Grinded food material and its manufacturing method

Abstract

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a method capable of easily producing a ground food material. The cacao and / or cacao-processed-product ground food material of the present invention is an extruder-processed ground product of cacao and / or a cacao processed product, characterized in that the amount of general bacteria included in the extruder-processed ground product is 3,000 / g or less. A preferred embodiment of the cacao and / or cacao-processed-product ground food material of the present invention is characterized in that the average particle diameter of a non-fat component of the extruder-processed ground product is in the range of 100-300 μm.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a ground food material and a method for producing the same, and more particularly to a ground food material capable of being used to produce chocolate, and a method for producing the same. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, chocolate is produced through a great many steps. That is, although there are some differences in the steps, chocolate is generally produced through numerous steps such as selection of raw cacao beans, roasting, separation, blending, grinding, mixing, pulverization, refining, temperature control, filling, cooling, molding, inspection / packaging, and aging. For example, a method for producing chocolate including a step of mixing a compound containing a granular sweetener is known, which is characterized in that fresh cream and sugar are mixed and heated, maintained in a boiling state at or below a predetermined temperature under normal pressure, heating is stopped when the sugar begins to recrystallize, and then sugar is further added to the mixture and mixed, the new mixture is allowed to cool and then sieved to form granules, and the granules are mixed with other compounds (e.g., Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 4-079839 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, as described above, the prior art, including Patent Document 1, requires many steps, and it takes about 2 to 3 days to complete the process from the raw material roasted cacao nibs to chocolate before cooling and solidification. In addition, each of the above steps is a batch process, making continuous production difficult. In addition, chocolate and cacao mass produced through conventional processes usually contain a large amount of general viable bacteria, for example, 3,000 to hundreds of thousands of general viable bacteria per gram.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and its object is to provide a ground food material which can be produced in a continuous manner, thereby drastically shortening the production time compared to batch production, and which has minimal viable bacteria. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present inventors have conducted extensive research into extruders and their processing conditions, and as a result have come up with the present invention.

[0009] The extruder-treated ground product is continuously fed to a wet-type fine grinding mill and pulverized to an average particle size of 20 μm or less, which is not perceived as rough when eaten by humans.

[0013] The method for producing a ground cacao and / or cacao processed food material of the present invention includes the steps of grinding cacao and / or cacao processed products in a heating extruder having an extensional flow / grinding element, and adjusting the average particle size of the non-fat and oil components of the ground product processed in the heating extruder to a range of 100 to 300 μm as measured by a laser diffraction particle size distribution measurement method; and pulverizing the ground product processed in the heating extruder in a wet fine grinder, and adjusting the average particle size of the non-fat and oil components of the ground product processed in the heating extruder and the wet fine grinding product to a range of 2.26 to 13.24 μm as measured by a laser diffraction particle size distribution measurement method. And, The present invention is characterized by including:

[0014] In a preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention for producing a food material made from ground cacao and / or cacao products, the extruder is a 2- to 8-screw extruder equipped with screw elements that perform elongational flow and grinding, has screws composed of screw elements that perform dispersion and mixing, and has a multi-point feed mechanism.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment of the method for producing a ground food material of cacao and / or cacao products of the present invention, the method further comprises a step of adding at least one of sugars, milk powder or a hydrolysate derived from a plant-based raw material which is a milk powder substitute to the extruder.

[0017] The molded article of the present invention Manufacturing method is characterized in that it is obtained by cooling and solidifying the molten cacao mass or chocolate obtained by the method of the present invention.

