JPH10276674A - Meringue confectionery - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To provide a meringue confectionery which has a good texture and reduced sweetness and does not require much time for drying and baking. SOLUTION: It contains egg white and trehalose and, if necessary, sugar. The trehalose content is 1 egg white.
The total of sugar and trehalose is 15
The content is in the range of 0 to 230 parts by weight. In particular, since trehalose itself has a high-quality sweetness and its sweetness is about half or less of sugar, trehalose may be contained without using sugar. When the meringue is finished by stirring, this meringue is
Squeeze an appropriate amount on paper or oven sheet 90-1
It is put into a drier at a temperature of about 00 ° C. and dried or baked to obtain a meringue confectionery.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a meringue confectionery, and more particularly to a meringue confectionery having a good texture and reduced sweetness.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Generally, meringue is made by mixing foaming proteins such as egg white and gelatin with sugar and the like, stirring and whipping, and then adding pigments, flavors and taste-imparting materials as necessary. , Formed into a desired shape. This meringue utilizes the following properties of egg white. That is, egg white has a low surface tension and a low vapor pressure because most of its components are proteins.
When observing the surface of the egg white that has been broken, it is recognized that the contact surface (interface) with the air solidifies and a film is formed. Upon cutting, a stable foam is formed by entrapping air due to the surface tension. At the beginning of the stirring, the foam film is relatively large and the bubble film is also transparent, but as the stirring progresses, the bubble differentiates and becomes smaller and denatures, and the bubble film becomes thicker and harder, and appears white and stable. Become When making a meringue or a sponge cake, saccharides are added during the stirring of the egg white, but the saccharides dissolve into the foam film, so that the foam film is modified and stabilized.

[0003] Meringue confectionery is obtained by drying or baking the meringue thus obtained so that the moisture content of the product is about 5% or less.

Heretofore, this type of meringue has been roughly classified into the following three types depending on the manner in which sugar is added. Cold meringue Add a small amount (about 40-50g) of sugar to the egg white, stir slowly to loosen the egg white. Add sugar in several portions to finish firm meringue. Then, in order to make the meringue dry (fired), it is squeezed and dried and baked in an appropriate amount on silicon paper or an oven sheet. Hot meringue Whisk in the same manner as for cold meringue as described above, and when the temperature of the dough reaches 50 ° C, remove from the hot water and stir until heat is released (fall to room temperature) to finish firm meringue . Then, in order to make the meringue dry (fired), it is squeezed and dried and baked in an appropriate amount on silicon paper or an oven sheet. Boiled meringue Add about 20 g of sugar to 100 g of egg white and stir. When the mixture is about 7 minutes, pour in the boiled syrup while keeping it from hitting the whipper. When finished, continue stirring until the heat is released. Then, in order to make the meringue dry (fired), it is squeezed and dried and baked in an appropriate amount on silicon paper or an oven sheet.

[0005]

As described above, meringue is a simple product made by adding sugar to egg white and foaming it, but its light texture and smooth mouth-melting feeling are unique. It is. However, meringue is basically egg white 1
It is manufactured by mixing about 150 to 230 parts by weight of sugar with respect to 00 parts by weight. This is one egg sugar
When the amount is less than 50 parts by weight, the foam is light and has a good texture, but the stabilization of the bubble film is reduced. For this reason, the meringue contains a large amount of sugar, and there is a problem that the sweetness is too strong according to the current taste of low sweetness. In particular, since meringue confectionery may be eaten as it is as a snack confection, it is desirable that the sweetness can be reduced.

By the way, such meringue confectionery is produced by drying (baking) meringue. Since meringue contains a large amount of sugar having high water retention, it takes time for drying (baking) in the manufacturing process. However, there is a problem that productivity is not so good. For these reasons, meringue confectionery is said to be unsuitable for mass production for the general public despite having the above-mentioned unique advantages, and it is currently only a local specialty product etc. there were.

