Method for producing meat-like food

Abstract

To provide a method for producing a meat-like food improved in a yield by suppressing binding of soybean curd after being extrusion molded, and excellent in entangling with sauce and noodles.SOLUTION: A method for producing a meat-like food includes steps as follows: (1) a step of preparing soybean curd having a moisture content of 68-88 mass%; (2) a step of generating curd by admixing a protein raw material to the soybean curd so that a protein mass contained in the protein raw material is 18-140 pts.mass based on 100 pts.mass of the solid of the soybean curd; (3) a step of extrusion molding by extruding the curd obtained in the step (2) via a dice formed with a discharge hole of a predetermined shape; and (4) a step of steam heating or boil heating the molded curd. The shape of the discharge hole is a triangular or square shape having 1-4 projection(s) from an outer periphery of the circular hole to a center of the circle.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for producing a meat-like food product. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, there has been concern about the health hazards caused by excessive intake of animal fats contained in meat. As more and more people are turning to plant-based foods for health reasons, the market for meat-like foods made from plant protein ingredients is expanding, and there is a demand for meat-like foods with a texture closer to that of regular meat. Conventional meat-like foods are made by heating and pressurizing raw materials containing vegetable protein ingredients derived from soybeans or wheat using an extruder to expand them into granular form (such as granular soy protein). All of these are sold and distributed as dried products, and need to be rehydrated when used. In addition, they have a strong odor specific to vegetable protein ingredients, a hollow inner layer, and a spongy, gummy texture, and problems arise in that the texture becomes softer as the product absorbs moisture when rehydrated. Patent Document 1 discloses a meat-like food produced by a production method including the steps of: (1) preparing tofu with a moisture content of 68 to 88% by mass; (2) adding and mixing a protein raw material to the tofu to produce curd, in which the protein raw material contains 18 to 140 parts by mass of protein per 100 parts by mass of the tofu solids; and (3) steam heating or boiling the curd, as a meat-like food that has elasticity and hardness closer to meat than conventional meat-like foods (granular soy protein) made from soybeans and has less of the odor peculiar to soybeans. However, although the meat-like food disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a good texture, the shape and the entanglement with the sauce and noodles need to be improved. In addition, in the case of granular meat-like foods obtained by extrusion molding to imitate coarsely ground meat or minced meat, the soybean curds tend to stick together after extrusion molding, and there is room for improvement in terms of yield. Sticking is a problem that occurs in manufacturing processes involving the extrusion of soybean curds, such as that disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,399,633, and is not a problem in the production of minced meat. Regarding the manufacturing method of meat-like foods using soy protein ingredients, many applications have been filed for methods using extruders (e.g., Patent Documents 2 to 4), but the extrusion conditions such as pressure, temperature, and die shape can be appropriately selected according to the desired texture and product shape. However, the conditions for improving the yield during the production of meat-like foods and the manufacturing conditions for meat-like foods that will mix well with pasta and pasta sauce have not been clarified. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2020-28246 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2011-72264 [Patent Document 3] Patent Publication No. 2013-34417 [Patent Document 4] Retable 2014 / 156948 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] To provide a method for producing a meat-like food which improves yield by suppressing adhesion of soybean curd after extrusion molding and has good entanglement with sauce and noodles. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present inventors have discovered that a method for producing a meat-like food comprising the steps of: (1) preparing tofu having a moisture content of 68 to 88% by mass; (2) adding and mixing a protein raw material to the tofu to produce a curd, wherein the protein raw material contains 18 to 140 parts by mass of protein per 100 parts by mass of the tofu solids; (3) extruding the curd obtained in step (2) through a die having an outlet hole of a prescribed shape; and (4) steam heating or boil heating the shaped curd, wherein the outlet hole has a shape having one to four protrusions from the outer periphery of a circular hole toward the center of the circle, or a triangle or a rectangle, can suppress sticking of the soybean curd after extrusion, improving the yield, and making it possible to produce a meat-like food that mixes well with sauces and noodles, and have completed the present invention.