[0018] The chocolate powder of the present invention Manufacturing method was obtained by the method of the present invention. Grinded food ingredients Finely grind Includes process It is characterized by: Effect of the Invention

[0019] According to the chocolate using the ground food material of the present invention, the particle size of the material contained in normal cacao mass that causes a bad texture is very fine, so that the texture is favorable. According to the present invention, the fat (cocoa butter) is dispersed in the form of fine oil droplets in the cacao mass, so that the solubility in the mouth is excellent. According to the present invention, the product of the present invention can be sterilized, although normal chocolate and cacao mass contain a large amount of general live bacteria. According to the manufacturing method of the present invention, the manufacturing method can be hygienically manufactured in a very short time at low cost compared to the existing manufacturing method. According to the present invention, the manufacturing method can be hygienically manufactured in a very short time at low cost by using a vegetable hydrolyzate instead of whole milk powder, so that the manufacturing method of the present invention can be advantageously performed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing steps of a method for producing a ground food material in one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a diagram showing a microscopic image (140x) of a ground food material (extruded and then finely pulverized) in one embodiment of the present invention. Although difficult to read in the figure, the blank bar in the lower left corner of the figure indicates the scale, and the length of the blank bar is 400 μm. [Diagram 3] 3 is a diagram showing a microscope image (1200x) of a ground food material (processed in an extruder and then finely pulverized) in one embodiment of the present invention. Although it is difficult to read from the figure, the blank bar in the lower left corner of the figure indicates the scale, and the length of the blank bar is 40 μm. Therefore, it can be seen that even large particles are at most 10 μm to 20 μm, and the majority of particles are approximately 10 μm or less. [Figure 4]Figure 4 shows a microscope image (1200x magnification) of a commercially available chocolate product. Although it is difficult to read from the image, the blank bar at the bottom left of the image indicates the scale, and the length of the blank bar is 40 μm. Therefore, it can be seen that the width of the large particles that appear large in the image is more than 120 μm. [Diagram 5] 5 is a diagram showing a microscope image (30x) of chocolate made using a ground food material according to one embodiment of the present invention, in which the numerous slightly round objects seen in the image are oil. [Figure 6] Fig. 6 is a photograph of chocolate made using a ground food material according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the image of Fig. 5, the countless slightly round objects are oil, and it can be seen that the oil is well dispersed, which gives the chocolate a very glossy appearance in the photograph of Fig. 6. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] The ground cacao and / or cacao processed product food material of the present invention is an extruder-treated ground product of cacao and / or cacao processed product, characterized in that the content of general viable bacteria contained in the extruder-treated ground product is 3,000 / g or less.Chocolate and cacao mass produced through conventional processes contain a large amount of general viable bacteria, for example, 3,000 to hundreds of thousands / g, but the extruder-treated ground product of the present invention is processed at an extruder cylinder temperature of 100 to 160°C, thereby realizing a ground food material in which the content of general viable bacteria contained in the extruder-treated ground product is 3,000 / g or less.

[0022] The cacao beans that can be used as the raw material in the present invention are not particularly limited. For example, cacao beans from Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon in Africa, Ecuador and Brazil in Central and South America, and Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam in Southeast Asia can be mentioned.

[0023] In addition, there is no particular limitation on the cacao processed products that can be used in the present invention. In a preferred embodiment of the ground cacao and / or cacao processed product food material of the present invention, the cacao and / or cacao processed product is at least one of cacao nibs, cacao mass, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and cocoa powder.

[0024] The cacao and the cacao processed products may be used alone or in combination of two or more kinds.

[0025] The extruder-processed ground product in the present invention is a general concept for food materials that can be added directly to food ingredients, or can be dispersed or dissolved in liquid after addition, or can be contained in food and beverages. By using the extruder-processed ground product, it is possible to produce, for example, chocolate, cocoa powder, chocolate powder, etc. that contain milk powder, or chocolate, cocoa powder, chocolate powder, etc. that do not contain milk powder.

[0026] In a preferred embodiment of the ground cacao and / or cacao processed product food material of the present invention, the average particle size of the ground material in the extruder is in the range of 100 to 300 μm, from the viewpoint of ensuring a particle size that can be processed in a wet fine grinder in the subsequent step.

[0027] In a preferred embodiment of the ground cacao and / or cacao processed product of the present invention, the ground cacao and / or cacao processed product is in a liquid or semi-solid form. In a preferred embodiment, but not limited to, from the viewpoint of ensuring a fluid supply to a wet fine grinder in the next step, chocolate can be produced by using the liquid ground cacao and / or cacao processed product as a starting material. In a preferred embodiment, but not limited to, from the viewpoint of preventing adhesion to the inner surface of an air flow grinder, chocolate powder can be produced by using the semi-solid ground cacao and / or cacao processed product as a starting material.

