JPH045420B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

The present invention relates to a method for producing granular foods. Conventionally, methods for producing granular foods include adding gelatinizing agents such as gelatin and pectin to fluid raw materials to gel them into granular forms, as well as adding alginate or low methoxyl pectin alone or as a mixture (hereinafter referred to as
This will be explained using alginate as a representative example. )
A method is known in which particles of a fluid raw material are coated and gelled using an insoluble gel-like film formation reaction between a polyvalent metal salt and a polyvalent metal salt. Therefore, this film forming method is further divided into a method in which a raw material to which alginate is added is dropped into a polyvalent metal salt solution as in Japanese Patent Publication No. 45-29422, and a method in which a raw material to which alginate is added is dropped into a polyvalent metal salt solution, as in Japanese Patent Publication No. 48-16133. This method can be roughly divided into two methods: a method in which a raw material to which a valent metal salt has been added is dropped into an alginate solution. However, although this film formation method has the advantage of being able to easily obtain granular gelled products, the former method produces soft gel-like granules (hereinafter simply referred to as "soft gel") made of alginate. ), it cannot prevent the inside from solidifying like a jelly and turning into a hard gel over time, and in the latter method, unreacted polyvalent metal salts remain in the raw materials, causing off-flavors. In any case, granular foods produced by these conventional methods have problems in terms of taste and texture. The present inventor previously made an invention that improved the above-mentioned former method when producing granular foods by a film forming method (Japanese Patent Application No. 141702/1983 (Japanese Patent Application No. 141702/1983).
No. 25343)), and as a result of further study, it was discovered that even in this invention, absorption of seasoning ingredients was insufficient, and there was room for some improvement in improving the taste and texture of granular foods. That is, the present invention was filed in Japanese Patent Application No. 57-
This invention is a further improvement on the invention of No. 141702, and its purpose is to provide a method for producing granular foods with good taste and texture. Therefore, in the present invention, a fluid raw material to which citrate is added together with alginate and low methoxyl pectin alone or in combination is dropped into a polyvalent metal salt solution to form a gel-like film on the surface of the raw material. This is a method for producing a granular food product, which comprises obtaining granules, immersing them in clean water for bleaching, and then further immersing them in a seasoning liquid to absorb seasoning components into the granules. In the present invention, as a fluid raw material, sugars such as glucose and sucrose, and viscous raw materials such as gum, gelatin, agar, and fruit pectin may be added to fresh water as needed, but alginate and low It is necessary to add methoxyl pectin alone or as a mixture and citrate (representing a monovalent metal salt, preferably sodium citrate). The reason for adding citrate here is that when a fluid raw material made without the addition of citrate is dropped into a polyvalent metal salt solution to form granules, the granules turn into a hard gel, and then water Not only does the texture not return to a soft gel even when immersed in a seasoning solution, but also the swelling and shrinking effects do not occur when exposed to water or immersed in a seasoning solution, so the seasoning is absorbed into the granules. This is because the ingredients cannot be absorbed sufficiently. The amount of citrate to be used is preferably 0.02 to 1.5% (in weight %, the same applies hereinafter), preferably 0.1 to 1.0%, based on the total amount of the fluid raw material. If the amount of citrate added is less than 0.02%, hard gelation tends to occur during gelation with a polyvalent metal salt solution, and at the same time, absorption of seasoning components into the granules tends to be insufficient. If the content exceeds 1.5%, the particles may fuse together and lose their shape during long-term storage of the final product, so care should be taken. This fluid raw material is made into granules, so the viscosity is
It is best to adjust the temperature from 2000 C.P (centipoise) to about 10000 C.P, preferably from 5000 C.P to about 8000 C.P, and it is particularly suitable to use xanthan gum to make the grain shape spherical. In addition, if 5 to 35% of sugars are added to the total amount of fluid raw materials, the specific gravity of the fluid raw materials will increase, and the granules will sink into the polyvalent metal salt solution, making it easier to form clean granules. It is preferable to add sugars within this range. The amount of alginate/low methoxyl pectin to be used alone or as a mixture is based on the total amount of fluid raw materials.