In order to reduce the sweetness of such meringue, glucose may be used as a sugar other than sugar during the production of meringue. However, it takes a long time to dry (fire) the meringue. Can not be solved.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. Sho 59-17950 discloses a meringue obtained by mixing an appropriate amount of a konjac powder solution dissolved in a glue-like form when stirring and whipping egg whites and whipping. In this conventional technique, konjac flour, particularly glucomannan, is used as a substitute for sugar to produce sweet and fine waist meringue with reduced sweetness. However, in this prior art, glucomannan powder is used, but since this powder has poor solubility, when this is added to an egg white solution to produce meringue, the mixed glucomannan particles are dissolved. There is a problem that it remains in the meringue without being recovered.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2-174637 discloses a meringue obtained by adding powdered egg white or powdered egg to an aqueous solution of konjac mannan at a concentration of 0.05 to 2% by weight and whipping. I have. According to this conventional technique, the problem that the glucomannan particles remain in the meringue without being completely dissolved is solved, but 0.05 to 2 gm.
Since the aqueous solution of konjac mannan with a low concentration of weight% is used, a certain amount of aqueous solution must be added in order to stabilize bubbles, so that the resulting meringue becomes watery and unpalatable. There was a problem. For this reason, in this meringue, it was necessary to use a powdered egg white component. Also,
Since it is necessary to adjust the aqueous solution of konjac mannan having a low concentration within a predetermined range, there is a problem that the production process of meringue is complicated. In addition, there is also a problem that it takes a long time to dry the obtained meringue because of a large amount of water to obtain a meringue confectionery.

The present invention has been made on the basis of the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to provide a meringue confectionery which has a good texture and reduced sweetness and which does not require much time for drying and baking.

[0011]

Means for Solving the Problems As a result of intensive studies in view of the above object, the present inventors have succeeded in reducing sweetness by substituting part or all of the sugar contained in meringue with trehalose. It has been found that the drying time can be reduced. In addition, the present inventors can reduce the sweetness and reduce the drying time by replacing a part of sugar with dietary fiber such as pulp, fiber, or cellulose, or by using dietary fiber together with trehalose. I found that it could be shortened. Based on these, the present invention has been completed.

That is, the meringue confectionery according to claim 1 of the present invention is characterized by containing at least egg white and trehalose. Here, the meringue in the present specification is a mixture of foaming proteins such as egg whites and gelatin and sugar and the like, and the mixture is stirred and foamed, and then, if necessary, a pigment, a flavor, a flavoring material and the like are added. It refers to one obtained by molding into a desired shape. A meringue confectionery is a product obtained by drying or baking this meringue to have a water content of about 5%.
% Or less.

[0013] The meringue confectionery according to claim 2 is 60% by weight based on 100% by weight of the total of egg white, sugar and dietary fiber.
It is characterized by containing up to 95% by weight of sugar and 5 to 40% by weight of dietary fiber.

The meringue confectionery according to claim 3 contains egg white, sugar, trehalose and dietary fiber, and the content of the dietary fiber is 40 to 100% by weight of the total of the sugar, trehalose and dietary fiber. % By weight or less.

Further, the meringue confectionery according to claim 4 contains egg white, trehalose, and dietary fiber, and the content of the dietary fiber is a total of 10% of the trehalose and the dietary fiber.
It is characterized by being 40% by weight or less with respect to 0% by weight.

Hereinafter, the meringue confectionery of the present invention will be described in detail. First, various raw materials used in the present invention will be described.

The egg white used in the present invention means that it has a foaming property capable of forming meringue.
There is no particular limitation, and egg whites of various properties and production methods such as raw, frozen, and powder can be used. In the present invention, a foaming component such as gelatin, whey protein, albumin powder or the like can be added to the egg white, if necessary, alone or in combination.