[0028] The food and drink of the present invention is characterized by containing the ground food material of the cacao and / or cacao processed product of the present invention. Examples of the food and drink include chocolate, cocoa powder, and chocolate powder containing milk powder, and chocolate, cocoa powder, and chocolate powder not containing milk powder. The ground food material of the present invention has a general bacterial content of 3,000 / g or less, and has the advantageous effect of providing food and drink with a significantly reduced bacterial count. The content of the ground food material of the present invention is not particularly limited, and a content determined by a conventional method can be applied.

[0029] Next, the method for producing the ground food material of the present invention will be described. First, the conventional method for producing chocolate will be described. Conventionally, chocolate is produced through a fairly long process including (1) obtaining raw materials, (2) a selection process, (3) a roasting process, (4) a separation process, (5) a blending process, (6) a grinding process, (7) a mixing process, (8) a microparticulation process, (9) a refining process, (10) a temperature control process, (11) a filling process, (12) a cooling process, (13) a mold removal process, (14) a testing and packaging process, and (15) a maturing process. Most of the processes are batch-type, and it is said that it takes 2 to 3 days from (5) the blending process to (14) the testing and packaging process. In contrast, as described below, in the present invention, chocolate can be produced in just a few minutes.

[0030] The method for producing a ground cacao and / or cacao processed food material of the present invention is characterized by comprising the steps of grinding cacao and / or cacao processed products in an extruder, and dispersing and mixing the ground cacao and / or cacao processed products and a heat resistance imparting agent in the extruder. Conventionally, grinding was performed using a dedicated device called a grinder, but in the present invention, grinding is performed using an extruder from the viewpoint of shortening production time and hygiene management. Because cacao nibs contain about 55% fat (called cocoa butter) in the grinding step, a thick cacao mass can be obtained by grinding the cacao nibs.

[0031] In the present invention, the cocoa and / or processed cocoa products can also be heat-treated in an extruder.

[0032] In the past, the (7) mixing step and the (8) atomization step were similarly carried out in a batch-type manner in dedicated equipment, but in the present invention, in addition to grinding, mixing and a certain degree of atomization can be carried out in an extruder.

[0033] In a preferred embodiment, the cylinder temperature of the extruder in the heat treatment is preferably 100° C. to 200° C., more preferably 130° C. to 160° C., from the viewpoint of suppressing a burnt odor due to heating.

[0034] In a preferred embodiment of the method for producing a ground cacao and / or cacao processed product food material of the present invention, the extruder is characterized in that it is equipped with screws that perform elongational flow and grinding and has 2 to 8 shafts with a multi-point feed mechanism, from the viewpoint of improving the efficiency of grinding the cacao nibs.

[0035] In a preferred embodiment of the method for producing a food material made of ground cacao and / or cacao products according to the present invention, the mixture is further pulverized by a wet mill in order to further pulverize the mixture and reduce the roughness felt in the mouth when the mixture is eaten by a person. In particular, in order to ensure connection with an extruder and continuous productivity, it is preferable to use a continuous ultra-high pressure wet mill rather than a batch wet mill such as a ball mill or an attritor, and it is particularly preferable to use a "Starburst" made by Sugino Machine Co., Ltd. Conventionally, after the mixing step (7), the pulverization step (8), the refining step (9), and the temperature control step (10) were carried out in a batch manner using dedicated equipment, but in the present invention, the pulverization step (8), the refining step (9), and the temperature control step (10) can be carried out continuously by using a wet mill, along with the steps using an extruder for all steps.

[0036] In a preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention for producing a ground cacao and / or cacao processed food material, the method further comprises the step of adding at least one of whole milk powder, sugars, and hydrolysates derived from vegetable raw materials to the extruder. By adding hydrolysates derived from vegetable raw materials, it is possible to provide a ground food material that is free of milk allergens.

