Egg flavor improver

Abstract

To provide an egg flavor improver for an egg-containing heated food product, whose active ingredients are maltitol and maltotriitol.SOLUTION: The present invention was achieved by finding out the fact that a food product with an improved egg flavor is obtainable by adding a composition containing maltitol to a material of the food product using an egg as a raw material, followed by heating.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an egg flavor enhancer. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, egg supply has been increasingly restricted due to the outbreak of avian influenza, etc., and there is a trend of demanding egg replacement technology. One of the egg replacement technologies is a method of replacing eggs themselves. For example, there is a method of imparting egg flavor with an egg yolk replacement composition processed by combining sugars, starches, spices, oils and fats, antioxidants, coagulants, etc. with a soybean emulsion composition (see Patent Document 1). If egg flavor could be reproduced without using eggs, it would be preferable because it would also be a measure against egg allergies, but it is difficult to reproduce egg flavor. In addition, egg salads and seasonings for egg salads are known in which a specific amount of egg yolk and sugar alcohol is mixed with boiled eggs to enhance the rich flavor unique to boiled eggs (Patent Document 2). However, this method does not address the situation in which the amount of eggs used is limited due to egg supply restrictions. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-013397 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2012-090542 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide an egg flavor improver which can easily improve the egg flavor of foods using eggs, particularly heated foods, without impairing the physical properties and flavor of the foods. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A first aspect of the present invention is an agent for improving egg flavor in egg-containing foods, which contains maltitol. Second, the egg flavor enhancer for the egg-containing food according to the first aspect of the present invention further comprises maltotriitol. Thirdly, there is provided the egg flavor enhancer according to the first aspect, in which maltitol is used in an amount of 0.01 to 1.5 parts by mass, in terms of solid content, per 1 part by mass of the egg solid content in the food product. Fourthly, there is provided a method for improving the egg flavor of egg-containing foods, comprising adding 0.01 to 1.5 parts by mass of maltitol, in terms of solid content, per 1 part by mass of egg solid content in the food. Fifth, a method for producing an egg-containing food using the agent according to any one of the first to third aspects. Effect of the Invention

[0006] By adopting the composition of the present invention, not only can the egg flavor of normal foods be improved, but it is also possible to obtain foods with a reduced egg content that have an egg flavor equivalent to that of foods with a normal egg content. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0007] The egg flavor improver of the present invention is maltitol or a composition containing maltitol. Maltitol is a carbohydrate widely used in foods, and is obtained by hydrogenating maltose and converting formyl groups to hydroxymethyl groups. In the present invention, maltitol can be used without restrictions on purity and properties, such as high-purity crystalline maltitol and powdered maltitol. The egg flavor improver of the present invention may contain carbohydrates other than maltitol, such as maltotriitol. Examples of such compositions include reduced maltose syrup and reduced starch syrup containing maltitol as a component. The reduced starch syrup may be any one that contains maltitol, but it is preferable that the reduced starch syrup contains a small amount of hydrogenated monosaccharides such as sorbitol.

[0008] The egg flavor improver of the present invention can be added or blended into food and drink containing eggs to improve the egg flavor of the food. The method can be used as a method for improving the egg flavor of egg-containing food. The egg flavor in the present invention means the unique flavor of eggs, such as the sweet flavor of eggs mixed with oil and protein, the savory aroma generated by heating, richness, and oily texture.

[0009] In the present invention, the egg-containing food is a food in which eggs are the main raw material, and preferably includes heated egg-containing foods that have a heating step during production. For example, there are sponge cakes, muffins, castella, and other foods that contain wheat flour as an ingredient and are baked, custards, which contain wheat flour as an ingredient and are made into a paste by heating, tamagoyaki and plain omelets, which are made almost exclusively from eggs and are solidified by direct heating, and chawanmushi and egg tofu, which are made almost exclusively from eggs and are solidified by steam heating. The degree of solidification does not matter, and the food may be either half-cooked or thoroughly heated.

[0010] The egg used as the raw material for the egg-containing food of the present invention may be any type of chicken egg before heat coagulation. In addition to whole eggs, partial eggs such as egg yolks and egg whites may be used, and any processed form such as liquid eggs and dried eggs may be used. The egg content in the egg-containing food used in the present invention may be a normal content, or may be lower than normal.

[0011] When the egg flavor improver of the present invention is added or blended in foods that use eggs, it is preferable to use 0.01 to 1.5 parts by mass of maltitol per 1 part by mass of egg in solid content, and more preferably 0.03 to 1.5 parts by mass of maltitol. When the egg flavor improver of the present invention contains maltitol and maltotriitol, it is preferable to use 0.07 to 1.5 parts by mass of maltitol and maltotriitol per 1 part by mass of egg in solid content.

[0012] When the egg flavor improver of the present invention is used in egg-containing heated foods, it is preferably added to eggs and other raw materials prior to the heating step, i.e., when the raw materials are mixed before heating.

