Method for producing a meat substitute that resembles chunk meat.

Abstract

The present invention aims to produce a meat substitute that has a suppressed gel-like texture and melts easily in the mouth, resembling a block of meat. [Solution] We found that a meat substitute resembling a block of meat produced by the following steps: (A) introducing raw materials in a specific proportion range of protein material, insoluble dietary fiber, and water into an extruder, kneading them, and extruding them through a cooling die installed at the outlet of the extruder to obtain a textured product; (B) cutting the textured product into strings of a certain length or less to obtain cut textured products; and (C) mixing the cut textured products with a binder and shaping the mixture, has a suppressed gel-like texture and good melt-in-the-mouth properties.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for producing chunk meat-like imitation meat.

Background Art

[0002] Demand for substitutes for animal-derived foods has been increasing in response to environmental changes such as global warming and health-conscious trends. Meat products are a representative example of animal-derived foods. Conventionally, efforts to substitute such meat products have been made. For example, there is a technology related to a method for producing a fibrous protein food material, which is characterized by kneading a protein-containing substance with water, heating it, applying shear stress in a plastic state to orient it, and then defibrating it with a roller (Patent Document 1). There is also a technology related to a method for producing a textured protein material, which is characterized by passing a flat sheet-shaped textured protein material produced by being pressurized, heated and extruded by an extruder through cutting blade rolls composed of a pair of rolls having a plurality of angular blade-shaped annular blades arranged in parallel and facing each other, so as to form cut grooves pressed and cut in the same direction as the extrusion direction on the upper and lower surfaces of the textured protein material (Patent Document 2). There is also a technology related to chunk meat-like imitation meat containing a plant protein binder that includes a polysaccharide containing a heat-irreversible gel-forming polysaccharide and a heat-reversible gel-forming polysaccharide, and a gelation retardant (Patent Document 3).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Conventional meat technologies have problems with the texture of alternative meat, such as a gel-like texture or poor melt-in-the-mouth quality, making them unsuitable as meat products. The present invention aims to produce a meat substitute that has a suppressed gel-like texture and melts easily in the mouth, resembling a block of meat. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The inventors of the present invention have diligently studied how to solve the above problems and have found that a meat substitute resembling a block of meat produced by the following steps has a suppressed gel-like texture and good melt-in-the-mouth properties, and has been completed. This is achieved by (A) introducing raw materials in a specific ratio of protein material, insoluble dietary fiber, and water into an extruder, kneading them, and extruding them through a cooling die installed at the outlet of the extruder to obtain a textured product, (B) cutting the textured product into strings of a certain length or less to obtain cut textured products, and (C) mixing the cut textured products with a binder and shaping them.

[0006] In other words, the present invention is (1) A method for producing a block meat-like substitute meat comprising all of the following steps (A) to (C), (A) A process of introducing raw materials containing protein material, insoluble dietary fiber, and water into an extruder, mixing the materials, and extruding them through a cooling die installed at the outlet of the extruder to obtain a textured product. (B) A step of cutting the tissue material into strings with a width of 5 mm or less to obtain the cut tissue material. (C) A step of mixing the cut tissue with the binder dough and forming it, (2) A method for producing a block meat-like substitute meat according to (1), wherein the thickness of the tissueed material is 3 mm or less in step (A) above. (3) A method for producing a block meat-like substitute meat according to (1) or (2), wherein in step (A) above, the protein material is a plant protein material. (4) The method for producing a meat substitute as described in (3), wherein in step (A) above, the plant protein material is a plant protein material derived from legumes. (5) A method for producing a food product that incorporates a meat substitute resembling a block of meat obtained by the manufacturing method described in (1) or (2), (6) A method for producing a food product using a meat substitute that resembles chunk meat obtained by the manufacturing method described in (3), (7) A method for producing a food product using a meat substitute that resembles chunk meat obtained by the manufacturing method described in (4), That is the case. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] This invention makes it possible to produce a meat substitute that resembles chunk meat, with a suppressed gel-like texture and good melt-in-the-mouth properties. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] ■Method of manufacturing a meat substitute that resembles chunk meat The method for producing the block-meat-like substitute meat of this embodiment is characterized by comprising all of the following steps (A) to (C). That is, as follows: (A) A process of introducing raw materials into an extruder, wherein the total amount of raw materials including protein material, insoluble dietary fiber, and water is such that the protein material accounts for 10-40% by mass, the insoluble dietary fiber for 1.0-8.2% by mass, and the water for 40-80% by mass, to obtain a textured product. (B) A step of cutting the structured material into strings with a width of 5 mm or less to obtain the cut structured material. (C) A step of mixing the cut tissue with the binder dough and forming it. By going through the processes (A) to (C) described above, it is possible to produce a meat substitute that has a gel-like texture, a meat-like fibrous texture, and melts easily in the mouth. In this embodiment, the meat substitute preferably contains 50% or more by mass of plant-based raw materials in its solid content. More preferably, it can be 60% or more by mass, 70% or more by mass, 80% or more by mass, 90% or more by mass, 95% or more by mass, or 100% by mass.

