Method for producing liquid mycelial ferment, and liquid mycelial ferment

Abstract

The challenge is to produce a novel liquid mycelial fermentation product by utilizing liquid culture media that were previously discarded. [Solution] A mycelial addition step in which mycelium is added to a liquid raw material containing at least sugar and protein or amino acids, A culture and fermentation process in which the mycelium is cultured and fermented simultaneously, A method for producing a liquid mycelial fermented product is provided, characterized by comprising a residue removal step for removing the residue after fermentation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for producing a liquid mycelium fermented product that can be used in seasonings and the like, which has never existed before, and to the liquid mycelium fermented product.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, reports have been made on the production of foods by fermentation with mycelium.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes that mycelium is inoculated into defatted soybeans, fermented, and then heat-treated to produce a defatted soybean fermented food.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-134397

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, what is described in Patent Document 1 is a powder obtained by freeze-drying the fermented defatted soybeans, and there is a problem that the liquid medium used for fermentation is not utilized and is likely to become waste.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and produce a liquid mycelium fermented product that has never existed before by utilizing the liquid medium that has been conventionally discarded.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a method for producing a liquid mycelium fermented product, comprising a mycelium addition step of adding mycelium to a liquid raw material containing at least sugar and protein or amino acid, a culturing and fermenting step of simultaneously culturing and fermenting the mycelium, and a residue removing step of removing the residue after fermentation.

[0008] This configuration allows for the effective use of the liquid raw material remaining after culturing and fermenting the mycelium, making it possible to produce a novel liquid mycelial fermentation product from liquid culture media that would normally be discarded. The sugar may be refined sugar, brown sugar, or starch, and the protein or amino acid may be soy flour or yeast extract.

[0009] A method for producing a liquid mycelial fermentation product may be configured such that the residue removal step is performed when the pH of the liquid raw material is 5.0 or lower during the culture and fermentation step.

[0010] This configuration prevents spoilage and protects the taste and shelf life of food, including its sweetness, saltiness, sourness, bitterness, and umami.

[0011] A method for producing a liquid mycelial fermentation product may be configured to include a heating step after the residue removal step, in which a heat treatment is performed.

[0012] This configuration allows for the cessation of mycelial fermentation, enabling the production of high-quality liquid mycelial fermentation products.

[0013] A method for producing a liquid mycelial ferment product, wherein the mycelium may consist of any of the following: king oyster mushroom mycelium, shiitake mushroom mycelium, enoki mushroom mycelium, wood ear mushroom mycelium, or oyster mushroom mycelium.

[0014] This configuration allows for the easy production of liquid mycelial fermentation products using readily available materials.

[0015] Furthermore, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a liquid mycelial fermentation product characterized by containing at least one type of organic acid and having a pH of 5.0 or less.

[0016] This composition makes it possible to provide a novel liquid mycelial fermentation product that contains acidity, prevents oxidation, and is also expected to have antibacterial properties.

[0017] A liquid mycelium fermented product, wherein the organic acid may include malic acid.

[0018] With this configuration, it has a refreshing sour taste and may be used in many foods as a food additive.

[0019] A liquid mycelium fermented product, which may be configured as a seasoning.

[0020] With this configuration, since it contains an organic acid, it can be used as a seasoning with an unprecedented sour taste.

Advantages of the Invention

[0021] According to the present invention, it is possible to utilize a liquid medium that has been conventionally discarded to produce and provide a liquid mycelium fermented product that has never existed before.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0022] [Figure 1] It is a graph showing the relationship between the number of days of culture and fermentation of a liquid raw material, and the pH in Example 1 of the present invention. [Figure 2] It is a graph showing the relationship between the number of days of culture and fermentation of a liquid raw material, and the amount of mycelium in Example 1 of the present invention. [Figure 3] It is a graph showing the relationship between the number of days of culture and fermentation of a liquid raw material, and the amount of organic acid in Example 1 of the present invention.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0023] First, prepare a liquid raw material consisting of sugar and protein or amino acids to which water has been added. Here, the sugar may be one or more types of rice hulls, brown rice, polished rice, barley, wheat, hulless barley, rye, oats, polished barley, grains, legumes, rice flour, wheat flour, grain flour, bean flour, processed grain flour, starch, dextrin, root vegetables, leafy and stem vegetables, fruit vegetables, spice vegetables and garnishes, yuzu, mushrooms, wild vegetables, fruit-like vegetables, citrus fruits, pome fruits other than citrus fruits, drupes, berries, cereals, tropical and subtropical fruits, sugar crops, konjac potatoes, unprocessed beverage crops, spice raw materials, granulated sugar, sugar, molasses, sugars (corn syrup, glucose, isomerized liquid sugar), cellulose, whey, malt extract, or ethanol.

