their taste, texture, water retention, etc., and can be added to Chinese noodles, udon noodles, etc. It is useful for adding it to noodles to improve texture and other physical properties, or as a binder, and adding it to breads, cutlets, etc. to improve texture, leavening properties, and other physical properties.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be specifically explained below with reference to Examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

Example 1 L-arginine added to 4 kg of purified konjac flour
0.35Kg of the solution was added to 100% of water to swell with stirring, and the mixture was left at room temperature for 5 hours to sufficiently swell and dissolve. The pH of this product was 8.9.

This konnyaku glue was filled into a synthetic resin bag, sealed, and heated at 75°C for 90 minutes. After heating, it was rapidly cooled in ice water to 10°C to obtain the desired konjac jelly. The pH of the obtained konnyaku jelly was 8.6.

Example 2 100 kg of purified konjac flour was added to 100 kg of water and swelled with stirring, and then left at room temperature for 3 hours to sufficiently swell and dissolve.

0.7 kg of L-lysine was dissolved in 7 water and mixed well. The pH was 9.6.

This konjac paste was filled into a synthetic resin bag, sealed, heated at 90°C for 30 minutes, cooled with running water after heating, and further cooled to 10°C in ice water to obtain the desired konnyaku jelly. The pH of the obtained konnyaku jelly was 9.2.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The konnyaku jelly of the present invention can be stored for a long time and has extremely excellent properties as a processed food material. Therefore, it can be added to foods to control calories, used as a binder, imparted the unique texture and taste of konnyaku to foods, and used to improve the physical properties of foods. This has the effect of further expanding the use of Konjac, which has been attracting attention in recent years.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Add water to konjac powder to swell and dissolve,
A method for producing konjac jelly, which is characterized in that a basic amino acid is then added and mixed, or konjac flour is swollen and dissolved by adding water to which a basic amino acid has been added, heated under alkalinity, and then cooled.