[0037] The molded product of the present invention is characterized in that it is obtained by cooling and solidifying the molten cacao mass or chocolate obtained by the method of the present invention.

[0038] The chocolate powder of the present invention is characterized in that it is obtained by finely pulverizing the ground food material obtained by the method of the present invention or the molded product of the present invention. EXAMPLES

[0039] Here, examples of the present invention will be described, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples. In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention can be appropriately modified without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0040] Example 1 First, FIG. 1 shows an example of the steps in the method for producing a food material of ground cacao and / or cacao processed products of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1) is an example of an apparatus for coarsely grinding cacao nibs (cacao, cacao processed products) and dispersing and mixing other raw materials. For 1), the "Henschel Mixer" by Nippon Coke & Engineering Co., Ltd. or the "Super Mixer" by Kawata Co., Ltd. can be used. For 2), an extruder is an example of an apparatus for grinding cacao nibs and dispersing and mixing other raw materials. For 2), a twin-screw extruder with L / D of 30 or more, such as the twin-screw extruder "TEX" by Japan Steel Works, Ltd., can be used. 3)-1 is a continuous ultra-high pressure wet type micronization device, an example of an apparatus for micronizing and emulsifying raw materials. 3)-1 and 3)-2 are fine grinding machines, an example of an apparatus for micronizing raw materials. For 3-1), it is preferable to use "Starburst" by Sugino Machine Co., Ltd., and for 3)-2, it is preferable to use "Air Tag Mill" by Micro Powtec Co., Ltd. 4) is a molding machine, which is an example of a device that cools and solidifies raw materials and molds them. As long as it has a certain cooling effect, such as a tunnel freezer, there is no particular restriction on the manufacturer and model. In addition, in Figure 1, 1 is liquid, 2 is semi-solid, 3 is a part of the raw materials that are recovered, 4 is the product: pellets, 5 is the product: chocolate powder, 6 is the raw material input, 7 is the input machine, 8 is the grinder body, 9 is the fine powder recovery device, 10 is cyclone recovery, 11 is a filter tank, 12 is the filter-cleaning air supply, 13 is an induction blower (exhaust fan), and 14 is exhaust (outdoors).

[0041] In the present invention, for example, the apparatus 2) can be used to obtain a ground food material of cacao and / or a cacao product, but a coarse grinding step may be carried out as a pre-step, i.e., a step using the apparatus 1) may be carried out.

[0042] Furthermore, after obtaining a ground food material of cacao and / or cacao products using device 2), the liquid ground food material may be used as a raw material and the non-fat and oil components in the raw material may be further refined using device 3)-1 in order to obtain a smooth, high-quality chocolate. In the process using device 3)-1, it is possible to disperse the fat and oil fractions more uniformly, making it possible to obtain a plasticized liquid. The raw material can then be cooled, solidified, and molded using device 4).

[0043] Furthermore, after obtaining a ground food material of cacao and / or cacao products using the device of 2), the semi-solid ground food material may be used as a raw material and then pulverized using the device of 3)-2 to obtain, for example, chocolate powder. Conventionally, powdering chocolate has been considered very difficult due to the problem of melting due to heat, but in the present invention, the heat resistance of the cacao mixture can be improved by the heat resistance imparting agent, and as a result, the chocolate does not melt even when heat is applied, making it possible to realize powdering that was previously difficult.

[0044] In this example, cacao nibs were extruded using a twin-screw extruder at a cylinder temperature of 130° C. to obtain a ground food material as an extrusion product. The ground food material can be adjusted to a liquid or semi-solid state by adjusting the amount of ingredients other than cacao nibs added.

