Wheat flour composition for pasta

Abstract

The objective is to provide pre-cooked pasta products that can suppress the reduction in flavor and texture that is a problem when industrially manufacturing pre-cooked pasta such as boiled pasta. [Solution] The above problem is solved by a wheat flour composition for pasta containing durum flour having a free amino acid content of 0.095 to 0.50% by mass.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a wheat flour composition for pastas.

Background Art

[0002] Durum wheat is a type of wheat mainly used as a raw material for pastas, and the flavor and texture unique to durum wheat are considered preferable for pastas, with particular demand for the flavor (natural sweetness) at the time of consumption. Industrially, when producing cooked pastas such as boiled pasta, it is common to include steps of washing with water and cooling with cold water. Conventional durum wheat flours (durum semolina, durum flour) have a free amino acid content of 0.07 to 0.092 mass% and a free sugar content of 0.65 to 1.20 mass%, and the cooked pastas produced with these durum wheat flours have a problem that the flavor and texture unique to durum wheat are reduced during washing, cooling, and freezing. Regarding the improvement of the flavor of noodles using wheat flour, Patent Document 1 describes that a material obtained by mixing wheat germ and a starchy raw material at a specific ratio and subjecting the starchy raw material to a pregelatinization treatment is used to impart wheat flour flavor to foods containing wheat flour as the main raw material. Patent Document 2 describes producing Chinese noodles with excellent texture and color tone using a raw material powder containing wheat flour and raw germ powder at a specific ratio. Patent Document 3 describes producing Chinese noodles from a raw material powder containing 0.1 to 5 parts by mass of roasted wheat germ. Patent Document 4 describes producing noodles with excellent flavor using a flour containing 5 to 99.8 mass% of durum wheat flour and 0.2 to 95 mass% of a fine powder raw material containing one or more selected from whole grain flour of cereals, outer hull parts of cereal grains, and germ. As described above, there are methods to supplement the flavor by blending germ, outer hull parts, and the like, but since germ and outer hull parts contain a large amount of dietary fiber and fats and oils and inhibit the formation of gluten, the elasticity required for pasta may be impaired, and further improvements are demanded.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-93072 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-301711 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2012-105553 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2015-226527 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide cooked pasta that can suppress the reduction in flavor and texture that is a problem when industrially manufacturing cooked pasta such as boiled pasta. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] Therefore, the inventors diligently conducted research to solve the above problems. As a result, they discovered that by using a pasta flour composition containing durum flour with a free amino acid content of 0.095 to 0.50% by mass in the production of pasta, it is possible to produce cooked pasta with good flavor and a desirable elastic texture even after undergoing washing, cooling, and freezing processes during industrial production, thus completing the present invention. In other words, the present invention is as follows. [1] A wheat flour composition for pasta containing durum flour having a free amino acid content of 0.095 to 0.50% by mass. [2] The pasta flour composition according to [1], wherein the durum flour has a free sugar content of 1.3 to 5.0% by mass. Pasta containing the wheat flour composition for pasta described in [3] [1] or [2]. [4] Pasta as described in [3], which contains 20-97% by mass of durum flour relative to the total amount of starchy raw materials used in the pasta. A method for producing pasta, comprising producing pasta using the wheat flour composition for pasta described in [5][1] or [2]. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain cooked pasta products in which the reduction in flavor and texture during the industrial production of cooked pasta products such as boiled pasta is suppressed. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0007] The wheat flour composition for pasta according to the present invention contains durum flour having a free amino acid content of 0.095 to 0.50% by mass. By having a free amino acid content within a predetermined range, a good flavor including sweetness and umami can be obtained. Preferably, the free amino acid content is 0.010 to 0.40% by mass, and more preferably 0.010 to 0.40% by mass.

[0008] In this invention, durum flour refers to the finely ground endosperm obtained during the milling process of durum wheat. In contrast, durum semolina refers to the coarser ground endosperm, generally meaning that it is too coarse to pass through a sieve with a mesh size of approximately 300 μm. Durum flour, however, has a lower particle size than durum semolina.

