Manufacturing method for pressurized and heated sterilized liquid food containing wheat bran

Abstract

To provide a wheat bran-containing compression / heating sterilized liquid food including, wheat bran blended thereto for coping with health orientation, and easily and efficiently suppressing deterioration of flavor and taste and browning of the food which easily occur when being subjected to compression / heating processing, and a production method thereof.SOLUTION: There is provided, a production method of a wheat bran-containing compression / heating sterilized liquid food, the method uses wheat bran derived from white wheat as the wheat bran. The wheat bran derived from the white wheat is preferably subjected to heating treatment. It is preferable to use one or more kinds of Australian standard white and Western white for the white wheat. The wheat bran-containing compression / heating sterilized liquid food, is formed by blending 5-80 mass% of white bran derived from white wheat, in dry mass conversion.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for producing a wheat bran-containing liquid food that is sterilized by pressurization and heating, and a wheat bran-containing liquid food that is sterilized by pressurization and heating. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, due to increased health consciousness, bakery foods such as bread and baked goods, and processed foods and beverages such as noodles are being produced using grain husks such as wheat bran, which contain nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, and functional ingredients such as dietary fiber. Liquid foods such as sauces and soups are also in demand as consumption forms of foods and beverages containing wheat bran. Liquid foods such as sauces and soups are often provided as pressurized and heated foods, such as retort foods, that can be stored at room temperature after being heated and pressurized.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a pressurized and heated food product containing wheat bran, in which powdered bran is treated with water and heat to produce a paste-like bran, which is then sealed in a heat-resistant container and subjected to a retort process of pressurized heating to produce a paste-like packaged bran. Furthermore, Patent Document 2 describes food and drink products containing dietary fiber made from cereal husks, and Example 4 of Patent Document 2 describes an example of the production of corn potage. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-262586 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 3-49662 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present inventors have found that when a liquid food such as a sauce or soup containing wheat bran is retorted to produce a pressurized and heated food, the harshness of the wheat bran may be felt more strongly when eaten after storage, and browning may become more noticeable and the appearance may deteriorate compared to when wheat bran is not added. These inconveniences can be suppressed by taking measures such as adjusting the heat cooking conditions or the pressurized heating conditions, but the degree of effectiveness of such measures varies depending on the inherent characteristics of the liquid food, such as flavor and color, making it difficult to take a unified measure.

[0006] The technology of Patent Document 1 aims to obtain noodles that have excellent texture and flavor, are free of a foreign body sensation, and contain a large amount of dietary fiber, but does not describe the heating and pressurizing of liquid foods containing wheat bran or the issues that arise when doing so. The technology in Patent Document 2 involves alkaline extraction of plant fiber raw materials, treating the extract with enzymes, and incorporating the resulting partial hydrolysis product of hemicellulose into food and beverages. It does not describe the heating and pressurizing of liquid foods containing wheat bran or the issues that arise in this case.

[0007] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a wheat bran-containing pressurized and heated sterilized liquid food, which contains wheat bran to meet the health-conscious needs of consumers, while easily and effectively suppressing the deterioration in flavor and taste and browning that tend to occur when the food is pressurized and heated, and a method for producing the same. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention provides a method for producing a wheat bran-containing pressurized and heated sterilized liquid food, characterized in that the wheat bran is derived from white wheat.

[0009] The present invention also provides a wheat bran-containing pressurized and heated sterilized liquid food, which contains 5 to 80 mass % of wheat bran derived from white wheat, calculated as the dry mass. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the method for producing a wheat bran-containing pressurized and heated sterilized liquid food of the present invention, it is possible to simply and effectively suppress the deterioration of flavor and taste and browning that tend to occur when the food is pressurized and heated, while responding to health-conscious consumers by incorporating wheat bran. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] The present invention will be described below based on its preferred embodiments. In the following description, "X to Y" (X and Y are any numbers) means "X or more and Y or less" unless otherwise specified, and "X to Y[Z]" (X and Y are any numbers and [Z] is any unit) means "X[Z] or more and Y[Z] or less" unless otherwise specified.