The trehalose used in the present invention is a non-reducing disaccharide in which two molecules of glucose are linked by α, α-1,1. Including those that do. This trehalose has a high quality sweetness, and its sweetness is about half that of sugar. Trehalose as described above is a carbohydrate widely present in natural plants and microorganisms such as mushrooms, seaweeds and shrimps, but trehalose in the present invention is an extract from these organisms. Or a product obtained by treating starch with an enzyme, and its production method is not particularly limited.

Further, the dietary fiber used in the present invention is a food that is not digested by digestive enzymes of animals or humans,
Alternatively, it is a polysaccharide or lignin which is a structural material of a plant cell wall contained in a food material, and is typically a plant fiber such as pulp. This pulp is obtained by mechanically or chemically crushing fibrous substances of plants, but considering that meringue confectionery is a food, fruits, vegetables such as tomatoes, apples, oranges, apricots, carrots, etc. It is desirable to use such pulp. Such a plant fiber is mainly composed of cellulose. This cellulose is a polymer of β-glucose and has a molecular weight larger than that of starch. Therefore, in the present invention, not only pulp but also cellulose itself produced from the pulp or the like can be used as the plant fiber.

The meringue confectionery of the present invention contains the above-mentioned trehalose and / or dietary fiber as a substitute for sugar. The following three embodiments will be described according to the presence or absence of each component.

The first meringue is a case where only trehalose is contained in trehalose and dietary fiber. In this meringue, trehalose and, if necessary, sugar are added to egg white and stirred. The blending amount of trehalose at this time is not particularly limited, but since it is added as a substitute for sugar, the total of sugar and trehalose is in the range of 150 to 230 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of egg white. To However, since the object of the present invention is to minimize the amount of sugar used to reduce the sweetness of meringue, the amount of sugar should be less than 150 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of egg white. Is desirable. In particular, since trehalose itself has a high-quality sweetness and the degree of sweetness is about half or less of sugar, trehalose alone may be added without using sugar.

The method for adding trehalose to egg white as described above may be appropriately selected according to the method for producing meringue such as cold meringue, hot meringue, and boiled meringue. Trehalose has a solubility in hot water. Is high, for example, trehalose is dissolved in hot water and, if necessary, boiled down to a high concentration solution,
What was cooled to about 90 ° C. can be used. The addition of trehalose to the egg white as described above may be performed before the egg white is stirred. For example, after stirring the egg white to some extent and bubbling it for about 5 to 6 minutes, the stirring is continued little by little while continuing the stirring. It may be added periodically or intermittently. After adding trehalose to the egg white in this way,
Stir well to finish the meringue.

Next, the second meringue is a case where only dietary fiber among trehalose and dietary fiber is contained.
In this meringue, both dietary fiber and sugar are added to egg white and stirred. At this time, the amount of the dietary fiber is in the range of 150 to 230 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the egg white, because the dietary fiber is added as a substitute for part of the sugar. So that
However, dietary fiber is in the range of 5 to 40% by weight relative to the total of 100% by weight of sugar and dietary fiber (sugar is 60 to 95%).
% By weight). When the amount of dietary fiber is less than 5% by weight, the effect of shortening the drying time and the reduction of sweetness are not sufficient. The melting of the mouth of the meringue confection becomes worse, and roughness on the tongue remains.

As a method of adding dietary fiber to egg white as described above, cold meringue, hot meringue,
It may be appropriately selected according to the method for producing meringue such as boiled meringue, but for example, in the case of cellulose or apple pulp, it can be added as it is.
The addition of the dietary fiber to the egg white as described above may be performed before the egg white is stirred, but, for example, after adding sugar to the egg white and stirring and whipping to a certain extent, continuously or little by little while continuing stirring. It may be added intermittently. After adding the dietary fiber and the sugar in this way, the mixture is further sufficiently stirred to finish the meringue.

