A sucrose-free soybean milk flavor improvement method and a sucrose-free soybean milk product
By adding glucosylstevioside to sugar-free soy milk and controlling the soy milk preparation parameters, the problems of beany and bitter taste were solved, and the aroma and taste of the soy milk were improved.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- ZHUCHENG HAOTIAN PHARMA CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2026-03-13
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-17
AI Technical Summary
Existing technologies are insufficient to effectively improve undesirable flavors in sugar-free soy milk, such as beany and bitter tastes, and conventional sweeteners have a weak masking effect.
A specific amount of glucosylstevioside is added to the matured soy milk mixture, combined with a specific ratio of soy milk powder to hot water and stirring speed or a ratio of soybean raw material to hot water and heating conditions, to produce flavor-improved soy milk.
It significantly reduces unpleasant flavors in sugar-free soy milk, enhances the aroma of soy milk, reduces beany and bitter tastes, and increases the content of aroma compounds.
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Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of soy milk technology, and more particularly to a method for improving the flavor of sugar-free soy milk and a sugar-free soy milk product. Background Technology
[0002] Soy products have a long history of development both domestically and internationally, especially in Asian countries. Common soy products include soy milk, tofu, soy sauce, and natto. Soy milk is a product made from whole soybeans through a simple water extraction process. It has rich nutritional value and functional properties, including lowering cholesterol levels, preventing cancer, and alleviating oxidative stress in the body. However, due to the nature of the raw materials used in soy milk, some unpleasant flavors, such as a beany or bitter taste, often occur. These unpleasant flavors can affect consumer acceptance and purchasing desire, limiting the consumer base and severely hindering the market promotion of soy milk products.
[0003] The flavor of soy milk is the result of the combined effects of various volatile compounds formed during soybean growth and processing such as soaking and grinding. Off-flavors in soy milk are often described as beany, primarily exhibiting grassy, fatty, or mushroom-like notes. The most representative flavor compounds in soy milk include hexanal, hexanol, trans-2-nonenal, 1-octen-3-ol, trans,trans-2,4-decadienal, and 2-pentylfuran. These flavor compounds in soy milk mainly originate from enzymatic and non-enzymatic oxidation.
[0004] Existing technologies can neutralize some of the beany odor by adding sucrose, but sugar-free soy milk lacks this buffer, making the beany odor more pronounced. Therefore, existing technologies add sweeteners to improve the flavor of sugar-free soy milk; however, conventional sweeteners have a weak masking effect on the beany odor and are difficult to effectively neutralize the beany substances in sugar-free soy milk. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a method to improve and modify the unpleasant flavor of sugar-free soy milk. Summary of the Invention
[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a method for improving the flavor of sugar-free soy milk and a sugar-free soy milk product. This method can effectively reduce unpleasant flavors (such as beany taste and bitterness) in sugar-free soy milk products, while improving the aroma of soy milk.
[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the first aspect of the present invention provides a method for improving the flavor of sugar-free soy milk, comprising the following steps: Glucosylstevioside is added to a cooked soy milk mixture to produce flavor-modified soy milk; wherein the amount of glucosylstevioside added is 0.00025%-0.001% of the mass of the cooked soy milk mixture.
[0007] Compared with existing technologies, this invention can effectively improve undesirable flavors (such as beany taste and bitterness) in sugar-free soy milk products by adding a specific amount of glucosylstevioside to the cooked soy milk mixture, while also enhancing the aroma of sugar-free soy milk.
[0008] Furthermore, the matured soy milk mixture includes prepared soy milk and / or freshly ground soy milk.
[0009] Furthermore, the instant soy milk preparation includes mixing soy milk powder raw materials with hot water at a preset temperature in a preset mass ratio; and stirring the mixed materials to generate the instant soy milk.
[0010] Furthermore, the mass ratio of the soy milk powder raw material to the hot water at a preset temperature is 1:(18-30); the preset temperature of the hot water is 80-100℃; and the stirring speed is 500-1200rpm.
[0011] In this invention, when the mass ratio of soy milk powder to hot water, the preset temperature of the hot water, and the stirring speed meet the above-mentioned ranges, the resulting prepared soy milk can synergistically reduce the unpleasant flavor of sugar-free soy milk and enhance its aroma by synergistically combining with a specific amount of glucosylstevioside.
