Emulsifying composition and property modifier for emulsion composition

Abstract

The present invention provides an improving agent and an improved emulsion composition that can improve the physical properties of high-moisture emulsion compositions so that they remain moderately soft after freezing and thawing, and so that the cream does not easily run after thawing. [Solution] A sugar alcohol containing 25-80% by weight of disaccharide alcohol is used in an amount of 4% by weight or more of the emulsified composition. This sugar alcohol can be suitably used as a physical property modifier of the emulsified composition.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an emulsified composition having a soft texture even after freezing, improvement of physical properties during or after thawing of the emulsified composition, and an emulsified composition with improved physical properties.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, from the perspectives of advanced temperature management in the transportation industry and food loss, desserts that are usually eaten at 0°C or higher are often stored frozen and transported frozen. Such frozen desserts are sometimes called frozen sweets and may be eaten frozen, but in these foods, the cream becomes hard due to freezing, and in its frozen state, it may be too hard to be suitable for eating. In such cases, it is maintained at a temperature slightly higher than the sub-zero temperature of the storage state (for example, 0 to 10°C), and is eaten after being in a so-called semi-thawed state where thawing progresses while still having a sub-zero part, or after being thawed to the refrigerated temperature range. However, the problem is that the thawing time has to be long.

[0003] On the other hand, creams and fillings of foods that are stored frozen and then eaten in the chilled temperature range from the frozen temperature range may be formulated so that their hardness becomes appropriately soft for eating, and in particular, the oil component and oil content may be adjusted. However, in the case of desserts where fresh and light creams are preferred, the oil content is often not increased, and in that case, the water content relatively increases. In such an emulsified composition with a high water content, the hardness of frozen creams tends to become hard and may not be suitable for eating even when semi-thawed. Since it takes a long time to completely thaw while maintaining a temperature preferable for a dessert, an emulsion that has an appropriate softness in the frozen temperature range or becomes soft even with a short thawing time is desired even for a high-water emulsified composition.

[0004] It is known that using sugar alcohols, particularly sorbitol, in such emulsions results in a soft texture when frozen. For example, a foaming oil-in-water emulsion composition is known that is freeze-thaw resistant and contains 8-60% fat and oil, 5-50% sugar alcohols, 2-18% non-fat solids, and an effective amount of emulsifier, thickener, flavoring, and water, with a water-to-sugar weight ratio of 1:0.1-1.5, and does not impair the physical properties before freezing even when frozen after whipping. An example using sorbitol as the sugar alcohol has been disclosed (Patent Document 1). However, no difference in thawing state depending on the type of sugar alcohol has been confirmed for this emulsion composition.

[0005] Furthermore, it is known that in a filling cream with an oil content of 31-60% by mass and a hydrate concentration of 100-300% by mass, if the sum of the monosaccharide alcohols and disaccharide alcohols is 65-100% by mass, the oil-in-water filling cream has a soft and smooth texture even at freezing temperatures, and maintains good firmness and sweetness from freezing to chilling temperatures (Patent Document 2). However, this emulsion attempts to solve the problem by adjusting the hydrate concentration to a certain range in a system with a high oil content, that is, a system with a relatively low water content, and could not be applied to the problems of high-water-content emulsions. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 57-47457 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2024-7297 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0007] The object of the present invention is to provide an improving agent and an improved emulsifying composition that can improve the physical properties of an emulsifying composition with high water content so that it remains moderately soft after freezing and thawing, and so that the cream does not easily run after thawing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] As a result of diligent research into this issue, the inventors discovered that this problem could be solved by using a sugar alcohol in which the disaccharide sugar alcohol falls within a specific range, and thus completed the present invention.

[0009] In other words, the present invention is as follows: (1) An emulsified composition containing a sugar alcohol, wherein the sugar alcohol content is 4% by weight or more of the emulsified composition, and the sugar alcohol is a sugar alcohol containing 25 to 80% by weight of a disaccharide alcohol. (2) The emulsified composition of (1) above, wherein the disaccharide alcohol is maltitol and / or isomaltitol. (3) The emulsifying composition of (1) above, wherein the sugar alcohol is a sugar alcohol containing 50% by weight or less of monosaccharide sugar alcohol. (4) The emulsified composition according to (1) above, wherein the water content in the emulsified composition is 35% or more. (5) A property modifier for emulsifying compositions containing a sugar alcohol as an active ingredient, wherein the disaccharide alcohol content is 25-80% by weight. (6) A method for improving the physical properties of an emulsified composition when frozen or after thawing, comprising using a sugar alcohol containing 25 to 80% by weight of a disaccharide alcohol in an amount of 4% by weight or more of the emulsified composition. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, even with a high-moisture emulsion composition, it is possible to obtain an emulsion composition that does not become too hard when frozen, has a short thawing time, or is soft enough to be eaten even when partially thawed, and is less likely to become runny after thawing. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] The present invention will now be described in detail. The emulsified composition in the present invention refers to creams used in desserts, sweets, bread, and confectionery, and includes, for example, fresh cream, whipped cream, compound cream, cheese cream, chocolate cream, and fillings, and may contain animal fat, vegetable fat, or a mixture thereof. For example, as an animal fat, milk fat from animals such as cows and goats can be used, and can be either modified or unmodified. As for vegetable fat, any type conventionally used in creams may be used, and may be hydrogenated or chemically modified.