[0006] That is, the present invention is as follows. [1] The following process: (1) preparing tofu having a moisture content of 68 to 88% by mass; (2) a step of adding and mixing a protein raw material with the tofu prepared in the step (1) to produce curd, wherein the amount of protein contained in the protein raw material is 18 to 140 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of the solid content of the tofu; (3) a step of extruding the curd obtained in the step (2) through a die having a discharge hole of a predetermined shape, and (4) steam heating or boiling the curd formed in step (3); A method for producing a meat-like food product comprising: The above manufacturing method, wherein the shape of the discharge hole is a circle having one to four protrusions extending from the outer periphery toward the center of the circle, or a triangle or a rectangle. [2] The manufacturing method described in [1] above, wherein the shape of the discharge hole is a shape of multiple overlapping circles, an equilateral triangle, or a square. [3] The method according to [1] or [2] above, further comprising a step of degassing the curd simultaneously with molding in step (3). [4] The method according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the protein raw material is selected from the group consisting of soy protein isolate, pea protein, wheat protein, milk protein and egg protein. [5] The method according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the curd further contains fat or oil. Effect of the Invention

[0007] The meat-like food of the present invention has improved yields due to suppressed adhesion of soybean curds after extrusion molding, and also has good adhesion with sauces and noodles. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] The protrusion of the discharge hole is defined as follows: A circular discharge hole is used as the reference, and the part protruding from the outer periphery of the circular hole toward the center of the circle is defined as the protrusion. [Diagram 2] Examples of die shapes are shown below. Figure 2(A) is an example where the outlet hole is the outer periphery of a shape where two equal-sized circles overlap (∞ shape). Figure 2(B) is an example where the outlet hole is a quatrefoil shape. Figure 2(C) is an example where the outlet hole is an equilateral triangle shape. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] The method for producing a meat-like food of the present invention comprises the steps of: (1) preparing tofu having a moisture content of 68 to 88% by mass; (2) adding and mixing a protein raw material to the tofu to produce curd, wherein the protein raw material contains 18 to 140 parts by mass of protein per 100 parts by mass of the solid content of the tofu; (3) extruding the curd obtained in step (2) through a die having an outlet hole of a predetermined shape, thereby forming the curd; and (4) steam heating or boil heating the formed curd, wherein the shape of the outlet hole is a circle having 1 to 4 protrusions extending from the outer periphery of the circle toward the center of the circle, or a triangle or a rectangle.

[0010] (1) A process for preparing tofu with a specified moisture content In the present invention, "tofu" can be used without any particular limitation, and for example, cotton tofu, silken tofu, filled tofu, etc. can be used. Cotton tofu is generally tofu produced by adding a coagulant to soy milk to coagulate it, pouring it into a mold box for cotton tofu with holes laid on a cloth, and squeezing and molding it. Silken tofu is tofu produced by coagulating soy milk that is thicker than that produced when cotton tofu is produced with a coagulant, pouring it into a mold box, hardening it, and soaking it in water. Filled tofu is tofu produced by adding a coagulant to the thick soy milk produced when silken tofu is produced, cooling it, filling it into a square container made of synthetic resin, heating it at about 90°C for 40 to 50 minutes, molding it, and then cooling it. It is preferable to use cotton tofu from the viewpoint of production efficiency.

[0011] The method for producing a meat-like food of the present invention includes a step of preparing tofu with a moisture content of 68 to 88% by mass. The moisture content of the tofu is preferably 70% to 85%, more preferably 75 to 80%. By using tofu with a moisture content of 68 to 88% by mass, it is possible to obtain a curd that is cohesive and easy to handle in the subsequent steps. Tofu with a moisture content of 68 to 88% by mass can be prepared by adjusting the moisture content at the tofu production stage. For example, in the case of cotton tofu, the moisture content can be adjusted at the stage of adding nigari to soy milk and applying pressure to the coagulated product that has solidified to a certain extent to form it. In addition, in the case of silken tofu, the moisture content can be adjusted by adjusting the moisture content of the soy milk, then adding nigari and allowing it to coagulate. Alternatively, tofu with a moisture content of 68 to 88% by mass can be prepared by dehydrating tofu produced by a conventional method and adjusting the moisture content to 68 to 88% by mass. The dehydration method is not particularly limited, and any means normally used for dehydrating tofu can be used, for example, a screw or press type dehydrator can be used, or the tofu can be sandwiched between plates and a weight placed on top of the plates to remove the water.

[0012] (2) The process of adding protein ingredients to tofu to produce curd A protein raw material is added to the tofu prepared in step (1) and mixed to form curd. In the present invention, "curd" refers to a dough-like substance obtained by adding and mixing a protein material to tofu.