[0012] The present invention relates to a method for producing a wheat bran-containing liquid food sterilized by pressure and heat, and a wheat bran-containing liquid food sterilized by pressure and heat. In this specification, the term "liquid food" in the pressurized and heat-sterilized liquid food refers to a food that has fluidity at normal temperature and pressure, and for example, solid sauces and roux are excluded from the present invention.

[0013] Hereinafter, one embodiment of a method for producing a wheat bran-containing pressurized and heated sterilized liquid food and a wheat bran-containing pressurized and heated sterilized liquid food will be described. The manufacturing method of this embodiment includes a step of obtaining wheat bran derived from white wheat (white wheat bran), and a step of subjecting a liquid food containing the white wheat bran to a pressurized, heated and sterilized treatment.

[0014] [Process for obtaining white wheat bran] First, the wheat grains as the raw material are pulverized, and the endosperm and germ are separated to obtain wheat bran, which is the outer layer of the grain. The wheat grains used for pulverization may be conditioned by adding water to the grains, or may be pulverized without adding water and conditioning. There is no particular restriction on the method for extracting the wheat bran fraction from the pulverized grains. For example, a method can be used in which the pulverized grains are separated into the wheat bran fraction and other components by a known classification method such as sieving, and the wheat bran fraction is then extracted.

[0015] The grains can be ground by a grinding method commonly used in the present technical field, such as roll grinding, impact grinding, airflow grinding, etc. The grains can be ground only once, or multiple times by the same or different grinding methods. For example, roll grinding and impact grinding can be combined and performed in this order, or roll grinding can be performed multiple times in multiple stages. The grinder used for impact grinding is not particularly limited as long as it grinds the grains by mechanical impact between an impact plate and a rotating rotor. From the viewpoint of simultaneously improving the grain grinding efficiency and the bran separation efficiency, it is preferable to adopt roll grinding.

[0016] In the present invention, a method for producing a liquid food uses wheat bran obtained from wheat, a species of the genus Triticum, as a raw material. Generally, wheat caryopsis (wheat kernel) is roughly divided into endosperm, outer skin (outer skin and seed coat), and germ (embryo), and wheat bran is obtained by crushing wheat kernels and removing the endosperm and germ from the outer skin fraction.

[0017] Wheat is broadly divided into two types, red wheat and white wheat, according to the color observed when the grain is visually observed. Red wheat is wheat that contains a red pigment in the outer skin, and when the wheat grain is visually observed, it is observed as red, reddish brown, or brown. On the other hand, white wheat is wheat that contains almost no red pigment in the outer skin, and when the wheat grain is visually observed, it is observed as white or pale yellow. Of these, it is preferable to use white wheat as a raw material for wheat bran. By using white wheat, it is possible to easily suppress the deterioration of taste and flavor, such as acridness and unpleasant odor derived from wheat bran, which is the outer skin of wheat, that tends to be enhanced when liquid food containing wheat bran is pressurized and heated. In addition, by using white wheat, it is possible to easily suppress the browning of liquid food that tends to occur when liquid food containing wheat bran is pressurized and heated. Although the mechanism by which browning is suppressed is unclear, it is speculated that when red wheat bran is used, strong browning occurs due to the combination of the migration of bran-derived pigments into liquid foods and browning reactions such as the Maillard reaction that occur during heating, whereas when white wheat bran is used, the migration of bran-derived pigments is less likely to occur, resulting in suppression of browning. The suppression of browning by using white wheat can suppress the deterioration of appearance. There is also an advantage that it is no longer necessary to suppress the bitterness by adding masking ingredients that are not originally required to suppress the bitterness. Note that this does not exclude the incorporation of ingredients that have a taste masking effect such as milk into liquid foods when they should be incorporated according to the type of liquid food. The use of white wheat also has the advantage of making the texture smooth.

[0018] Specific examples of white wheat used in the present invention include, for common wheat, Australian Standard White (ASW, produced in Australia), Prime Hard (PH, produced in Australia), Soft White (SW, produced in the United States), Western White (WW, produced in the United States), durum wheat (produced in various countries around the world), etc. These white wheats can be appropriately selected, for example, based on genetic characteristics.