[0009] ■Protein material The origin of the protein material used in this embodiment is not particularly limited, but plant-derived, animal-derived, or microbial-derived protein materials can be used. Examples of plant-based protein sources include legumes such as soybeans, peas, mung beans, lupin beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, flat beans, and cowpeas; seeds such as sesame, canola seeds, coconut seeds, and almond seeds; grains such as corn, buckwheat, wheat, and rice; and protein sources derived from vegetables, fruits, algae, and microalgae. In addition, examples of animal proteins include egg proteins containing ovalbumin, milk proteins such as casein, whey, lactalbumin, blood-derived proteins such as plasma, serum albumin, and decolorized hemoglobin, meat-derived proteins, and seafood-derived proteins. Furthermore, proteins derived from microorganisms such as yeast, mold, and bacteria can also be used. Among these, plant-based protein materials are preferred, and those derived from legumes are even more preferred. Examples of plant-based protein materials include pulverized plant matter, extracted protein, concentrated protein, isolated protein, plant-based milk such as soy milk, and plant-based milk powder made from powdered plant-based milk derived from legumes such as soy milk. Examples include whole-fat soy flour, defatted soy flour, concentrated soy protein, isolated soy protein, isolated pea protein, isolated mung bean protein, etc. As for plant-based protein materials derived from legumes, plant-based protein materials derived from soybeans, peas, and mung beans are preferred, with those derived from soybeans being more preferred. The protein content of the protein material is preferably 50% by weight or more on a solids basis. More preferably 60% by weight or more, and even more preferably 65% ​​by weight or more, 70% by weight or more, 75% by weight or more, or 80% by weight or more. The protein content in the meat substitute is 10-40% by weight. The lower limit is preferably 12% by weight or more. More preferably it can be 15% by weight or more, 17% by weight or more, or 20% by weight or more. The upper limit is preferably 38% by weight or less. More preferably it can be 35% by weight or less, 33% by weight or less, or 30% by weight or less. The lower limit and upper limit can be any combination.

[0010] ■Insoluble dietary fiber The type of the insoluble dietary fiber of the present embodiment is not limited. For example, wheat bran, soybean okara, wood pulp, cellulose, crystalline cellulose, bamboo fiber, sesame, mushrooms such as Auricularia auricula, seaweeds such as Hijiki, and the like can be used. The content of the insoluble dietary fiber in the chunk meat-like meat analogue is 1.0 to 8.2 mass% in the chunk meat-like meat analogue. The lower limit amount is preferably 1.2 mass% or more. More preferably, it can be 1.5 mass% or more, 2 mass% or more, 2.2 mass% or more, 2.5 mass% or more, 3 mass% or more, or 3.2 mass% or more. In addition, the upper limit amount is preferably 8 mass% or less. More preferably, it can be 7.8 mass% or less, 7.5 mass% or less, 7 mass% or less, or 6.7 mass% or less. The lower limit amount and the upper limit amount can be arbitrarily combined.

[0011] ■Extruder In the present embodiment, first, a raw material having 10 to 40 mass% of the protein material, 1.0 to 8.2 mass% of the insoluble dietary fiber, and 40 to 80 mass% of water relative to the total amount of the raw materials including the protein material, the insoluble dietary fiber, and water is introduced into an extruder to obtain a textured product. The extruder generally has a mechanism for feeding the raw material from the raw material supply port by a screw disposed in the barrel, kneading, pressurizing (compressing), and heating the raw material, and a jacket-type cooling pipe is attached to the tip end (outlet) of the barrel. The extruder that can be used is not limited, and a single-screw, twin-screw, or three or more screw extruder can be used. Among these, a twin-screw or more extruder such as a twin-screw or four-screw extruder can be suitably used.