A third meringue is a case where both trehalose and dietary fiber are contained as sugar substitutes. In this meringue, trehalose,
Stir while adding dietary fiber and sugar as needed. The amount of trehalose and dietary fiber used at this time is such that the sum of sugar, trehalose and dietary fiber is in the range of 150 to 230 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of egg white. However, in the third meringue, the amount of dietary fiber is 40% by weight or less based on the total of 100% by weight of sugar, trehalose, and dietary fiber. As the content of dietary fiber increases, the effect of shortening the drying time improves. However, when the content exceeds 40% by weight, the obtained meringue confection becomes poorly soluble in the mouth and roughness on the tongue remains. Since the third meringue contains trehalose, it is not necessary to use sugar. In this case, the added amount of dietary fiber is 40% by weight or less of dietary fiber with respect to 100% by weight of trehalose + dietary fiber in total. And it is sufficient.

The method of adding trehalose and dietary fiber to egg white as described above may be appropriately selected according to the method for producing meringue such as cold meringue, hot meringue, and boiled meringue. Can be added in the same manner as in the first and second meringues described above. After adding the dietary fiber, trehalose and sugar in this way, the mixture is further thoroughly stirred to finish the meringue.

An appropriate amount of the first to third meringues is squeezed onto a piece of silicon paper or a sheet for an oven or the like and put into a drier having a temperature of about 90 to 100 ° C. and dried or baked to obtain a meringue confection. Can be manufactured. The drying (firing) time at this time is significantly reduced as compared with the case where only sugar is used, and it is possible to efficiently produce meringue confectionery.

The meringue confectionery of the present invention as described above is
By containing trehalose or cellulose, the amount of added sugar can be reduced, so that the sweetness is reduced.

Although the meringue confectionery of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this.
Various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, food additives usually used for meringue confectionery, such as pigments, flavors, and taste-tasting materials, can be appropriately added as long as the effects of the present invention are not impaired.

[0030]

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following specific examples. Production Example 1 100 g of egg white was stirred for about 2 minutes with a hand mixer and sufficiently whipped. After boiled down to 115 ° C. and then cooled to 90 ° C., 87 g of a trehalose solution was cooled down to 115 ° C. and then cooled to 90 ° C. 93 g of the granulated sugar solution was poured successively while dripping into a thin thread so as not to hit the blades of the mixer, and stirring was continued. After the trehalose solution and the granulated sugar solution were added, stirring was continued until the heat was removed to complete the meringue. . The stirring time at this time is 5
Minutes. The meringue thus obtained was squeezed into a length of about 7 cm using a squeezing bag fitted with a 6 mm mouthpiece, placed in a drier at 93 ° C., and dried to obtain a meringue confectionery (Example 1-). 1).

Further, Example 1-1 was applied to 100 g of egg white.
175 g of the trehalose solution prepared in Example 1 was added to produce a meringue confectionery in the same manner as in Example 1-1.
-2).

Further, for comparison, 100 g of egg white was stirred for about 2 minutes with a hand mixer and sufficiently whipped. After boiled down to 115 ° C. and allowed to cool to 90 ° C., 186 g of a granulated sugar solution was not applied to the blades of the mixer. Stirring was continued while pouring while dripping into a thin thread, and when the granulated sugar solution was finished, stirring was continued until the rough heat was removed to complete the meringue. The stirring time at this time was 5 minutes. The meringue thus obtained was squeezed to a length of about 7 cm using a squeezing bag fitted with a 6 mm mouthpiece, placed in a drier at 93 ° C., and dried to obtain a meringue confectionery (Comparative Example 1-). 1).

The concentration of the used trehalose solution at 90 ° C. was 85.8% by weight, and the concentration of the granulated sugar solution was 8%.
In this example, the total amount of saccharides was added to 150 g with respect to 100 g of egg white based on the dry weight of each (hereinafter the same in each production example). The amount of egg white in these meringue confections,
Table 1 shows the amount of granulated sugar, the amount of trehalose, and the ratio of trehalose in the total saccharides.