[0012] Furthermore, the freshly ground soy milk comprises: extracting water from soybean raw materials to generate a soy milk mixture; and heating the soy milk mixture to generate the freshly ground soy milk.
[0013] Furthermore, the water extraction process includes: mixing the soybean raw material with hot water at a preset temperature in a preset mass ratio; and mechanically crushing the mixed material to generate the soybean milk mixture.
[0014] Furthermore, the preset temperature of the hot water is 80-100℃; the mass ratio of the soybean raw material to the hot water is 1:(4-8).
[0015] Furthermore, the heat treatment is carried out at 80-100°C for 5-8 minutes.
[0016] In this invention, when the preset temperature of the hot water, the mass ratio of soybean raw material to hot water, and the heating conditions meet the above-mentioned ranges, the resulting freshly ground soy milk can synergistically reduce the unpleasant flavor of the sugar-free soy milk and enhance its aroma with a specific content of glucosyl steviol glycosides.
[0017] Furthermore, when the matured soy milk mixture is freshly ground soy milk, after adding the glucosylstevioside, the process further includes a solid-liquid separation treatment of the flavor-improved soy milk.
[0018] A second aspect of the present invention provides a sugar-free soy milk product, wherein the sugar-free soy milk product prepared by the above method contains hexanol at a content greater than or equal to 0.025 μg / g, hexanal at a content less than or equal to 0.01 μg / g, 1-octen-3-ol at a content less than or equal to 0.01 μg / g, and 2-pentylfuran at a content less than or equal to 0.01 μg / g.
[0019] Compared with the prior art, the sugar-free soy milk product provided by the present invention has a content of hexanol (aroma substance) greater than or equal to 0.025 μg / g, while the contents of hexanal, 1-octen-3-ol and 2-pentylfuran (representative substances of beany flavor) are all less than or equal to 0.01 μg / g. This indicates that the sugar-free soy milk product of the present invention has a rich soy aroma and significantly reduced undesirable flavors (such as beany flavor and bitterness). Detailed Implementation
[0020] To make the technical problems, technical solutions, and beneficial effects of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and not intended to limit the invention.
[0021] The first aspect of this invention provides a method for improving the flavor of sugar-free soy milk, comprising the following steps: Glucosylstevioside is added to a cooked soy milk mixture to produce flavor-modified soy milk; wherein the amount of glucosylstevioside added is 0.00025%-0.001% of the mass of the cooked soy milk mixture.
[0022] Using the above technical solution, a specific amount of glucosylstevioside (GSG) is added to the matured soy milk mixture to generate flavor-improved soy milk. Among them, the taste of glucosylstevioside is significantly improved compared with that of stevioside, and has the advantages of reducing the natural bitterness of stevia and improving solubility. By adding a specific amount of glucosylstevioside, undesirable flavors (such as beany taste and bitterness) in sugar-free soy milk products can be effectively improved, while the aroma of sugar-free soy milk can be enhanced.
[0023] For example, the amount of glucosylstevioside added can be 0.00025%, 0.0003%, 0.0004%, 0.0005%, 0.0006%, 0.0007%, 0.0008%, 0.0009% or 0.001% of the mass of the cooked soy milk mixture, or a range consisting of any two of the aforementioned values.
[0024] Preferably, the amount of glucosylstevioside added can be 0.0005%-0.001% of the mass of the cooked soy milk mixture.
[0025] In some embodiments, the glucosylstevioside is prepared according to a method for continuous and efficient preparation of glucosylstevioside as described in CN118240894A.
[0026] In some embodiments, the cooked soy milk mixture includes prepared soy milk and / or freshly ground soy milk.
[0027] In some embodiments, the preparation of instant soy milk includes mixing soy milk powder raw materials with hot water at a preset temperature in a preset mass ratio; and stirring the mixed materials to generate the instant soy milk.
[0028] In some embodiments, when the cooked soy milk mixture is instant soy milk, the mass ratio of the soy milk powder raw material to hot water at a preset temperature is 1:(18-30); the preset temperature of the hot water is 80-100℃; and the stirring speed is 500-1200 rpm.