The content is preferably 0.3 to 1.5%, preferably 0.4 to 0.7%. In addition to the raw materials mentioned above, protein raw materials such as egg yolks and whole eggs, and oil and fat raw materials such as soybean oil and sunflower oil can be used as fluid raw materials. still,
When a proteinaceous raw material and an oil or fat raw material are used together, it is preferable to keep the entire fluid raw material in an emulsified state. Next, the fluid raw material prepared in this way is made into small particles with a diameter of 4 to 10 m/m by an appropriate method to form a 0.5 to 4.0% aqueous solution of a polyvalent metal salt, preferably calcium chloride or calcium lactate, preferably 2.0
% aqueous solution. Then, the surface of the particles of the fluid raw material is coated with an insoluble gel film such as calcium alginate, and if the particles are immersed for about 1 to 5 minutes, granules that do not easily collapse when taken out from the immersion liquid are formed. If the granules are immersed in the polyvalent metal salt solution for too long, they will become hard, i.e., the inside of the film will solidify like a jelly and become a hard gel, so care must be taken. Next, the granules are taken out from the polyvalent metal salt solution, washed with water, and then immersed in clean water to be exposed to water. As the water exposure continues, clean water is gradually absorbed into the granules, and the granules swell to 1.1 to 2.0 times the volume before soaking. The granules do not have any cracks on their surface, and are uniform and soft down to the center, becoming a soft gel that is even softer than before being exposed to water. The principle behind the swelling of the granules is not clear, but since the granules swell only when citrate is added to the fluid raw material, citrate plays a catalytic role in promoting the water absorption of the granules. It is presumed that this is the case. Although it depends on the composition of the fluid raw material used, it is desirable that the water exposure be carried out for one hour or more. If the exposure time is less than 1 hour, water absorption of the granules will be insufficient and the granules will not swell, so care should be taken. Finally, the soft gel granules obtained by bleaching with water are immersed in a seasoning liquid to absorb seasoning ingredients into the granules. Seasoning liquids can be of any type, such as vinegar, liquid coffee, black tea, various liquid sauces, etc.
It can be used depending on the purpose of flavoring the granules, such as fruit juice, alcoholic beverages, salt solutions, and sugar solutions. Therefore, it is desirable that the concentration of the seasoning components in the seasoning liquid be higher than that of a normal seasoning liquid in order to facilitate absorption of the seasoning components into the granules. As the granules continue to be immersed in the seasoning liquid, the seasoning components are absorbed into the granules, and at the same time, the granules shrink slightly. The shrinkage of the granules here is due to the osmotic pressure action of the seasoning components in the seasoning liquid. The immersion time in the seasoning liquid depends on the concentration of the seasoning components, but is preferably 1 hour or more. If the immersion time is less than 1 hour, the seasoning components cannot be sufficiently absorbed into the granules, so it is desirable to be careful. The granules that have been immersed in the seasoning liquid are taken out from the seasoning liquid and used as a product. The resulting granular food can be heat sterilized as required. Heat sterilization can be carried out while the granules are immersed in the seasoning liquid, but it is better to heat the granules while they are mixed with the liquid, as convection occurs and heating is done evenly, resulting in better results. can get. As described above, according to the present invention, since citrate is added to the fluid raw material, a soft gel can be obtained by dropping it into a polyvalent metal salt to form granules. When the granules made of the granules are exposed to water, the granules absorb water and swell due to the action of citrate, and the progress of hard gelation is stopped, and the granules are softer than before being exposed to water. It will be done. Furthermore, by immersing the granules in a seasoning liquid, the seasoning components can be sufficiently absorbed into the granules. Therefore, according to the present invention, granular foods with good taste and texture can be reliably produced. Test example (1) Test area Sodium alginate 0.5g Xanthan gum 0.4 Hydrous crystalline glucose 12.0 Sodium citrate 0.5 Clear water 47.6 Egg yolk 5.0 Salad oil 34.0 Using a total of 100g as raw materials, emulsify using a conventional method to determine the viscosity.
Obtain fluid raw material of 6000C/P. This fluid raw material was made into small particles with a diameter of 5 m/m and was dropped into a 2% calcium chloride aqueous solution.
After standing still for a minute, it was taken out to obtain granules. After leaving the obtained granules in still water for 10 hours and exposing them to water, further add 10% to 100 parts of granules.