[0013] The protein raw material is added and mixed so that the protein content is 18 to 140 parts by mass, preferably 18 to 120 parts by mass, more preferably 30 to 100 parts by mass, and even more preferably 35 to 60 parts by mass, per 100 parts by mass of the tofu solids. By adding the protein raw material so that the protein content is 18 to 140 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of the tofu solids, it is possible to impart a meat-like texture and also to impart cohesion as a curd to the mixture. In the present invention, the "protein raw material" can be used without any particular limitation, and can be a protein raw material separated and purified from a vegetable raw material such as soybeans, beans such as peas, grains such as wheat, or an animal raw material such as milk or eggs. For example, soybean isolated protein, pea protein, wheat protein, milk protein, egg protein, etc. can be used. From the viewpoint of vegetable protein having a good balance of amino acids constituting the protein raw material, soybean isolated protein is preferred. In addition, the property of the protein raw material is preferably a solid property such as granules, granules, powder, etc., from the viewpoints of easy mixing with curd and no need to convert the moisture content, and is particularly preferably a powder. The protein content of the protein raw material is preferably 70% by mass or more, more preferably 80% by mass or more. It should be noted that "tofu solids" refers to the components of tofu other than water content. For example, tofu with a water content of 80% by mass is considered to contain 20% by mass of solids.

[0014] In the present invention, as the means for adding and mixing, it is preferable to use a mixer that can cut and knead the ingredients or knead them strongly and can stir the ingredients at high speed. For example, a cutter mixer or silent cutter type mixer, or a vertical mixer type mixer that kneads the ingredients strongly, may be used.

[0015] In the present invention, the curd may further contain, as optional components, secondary raw materials and additives such as animal fats and oils (lard, beef tallow, etc.), vegetable fats and oils (rapeseed oil, palm oil, soybean oil, rice oil, corn oil, etc.), emulsified fats and oils containing emulsifiers (glycerin fatty acid esters, sucrose fatty acid esters, lecithin, etc.), hardened fats and oils, powdered fats and oils; starches such as tapioca starch, wheat starch, potato starch, etc.; modified starches obtained by chemically, physically, or enzymatically modifying starches; thickeners such as xanthan gum, guar gum, tara gum, etc.; cellulose derivatives; spices; seasonings; colorants; and fragrances, within the scope of the invention. When fats and oils are added to the curd, the amount added is preferably 3 to 40 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of the solid content of the tofu, and more preferably 10 to 35 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of the solid content of the tofu. By adding fats and oils, a smoother and more elastic texture can be obtained.

[0016] (3) Extrusion molding of the card The curd obtained in step (2) is extruded through a die having a discharge hole of a predetermined shape to be extrusion molded. There are no particular limitations on the material of the die used in extrusion molding (SUS, resin, etc.), the number of discharge holes in the die, or the pressure during extrusion molding (the pressure may be low or high as long as extrusion is possible). The shape of the discharge hole is a circle having one to four projections extending from the outer periphery toward the center of the circle, or a triangle or a rectangle. "A shape having one to four protrusions extending from the outer periphery of a circular hole toward the center of the circle" means a shape (black portion) formed by the remaining portion excluding one to four protrusions extending from the outer periphery of the circle toward the center from a circle (dotted line), as shown in Figure 1 or Figure 2. Other examples of such a shape include a shape in which multiple circles overlap each other, a 3 / 4 circle shape (a sector with a central angle of 270°), etc. There are no restrictions on the size or shape of the convex portions, but in the case of a shape having multiple convex portions, it is desirable that all of the convex portions be the same size and shape. For example, among shapes in which multiple circles overlap each other, examples include a figure in which two circles of the same size overlap with parts thereof (called an infinity shape), a figure in which three circles of the same size overlap with parts thereof (called a trefoil shape), and a figure in which four circles of the same size overlap with parts thereof (called a quatrefoil shape). Examples of triangles include equilateral triangles, right-angled triangles, right-angled isosceles triangles, isosceles triangles, obtuse triangles, acute triangles, and scalene triangles. Examples of quadrilateral shapes include squares, rectangles, rhombus, kite shapes, trapezoids, and parallelograms. The most effective shape is triangular, which allows for good adhesion and yield of sauce and noodles. The size of the discharge hole can be changed as appropriate depending on the desired shape of the meat-like food. For example, for meat-like foods that imitate coarsely ground meat or minced meat, the area per discharge hole is 10 to 50 mm. 2 That's about it. The extrusion-molded curd has a long continuous shape like a noodle immediately after extrusion, but it easily crumbles into granules, or can be made granular by breaking it down by stirring etc. In this specification, granules refers to a state in which the noodle-like dough has crumbled immediately after extrusion or has been broken down by stirring, for example, extrusion-molded noodle-like curd is stirred and broken down in a pot mixer into crumbly pieces (random shapes close to spheres) with a diameter of 5 to 10 mm.