[0029] Using the above technical solution, when the mass ratio of soy milk powder to hot water, the preset temperature of hot water, and the stirring speed meet the above ranges, the resulting prepared soy milk can synergistically reduce the unpleasant flavor of sugar-free soy milk and enhance its aroma by using a specific amount of glucosyl steviol glycosides.
[0030] For example, the mass ratio of the soy milk powder to hot water at a preset temperature can be 1:18, 1:19, 1:20, 1:21, 1:22, 1:23, 1:24, 1:25, 1:26, 1:27, 1:28, 1:29, or 1:30, or any range formed by any two of the aforementioned values. The preset temperature of the hot water can be 80℃, 85℃, 90℃, 95℃, or 100℃, or any range formed by any two of the aforementioned values. The stirring speed can be 500 rpm, 600 rpm, 700 rpm, 800 rpm, 900 rpm, 1000 rpm, 1100 rpm, or 1200 rpm, or any range formed by any two of the aforementioned values.
[0031] In some embodiments, the freshly ground soy milk comprises: extracting water from soybean raw materials to generate a soy milk mixture; and heating the soy milk mixture to generate the freshly ground soy milk.
[0032] In some embodiments, the water extraction process includes: mixing the soybean raw material with hot water at a preset temperature at a preset mass ratio; and mechanically crushing the mixed material to generate the soybean milk mixture. This invention does not have special requirements for the soybean raw material; it can be soaked soybean raw material or unsoaked soybean raw material.
[0033] In some embodiments, when the cooked soy milk mixture is freshly ground soy milk, the preset temperature of the hot water is 80-100℃; the mass ratio of the soybean raw material to the hot water is 1:(4-8).
[0034] In some embodiments, when the cooked soy milk mixture is freshly ground soy milk, the heating treatment is carried out at 80-100°C for 5-8 minutes.
[0035] Using the above technical solution, when the preset temperature of hot water, the mass ratio of soybean raw material to hot water, and the heating conditions meet the above ranges, the resulting freshly ground soy milk can synergistically reduce the unpleasant flavor of sugar-free soy milk and enhance its aroma by using a specific amount of glucosyl steviol glycosides.
[0036] For example, when the cooked soy milk mixture is freshly ground soy milk, the preset temperature of the hot water can be 80℃, 85℃, 90℃, 95℃, or 100℃, or any range formed by any two of the aforementioned values; the mass ratio of the soybean raw material to the hot water can be 1:4, 1:5, 1:6, 1:7, or 1:8, or any range formed by any two of the aforementioned values. Preferably, when the cooked soy milk mixture is freshly ground soy milk, the preset temperature of the hot water is 80-100℃; the mass ratio of the soybean raw material to the hot water is 1:(5-7).
[0037] For example, when the cooked soy milk mixture is freshly ground soy milk, the heating temperature can be 80℃, 85℃, 90℃, 95℃, or 100℃, or any range formed by any two of the aforementioned values; the duration of the heating treatment can be 5 min, 6 min, 7 min, or 8 min, or any range formed by any two of the aforementioned values. Preferably, when the cooked soy milk mixture is freshly ground soy milk, the heating treatment is carried out at 90-100℃ for 5-8 minutes.
[0038] In some embodiments, when the matured soy milk mixture is freshly ground soy milk, after adding the glucosylstevioside, the step of performing solid-liquid separation treatment on the flavor-improved soy milk is further included.
[0039] A second aspect of the present invention provides a sugar-free soy milk product, wherein the sugar-free soy milk product prepared by the above method contains hexanol at a content greater than or equal to 0.025 μg / g, hexanal at a content less than or equal to 0.01 μg / g, 1-octen-3-ol at a content less than or equal to 0.01 μg / g, and 2-pentylfuran at a content less than or equal to 0.01 μg / g.
[0040] The sugar-free soy milk product provided by this invention contains hexanol (an aroma compound) at a content greater than or equal to 0.025 μg / g, while the contents of hexanal, 1-octen-3-ol, and 2-pentylfuran (representative substances of beany odor) are all less than or equal to 0.01 μg / g. This indicates that the sugar-free soy milk product of this invention has a rich soy aroma and significantly reduced undesirable flavors (such as beany odor and bitterness).
[0041] To better illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, the following specific embodiments are also provided.
[0042] The glucosylsteviosides used in the examples and comparative examples were prepared according to the method in Example 1 of CN118240894A.