[0013] Furthermore, by using the egg flavor enhancer of the present invention, even foods containing less egg than in a normal recipe can be imparted with an egg flavor equivalent to that of foods containing a normal recipe.

[0014] Examples of the present invention will be described below, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

[0015] (Maltitol composition) As the egg flavor improver of the present invention, the maltitol-containing compositions shown in Table 1 below were used. The values ​​of sorbitol, maltitol, and maltotriitol contained in each composition were determined from the peak areas of the chromatograms of each composition obtained by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The total sum of the peak areas corresponding to the total mass of carbohydrates was set to 100, and the ratio of each peak area corresponding to the mass of each carbohydrate was calculated.

[0016] [Table 1]

[0017] In the comparative examples, the following carbohydrates were used: Sorbitol: LTS-P (Mitsubishi Corporation Life Sciences) Sugar: Granulated Sugar ME (manufactured by Dai-Nippon Meiji Sugar Co., Ltd.) Syrup: Nisshoku Hi-Maltose Syrup MC-55 (manufactured by Nippon Shokuhin Kako Co., Ltd.) (solid content 75%)

[0018] The eggs used were commercially available, the whole eggs were loosened by hand stirring, and the egg yolks were separated from commercially available eggs by a normal cooking method. The other ingredients were also commercially available. EXAMPLES

[0019] [Preparation of pudding] A pudding was prepared using the formulation (parts by weight) in Table 2 according to the following procedure. Milk was heated to 50°C in advance, and sugar was added and mixed. The milk was added to the egg liquid, mixed until uniform, strained, and filled into heat-resistant containers at 20g each. After heating at 99°C for 20 minutes in a steam oven, it was removed and the outer circumference of the container was cooled with cold water to obtain the prepared product, the working product, and the comparative product.

[0020] [Table 2]

[0021] [Preparation of butter cake] A butter cake was prepared using the formulation (parts by weight) in Table 2 according to the following procedure. Butter softened at 25°C was made into a paste using a beater mixer, and sugar and eggs were added and mixed. Sifted soft flour and baking powder were added and mixed, and the mixture was poured into a rectangular pound cake mold and baked at 170°C for 25 minutes to obtain the prepared product, working product, and comparison product.

[0022] [Table 3]

[0023] [Preparation of custard] A custard was prepared using the formulation (parts by weight) in Table 4 according to the following procedure. Egg yolk and a part of the sugar were mixed, and then pre-sifted weak flour and cornstarch were mixed. The sugar was added to milk heated to 70°C and homogenized, and then mixed into the egg yolk little by little, and the egg liquid was strained. It was heated in a copper pan until it reached Brix 50, and then filled into a heat-resistant bag and cooled to obtain the prepared product, the working product, and the comparative product.

[0024] [Table 4]

[0025] [Preparation of tamagoyaki] An omelet was prepared using the composition (parts by weight) in Table 5 according to the following procedure. Light soy sauce and sugar were added to whole eggs and beaten. 25g of the egg mixture was poured into a preheated frying pan for omelets, and the mixture was shaped while being cooked at a rate of 25g / min to obtain the prepared product, the working product, and the comparison product.

[0026] [Table 5]

[0027] [Preparation of Chawanmushi] Chawanmushi was prepared using the composition (parts by weight) in Table 6 according to the following procedure. The stock was prepared by mixing granulated Japanese-style stock powder and water at a ratio of 0.7:100. Whole eggs, light soy sauce, sugar, and stock were mixed until homogenous. Then, 20 g of each was packed into a heat-resistant container, heated in a steam oven at 99°C for 20 minutes, removed, and the outer circumference of the container was cooled with cold water to obtain the prepared product, the working product, and the comparative product.

[0028] [Table 6]

[0029] [Sensory evaluation] Sensory evaluation was carried out on the prepared products, the tested products, and the comparison products on a 7-point scale for "strong egg flavor," with the prepared products with the highest egg content (prepared products ending in 0) as the standard. The results are shown in Tables 7 to 11. In each table, n indicates the number of panels.

[0030] [Table 7]

[0031] [Table 8]

[0032] [Table 9]

[0033] [Table 10]

[0034] [Table 11]

[0035] The exemplified products not only have a stronger egg flavor than preparations containing the same amount of egg, but also have an egg flavor that is equal to or stronger than preparations in which the egg flavor enhancer is replaced with the same amount of egg.

Claims

1. An egg flavor enhancer for egg-containing foods, containing maltitol.

2. The egg flavor enhancer for egg-containing foods according to claim 1, further comprising maltotriitol.

3. The egg flavor enhancer according to claim 1, wherein maltitol is used in an amount of 0.01 to 1.5 parts by mass in terms of solid content per 1 part by mass of egg solid content in the food.

4. A method for improving the egg flavor of an egg-containing food product, comprising adding 0.01 to 1.5 parts by mass of maltitol as solid content per 1 part by mass of egg solid content in the food product.

5. A method for producing an egg-containing food product, comprising using the agent according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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