[0009] The durum flour used in this invention can be obtained by conventional milling methods. Wheat milling is generally carried out by a method called the so-called step milling method, which combines three stages: crushing, purifying, and grinding. In the purifying stage, a purifier is used to separate the coarse endosperm (semolina) from the mixed outer layer. The pulverized material that has passed through the roller mill in the crushing and grinding stages is sieved through a sifter, which consists of 20 to 30 stacked sieves (sieving stage), and separated into several particle sizes. This material is then sent to the next stage roller mill, to the purifier, to be collected as durum semolina or durum flour, and to become bran. The degree of grinding by the gap between the brake rolls and the number of stages in the crushing stage, and the configuration of the sieve (sifter) mesh size can be used to prepare durum semolina and durum flour of a quality suitable for the purpose. In the present invention, the durum wheat used to obtain durum flour can be any known variety, and specifically, any durum wheat of a variety or brand used for food purposes can be suitably used regardless of its origin.

[0010] In this invention, free amino acids refer to free amino acids such as glycine and alanine, which have flavors such as sweetness and umami. In this specification, the free amino acid content of wheat flour was measured using HPLC by a post-column derivatization HPLC method using the ninhydrin reaction.

[0011] The flour composition for pasta according to the present invention consists of wheat flour and may further contain other flours in addition to the durum flour mentioned above. Other flours may include durum semolina, strong wheat flour (e.g., 1CW, DNS, HRW, PH, etc.), medium wheat flour (ASW, Kitahonami, etc.), and mixtures thereof, which are commonly used as raw materials for pasta.

[0012] The pasta products of the present invention include the wheat flour composition of the present invention described above. The term "pasta products" in the present invention includes any type of pasta. For example, long pastas such as spaghetti, spaghettini, fedelini, cappellini, linguine, and bucatini, and short pastas such as macaroni, penne, conchiglie, farfalle, and fusilli are examples, but the invention is not limited to these.

[0013] Furthermore, in the present invention, "pre-cooked pasta" refers to pasta prepared by boiling the pasta of the present invention as described above, and at least the pasta has been boiled and has undergone washing and cooling processes, and may also have undergone a freezing process.

[0014] In the present invention, it is preferable that the free sugar content of durum flour is 1.3 to 5.0% by mass. Having a free sugar content within a predetermined range allows for a flavor with added sweetness. More preferably, it is 1.25 to 4.0% by mass, and most preferably 1.20 to 5.0% by mass.

[0015] In this invention, free sugars refer to monosaccharides and disaccharides such as glucose and maltose, which have a sweet taste. In this specification, the free sugar content of wheat flour was measured using HPLC by the HPLC post-column phosphate-phenylhydrazine method.

[0016] In this invention, the amount of damaged starch in durum flour is preferably 5.0 to 10% by mass, more preferably 6.0 to 9.0% by mass, and most preferably 7.0 to 8.0% by mass. In this specification, the amount of damaged starch in wheat flour was measured according to AACC method 76-31. The measurement can also be performed using a commercially available measurement kit, such as the Starch Damage Assay Kit manufactured by MegaZyme.

[0017] In the pastas of the present invention, it is preferable to contain 20 to 97 mass% of durum flour relative to the total amount of starchy raw materials used in the pastas. It is more preferably 30 to 95 mass%, and most preferably 40 to 90 mass%. When the durum flour is contained in an amount of 20 mass% or more, the flavor is perceived more strongly, and when contained in an amount of 97 mass% or less, the color tone tends to be better. In the present invention, the starchy raw material may contain, in addition to durum flour, durum semolina, hard wheat flour (for example, wheat flours such as 1CW, DNS, HRW, and PH), and all-purpose wheat flour (wheat flours such as ASW and Kitahonami) as main raw materials, and may also contain auxiliary cereal flours such as barley flour, rice flour, and buckwheat flour, and may be a mixture thereof.

[0018] In the cooked pastas of the present invention, the yield is preferably 180 to 260 parts by mass relative to 100 parts by mass of the starchy raw material used in the pastas. It is more preferably 200 to 250 parts by mass, and most preferably 230 to 240 parts by mass. The yield in the present invention refers to the ratio of the amount of boiled noodles obtained relative to the starchy raw material used in the pastas. In the present specification, the weights of the starchy raw material and the boiled noodles are measured, and the yield value is calculated.

[0019] The pastas of the present invention can be produced according to a conventional method, except that the wheat flour composition for pastas of the present invention containing durum flour having a predetermined free amino acid content is used. For example, it is possible to use a predetermined durum flour in combination with common durum semolina flour, all-purpose flour, hard flour, etc., according to texture improvement and intended use, and it is also possible to use auxiliary cereal flours such as barley flour, rice flour, and buckwheat flour, and auxiliary raw materials such as table salt, starch, egg powder, thickeners, alcohol, emulsified fats and oils, and milk powder can be used. [Examples]

[0020] Hereinafter, Examples are shown to specifically describe the present invention, but the present invention is not limited only to the following Examples.