[0012] ■Operating conditions of extruder The operating conditions when the raw material containing the protein material, the insoluble dietary fiber, and water is supplied to the extruder and extruded from the die under pressurized heating can be appropriately selected and adjusted based on known conditions. As the heating condition, the maximum temperature of the barrel is preferably 120 to 220°C. It is more preferably 120 to 180°C, and still more preferably 120 to 160°C. Regarding the pressurization conditions, the pressure at the barrel tip is preferably 0.1 to 10 MPa. More preferably, it is 0.5 to 8 MPa.

[0013] ■Water addition Water is added when supplying the raw material containing the protein material and the insoluble dietary fiber to the extruder. In the case of the method for producing the chunk meat-like alternative meat of the present embodiment, water is added such that the moisture content in the total amount of the raw material including the protein material, the insoluble dietary fiber and water is 40 to 80% by weight. The moisture content is preferably 45 to 80% by weight. More preferably, it is 50 to 80% by weight. Still more preferably, it can be 50 to 78% by mass, 50 to 75% by mass, 50 to 70% by mass, 55 to 75% by mass, or 55 to 70% by mass. In addition, the water used in the present embodiment is not particularly limited, and an aqueous solvent containing a water-soluble component can be used within a range that does not affect the texture, flavor, and the like.

[0014] ■Cooling die In the present embodiment, a cooling die is installed at the outlet of the extruder. The shape of the opening at the cooling die outlet may be a circle, an ellipse, a square, a rectangle, a cylinder, or the like. The shape is preferably a square or a rectangle. Further, the thickness of the opening is preferably 3 mm or less. More preferably, it can be 2.5 mm or less, or 2 mm or less. The lower limit is preferably 0.1 mm or more. More preferably, it can be 0.3 mm or more, or 0.5 mm or more. The thickness of the opening becomes the thickness of the textured product.

[0015] The length of the textured product obtained by treatment with the extruder in the direction in which the textured product is extruded is not particularly limited, but is preferably 1 cm or more. It is more preferably 1 cm to 40 cm, and still more preferably 1 cm to 30 cm, or 1 cm to 20 cm.

[0016] Cutting of textured product The textured product obtained by treatment with the extruder is cut into a string shape having a width of 5 mm or less. Furthermore, "string-like" refers to a structure in which the structure is preferably 1 cm to 40 cm in length in the direction from which it is extruded, and has a width of 5 mm or less. The textured material can be cut in any direction. Preferably, it is cut parallel to the direction in which the textured material is extruded, or perpendicular to the direction in which the textured material is extruded. There are no restrictions on the method of cutting the tissue, but examples include cutting the tissue with a cutting blade, cutting the tissue by passing it through a slit sheet, or cutting it by hand. The width of the tissue being cut is preferably 4 mm or less. More preferably it can be 3 mm or less, 2.5 mm or less, 2 mm or less, or 1.5 mm or less. The lower limit is preferably 0.1 mm or more. More preferably it can be 0.3 mm or more, or 0.5 mm or more.

[0017] ■ Mixing and shaping of the cut tissue and binder dough. To produce a meat substitute resembling a block of meat, the structured material is cut into strips and mixed with a binder, then shaped. Examples of ingredients used in the binder include powdered protein materials, oils and fats, seasonings, colorings, starches, carbohydrates such as polysaccharides, and water-soluble dietary fiber. The amount of these ingredients is preferably 0 to 30% by mass of the meat substitute. There are no restrictions on the method of mixing the cut textured material with the binder dough. The textured material may be mixed with a pre-prepared binder dough, or the textured material may be mixed with the raw materials used for the binder dough. There are no particular restrictions on the means of mixing. For example, known equipment such as homomixers, homogenizers, kneaders, cooking mixers, screw feeders, and tanks with agitators can be used for mixing. Heating may also be applied during mixing. When manufacturing a meat substitute resembling chunk meat, the proportion of binder in the meat substitute is preferably less than 40% by mass. More preferably, it can be 39% by mass or less, 37% by mass or less, or 35% by mass or less. The lower limit is preferably 5% by mass or more. More preferably, it can be 7% by mass or more, 10% by mass or more, 15% by mass or more, or 20% by mass or more. There are no restrictions on the means of shaping the mixture. The purpose of shaping the mixture is to align the orientation of the cut tissues. This improves the texture and melt-in-the-mouth quality of the meat substitute. Examples of equipment include stuffers and rollers. A stuffer is a machine used to fill sausages. It extrudes the sausage mixture from a cylinder or hopper through a nozzle of a predetermined diameter, thereby creating the sausage casing. As the mixture passes through the nozzle, friction with the nozzle causes the string-like structure of the sausage to align. In the case of rollers, when the dough is stretched by multiple rollers, the fibers in the dough are aligned perpendicular to the direction of rotation of the rollers. Alternatively, as in the production of crab-flavored fish cakes, the cut fibers can be bundled on a conveyor belt. As described above, a meat substitute resembling a block of meat can be manufactured.