[0019] Also, ordinary wheat is roughly divided into three types according to the hardness of the wheat kernel: hard wheat, soft wheat, and medium wheat having a hardness intermediate between hard and soft. Among these types, from the viewpoint of suppressing browning of pressurized heat sterilized liquid foods, it is preferable to use white wheat classified as medium wheat or soft wheat, and it is more preferable to use white wheat classified as medium wheat. Taking white wheat and ordinary wheat as an example, an example of hard wheat is PH, an example of medium wheat is ASW, and an example of soft wheat is WW.

[0020] For the above reasons, it is preferable to use wheat bran derived from white wheat (white wheat bran) as the wheat bran to be blended into the liquid food, more preferably to use at least one of ASW and WW, and even more preferably to use ASW. By blending such white wheat bran into the liquid food, the resulting pressurized and heated sterilized liquid food is not only useful from the viewpoint of health promotion, but also suppresses the generation of bitterness, has a good taste and flavor, and suppresses browning.

[0021] It is preferable to use white wheat bran that has been subjected to heat treatment such as dry heat treatment and moist heat treatment, and it is more preferable to use moist heat treatment. By using heat-treated bran, the generation of bitterness is further suppressed and a pressurized and heated sterilized liquid food with an improved flavor can be obtained. When the heat treatment is moist heat treatment, the generation of bitterness is further suppressed and a pressurized and heated sterilized liquid food with an even better flavor can be obtained.

[0022] In addition, the heat treatment process can be used to finely pulverize the white wheat bran, which is advantageous in terms of obtaining wheat bran with a small white particle size with high productivity. In addition, the heat treatment process can reduce or inactivate various enzymes such as amylase and protease, which is particularly advantageous in terms of further improving the viscosity stability during the production of liquid foods. Whether or not the white wheat bran has been heat-treated can be determined, for example, by measuring the enzyme activity or gluten vitality. Specifically, in the case of enzyme activity, the heat-treated white wheat bran has less enzyme activity than the unheated white wheat bran, or the enzyme activity is below the detection limit, so that the heat-treated white wheat bran can be distinguished from the unheated white wheat bran in this respect.

[0023] The moist heat treatment is a treatment in which the treatment target (wheat bran) is heated while maintaining the moisture in the target or by supplying moisture from outside. In the moist heat treatment, water, saturated steam, superheated steam, etc. can be supplied and used. When dry heat treatment is performed as the heat treatment, the product temperature of the white wheat bran is preferably 80 to 200 ° C, more preferably 90 to 150 ° C, and the treatment is preferably performed for 1 to 120 minutes, more preferably 3 to 50 minutes. In the dry heat treatment, the wheat bran can be introduced into an apparatus having a configuration similar to that of the heat treatment stirring apparatus described in JP-A-2004-9022, for example, and the temperature and time can be set as described above. This heat treatment stirring apparatus is equipped with a cylindrical container for accommodating the object to be treated, a hollow rotating shaft provided inside the container, a hollow pipe screw formed in communication with the shaft, and a steam supply source for supplying steam into the rotating shaft and the pipe screw, and is configured to transmit the heat transfer generated by supplying steam into the rotating shaft and the pipe screw to the object to be treated via the rotating shaft and the pipe screw, thereby performing dry heat treatment.

[0024] Dry heat treatment is a process in which the target (wheat bran) is heated without adding moisture, and is a heat treatment carried out while actively evaporating the moisture in the target. Dry heat treatment can be carried out, for example, by heating in an oven, heating in a roasting kiln, heating using a thermostatic bath, heating by blowing hot air, or leaving in a high-temperature, low-humidity environment. When the heat treatment is performed using moist heat, the temperature of the white wheat bran is preferably 80 to 110°C, more preferably 85 to 95°C, and the bran is allowed to stay in the sealed container for 1 to 60 seconds, more preferably 3 to 30 seconds. The moist heat treatment can be performed, for example, by introducing the wheat bran and saturated steam into a powder / grain heating device described in Japanese Patent No. 2784505 so as to reach the above-mentioned temperature and time. This powder / grain heating device is equipped with a cylindrical pressure vessel having an inlet for saturated steam and containing the material to be treated, and a stirring means having a plurality of rod-shaped blades on a rotating shaft with a size close to the inner diameter of the cylinder so as to stir the powder / grain introduced from an inlet at one end of the vessel and transfer it toward an outlet at the other end of the vessel. In particular, the moist heat treatment suppresses harshness, and the flavor of the resulting pressurized and heated sterilized liquid food is further improved.