[0017] It is also preferable to degas the curd during extrusion. Removing the air from within the curd can provide a denser, more elastic texture. There are no particular limitations on the degassing method, but a better degassing effect can be achieved by using machines such as an encrusting machine, a screw extruder, or a vacuum filler, rather than just by hand molding.

[0018] (4) Steaming or boiling the formed curd The curd formed in step (3) is steam-heated or boiled. Heating can sterilize the curd and improve its flavor and color. The heating temperature is preferably an atmospheric temperature of 90 to 100°C, more preferably about 95°C, and the heating time is preferably 20 to 90 minutes, more preferably 30 to 60 minutes. The method for steam heating is not particularly limited, but a commercially available steamer or steamer can be used. The method for boiling is not particularly limited, but for example, it can be boiled in hot water. The curd can also be heated in a sealed package such as a heat-resistant bag, which makes the heating process easier and prevents the curd from falling apart during boiling.

[0019] The meat-like food obtained by the manufacturing method of the present invention has good compatibility with sauces and noodles. There are no particular limitations on the sauces and noodles, and examples of sauces include various pasta sauces such as tomato sauce, Neapolitan sauce, Japanese-style sauce, peperoncino sauce, and carbonara sauce, tantanmen sauce, yakisoba sauce, and sesame sauce, and examples of noodles include udon, hiyamugi, somen, ramen, Japanese soba, and pasta.

[0020] The meat-like food obtained by the manufacturing method of the present invention has an improved yield. In the present invention, the yield refers to the mass % of the mass of the molded granular curd that passed through the sieve relative to the mass of the molded granular curd that was sieved according to the following formula, after placing the granular curd after extrusion molding on a mesh with 10 mm openings and sieving for 4 minutes. Yield (%) = (molded granular curd passed through sieve (kg) / molded granular curd passed through sieve (kg)) x 100 EXAMPLES

[0021] EXAMPLES In the following, examples are shown to specifically explain the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

[0022] Production example: Production of granular cooked curd Production of lump cooked curd (1) Firm tofu was dehydrated and the moisture content was adjusted to 70 to 80% by mass. (2) According to the recipe below (Table 1), 500 parts by mass of dehydrated firm tofu and 100 parts by mass of protein raw material were mixed at low speed for 2 minutes in a vertical mixer (Kanto Mixer Industry Co., Ltd., HPi-20M). (3) 25 parts by mass of fat or oil was added to the mixture obtained in (2), and the mixture was mixed at medium speed for 5 minutes to obtain a curd. (4) The curd was extruded using an extruder and further stirred in a pot mixer to form granules. The die used was a circle with a diameter of 82 mm, and the area of ​​each hole in the outlet of each die was approximately 23±8 mm 2 The shape of the die actually used is shown in Figure 2. (5) The resulting granular card was packed into polyvinylidene chloride resin bags. (6) The product was sterilized with steam at 95°C (the set temperature of the steam sterilizer) for 30 minutes. (7) The mixture was cooled under running water until it was no longer too hot, yielding a meat-like material.

[0023] Table 1: Combination table TIFF0007637499000001.tif26137 * Solids, ** Protein amount Dehydrated cotton tofu: Asahi Foods Co., Ltd.'s "organic soybean cotton" dehydrated to 80% moisture by mass. Protein raw material: Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. "Fujipro E" (soybean isolated protein, protein 86% by mass) Oils and fats: "Nissin salad oil" manufactured by Nisshin Oillio Group Co., Ltd.