[0018] The resulting meat substitute can be heated, sterilized, refrigerated, or frozen as needed.

[0019] In the production of the block meat-like substitute meat of this embodiment, oils and fats, emulsifiers, starches, seasonings, sugars, polysaccharides, acidulants, pH adjusters, colorants, etc., may be added as needed.

[0020] The meat substitute produced in this embodiment can be eaten as is, or used in foods such as stews, curries, cutlets, fried chicken, steaks, char siu, braised dishes, grilled dishes, and fried dishes. [Examples]

[0021] The present invention will be explained below by describing examples. In the examples, % refers to mass % unless otherwise specified.

[0022] The following ingredients were used: • Powdered soy protein 1: Fuji Pro F (manufactured by Fuji Oil Co., Ltd.) • Powdered soy protein 2: New Fuji Pro SEH (manufactured by Fuji Oil Co., Ltd.) • Insoluble dietary fiber 1: Vitacell HF200 (manufactured by J. Rettenmaier & Soehne GmbH + Co. KG) • Insoluble dietary fiber 2: Vitacell BAF90 (manufactured by J. Rettenmaier & Soehne GmbH + Co. KG) • Starch: Starch EH (manufactured by Nippon Denki Chemical Co., Ltd.) • Fermented seasoning: TasteNrich Solution B5 (manufactured by PT. Cheil Jedang Indonesia) • Vegetable oil 1: Pakid P (manufactured by Fuji Oil Co., Ltd.) • Vegetable oil 2: Unishort MJ (manufactured by Fuji Oil Co., Ltd.) • Vegetable oil 3: Palm Ace 10 (manufactured by Fuji Oil Co., Ltd.) • Coloring agent: Anka Red P500 (manufactured by Yaegaki Fermentation Technology Co., Ltd.)

[0023] Examples 1-4, Comparative Examples 1-2 The textured product was obtained using an extruder with the formulations shown in Table 1. The extruder conditions were as follows. A cooling die was installed at the extruder outlet. • Extruder operating conditions Equipment used: Extruder (ET-1: Manufactured by Kowa Kogyo Co., Ltd.) Heating temperature: 140℃ Screw rotation speed: 200 rpm Cooling piping: Cylindrical piping (material thickness 2mm) Cooling water temperature: 80℃ Cooling water amount: 13L / min Barrel tip pressure: 0.5~8MPa The obtained tissue was cut using a cutting blade (manufactured by Sanuki Noodle Machine Co., Ltd.) into strips 1 cm to 20 cm in length and 1 mm in width, yielding string-like cut tissue. In other words, the resulting tissue was string-like with a length of 1 cm to 20 cm, a thickness of 2 mm, and a width of 1 mm. The cut textured material was mixed with the binder dough in the proportions shown in Table 2. For the mixing, first, powdered soy protein 2, water, vegetable oil 1, coloring agent, and fermented seasoning were used to create an emulsion using a Robot Coupe (manufactured by FMI Co., Ltd.). Then, the emulsion, the cut textured material, and vegetable oil 2 were used together in a Kenmix mixer (manufactured by Aikousha Seisakusho Co., Ltd.) to obtain a mixture. The resulting mixture was molded using a hydraulic stuffer (Oscar20: manufactured by FREY) to obtain a meat substitute resembling a block of meat.

[0024] Each meat substitute was evaluated based on its texture and melt-in-the-mouth quality. The evaluation was conducted by six panelists, well-trained in evaluating the texture of meat substitutes, based on the evaluation criteria outlined below. The scores were determined by consensus. A score of 2 or higher for both texture and melt-in-the-mouth quality was considered a pass. The evaluation results are shown in Table 3.