[0025] From the viewpoint of suppressing the roughness caused by wheat bran and making the pressurized and heated sterilized liquid food have a good texture, the wheat bran has an average particle size of preferably 30 to 180 μm, more preferably 50 to 150 μm, even more preferably 70 to 120 μm, and even more preferably 80 to 100 μm. The average particle size in the present invention refers to the volume cumulative particle size D50 at 50% cumulative volume when measured in a dry state using a laser diffraction scattering type particle size distribution measuring device (for example, "Microtrack Particle Size Distribution Measuring Device 9200FRA" manufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd.). White wheat bran having such an average particle size can be easily obtained by classification, for example, using a sieve or an air classifier.

[0026] [Process for subjecting liquid food containing white wheat bran to pressurized heat sterilization treatment] The pressurized and heated sterilized liquid food of the present invention is typically obtained by subjecting a liquid food containing white wheat bran to pressurized and heated sterilization treatment. The liquid food containing white wheat bran and the pressurized heat sterilized liquid food obtained by subjecting the liquid food to pressurized heat sterilization (hereinafter collectively referred to as liquid food) may be any type of food as long as it contains white wheat bran, and examples thereof include sauce, soup, liquid roux, bean paste, sauce, dressing, and side dish. The liquid food is a food having fluidity, and for example, the moisture content is 60% by mass or more, preferably 60 to 95% by mass, and more preferably 65 to 90% by mass. The moisture content is determined based on the bone drying method, and specifically, the mass difference between the bone-drying treated liquid food and the liquid food before the bone drying treatment can be calculated as a percentage of the mass of the liquid food before the bone drying treatment. The liquid food typically refers to soup, sauce, etc. that can be eaten as is after storage at room temperature.

[0027] The liquid food is preferably a sauce, soup, or side dish. There is no limitation on the taste of the liquid food, and examples of the sauce include meat sauce, demi-glace sauce, carbonara sauce, cheese sauce, white sauce, ketchup sauce, arrabiata sauce, tomato sauce, brown sauce, curry sauce, consomme sauce, Chinese-style sauce, oil sauce, cod roe sauce, basil sauce, butter sauce, salt, miso or soy sauce-based sauce, etc. Examples of the soup include tomato soup, consomme soup, and wakame soup. The side dish, which is a liquid food, refers to a side dish having a liquid portion and ingredients, and examples of such side dishes include stew, meat and potatoes, and rolled cabbage. The specific examples of the sauce, soup, and side dish mentioned above are illustrative, and the sauce, soup, and side dish are not limited to those mentioned above. Sauces are usually eaten with other ingredients or dishes.

[0028] In addition, it is preferable to incorporate white wheat bran into the liquid food without including it in the raw materials of the solid ingredients, from the viewpoint of not affecting the quality of the solid ingredients. Also, it is preferable to incorporate white wheat bran into the liquid food alone, not as a part of whole wheat flour. It is preferable that the white wheat bran is mixed with other ingredients of the liquid food either in powder form or dissolved or dispersed in water or the like. The liquid food can be prepared according to a conventional method for producing the liquid food depending on the type of the liquid food. Typically, the liquid is prepared by adding white wheat bran and other raw materials to a liquid such as water (which may be cold or hot water) and mixing using a known stirring device. The liquid to which the raw materials are added is usually water, but is not particularly limited, and for example, a seasoning liquid in which seasonings such as salt are dissolved or dispersed in water can also be used. The expression "adding raw materials" includes both the case where raw materials are added to a liquid and the case where a liquid is added to raw materials. For example, ingredients other than white wheat bran may be added to liquid foods, and various ingredients depending on the type of liquid food may be added as the other ingredients. Examples include protein materials such as grain flours other than white wheat bran, soy protein, egg yolk powder, egg white powder, whole egg powder, and skim milk powder; fats and oils such as animal and vegetable oils and oil powders; kansui, calcined calcium, leavening agents, emulsifiers, salt, sugars, sweeteners, spices, seasonings, vitamins, minerals, colorants, flavorings, alcohol, preservatives, enzymes, dietary fiber, dextrin (including resistant to digestion), thickeners, water retention agents, pH adjusters, and oxidation-reducing agents. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