[0012] Furthermore, the sugar alcohol used in the present invention only needs to be used in an amount of 4% by weight or more of the total amount of the emulsified composition, preferably 8% by weight or more, and more preferably 12% by weight or more, to obtain the effects of the present invention to a greater extent. In this invention, sugar alcohol refers to a product obtained by hydrogenating (reducing) starch hydrolysates. Depending on the degree and method of starch decomposition, the components and content of various types of sugar alcohols may be used, but a product containing 25-80% by weight, preferably 30-70% by weight, and more preferably 30-60% by weight of disaccharide alcohol is used. Examples of disaccharide alcohols include maltitol, isomaltitol, lactitol, and isomalt (glucopyranosyl-1,6-sorbitol and glucopyranosyl-1,6-mannitol), but maltitol and isomaltitol are preferred, and maltitol is particularly preferred. Furthermore, the sugar alcohol of the present invention may contain other types of sugar alcohols in addition to disaccharide alcohols. For example, it may contain monosaccharide alcohols such as sorbitol, trisaccharide alcohols such as maltotriitol, isomalttriitol, and panitol, and sugar alcohols of tetrasaccharides or more (degree of polymerization of 4 or more), i.e., oligosaccharide alcohols. Mixtures of these, such as reduced starch syrup, sorbitol syrup, maltitol syrup, or mixed syrups thereof, may be used. As is conventionally known, a high content of monosaccharide alcohols can result in a soft texture even when frozen, but it tends to become mushy when thawed. Therefore, the effects of the present invention are more easily obtained when the monosaccharide alcohols make up 50% by weight or less of the sugar alcohols. Alternatively, it may be a product in which trisaccharide alcohols and oligosaccharide alcohols with four or more saccharides (sometimes collectively referred to as sugar alcohols with three or more saccharides) make up 60% or less. Furthermore, the content of various sugar alcohols in a sugar alcohol can be measured by conventional liquid chromatography analysis. Alternatively, high-purity or mixed forms of various sugar alcohols may be prepared separately and mixed and adjusted to achieve the desired content of each sugar alcohol. Furthermore, these sugar alcohols may be in liquid or powder form, but in the case of liquid form, the content in the emulsified composition is expressed by the weight of the solids excluding water. In the present invention, a sugar alcohol containing 25 to 80% by weight of a disaccharide alcohol can also be used as a property modifier for emulsified compositions.

[0013] The method of incorporating the property modifier of the present invention into an emulsion composition at a concentration of 4% by weight or more as part or all of the carbohydrates in the emulsion composition is suitably used as a method for improving the physical properties of the emulsion composition.

[0014] The emulsion of the present invention may contain carbohydrates and sugars other than sugar alcohols, artificial sweeteners, thickening polysaccharides, proteins, emulsifiers, salts, flavorings, colorings, preservatives, etc., as long as it achieves the effects of the present invention, and may also contain fruits and nuts as ingredients, in the form of cuts or pastes. Furthermore, if sugar alcohols alone are insufficient for sweetness, sugar or high-intensity sweeteners may be used in combination, but when using sugars other than sugar alcohols such as sugar or trehalose, it is preferable from the viewpoint of firmness when frozen to keep them at 30% or less of the total emulsion composition.

[0015] The emulsified composition of the present invention exhibits remarkable effects when the water content is 35% or more, more preferably 40% by weight or more. The water content represents the total amount of water contained, expressed as the combined weight of the water derived from whey, other aqueous additives, and the water contained in liquid sugar alcohols.

[0016] The emulsified composition of the present invention can be stored frozen. The freezing temperature can be any within the range suitable for frozen storage of food. Also, when thawing, it is not particularly limited as long as it can be thawed, for example, it can be 0 - 25°C, preferably 1 - 10°C, but is not limited to these.