[0034]

[Table 1]

Examples 1-1 and 1-2 and Comparative Example 1
The sensory evaluation by five panelists was performed on the meringue confectionery No.-1. For the sensory evaluation, the sweetness was evaluated on a four-point scale (very sweet, slightly sweet, good, lacking) and the most common opinion was adopted. Was. Table 2 shows the results. Table 2 also shows the time required to dry the meringue.

[0036]

[Table 2]

As apparent from Table 2, Examples 1-1 and 1
In -2, the drying time of the meringue was shortened as compared with Comparative Example 1-1, and it was recognized that the sweetness of the obtained meringue confectionery was reduced. Production Example 2 50 g of granulated sugar was added to 100 g of egg white at the compounding ratio shown in Table 3, and the mixture was slowly stirred. When foaming began, the remaining granulated sugar was added in two portions and foamed. Further, cellulose was added thereto in the mixing ratio shown in Table 2 to prepare a firm meringue. The stirring time at this time was 5 minutes. The meringue thus obtained was squeezed out and dried in the same manner as in Production Example 1 to produce a meringue confectionery (Examples 2-1 and 2-2 and Comparative Example 2-).
1). For comparison, a meringue confectionery was produced without adding any cellulose (Comparative Example 2-2). Table 3 shows the amount of egg white, the amount of granulated sugar, the amount of cellulose, and the ratio of cellulose in the total sugar (granulated sugar + cellulose) in these meringue confections.

[0038]

[Table 3]

Examples 2-1 and 2-2 and Comparative Example 2-
Sensory evaluation was performed on the meringue confectionery of Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2-2 in the same manner as in Production Example 1. Table 4 shows the results.
Table 4 shows the time required to dry the meringue.

[0040]

[Table 4]

As is apparent from Table 4, Examples 2-1 and 2-2 and Comparative Example 2-1 in which the proportion of cellulose in the total saccharide (granulated sugar + cellulose) is 5% by weight or more are Comparative Example 2 The drying time of the meringue was shorter than that of -2, and it was recognized that the sweetness of the obtained meringue confection was reduced. In Comparative Example 2-1, since the proportion of cellulose in the total saccharides exceeds 40% by weight,
In the obtained meringue confectionery, the feeling of melting in the mouth became worse, and there was a thing that roughness was left on the tongue. Production Example 3 100 g of egg white was stirred with a hand mixer for about 2 minutes and sufficiently whipped. The mixture was boiled down to 115 ° C. in the mixing ratio shown in Table 3 and then allowed to cool to 90 ° C. so that the trehalose solution did not hit the blades of the mixer. Stirring was continued while pouring while dripping into a thin thread. When the trehalose solution had been added, the mixture was foamed for about 7 to 8 minutes. Next, cellulose was slowly added at the compounding ratio shown in Table 3, and stirring was continued until rough heat was removed to complete a meringue. The stirring time at this time was 7 minutes. The meringue thus obtained was squeezed out and dried in the same manner as in Production Example 1 to produce meringue confectionery (Examples 3-1 and 3-2 and Comparative Example 3-1). Table 5 shows the amount of egg white, the amount of trehalose, the amount of cellulose, and the ratio of cellulose in the total saccharides (trehalose + cellulose) in these meringue confections.
Shown in

[0042]

[Table 5]

Examples 3-1 and 3-2 and Comparative Example 3
The meringue confectionery No.-1 was subjected to a sensory evaluation in the same manner as in Production Example 1. Table 6 shows the results. Table 6 shows the time required for drying the meringue.