[0029] Examples of flours other than white wheat bran include flours and starches other than white wheat bran. Examples of flours include powders of various grains such as rice, barley, corn, sorghum, barnyard millet, foxtail millet, millet, oats (oats), and rye. Examples of starches include unprocessed starches such as potato starch, tapioca starch, wheat starch, corn starch, waxy corn starch, and rice starch, and various processed starches such as those obtained by subjecting the above-mentioned unprocessed starches to etherification, esterification, acetylation, cross-linking, oxidation, and the like, and these can be used alone or in combination of two or more.

[0030] The liquid food may contain a non-powdered solid ingredient. Examples of non-powdered ingredients include chunks of meat such as chicken, pork, and beef; processed meat such as sausage, ham, and bacon; uncooked or cooked vegetables such as cabbage, lettuce, cucumber, and tomato; root vegetables such as carrots and potatoes; fruits such as mandarin oranges, strawberries, peaches, pears, melons, figs, and pineapples; eggs such as chicken eggs; creams such as custard cream, whipped cream, and fresh cream; spreads such as butter, jam, and margarine. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more. Examples of non-powdered solid ingredients include minced meat when the liquid food is meat sauce, tomato pulp when the liquid food is tomato soup, and potatoes when the liquid food is meat and potato stew.

[0031] The wheat bran-containing pressurized and heated sterilized liquid food according to the present invention contains white wheat bran in a total amount, calculated as dry mass, of preferably 5 to 80% by mass, more preferably 10 to 80% by mass, and even more preferably 15 to 80% by mass. By blending white wheat bran in such an amount, the health promoting function of wheat bran can be expected, and the flavor, taste, appearance, etc., with suppressed harshness and browning, are further improved. The content of white wheat bran calculated as dry mass is measured as follows. (Method of measuring content) The content of white wheat bran in terms of dry mass is calculated based on the bone-drying method. Specifically, the mass of the white wheat bran added to the liquid food after bone-drying can be calculated as a percentage of the mass of the liquid food to which the white wheat bran has been added after bone-drying.

[0032] The pressurized heat sterilization treatment is typically a sterilization treatment to enable storage at room temperature, and involves heat treatment at over 100° C. for 5 minutes or more. Preferably, the treatment is carried out under general conditions, for example, in accordance with the "Manufacturing Standards for Packaged, Pressurized, Heat-Sterilized Foods" by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, and involves heat treatment at over 100° C., preferably at a product temperature of 102 to 130° C., for 3 to 120 minutes. More preferably, the treatment involves heating at a product temperature of 120° C. for 4 minutes, or a pressurized heat sterilization treatment having an effect equal to or greater than that. The pressurized heat sterilization treatment is preferably performed in a sealed packaged state of the liquid food containing white wheat bran before the pressurized heat sterilization treatment. By performing the pressurized heat sterilization treatment in a sealed packaged state, a wheat bran-containing pressurized heat sterilized liquid food that is excellent in storage stability and handling and can be stored at room temperature can be easily obtained. Alternatively, the pressurized heat sterilization treatment can be performed in a sealed package after the pressurized heat sterilization treatment. The sealed package refers to a packaged form that prevents the inclusion of all solids, liquids, and gases in the contents. The container used for the sealed package is not particularly limited as long as it is in a sealable form, and can be a bag or molded body made of plastic, glass, metal, or a combination thereof, and more specifically, can be a plastic container, a bottle, a can, a pouch container, etc. When the food mixture is sealed and packaged, a microbial control treatment such as a gas replacement treatment such as inert gas replacement filling can be performed.