[0025] • Texture 3 points: The meat substitute does not have a gel-like texture and is meat-like. Points 2: The meat substitute has a somewhat gel-like texture, but is still somewhat meat-like. 1 point: The meat substitute has a gel-like texture and is not meat-like. • Melts in your mouth 3 points: The meat substitute has a good melt-in-the-mouth texture and is meat-like. Points 2: The meat substitute has a slightly good melt-in-the-mouth texture and is somewhat meat-like. 1 point: The meat substitute has poor melt-in-the-mouth texture and is not meat-like.

[0026] ·Table 1 TIFF2026166741000001.tif42164

[0027] ·Table 2 TIFF2026166741000002.tif124144

[0028] ·Table 3 TIFF2026166741000003.tif36155

[0029] As shown in Table 3, the evaluation of the block meat-like meat substitutes in Examples 1-4 was favorable.

[0030] Examples 5-7, Comparative Example 3 Except for a slight change in the raw materials of the textured material, the textured material was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1, following the formulation in Table 4. The obtained textured material was cut in the same manner as in Example 1, mixed with binder dough, and molded to prepare a meat substitute resembling a block of meat. The results of the evaluation, also in the same manner as in Example 1, are shown in Table 5.

[0031] ·Table 4 TIFF2026166741000004.tif61139

[0032] ·Table 5 TIFF2026166741000005.tif36133

[0033] As shown in Table 5, the evaluation of the block meat-like meat substitutes in Examples 5-7 was favorable.

[0034] Examples 8-12: Examination of the thickness and cutting width of the tissueed material In Examples 1-7, a meat substitute resembling a block of meat was prepared and evaluated using a textured material with a thickness of 2 mm and a width of 1 mm when cut. This study examined the effects of varying the thickness and cutting width of the textured material on the mouthfeel of the meat substitute resembling a block of meat. A block meat-like substitute was obtained in the same manner as in Example 5, except that the thickness and cutting width of the tissue were set to the conditions shown in Table 6. The length of the tissue was set to 1 cm to 20 cm. The results were evaluated in the same manner as in Example 5 and are shown in Table 6.

[0035] ·Table 6 TIFF2026166741000006.tif43147

[0036] As shown in Table 6, the evaluation of the block meat-like meat substitutes in Examples 8-12 was favorable.

[0037] Examples 13-15, Comparative Example 4: Examination of the blending ratio of binder dough We investigated variations in the proportion of the binder dough. Using the formulations shown in Table 7, we obtained a meat substitute similar to that of Example 5. We evaluated it in the same way as in Example 5, and the results are shown in Table 7.

[0038] ·Table 7 TIFF2026166741000007.tif126140

[0039] As shown in Table 7, the evaluation of the block meat-like meat substitutes in Examples 13-14 was favorable.

Claims

1. A method for producing a block meat-like substitute meat, comprising all of the following steps (A) to (C). (A) A process of introducing raw materials, in which the total amount of raw materials including protein material, insoluble dietary fiber, and water is such that the protein material is 10 to 40% by mass, the insoluble dietary fiber is 1.0 to 8.2% by mass, and the water is 40 to 80% by mass, into an extruder, mixing the materials, and extruding them through a cooling die installed at the outlet of the extruder to obtain a textured product. (B) A step of cutting the tissue material into strings with a width of 5 mm or less to obtain the cut tissue material. (C) A step of mixing the cut tissue with the binder dough and shaping it.

2. The method for producing a block meat-like substitute meat according to claim 1, wherein in step (A) above, the thickness of the tissueed material is 3 mm or less.

3. A method for producing a block meat-like substitute meat according to claim 1 or 2, wherein in step (A) above, the protein material is a plant-based protein material.

4. The method for producing a block meat-like substitute meat according to claim 3, wherein in step (A) above, the plant protein material is a plant protein material derived from legumes.

5. A method for producing a food product that incorporates a block meat-like substitute meat obtained by the production method described in claim 1 or 2 as a raw material.

6. A method for producing a food product that incorporates a block meat-like substitute meat obtained by the production method described in claim 3 as a raw material.

7. A method for producing a food product that incorporates a block meat-like substitute meat obtained by the production method described in claim 4 as a raw material.

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