JPH07102085B2 - Non-hygroscopic icing agent - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Object of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a non-hygroscopic icing agent, and more particularly to a non-hygroscopic, non-cariogenic and low-caloric icing agent.

(Prior Art) Powdery or granular sweeteners mainly used for the purpose of icing, such as donut sugar sprinkled on the surface of donuts, frosting sugar sprinkled on the surface of Western confectionery, etc. Is a powdered sugar or granular sugar of sucrose, powdered sugar or granular sugar mainly composed of a mixture of sucrose and sugar, or powdered sugar or granular sugar composed of a mixture of sucrose and starch. Had been used.

However, this type of icing agent containing sucrose or glucose as the main component absorbs moisture in the air or moisture emanating from the donuts over time, for example, when it is sprinkled on the surface of the donut, and the white powder The state or white granules are lost, and the product becomes transparent and sticky, and the product donuts lose their freshness, their appearance is significantly impaired, and their commercial value is reduced. Further, when saccharides other than sucrose and dextrose were used for the purpose of avoiding such drawbacks, there was a problem in sweetness, and a sufficiently satisfactory icing agent could not be obtained.

Furthermore, sucrose and glucose, which are the main components of conventional icing agents, have been problematic in terms of health in terms of promoting diabetes due to excessive intake, obesity, and an increase in caries morbidity.

(B) Structure of the Invention The icing agent of the present invention is a non-hygroscopic icing agent obtained by blending meso-erythritol with a small amount of a non-saccharide sweetener.

The meso-erythritol used in the present invention has the structural formula Is a tetravalent sugar alcohol represented by a molecular weight of 122,
It is a white crystal with a melting point of 119 ° C. The appearance is granulated sugar of sucrose, which is well soluble in water, non-digestible (low-calorie), non-carious, and non-brown-denatured. This meso-erythritol (hereinafter referred to simply as "erythritol"
Say. ) Is contained in natural algae, mushrooms, etc., and is also contained in small amounts in sake, wine, soy sauce, etc. According to the panel test results, the sweetness intensity and sweetness are slightly weaker than sucrose, slightly stronger than glucose, and correspond to about 75 to 80% of the sweetness of sucrose. Although it is close to, the aftertaste is less sweet than sucrose.

The icing agent of the present invention comprises a small amount of a non-sugar sweetener such as aspartame, stevioside, sodium saccharin, glycyrrhizin, acesulfame potassium, alitame and the like mixed with such erythritol. These non-sugar sweeteners are inferior in sweetness to sucrose in that they remain sweet in the mouth when used alone, but can be used as an icing agent having a sweetness similar to that of sucrose when used in combination with erythritol.

A preferable combination ratio of erythritol and a non-sugar sweetener for making the sweetness of sucrose close to that of sucrose is, for example, stevioside of 0.001 to 0.00 relative to 1 of erythritol.
7, glycyrrhizin 0.001-0.004, aspartame
0.001-0.018, sodium saccharin 0.0004-0.001
Is the range. In particular, in the case of stevioside or aspartame, the sweetness closest to sucrose is obtained when stevioside is 0.001 to 0.004 and aspartame is 0.002 to 0.008 with respect to erythritol 1.

The icing agent of the present invention is usually in the form of powder or granules. In that case, there is no particular limitation on the particle size of the powder or granules, but it is usually preferable that the powdery particles have a particle size of 200 μm or less, and the granular particles have a particle size of 0.1 to 3 mm.

As a method for producing the icing agent of the present invention, a powdery one is generally obtained by pulverizing a crystal of erythritol or a mixture of a small amount of an additive component such as a non-saccharide sweetener with a pulverizer, for example, an atomizer. Method. In the case of granules, the pulverized product is granulated using an extrusion molding granulator or a fluidized granulator.

In the case of extrusion-molding granulation, a granulated product having a water content of 6 to 10% by weight is granulated. When the water content is less than 6% by weight, the resulting granulated sugar is inferior in shape retention, and when it exceeds 10% by weight, not only is it difficult to granulate, but also drying requires a long time.

In the case of fluidized granules, erythritol has a lower solubility in water as compared with sucrose and the viscosity of the aqueous solution is low, so that granulation is difficult even if only water is sprayed for granulation. Therefore, in the case of the fluidized granulation method, gelatin, locust bean gum, pullulan, starch, etc. are added as a binder and granulated. It is also possible to use a viscous sugar solution (eg, sucrose, isomerized sugar, oligosaccharide, maltitol, coupling sugar, etc.) as a binder, but if such a hygroscopic sugar is added, The obtained granular sugar (icing agent) is highly hygroscopic, which is not preferable.

The icing agent of the present invention can be used as an icing agent for various foods such as donuts, fried bread, cream puffs and cakes. For example, when the donuts are sprinkled on the surface, they are not hygroscopic, so that they can be kept in a white powdery or white granular state for a long time, and the product donuts can be stored in a fresh state for a long time.

Example 99.2 parts by weight of erythritol and 0.8 parts by weight of aspartame were mixed and pulverized with an atomizer to prepare a powdery icing agent (particle size 100 to 46 μ).

Further, the obtained powdery icing agent was mixed by adding 7% by weight of water to the icing agent, and the mixture was molded by an extrusion molding granulation method to form a granular icing agent (particle size 0.2 to
1.5 mm) was manufactured.

The obtained powdery icing agent and granular icing agent were both beautiful white.

This powdery icing agent, granule icing agent, powdered sugar of sucrose and granular sugar of sucrose for comparison were respectively
The following table shows the results of examining the water absorption rate after putting each g in a petri dish and leaving it in the air at RH 90% and 20 ° C. for 1 week. Both the powdery icing agent and the granular icing agent after being left for one week remained white and were not deteriorated at all, but both the powdered sugar and the granular sugar of sucrose were melted into a sticky substance, so-called "crying". It was in a state.

Further, a comparative test was carried out when the powdered icing agent and powdered sugar of sucrose were sprinkled on donuts and stored.

That is, 200 g of wheat flour, 1 egg and 2 teaspoons of salad oil are added with 50 ml of water and kneaded well, and after leaving for 5 minutes, the outer diameter is 40 mm,
Molded into a donut shape with an inner diameter of 10 mm, 160-180 ℃
Fried in corn oil, sprinkle each of the obtained donuts with the powdered icing agent and powdered sugar of sucrose separately, put each cooled donut in a vinyl bag, and store it in air at 20 ° C. The state of the powdered icing agent and the powdered sugar of sucrose was visually observed with time. The results are shown in the table below.

(C) Effects of the Invention The icing agent of the present invention has no hygroscopicity, low calorie,
It is non-cariogenic and has a good sweetness.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A non-hygroscopic icing agent comprising meso-erythritol and a small amount of a non-saccharide sweetener.