[0043] The raw materials used in the examples and comparative examples were all obtained commercially.
[0044] Examples A1-A6 (1) Mix soybeans and drinking water at 100°C and grind them to obtain a cooked soybean milk mixture; (2) Add glucosylstevioside to the cooked soy milk mixture and heat the resulting mixture.
[0045] (3) Filter and separate the boiled soy milk mixture to obtain sugar-free soy milk product; The ratio of soybeans to drinking water, the amount of glucosylstevioside added based on the quality of the cooked soybean milk mixture, and the temperature and time of the heat treatment are shown in Table 1.
[0046] Table 1 Examples B1-B6 Mix commercially available soy milk powder with 90℃ hot water and stir (800rpm) until homogeneous to obtain a cooked soy milk mixture. Then add glucosyl steviol glycosides to the cooked soy milk mixture to obtain a sugar-free soy milk product. The ratio of soy milk powder to hot water, and the amount of glucosyl steviol glycosides added based on the quality of the cooked soy milk mixture are shown in Table 2.
[0047] Table 2 Comparative Example 1 The sugar-free soy milk product was prepared according to the method of Example A1. The difference between Comparative Example 1 and Example A1 is that no glucosylstevioside was added during the preparation process of Comparative Example 1. The resulting sugar-free soy milk product had a noticeable beany taste and poor flavor.
[0048] Comparative Example 2 The sugar-free soy milk product was prepared according to the method of Example B1. The difference between Comparative Example 2 and Example B1 is that no glucosylstevioside was added during the preparation process of Comparative Example 2. The resulting sugar-free soy milk product had a noticeable beany taste and poor flavor.
[0049] Comparative Example 3 The soy milk product was prepared according to the method of Example A1. The difference between the preparation method of Comparative Example 3 and Example A1 is that: in the preparation process of Comparative Example 3, sucrose was used to replace glucosylstevioside, and the amount of sucrose added was 4 wt% of the mass of the cooked soy milk mixture; the resulting soy milk product had a more obvious beany smell and a sweet taste.
[0050] Comparative Example 4 The method of Example A1 was used to prepare sugar-free soy milk products. The difference between the preparation methods of Comparative Example 4 and Example A1 is that Comparative Example 4 uses an equal mass of steviol glycosides to replace glucosyl steviol glycosides in the preparation process to obtain sugar-free soy milk products.
[0051] Comparative Example 5 The method of Example A1 was used to prepare a sugar-free soy milk product. The difference between Comparative Example 5 and Example A1 is that in the preparation process of Comparative Example 5, the amount of glucosylstevioside added was 0.002 wt% of the mass of the cooked soy milk mixture, and a sugar-free soy milk product was obtained.
[0052] Comparative Example 6 The method of Example A1 was used to prepare a sugar-free soy milk product. The difference between the preparation method of Comparative Example 6 and Example A1 is that in the preparation process of Comparative Example 6, the amount of glucosyl steviol glycoside added is 0.0001 wt% of the mass of the cooked soy milk mixture, and a sugar-free soy milk product is obtained.
[0053] Test Example 1 The contents of n-hexanol, n-hexanal, 1-octen-3-ol, and 2-pentylfuran in the soy milk products of Examples A1-A6, Examples B1-B6, and Comparative Examples 1-6 were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The test results are shown in Table 3.
[0054] Table 3 Note: "-" indicates that the substance was not detected in the sample.
[0055] As can be seen from the results in Table 3, in the sugar-free soy milk of Examples A1-A6 and Examples B1-B6, the content of hexanol, which enhances the aroma of soy milk, is higher than that of the soy milk of Comparative Examples 1-6; while the contents of hexanal, 1-octen-3-ol, and 2-pentylfuran, which are representative flavor substances of beany taste, are all lower than those of the soy milk of Comparative Examples 1-6. This indicates that the sugar-free soy milk prepared by the present invention not only has a rich soy aroma, but also contains fewer undesirable flavors (such as beany taste and bitterness).