[0033] The wheat bran-containing pressurized and heated sterilized liquid food according to the present invention is typically stored, distributed, preserved, etc. in a sealed package, similar to ordinary retort foods, and then the sealed package is opened and eaten. Heating is not required before eating, but it is also preferable to heat the food in a hot water bath, a microwave oven, etc. before eating. The wheat bran-containing pressurized and heated sterilized liquid food according to the present invention contains wheat bran, which contributes to the maintenance and promotion of health, and the deterioration of flavor and taste and browning that are likely to occur when the food is pressurized and heated are simply suppressed, so that the food has a good flavor and taste, and the inconvenience associated with browning is also suppressed. Although the present invention has been described based on the preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. EXAMPLES

[0034] The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

[0035] [Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Example 1] The wheat bran was produced from the following white or red wheat. The wheat berries were selected and crushed in a roll crusher, and the crushed material was classified using a sieve with a mesh size of 200 μm. The wheat bran fraction was collected as the residue on the sieve. Next, the collected wheat bran fraction was impact-pulverized using a turbo mill (manufactured by Tokyo Flour Mills), and the pulverized material was subjected to a wet heat treatment at a product temperature of 90 ° C. for 5 seconds while introducing saturated steam using a powder heating device described in Patent No. 2784505. Next, the pulverized material after the wet heat treatment was finely pulverized using an impact type fine grinder (ACM Pulverizer, manufactured by Hosokawa Micron Corporation), and then classified using a sieve with an opening of 150 μm. The fraction with a particle size of less than 150 μm that passed through the sieve was collected to obtain powdered wheat bran (average particle size about 90 μm, moisture content 8.6% by mass).

[0036] The raw wheat used in each of the Examples and Comparative Examples was as follows: Examples 1 and 3: ASW (white and medium wheat) Examples 2 and 4: WW (white and soft wheat) Comparative Example 1, 2: 1CW (No. 1 Canada Western Red Spring; red and hard wheat)

[0037] [Examples 3 and 4 and Comparative Example 2] In the same manner as in Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Example 1, the above-mentioned wheat bran fraction of white wheat or red wheat was collected and impact-pulverized using a turbo mill. The pulverized material was then subjected to dry heat treatment by heating for 25 minutes using a device similar to the heat treatment stirring device described in JP 2004-9022 A so that the product temperature of the dried heat-treated material reached 120° C. Next, the pulverized material after the dry heat treatment was finely pulverized using the above-mentioned impact type fine grinding machine, and then classified using a sieve with an opening of 150 μm. The fraction with a particle size of less than 150 μm that passed through the sieve was collected to obtain powdered wheat bran (average particle size about 90 μm, moisture content 8.6% by mass).

[0038] [Production of pressurized, heated and sterilized liquid food] (1) Sauce production The heat-treated wheat bran obtained in each Example and Comparative Example was mixed with the raw materials shown below in the ratios shown below to obtain a liquid food, which was then subjected to pressure-heat sterilization to produce a meat sauce as a pressure-heat sterilized liquid food. Specifically, oil and minced meat were added to a pot, and the meat was fried while crumbling until it was no longer red, then onions and carrots were added and fried further, after which the bran, which had been pre-dispersed in water, tomato paste, seasonings, and spices were all added and boiled to produce the meat sauce. The meat sauce produced by the above method was then filled into a retort pouch and retort sterilized (product temperature 123°C, 20 minutes). The bran was mixed by dispersing it in water in an amount twice its weight. <Ingredients for meat sauce> (The units of ingredients shown below are "parts by mass.") Wheat bran: 10 ·Oil: 1 Onion: 18 ·Carrot: 1.5 Minced meat: 7 Tomato paste: 13 ·Wed:43 Seasonings, spices, etc.: 6.5 Total: 100 The obtained meat sauce (pressure-heat sterilized liquid food) had a moisture content of about 75.5%, and the amount of wheat bran in dry mass terms was about 37% by mass. The amount in dry mass terms can be calculated using the following formula: Amount in dry mass terms (%) = [Dry mass of wheat bran / Dry mass of liquid food) x 100 In this specification, the dry mass is based on the mass based on the Analysis Manual of the 2015 Edition (7th Revised Edition) of the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan, and refers to the mass obtained by subtracting the water content measured using the method described in the manual from the total mass of the object being measured.