[0024] Test Example 1: Effect on noodles and sauce According to the manufacturing examples, dies with different shapes of discharge holes were used during molding. The shapes of the die discharge holes were 3 / 4 circle type (fan shape with a central angle of 270°, one convex part) in Example 1, ∞ type (two convex parts) in Example 2, trefoil type (three convex parts) in Example 3, four-leaf type (four convex parts) in Example 4, equilateral triangle (triangle, three corners) in Example 5, and square (rectangle, four corners) in Example 6. In Comparative Example 1, a pentagram type (five convex parts) was used, in Comparative Example 2, a regular pentagon (pentagon, five corners) was used, and in Comparative Example 3, a circle type (zero convex parts and zero corners) was used. In the test of the meat-like material's entanglement with the noodles, 50 g of the produced meat-like material was thoroughly mixed with 100 g of boiled spaghetti in a bowl, and the entire amount of spaghetti was transferred to another container to measure the weight of the entangled meat-like material. In the test of the entanglement of sauce with the meat-like material, 150 g of sauce and meat-like material were thoroughly mixed in a bowl, transferred to a sieve with 3 mm openings, and the weight of the entangled sauce was measured by subtracting the amount of sauce that passed through the sieve after 5 minutes. Each test was performed three times, and the average weight was used for comparison. Compared to Comparative Example 3, which has a circular die discharge hole, Examples 1 to 6 showed improved entanglement of both the spaghetti and the sauce. In Comparative Example 1, which has five convex parts, the entanglement with the sauce was equivalent to Example 4, which has four convex parts, but the entanglement with the spaghetti was reduced. In Comparative Example 2, the entanglement with the spaghetti and the sauce was equivalent to Comparative Example 3. The results are shown in Table 2.

[0025] Test Example 2: Effect on yield A decrease in yield is observed due to adhesion of the dough (curd) to each other during the forming process when manufacturing meat-like foods. The yield was evaluated using a meat-like material manufactured in the same manner as in Test Example 1. Here, the yield was measured by the following method. 21 kg of the extrusion-molded granular curd was placed on a mesh with 10 mm openings and sieved for 4 minutes, and the weight of the product that passed through was measured. According to the formula shown below, the yield was calculated as the mass % of the mass of the molded granular curd that passed through the sieve relative to the mass of the molded granular curd that was sieved. Yield (%) = (molded granular curd passed through sieve (kg) / molded granular curd passed through sieve (kg)) x 100 Compared to the case of Comparative Example 3 where the die discharge hole is circular, the effect of improving yield was observed in Examples 1 to 4, which have a shape with a convex part extending from the outer periphery of the circular hole toward the center, Example 5, which is triangular, and Example 6, which is rectangular. The effect of improving yield was greatest when there were three convex parts and three corners, and no effect of improving yield was observed when there were more than four corners. The results are shown in Table 2.

[0026] Table 2 TIFF0007637499000002.tif55166

[0027] The results of Test Examples 1 and 2 confirmed that, compared to when the shape of the die discharge hole is circular (Comparative Example 3), when the shape of the circular hole has convex parts from the outer periphery toward the center, or when the shape has corners, it was confirmed that there was an improvement in the adhesion of the noodles and sauce, and in the yield. However, when there were more than four convex parts or corners, there was not much effect on the adhesion of the noodles, and compared to a four-leaf clover shape with one less convex part, there was no effect on improving the adhesion of the sauce and the yield. From these findings, it can be said that when the shape of the discharge hole during extrusion molding is a shape with one to four convex parts from the outer periphery toward the center, or a triangular or rectangular shape, there is an effect on improving the adhesion of the sauce and the yield.

Claims

1. The following steps: (1) preparing tofu having a moisture content of 68 to 88% by mass; (2) a step of adding and mixing a protein raw material with the tofu prepared in the step (1) to produce curd, wherein the amount of protein contained in the protein raw material is 18 to 140 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of the solid content of the tofu; (3) a step of extruding the curd obtained in the step (2) through a die having a discharge hole of a predetermined shape, thereby forming an extrusion mold; and (4) steam heating or boiling the curd formed in step (3); A method for producing a meat-like food product comprising: The manufacturing method as described above, wherein the shape of the discharge hole is a figure in which two to four circles of the same size partially overlap each other, a sector with a central angle of 270°, an equilateral triangle, or a square.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the area of ​​each of the discharge holes is 10 to 50 mm2.

3. 3. The method of claim 1 or claim 2, further comprising degassing the curd simultaneously with extrusion in step (3).

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the protein raw material is selected from the group consisting of soy protein isolate, pea protein, wheat protein, milk protein and egg protein.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the curd further comprises a fat or oil.

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