[0045] Thus, according to the present invention, each of the steps of the conventional technology, (5) blending step, (6) grinding step, (7) mixing step, (8) atomization step, (9) refining step, and (10) temperature adjustment step, can be instantly completed by steps 2) to 3) in Fig. 1, and if necessary, steps 1) to 3). In addition, the conventional steps of (5) blending step, (6) grinding step, (7) mixing step, (8) atomization step, (9) refining step, and (10) temperature adjustment step are batch-type, but according to the manufacturing method of the present invention, it is also characterized by being a "continuous type", and the devices of 1) to 3) are connected by closed piping, which is hygienic and there is almost no risk of contamination. In the present invention, full disassembly and cleaning is also possible as necessary. In addition, the size of the equipment 1) to 3) can be operated with extremely little power compared to the equipment used in steps (5) to (10) in the conventional method, and the size of the equipment is about 1 / 10 or less compared to the equipment of the existing method with the same capacity. Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to operate even in a small space.

[0046] Example 2 Next, using the apparatus and the like described in Example 1, cacao and / or cacao nibs were used as the cacao product to obtain a ground food material. Specifically, the ground food material was obtained using the extruder 2) in FIG. 1. The average particle size of the non-oil and fat components in the ground food material was also investigated. The production conditions were the same as those in Example 1.

[0047] From the micrographs and the results of the following measurements, it was found that the average particle size of the ground food material of the present invention was 100 to 300 μm. The average particle size was measured by a laser diffraction particle size distribution measurement method using the following devices. <Measuring equipment> Horiba Ltd. "Laser Scattering Particle Size Distribution Analyzer LA-960" <Solvent used> 45℃, Isopropanol (IPA)

[0048] Example 3 Next, the average particle size of the ground food material obtained by further grinding the ground cacao nib food material processed by the extruder in Example 2 using a wet fine grinder was examined. As a result, it was found that the average particle size of the non-oil and fat components in the ground food material of the present invention was in the range of 2.26 to 13.24 μm, and the average particle size was approximately 5.7 μm. The average particle size was measured using a laser diffraction particle size distribution measurement method and the following devices. <Measuring equipment> Horiba Ltd. "Laser Scattering Particle Size Distribution Analyzer LA-960" <Solvent used> 45℃, Isopropanol (IPA)

[0049] Fig. 2 is a microscopic image (140x) of a ground food material (extruded and then finely pulverized) according to one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 3 is a microscopic image (1200x) of a ground food material (extruded and then finely pulverized) according to one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4 is a microscopic image (1200x) of a commercially available chocolate product.

[0050] The particle size of non-fat and oil components contained in normal cocoa mass is 20 μm or more, and as shown in Figure 4, it can be seen that the non-fat and oil components contain fairly large, coarse particles. In contrast, in the present invention, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, the particle size of the non-fat and oil materials that cause a bad texture is very fine, which results in the advantageous effect of a good texture. Furthermore, from the results of Figures 2 and 3, it was found that the fat (cocoa butter) is dispersed in the cocoa mass in the form of fine oil droplets, which results in excellent solubility in the mouth.

[0051] Example 4 Next, cacao mass, chocolate, and chocolate powder were actually produced using the method of the present invention. Note that cacao mass is usually obtained by grinding cacao beans, contains fats and oils, and is in the form of a paste. Chocolate can be obtained by adding sugar, milk powder, cocoa butter, etc. to the cacao mass. Specifically, cacao mass or chocolate was produced according to the method described in Example 1 (steps 1)→2)→3)-1→4) in FIG. 1). Chocolate powder was produced according to the method described in Example 1 (steps 1)→2)→3)-2 in FIG. 1). The cacao mass and chocolate powder produced in this way according to the present invention were investigated for general bacteria.

[0052] The percentages of general bacteria, etc. in the cocoa mass and chocolate powder according to the present invention, and in commercially available chocolate and soft drinks for comparison are shown in Table 1.

[0053] [Table 1]

[0054] The results in Table 1 show that one of the characteristics of the "cacao mass" and "chocolate" produced by the novel continuous chocolate production method of the present invention is that they are "sterilized," something that was not possible with conventional chocolate, cacao mass, and cocoa powder. This shows that the present invention can be used in new applications (products with high moisture content) that required extremely strict control of bacterial counts, which was previously considered taboo.