[0024] Furthermore, the protein or amino acid may be one or more of the following: yeast extract, peptone, polypeptone, corn steep liquor, soybean meal, ammonium salt, urea, plant-based protein (soybean protein, wheat protein, etc.), animal-based protein (whey protein, casein, egg yolk, egg white, etc.), insect-derived protein (cricket, etc.), or fungal-derived protein (mycoprotein, etc.).

[0025] It is desirable to sterilize the prepared liquid raw materials by autoclave sterilization (high temperature and high pressure sterilization) to prevent contamination by other bacteria. The autoclave sterilization temperature is 110°C for about 10 minutes, but it is not necessarily limited to this temperature and time, and any temperature and time can be selected.

[0026] Next, a mycelial addition step is performed in which mycelium is added to the prepared liquid raw material. The mycelium may be any of the following: king oyster mushroom mycelium, shiitake mushroom mycelium, enoki mushroom mycelium, wood ear mushroom mycelium, or oyster mushroom mycelium.

[0027] The mycelium addition process, in which mycelium is added to the liquid raw material, initiates the cultivation and fermentation process. During this process, the added mycelium simultaneously cultivates and ferments within the liquid raw material. This cultivation and fermentation process lasts for approximately 3 days to 3 weeks. It is desirable to maintain a quiet environment during this time, keeping the room temperature at around 20°C, supplying fresh air at all times, and shielding the material from direct sunlight.

[0028] During the cultivation and fermentation process, the hydrogen ion concentration (pH) of the liquid raw material gradually decreases. After about 1-2 weeks from the start of the cultivation and fermentation process, the pH will fall below 5.0. If the cultivation and fermentation process is continued thereafter, nutrients in the liquid raw material will become depleted, inducing autodigestion (putrefaction), and the pH will gradually rise due to ammonia (see Figure 1).

[0029] Here, it is preferable that the pH of the seasoning be around 5 or lower. If the pH becomes too high due to autodigestion, microorganisms will grow more easily, but off-flavors will increase. For this reason, a residue removal step is performed to remove the residue after fermentation when the pH drops to 5.0 or lower. More preferably, the residue removal step is performed when the pH is in the range of 2.0 to 5.0. This results in a liquid mycelial fermented product with a pH of 2.0 to 5.0.

[0030] The residue removal process can be carried out using any method, but straining through a cloth or similar material is a convenient and effective method. Alternatively, the material can be squeezed while straining.

[0031] Next, a heating step is performed to heat the liquid raw material after the residue removal step. This stops the fermentation of the mycelium and allows for the production of high-quality liquid mycelial fermentation product. The heating temperature should be around 90°C to 100°C, but preferably, if the pH is 3.7 to 4.5, the heating temperature should be 90 to 100°C, and if the pH is 4.5 to 5.0, the heating temperature should be 100°C or higher.

[0032] In another embodiment, salt may be added to the liquid raw material after the residue removal process in order to create a multi-purpose seasoning. [Examples]

[0033] Example 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1-3. Figure 1 is a graph showing the relationship between the number of days elapsed during the cultivation and fermentation of the liquid raw material and pH in Example 1 of the present invention. Figure 2 is a graph showing the relationship between the number of days elapsed during the cultivation and fermentation of the liquid raw material and the amount of mycelium in Example 1 of the present invention. Figure 3 is a graph showing the relationship between the number of days elapsed during the cultivation and fermentation of the liquid raw material and the amount of organic acid in Example 1 of the present invention.

[0034] First, the liquid ingredients, which consisted of granulated sugar, soy protein, and water, were autoclaved at 110°C for 10 minutes.