[0039] (2) Soup production The heat-treated wheat bran obtained in each of the Examples and Comparative Examples was mixed with the raw materials shown below in the ratios shown below to obtain a liquid food, which was then subjected to pressure-heat sterilization to produce tomato soup as a pressure-heat sterilized liquid food. Specifically, wheat bran was dispersed in a pot with twice the amount of water as wheat bran. Tomato paste and other ingredients were added and stirred well, and the remaining water and milk were added and boiled to produce tomato soup. The tomato soup produced by the above method was then filled into a retort pouch and retort sterilized (product temperature 115°C, 30 minutes). <Ingredients for Tomato Soup> (The units of ingredients shown below are "parts by mass.") Wheat bran: 10 Tomato paste: 7 Milk: 10 ·Wed: 70.9 Seasonings, spices, etc.: 2.1 Total: 100 The moisture content of the wheat bran used was 8.6% by mass, and the moisture content of the resulting tomato soup (pressure-heat sterilized liquid food) was approximately 87%, so the amount of wheat bran used, calculated as the dry mass, was approximately 70% by mass.

[0040] 〔evaluation〕 The meat sauce and tomato sauce produced using each wheat bran obtained in each Example and Comparative Example were heated in a water bath at 100°C for 3 minutes just before consumption, and then the retort pouch was opened and the sauce was eaten by 10 expert panelists. Ten expert panelists were asked to evaluate the flavor (degree of bitterness) and the degree of browning using the following evaluation criteria 1 and 2, and the arithmetic mean scores of the 10 panelists are shown in Table 1. For flavor, the higher the arithmetic mean score, the less bitterness derived from wheat bran and the better the flavor. For browning, the higher the arithmetic mean score, the less browning and, for example, the better the appearance.

[0041] <Flavor evaluation criteria (Evaluation Criteria 1)> 5 points: Almost no bitterness felt. 4 points: Slightly bitter taste. 3 points: Slightly bitter taste, but not a major problem. 2 points: Smells bitter. 1 point: Strongly bitter taste.

[0042] <Evaluation criteria for browning (Evaluation criteria 2)> 5 points: Almost no browning. 4 points: slight browning. 3 points: Some browning has occurred, but it does not cause any major problems. 2 points: Browning has occurred. 1 point: Strong browning.

[0043] [Table 1]

[0044] As shown in Table 1, the Examples using wheat bran derived from white wheat had better evaluation results for bitterness and browning than the Comparative Examples using wheat bran derived from red wheat, and it can be seen that by using white wheat bran as the wheat bran, it is possible to effectively suppress the deterioration of flavor and taste, such as the generation of bitterness, and browning associated with pressurized heat sterilization treatment by a simple method. In addition, a comparison of the results of Examples 1 and 2 with Examples 3 and 4 shows that white wheat bran subjected to moist heat treatment has a higher bitterness suppressing effect than white wheat bran subjected to dry heat treatment.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a liquid food product, comprising the steps of: blending heat-treated wheat bran into a liquid food product; A method for producing a wheat bran-containing pressurized and heat-sterilized liquid food, comprising: a pressurized and heat-sterilizing step of pressurizing and heat-sterilizing the liquid food containing the heat-treated wheat bran; As the wheat bran, wheat bran derived from white wheat is used, The method for producing a wheat bran-containing pressurized and heated sterilized liquid food, wherein the liquid food is a sauce or soup, or a side dish having a liquid portion and ingredients.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the white wheat used is at least one of Australian Standard White and Western White.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the wheat bran-containing pressurized and heated sterilized liquid food contains 5 to 80% by mass of wheat bran derived from white wheat in terms of dry mass.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising a pressurized heat sterilization step of pressurizing and heating at a product temperature of 102 to 130 ° C. for 3 to 120 minutes.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the pressurized and heated sterilized food is selected from a sauce or a soup.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the wheat bran has an average particle size of 30 to 180 μm.

7. A wheat bran-containing pressurized and heat-sterilized liquid food, comprising heat-treated wheat bran derived from white wheat blended into a liquid food, The wheat bran is blended in an amount of 5 to 80% by mass in terms of dry mass, A wheat bran-containing liquid food sterilized by pressurization and heating, which is a sauce or soup, or a side dish having a liquid portion and ingredients.

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