Salty taste enhancer

Abstract

The present invention addresses the problem of providing a salty taste enhancer and salty taste enhancing method for foods and beverages. The salty taste enhancer that solves the problem of the present invention is characterized by comprising silkworm powder as an active ingredient.

Description

Salt enhancer

[0001] The present invention relates to a salty taste enhancer and a method for enhancing salty taste.

[0002] Salt (sodium chloride) plays an important role in the body, essential for maintaining life. However, excessive salt intake can be a risk factor for various diseases, including high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease. For this reason, the World Health Organization (WHO) has set the target intake at less than 5g per day, but the salt intake of Japanese people is about twice that amount, making excessive salt intake a problem.

[0003] The main source of salt intake for Japanese people is condiments such as soy sauce, miso, and salt, and there is a growing demand for reduced-salt foods and beverages, including reduced-salt condiments. However, reduced-salt foods and beverages with reduced added salt often have an unbalanced overall flavor and are perceived as lacking in flavor compared to foods and beverages before the salt reduction.

[0004] Therefore, methods for enhancing saltiness without using salt have been investigated, and it has been reported that, for example, the saltiness can be enhanced by using gluten hydrolysates or lactic acid fermentation products (Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[0005] JP 2018-74967 A JP 2018-29548 A

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a salty taste enhancer for foods and beverages and a method for enhancing the salty taste.

[0007] As a result of extensive research to solve the above problems, the present inventors discovered that silkworm powder has an enhancing effect on salty taste, leading to the completion of the present invention.

[0008] The present invention includes the following aspects. [1] A salty taste enhancer containing silkworm powder as an active ingredient. [2] The salty taste enhancer according to [1], wherein the amount of silkworm powder added to a food or drink is in the range of 0.1 to 1,000 parts by mass of silkworm powder per 1 part by mass of salt. [3] A food or drink containing salt and the salty taste enhancer according to [1]. [4] The food or drink according to [3], which is a reduced-salt food or drink. [5] A method for enhancing the salty taste of a food or drink, comprising adding silkworm powder to a food or drink containing salt. [6] The method according to [5], wherein the amount of silkworm powder added to a food or drink is in the range of 0.1 to 1,000 parts by mass of silkworm powder per 1 part by mass of salt. [7] A method for producing a food or drink, comprising the step of adding silkworm powder to a food or drink in the range of 0.1 to 1,000 parts by mass of silkworm powder per 1 part by mass of salt. [8] A method for producing a food or drink according to [7], wherein the food or drink is a reduced-salt food or drink.

[0009] According to the present invention, the saltiness of a food or drink can be effectively enhanced without impairing the flavor of the food or drink, thereby providing a reduced-salt food or drink that tastes salty at the same level as before the salt reduction.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a graph showing the salty taste enhancement effect of adding silkworm powder in Example 1.

[0011] The present invention will be described in detail below. The following description of the present invention may be based on preferred embodiments of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to such embodiments. In this specification, the term "to" indicating a range of values ​​is used to mean that the values ​​before and after it are included as the lower and upper limits.

[0012] The silkworm powder used in the salty taste enhancer of the present invention is obtained by drying and powdering silkworms. The growth stage of the silkworms used as the raw material is not particularly limited, and any of larvae, pupae, and adults may be used, with larvae being preferred. Examples of methods for producing silkworm powder include those described in JP-A-08-337530, which describes a method in which fourth- to fifth-instar silkworms, which are the most heavily loaded at the end of their fifth instar, are subjected to an antioxidant treatment using nitrogen gas, followed by freeze-drying and powdering. Commercially available products include MorSilk (registered trademark) Powder (Morus Corporation).

[0013] The salty taste enhancer of the present invention may consist solely of silkworm powder, or may further contain known ingredients that can be incorporated into foods. Such ingredients include, for example, excipients, binders, disintegrants, disintegration aids, lubricants, humectants, seasonings, colorants, preservatives, thickeners, pH adjusters, antiseptics, antioxidants, sugars, vitamins, minerals, etc. The form of the salty taste enhancer is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, granules, powders, tablets, pills, capsules, liquids, pastes, gels, etc.

[0014] The salty taste enhancer of the present invention has the effect of enhancing the salty taste of foods and beverages. Examples of components that cause salty taste include table salt and potassium chloride. Table salt includes refined salt and unrefined salt, which contains sodium chloride as the main component and salts such as potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, and calcium chloride. By adding the salty taste enhancer of the present invention to foods and beverages containing salts such as table salt, the salty taste can be enhanced, making the food and beverage taste equivalent to that of foods and beverages with a higher salt content, or making the salty taste stronger even if the salt content is the same. The amount of the salty taste enhancer of the present invention to foods and beverages is not particularly limited, but from the perspective of salty taste enhancement, it is preferable to add silkworm powder in a range of 0.1 to 1,000 parts by mass per 1 part by mass of salt in foods and beverages, more preferably 1 to 500 parts by mass, even more preferably 1 to 100 parts by mass, and particularly preferably 1 to 50 parts by mass.