[0035] Next, the mycelium was added to the liquid raw material, and the mycelium addition process was carried out. After the mycelium addition process, the component ratio of the liquid raw material was granulated sugar 2.0%, soy protein 0.4%, enoki mushroom mycelium 0.05%, and water 97.55%, and the amount of liquid raw material was 150g.

[0036] The culture and fermentation process was carried out for 3 weeks at a temperature of 21°C and a stirring speed of 110 rpm. Figure 1 shows the change in the hydrogen ion concentration (pH) during this period. Initially, the pH was around 7.0, but it decreased over time, falling below 5.0 after 1 week. On the 14th day, the pH reached 4.7, and then rose to 6.6 after 3 weeks. The rise in pH to 6.6 after 3 weeks is due to a deficiency of nutrients in the liquid raw material, which induced autodigestion (putrefaction), causing ammonia to gradually increase the pH.

[0037] In the culture and fermentation process in Example 1, the amount of mycelium increased more than tenfold with the passage of time, as shown in Figure 2. This indicates that the culture is progressing smoothly.

[0038] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3, in the culture and fermentation process in Example 1, the levels of organic acids (acetic acid, pyruvic acid, malic acid, lactic acid, pyruglutamic acid, and succinic acid) increased with the passage of time. This indicates that fermentation is progressing smoothly. On the other hand, pyroglutamic acid and succinic acid increased with the passage of time in the culture and fermentation process before decreasing. This is thought to be because some organic acids are using pyroglutamic acid and succinic acid as fuel for fermentation.

[0039] In other words, in the culture and fermentation process in Example 1, the culture and fermentation of the liquid raw material proceed simultaneously.

[0040] In Example 1, the residue removal process was carried out 8 to 20 days after the start of the cultivation and fermentation process. Specifically, the liquid raw material was filtered using a straining cloth.

[0041] In Example 1, 3% salt was added and dissolved to serve as a seasoning. However, the addition of salt is not always necessary.

[0042] Next, a heating process was carried out. In this process, the liquid raw material was heated at 90°C for 30 minutes. This completed the liquid mycelial fermentation product.

[0043] Thus, Example 1 includes a mycelial addition step in which mycelium is added to a liquid raw material containing at least sugar and protein or amino acids, A culture and fermentation process in which the mycelium is cultured and fermented simultaneously, A method for producing mycelial fermented products, characterized by a residue removal step to remove the residue after fermentation, makes it possible to effectively utilize the liquid raw material remaining after fermenting mycelium and produce a novel liquid mycelial fermented product from liquid culture media that was previously discarded.

[0044] Furthermore, a liquid mycelial fermentation product characterized by containing at least one type of organic acid and having a pH of 2.0–5.0 can be provided, offering a novel liquid mycelial fermentation product. [Industrial applicability]

[0045] The method for producing mycelial fermented products and the liquid mycelial fermented products according to the present invention can be widely used in the field of seasonings, which has not been done before.

Claims

1. A mycelial addition step in which mycelium is added to a liquid raw material containing at least sugar and protein or amino acids, A culture and fermentation process in which the mycelium is cultured and fermented simultaneously, A method for producing a liquid mycelial fermentation product, characterized by comprising a residue removal step for removing residue after fermentation.

2. A method for producing a liquid mycelial fermented product according to claim 1, characterized in that the residue removal step is performed when the pH of the liquid raw material is 5.0 or less in the culture and fermentation step.

3. A method for producing a liquid mycelial fermented product according to claim 1, characterized in that it includes a heating step after the residue removal step, wherein the heating step is performed.

4. The method for producing a liquid mycelial fermented product according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the mycelium is one of the mycelium of king oyster mushroom, shiitake mushroom, enoki mushroom, wood ear mushroom, or oyster mushroom.

5. A liquid mycelial ferment product characterized by containing at least one type of organic acid and having a pH of 2.0-5.

0.

6. The liquid mycelial ferment product according to claim 5, characterized in that the organic acid includes acetic acid, pyruvic acid, malic acid, or lactic acid.

7. The liquid mycelial ferment according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the liquid mycelial ferment is used as a seasoning.

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