[0021] <Manufacturing Example 1: Pasta Manufacturing> Pasta was manufactured according to the following process and formula table 1 below. (1) 100 parts by mass of wheat flour, 33 parts by mass of water, and 1 part by mass of salt were put into a mixer and mixed for 13 minutes to obtain a crumbly coarse dough. (2) After shaping and compounding, the dough was rolled to a thickness of 2.0 mm and cut with a cutting blade (gauge: 14 round) to obtain pasta.

[0022] Combination table 1 TIFF2026168541000001.tif28153 *See Table 1

[0023] Table 1. Wheat flour used TIFF2026168541000002.tif64165

[0024] <Example 1: Sensory evaluation of pasta (frozen noodles)> The resulting noodles were boiled, rinsed with water, cooled, and then rapidly frozen. The frozen noodles were then boiled again for about 1 minute and tasted. The yield per 100 parts by mass of starch raw material was in the range of 230 to 240 parts by mass. The resulting pasta was subjected to sensory evaluation by 10 expert panelists according to the evaluation criteria table 1 below. For comparison, conventional pasta (made with 100% durum semolina) was evaluated using a scoring system of 3 points for flavor, 3 points for firmness, and 5 points for color.

[0025] Evaluation Criteria Table 1 TIFF2026168541000003.tif89153

[0026] <Example 2: Sensory evaluation of pasta (chilled noodles)> The sensory evaluation was conducted in the same manner as in Evaluation Example 1, except that the resulting noodles were boiled, rinsed with water, cooled, and then microwaved for about 1 minute before being tasted.

[0027] <Test 1-1: Examination of free amino acid content (frozen noodles)> Table 2 shows the results of evaluating pasta produced according to Production Example 1, using the flour listed in Table 1 in the proportions shown in Table 2, and evaluating each product according to Evaluation Example 1.

[0028] Table 2 TIFF2026168541000004.tif62153 It was confirmed that flavor was imparted to wheat flours A and B, but no effect was obtained with durum wheat flour containing less than 0.095% by mass of free amino acids.

[0029] <Test 1-2: Examination of free amino acid content (chilled noodles)> Table 3 shows the results of evaluating pasta produced according to Production Example 1, using the flour from Table 1 in the proportions shown in Table 3, and evaluating each batch according to Evaluation Example 2. Table 3 TIFF2026168541000005.tif62153 It was confirmed that flavor was imparted to wheat flours A and B, but no effect was obtained with durum wheat flour containing less than 0.095% by mass of free amino acids.

[0030] <Test Example 2-1: Examination of Wheat Flour Type and Durum Flour Amount (Frozen Noodles)> Pasta was produced using the flours A (durum flour) and E (durum semolina) from Table 1 in the proportions shown in Table 4, according to Production Example 1, and the results of the evaluations, according to Evaluation Example 1, are shown in Table 4.

[0031] Table 4 TIFF2026168541000006.tif46153 It was confirmed that the flavor and hardness increased with a higher proportion of wheat flour A. At 100% wheat flour A by mass, the flavor and hardness were favorably evaluated, and the color was within an acceptable range.

[0032] <Test Example 2-2: Examination of Wheat Flour Type and Durum Flour Amount (Frozen Noodles)> Pasta was produced using the flours A (durum flour) and F (all-purpose flour) from Table 1 in the proportions shown in Table 5, according to Production Example 1, and the results of the evaluations according to Evaluation Example 1 are shown in Table 5.

[0033] Table 5 TIFF2026168541000007.tif46156 It was confirmed that the flavor and hardness increased with a higher proportion of wheat flour A. At 100% wheat flour A by mass, the flavor and hardness were favorably evaluated, and the color was within an acceptable range.

Claims

1. A wheat flour composition for pasta containing durum flour having a free amino acid content of 0.095 to 0.50% by mass.

2. The wheat flour composition for pasta according to claim 1, wherein the durum flour has a free sugar content of 1.3 to 5.0% by mass.

3. Pasta containing the wheat flour composition for pasta according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The pasta according to claim 3, wherein the durum flour is present in an amount of 20 to 97% by mass relative to the total amount of starchy raw materials used in the pasta.

5. A method for producing pasta, comprising producing pasta using the wheat flour composition for pasta described in claim 1 or 2.

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