Fifty parts of saline solution was added and the mixture was allowed to stand for 10 hours for seasoning liquid immersion to obtain a granular food. (2) Control group A control product was prototyped using 100 g of sodium alginate 0.5 g, xanthan gum 0.4, hydrous crystalline glucose 12.0, fresh water 48.1, egg yolk 5.0, salad oil 34.0 (total) as raw materials, and using the same method as the test group with other conditions. For the above test products and control products, the degree of swelling of the volume of the granules immediately after exposure to water and the degree of shrinkage of the volume of the granules immediately after completion of immersion in the seasoning liquid were measured separately. In addition, in order to know the state of absorption of salt into the granules, the salt concentration of the granules of the test product and the control product was measured, and the results shown in Table 1 were obtained.

[Table] In the table, the degree of swelling refers to the rate of increase in volume when compared to the volume of the granules before exposure to water. Further, the degree of shrinkage refers to the shrinkage rate of the volume when compared with the volume of the granules before immersion in the seasoning liquid. Example 1 Manufacturing method of granular mayonnaise (a) Combination and adjustment of fluid raw materials Sodium alginate 0.5Kg Xanthan gum 0.3 Hydrous crystalline glucose 11.2 Sodium citrate 0.1 Salt 0.3 Clear water 48.5 Egg yolk 4.0 Salad oil 30.0 Oil mustard 0.1 Total 95Kg Above raw materials Using a water bottle, pour fresh water into the onlet, then add the powdered raw materials (sodium alginate, xanthan gum, hydrated crystalline glucose, sodium citrate) while heating and stirring.
After finishing the paste, the paste is cooled. While putting the above paste into a mixer and stirring, first add egg yolk, then add salad oil and oil mustard to obtain a fluid raw material. (b) Preparation of polyvalent metal salt solution Add 2.0 kg of calcium chloride to 98.0 kg of fresh water and dissolve it to obtain a 2.0% calcium chloride aqueous solution. (c) Mixing and adjusting the seasoning liquid Salt 10Kg Sugar 10 Sodium glutamate 2 Vinegar with an acidity of 8% 45 Fresh water 33 Total 100Kg A seasoning liquid is obtained by the above combination. (d) Formation of granules The above fluid raw material is added dropwise to the above polyvalent metal salt solution in a conventional manner, and after 2 minutes it is taken out and the granules are collected and washed with water on a rack. The grains were slightly oblate. (E) Water exposure The granules are placed in clean water, soaked for 10 hours, and then taken out. The granules swelled by approximately 30% in volume compared to before being added, and became spherical. (f) Seasoning liquid immersion 100 parts of the granules and 50 parts of the seasoning liquid were put into a tank, and after standing still for 24 hours, they were taken out, and a granular mayonnaise was obtained. The volume of the granules shrunk by about 20% compared to before they were added, but they remained spherical. Example 2 Manufacturing method of granular coffee jelly (a) Combination and adjustment of fluid raw materials Low methoxyl pectin 0.5Kg Xanthan gum 0.4 Sucrose 3.0 Sodium citrate 0.1 Clear water 36.0 Total 40Kg Each raw material was dissolved and degassed according to the above composition. (b) Preparation of polyvalent metal salt solution Add 1 kg of calcium chloride to 49 kg of clear water and dissolve to obtain a 2% calcium chloride aqueous solution. (c) Adjustment of seasoning liquid (coffee extract) Extract 10 kg of ground coffee powder in the usual manner to obtain 70 extracts. This concentration was approximately twice that of a regular drink, with an RI of 3.5 and a PH of 4.8. (d) Formation of granules The above fluidized raw material is dropped into a 2% aqueous calcium chloride solution through a 4 m/m orifice, taken out after 2 minutes, and the granules are collected and washed with water on a rack. (e) Water exposure The granules were put into clean water and after being exposed to water for 5 hours, the granules taken out swelled by about 60% in volume compared to before being added, and became spherical. (f) Seasoning liquid immersion: Put 100 parts of the granules and 100 parts of the above coffee extract into a tank, heat at 90°C for 30 minutes, cool, and
After leaving it for a while, soft granular coffee jelly was obtained. The granules are compared before being added.
Although the volume shrank by 0.50%, it remained spherical.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A fluid raw material to which citrate is added together with alginate and low methoxyl pectin alone or in combination is dropped into a polyvalent metal salt solution to form a gel-like film on the surface of the raw material. A method for producing a granular food product, which comprises obtaining granules, immersing them in clean water to expose them to water, and then further immersing them in a seasoning liquid to absorb seasoning ingredients into the granules. 2. The method for producing a granular food according to claim 1, wherein 5 to 35% of sugars are added to the fluid raw material.