[0055] Example 5 Next, the particle size of the chocolate produced by the present invention was also examined according to the procedure of the above-mentioned example. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a microscope image (30 times) of chocolate using the ground food material in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a photograph of chocolate using the ground food material in one embodiment of the present invention. It can be seen that the oil is well dispersed, resulting in a very glossy texture. The physical definition of good cacao mass and chocolate is that it is smooth to the touch, and in terms of organoleptic properties, it is required that the good aroma derived from the cacao beans is left intact while the bad aroma is removed. From the above results, the "cacao mass" and "chocolate" produced by the new chocolate continuous production method of the present invention have an average particle size of 30 μm or less for the non-fat and oil components of the composition other than the cacao bean fat (cacao butter), and in the new production method sample of FIG. 5, most of them are 10 μm or less, demonstrating that it is possible to produce a so-called "smooth" product more than the conventional method.

[0056] Example 6 Next, we tried to produce allergen-free chocolate by using vegetable hydrolysates instead of whole milk powder according to the procedure of the above-mentioned example. As vegetable hydrolysates, we used soybean hydrolysates and rice hydrolysates for chocolate. As a result, it was found that it is possible to produce allergen-free milk chocolate.

[0057] As described above, according to the present invention, it has been found that the present invention has many advantages, such as: 1. It is possible to produce chocolate in a very short time, at low cost, and hygienically, compared to existing production methods; in other words, in the existing production method, it takes about 2 to 3 days to complete the process from the raw material roasted cacao nibs to chocolate before cooling and solidification, and each process is a batch process, but in the present production method, it is possible to complete the process to molten chocolate before cooling and solidification in just a few minutes, and this is done in a continuous process; 2. In addition, by using a vegetable hydrolysate* instead of whole milk powder, it is possible to produce allergen-free chocolate; in other words, it is possible to physically prevent contamination of allergens by continuously supplying a vegetable hydrolysate to a closed continuous production process; 3. Ordinary chocolate and cacao mass contain a large amount of general viable bacteria, but the product of the present invention is sterilized; specifically, the general viable bacteria count in ordinary cacao mass and chocolate is 3,000 to tens of thousands / g, but that in the product of the present invention is 0 to 300 / g.

[0058] In addition, according to the present invention, the particle size of the non-fat and oil components is extremely fine, so that, for example, in the case of a molded product of mass 50 g (dimensions 100 mm x 150 mm x approximately 3 mm), while normal cocoa mass requires 40 seconds to completely dissolve, the product of the present invention dissolves in 35 seconds. [Industrial Applicability]

[0059] Compared with conventional techniques, it is possible to provide sterilized food materials very simply, and the method can be applied in a wide range of fields. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 1 Liquid 2 Semi-solid 3. Recovering some raw materials 4. Product: Pellets 5 Products: Chocolate Powder 6 Raw material input 7 Loading machine 8 Crusher body 9. Fine powder collector 10 Cyclone Recovery 11 Filter tank 12 Filter cleaning air supply 13 Induction blower (exhaust fan) 14 Exhaust (outdoors)

Claims

1. A method for producing a ground cacao and / or cacao processed product, comprising the steps of: grinding cacao and / or cacao processed products in a heating extruder having an extensional flow / grinding element, and adjusting the average particle size of non-fat and oil components of the ground product processed in the heating extruder to a range of 100 to 300 μm as measured by a laser diffraction particle size distribution measurement method; and pulverizing the ground product processed in the heating extruder in a wet fine grinder, and adjusting the average particle size of non-fat and oil components of the ground product processed in the heating extruder and the wet fine grinding product to a range of 2.26 to 13.24 μm as measured by a laser diffraction particle size distribution measurement method.

2. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the extruder is a 2-8 screw extruder equipped with a screw that performs elongational flow and grinding and has a multi-point feed mechanism.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising the step of adding at least one of whole milk powder, sugars, and hydrolysates derived from plant materials to the extruder.

4. A method for producing chocolate powder, comprising a step of finely grinding a ground food material obtained by the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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