[0017] Moreover, the emulsified composition of the present invention has a soft texture even when frozen, and after thawing, it remains soft without sagging and can maintain a certain shape retention. For example, when forming layers with creams of different flavors or colors, the boundaries can be made distinct, and fine shaping can be achieved with the cream. Also, an effect of suppressing water separation during thawing of the emulsified composition can be expected. That is, even with the same thawing time, compared to those without using a predetermined amount of the sugar alcohol of the present invention, an emulsified composition with a softness suitable for eating can be obtained, so that a short thawing time is sufficient or a semi-thawed state can also be eaten with suitable softness, and an emulsified composition with suitable softness for eating and improved other qualities can be obtained even in a short time after thawing.

Examples

[0018] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0019] The sugar alcohols used in the examples are commercially available products or sugar alcohol syrups with appropriately adjusted components using commercially available products. The results of liquid chromatography analysis of the contents of various sugar alcohols contained are shown in Table 1. It has been clarified from the analysis that the monosaccharide sugar alcohols contained in sugar alcohol syrups A and B are mainly sorbitol, the disaccharide sugar alcohols are mainly maltitol, and the trisaccharide sugar alcohols are mainly maltotriitol. Note that as a reference, granulated sugar, which is a disaccharide carbohydrate, was used, and as a comparative example, trehalose, which is another disaccharide carbohydrate, was used. The granulated sugar and trehalose used were both commercially available products.

[0020]

Table 1

[0021] <Example 1> An emulsified composition was prepared with the formulation shown in Table 2. The mascarpone cream was prepared by whipping commercially available fresh cream with an electric mixer and then mixing it with mascarpone cheese at a weight ratio of 1:1. Here, various carbohydrates such as granulated sugar, sugar alcohol, and trehalose, and water for adjustment as needed were added to each test group and further mixed. Also, the water content and oil and fat content of each test system were adjusted by adding water during formulation so that they would be constant within the test group.

[0022] The emulsified composition of each test group obtained was extruded into a shape with horns about 3.5 cm in diameter using a squeeze bag with a round mouthpiece, frozen (-18°C, overnight or longer), and after thawing (left at room temperature of 25°C), the hardness and sag after thawing were evaluated. Regarding the hardness, after taking out the emulsified composition from the freezer, within the state of more than 3 minutes and within 5 minutes, a professional panel conducted a sensory evaluation of the goodness and texture like a spoon, and综合 these, when the reference hardness was 5 (hard), the hardness of the emulsified composition of each test group was scored from 1 to 5 points. (原句中“総合して”翻译为“综合这些”,感觉表述不是很准确,但按照要求保留原文结构,未做调整) Also, regarding the sag after thawing, for the emulsified composition taken out from the freezer, the state after 10 minutes was visually observed to confirm whether the shape of the cream was maintained or the shape could not be maintained and the bottom surface was spreading, and a comprehensive evaluation was made in comparison with the reference 1. The evaluation results were expressed as ◎: good, 〇: slightly good, equivalent: △, slightly bad: × The results are shown in the lower part of Table 2.

[0023]

Table 2

[0024] <Example 2> Emulsified compositions with different water content than those in Example 1 were prepared using the formulations shown in Table 3. The resulting emulsified compositions from each test group were frozen and thawed in the same manner as in Example 1, and their softness and sagging after thawing were evaluated. Sagging was evaluated in comparison to Standard 2. The evaluation results are shown in the lower part of Table 3.

[0025] [Table 3]

[0026] <Example 3> Emulsified compositions with different water content than those in Examples 1 and 2 were prepared using the formulations shown in Table 4. The resulting emulsified compositions from each test group were frozen and thawed in the same manner as in Example 1, and their softness and sagging after thawing were evaluated. Sagging was evaluated in comparison to Standard 2. The evaluation results are shown in the lower part of Table 3.

[0027] [Table 4]

[0028] It has been revealed that using a sugar alcohol in which disaccharide alcohols make up 25-80% by weight of the sugar alcohol in an emulsified composition at a concentration of 4% or more results in an emulsified composition that is soft and less prone to creaminess after thawing.

Claims

1. An emulsified composition containing a sugar alcohol, wherein the sugar alcohol content is 4% by weight or more of the emulsified composition, and the sugar alcohol is a sugar alcohol containing 25 to 80% by weight of a disaccharide alcohol.

2. The emulsifying composition according to claim 1, wherein the disaccharide alcohol is maltitol and / or isomaltitol.

3. The emulsifying composition according to claim 1, wherein the sugar alcohol is a sugar alcohol containing 50% by weight or less of monosaccharide sugar alcohols.

4. The emulsified composition according to claim 1, wherein the water content in the emulsified composition is 35% or more.

5. A property modifier for emulsifying compositions containing a sugar alcohol as an active ingredient, having a disaccharide alcohol content of 25 to 80% by weight.

6. A method for improving the physical properties of an emulsified composition when frozen or after thawing, comprising using a sugar alcohol containing 25 to 80% by weight of a disaccharide alcohol in an amount of 4% by weight or more of the emulsified composition.

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