[0044]

[Table 6]

As is clear from Table 6, the proportion of cellulose in Examples 3-1 and 3-2 and Comparative Example 3-1 in which the proportion of cellulose in the total saccharide (trehalose + cellulose) is 5% by weight or more is not greater. It was observed that the drying time was shortened as the amount increased. However, in Comparative Example 3-1, since the proportion of cellulose in the total saccharide (trehalose + cellulose) exceeds 40% by weight, the obtained meringue confection has a poor mouth-melting sensation and a graininess remains on the tongue. Was. Production Example 4 100 g of egg white was stirred with a hand mixer for about 2 minutes, sufficiently whipped, boiled down to 115 ° C. and then allowed to cool to 90 ° C. while dropping 157 g of a trehalose solution while pouring into a thin thread so as not to hit the blades of the mixer. Stirring was continued, and when the trehalose solution had been added, the mixture was foamed for about 7 to 8 minutes. Next, 15 g of apple pulp was slowly added, and stirring was continued until the rough heat was removed to complete a meringue. The stirring time was 7 minutes. The meringue thus obtained was squeezed out and dried in the same manner as in Production Example 1 to produce a meringue confectionery (Example 4-1). Table 7 shows the amount of egg white, the amount of trehalose, the amount of apple pulp, and the ratio of apple pulp in the total sugars (trehalose + apple pulp) in the meringue confectionery.

[0046]

[Table 7]

Further, the meringue confectionery of Example 4-1 was subjected to a sensory evaluation in the same manner as in Production Example 1. Table 8 shows the results. Table 8 shows the time required to dry the meringue.

[0048]

[Table 8]

As is apparent from Table 8, it was confirmed that the same effect as in Production Example 3 using cellulose was obtained in Example 4-1 even though apple pulp was used instead of cellulose. Was done.

[0050]

The meringue confectionery according to claim 1 of the present invention contains at least egg white and trehalose,
This trehalose has about half the sweetness of sugar,
By using trehalose partially or entirely as a substitute for sugar, the amount of sugar used can be significantly reduced, and the sweetness of meringue confectionery is reduced. Also, when drying or baking meringue containing trehalose as a substitute for sugar to make meringue confectionery,
The drying (firing) time is greatly reduced.

The meringue according to claim 2 is 60 to 95% based on 100% by weight of the total of egg white, sugar and dietary fiber.
% Of sugar and 5 to 40% by weight of dietary fiber. Since the dietary fiber is mainly composed of cellulose and has almost no sweet taste, the dietary fiber is made of sugar. By using some of them as substitutes, the amount of sugar used can be reduced, and the sweetness of meringue confectionery is reduced. In addition, when a meringue containing dietary fiber as a substitute for sugar is dried or baked into a meringue confection, the drying (baking) time is greatly reduced.

The meringue confectionery according to claim 3 contains egg white, sugar, trehalose, and dietary fiber, and the content of the dietary fiber is 40 to 100% by weight of the total of the sugar, trehalose and dietary fiber. % Or less, so that trehalose and dietary fiber are contained as a substitute for part of sugar, as described in claim 1 and claim 2, so that the amount of sugar used can be reduced. The sweetness of the meringue confectionery is reduced. Further, when the meringue is dried or baked into a meringue confectionery, the drying (baking) time is greatly reduced.

Further, the meringue confectionery according to claim 4 contains egg white, trehalose and dietary fiber, and the content of the dietary fiber is a total of 10% of the trehalose and the dietary fiber.
It is not more than 40% by weight with respect to 0% by weight.
For this reason, as described in claim 1 and claim 2, since trehalose and dietary fiber are contained as substitutes for sugar, there is no need to use sugar, and the sweetness of the meringue confectionery is reduced. Further, when the meringue is dried or baked into a meringue confectionery, the drying (baking) time is greatly reduced.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A meringue confection comprising at least egg white and trehalose. 2. A total of 100 of egg white, sugar and dietary fiber
A meringue confection comprising 60 to 95% by weight of sugar and 5 to 40% by weight of dietary fiber with respect to% by weight. 3. It contains egg white, sugar, trehalose, and dietary fiber, and the content of the dietary fiber is 4 to 100% by weight of the total of the sugar, trehalose and dietary fiber.
A meringue confectionery which is not more than 0% by weight. 4. A composition comprising egg white, trehalose and dietary fiber, wherein the content of said dietary fiber is 40% by weight or less based on 100% by weight of the total of said trehalose and dietary fiber. Meringue sweets.