[0015] Foods and beverages to which the salty taste enhancer of the present invention can be added are not particularly limited as long as they contain salt, and examples include condiments such as soy sauce, miso, sauce, soup, dashi, dressing, mayonnaise, furikake, and tomato ketchup; soups such as Chinese soup, consommé soup, egg soup, seaweed soup, potage, and miso soup; soups for ramen, udon, and soba noodles; processed livestock products such as ham, sausage, hamburger steak, and corned beef; processed dairy products such as butter and cheese; processed seafood products such as kamaboko (fish paste), chikuwa (fish cake), and shiokara (salted fish); processed vegetables such as pickles; and confectioneries such as potato chips, rice crackers, and biscuits. Foods and beverages include foods for specified health uses, foods with functional claims, and nutritional supplements. Foods and beverages also include feed and pet food, and can be used for, for example, livestock feed for cattle, pigs, chicken, sheep, horses, and other animals; pet food for dogs and cats, and aquatic feed for seafood.

[0016] By applying the salty taste enhancer of the present invention to such foods and beverages, it is possible to maintain the salty taste or flavor while reducing the salt content of the foods and beverages, thereby making it possible to produce reduced-salt foods and beverages. In this specification, reduced-salt foods and beverages are those whose salt equivalent value is reduced compared to the salt content of the same type of foods and beverages listed in, for example, the 2020 edition (8th revision) of the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan.

[0017] There are no particular limitations on the method for adding the salty taste enhancer of the present invention to food or drink. For example, it can be added in advance as a raw material for the food or drink, or it can be added at any stage in the production process of the food or drink.

[0018] The salty taste enhancing method of the present invention involves adding silkworm powder to food and beverages containing salt, and the amount of silkworm powder to be added relative to the target food and beverages and salt is as described above in relation to the salty taste enhancer invention.

[0019] The method for producing a food or beverage of the present invention includes a step of adding silkworm powder in an amount of 0.1 to 1,000 parts by mass, more preferably 1 to 100 parts by mass, and even more preferably 1 to 50 parts by mass, per part by mass of salt. Other steps can be performed using known methods for producing foods or beverages. The types of foods or beverages are as described above in relation to the invention of the salty taste enhancer.

[0020] The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to examples. However, the present invention is not limited to these examples. In the examples, % means % by mass.

[0021] Example 1: 2%, 1%, and 0.2% aqueous solutions of salt and a 2% aqueous solution of silkworm powder (MorSilk® Powder; manufactured by Morus Corporation) were prepared. Each concentration of saline solution was mixed with the silkworm powder aqueous solution to prepare aqueous solutions of 1% silkworm powder and 1% salt, 1% silkworm powder and 0.5% salt, and 1% silkworm powder and 0.1% salt. The 1% salt aqueous solution was used as a control (score 0), and four panelists evaluated the saltiness on a 5-point scale using the following evaluation criteria to calculate the average score. The results are shown in Table 1 and Figure 1.

[0022] (Evaluation criteria) -2: Weaker than the control -1: Slightly weaker than the control 0: Equivalent to the control 1: Stronger than the control 2: Very strong compared to the control

[0023]

[0024] As shown in Table 1 and Figure 1, it was confirmed that the saltiness of table salt was enhanced by adding silkworm powder.

[0025] Examples of formulations of foods and beverages using the salty taste enhancer of the present invention are shown below, where the numerical values ​​in the formulations are in %.

[0026] Prescription Example 1 Miso soup Miso 5 Salt 0.1 Silkworm powder 1 Water 93.9

[0027] Formulation example 2 Matcha salt silkworm powder 90 Matcha powder 9 Salt 1

Claims

1. A salty taste enhancer containing silkworm powder as the active ingredient.

2. The salty taste enhancer according to claim 1, which is added to food and drink containing salt in an amount of 0.1 to 1,000 parts by mass of silkworm powder per 1 part by mass of salt.

3. A food or drink containing salt and the salty taste enhancer according to claim 1.

4. The food or drink according to claim 3, which is a reduced-salt food or drink.

5. A method for enhancing the saltiness of food and drink by adding silkworm powder to food and drink containing salt.

6. A method for enhancing the saltiness of food or drink according to claim 5, wherein silkworm powder is added to the food or drink in an amount of 0.1 to 1,000 parts by mass of silkworm powder per 1 part by mass of salt.

7. The method for enhancing saltiness according to claim 6, wherein the food or drink is a reduced-salt food or drink.

8. A method for producing a food or beverage, comprising a step of adding silkworm powder to a food or beverage in an amount of 0.1 to 1,000 parts by mass of silkworm powder per 1 part by mass of salt.

9. The method for producing a food or drink according to claim 8, wherein the food or drink is a reduced-salt food or drink.

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