[0056] Test Example 2 The flavor of the soy milk products of Examples A1-A6, Examples B1-B6, and Comparative Examples 1-6 were tested. Twenty volunteers aged 20-60 years were selected. Test environment: Under interference-free and odorless white light, at a room temperature of 20-25℃; The testing method included: pouring the soy milk products of Examples A1-A6, Examples B1-B6, and Comparative Examples 1-6 into transparent glass cups of the same size and blind labeling them; using Qingmeite Extra-Sweet Soy Milk and Joyoung Sugar-Free Soy Milk as references for beany flavor; using Nestlé Eagle Brand Condensed Milk Original Flavor as a reference for sweetness; and using Doubendou Sesame Black Soy Milk and Yuexianhuo Fresh Milk as references for smoothness. Each volunteer tasted 20 mL of each soy milk product from Examples A1-A6, Examples B1-B6, and Comparative Examples 1-6 (the order of the soy milk products was random). After tasting, volunteers carefully identified the basic taste types and intensities, compared them with the reference products, and scored them according to the scoring system. After testing each soy milk product, volunteers rinsed their mouths with 40°C water and waited 10 minutes before testing the next soy milk product. The average value of each flavor score was calculated and rounded to the nearest integer. The scoring results are shown in Table 4.
[0057] The beany flavor rating system is as follows: the intensity of beany flavor ranges from low (1 point) to high (15 points) from 1 to 15 points. The reference product, Qingmeite sweet soy milk, is 3 points (very faint beany flavor) and Joyoung sugar-free soy milk is 8 points (obvious beany flavor). Sweet aroma rating system: Sweet aroma refers to the aroma associated with all sweet substances (such as fruits and flowers); the intensity of sweet aroma is rated from low (1 point) to high (15 points) on a scale of 1-15. The reference sample of 3wt% honey water is rated 6 points, and Nestlé Eagle Brand condensed milk original flavor is rated 12 points. Smoothness rating system: Smoothness refers to a smooth and delicate texture on the palate and a smooth and unobstructed process; the smoothness is rated from low (1 point) to high (15 points) as 1-15 points, with the reference product Doubendou Sesame Black Soybean Milk rated as 3 points and Yuexianhuo Fresh Milk rated as 10 points.
[0058] Table 4 As can be seen from the results in Table 4, the beany taste scores of the sugar-free soy milk in Examples A1-A6 and Examples B1-B6 were lower than those in Comparative Examples 1-6, while the scores for sweetness and smoothness were higher. This indicates that adding glucosyl steviol glycosides to the cooked soy milk mixture resulted in a lower beany taste in the improved soy milk and enhanced sweetness and smoothness.
[0059] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.
Claims
1. A method for improving the flavor of sugar-free soy milk, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Glucosylstevioside is added to a cooked soy milk mixture to produce flavor-modified soy milk; wherein the amount of glucosylstevioside added is 0.00025%-0.001% of the mass of the cooked soy milk mixture.
2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The matured soy milk mixture includes prepared soy milk and / or freshly ground soy milk.
3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The instant soy milk preparation involves mixing soy milk powder with hot water at a preset temperature in a preset mass ratio; and stirring the mixed materials to produce the instant soy milk.
4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The mass ratio of the soy milk powder raw material to the hot water at a preset temperature is 1:(18-30); the preset temperature of the hot water is 80-100℃; and the stirring speed is 500-1200rpm.
5. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The freshly ground soy milk comprises: extracting water from soybean raw materials to generate a soy milk mixture; and heating the soy milk mixture to generate the freshly ground soy milk.
6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The water extraction process includes: mixing the soybean raw material with hot water at a preset temperature in a preset mass ratio; and mechanically crushing the mixed material to generate the soybean milk mixture.
7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The preset temperature of the hot water is 80-100℃; the mass ratio of the soybean raw material to the hot water is 1:(4-8).
8. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The heat treatment is carried out at 80-100℃ for 5-8 minutes.
9. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, When the matured soy milk mixture is freshly ground soy milk, after adding the glucosylstevioside, the process further includes a solid-liquid separation treatment of the flavor-improved soy milk.
10. A sugar-free soy milk product, characterized in that, The sugar-free soy milk product is prepared by the method described in any one of claims 1-9, and the content of n-hexanol is greater than or equal to 0.025 μg / g, the content of n-hexanal is less than or equal to 0.01 μg / g, the content of 1-octen-3-ol is less than or equal to 0.01 μg / g, and the content of 2-pentylfuran is less than or equal to 0.01 μg / g.