Low-cyanide content plum wine or plum wine-containing beverages

Abstract

To improve a mature taste or premium richness in plum liqueur or a plum liqueur-containing beverage with a lower hydrogen cyanide content.SOLUTION: In plum liqueur with a lower hydrogen cyanide content or a beverage containing the same, a furfural content and / or an ethyl octanoate content are regulated within specific ranges.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to plum wine or plum wine-containing beverages having a low hydrogen cyanide content and containing specific amounts of furfural and / or ethyl octanoate, and related methods. [Background technology]

[0002] Umeshu is a drink made by adding plums to alcoholic beverages such as shochu, and is classified as a liqueur under the Liquor Tax Act. Umeshu has traditionally been made at home, and in recent years, various types of umeshu have been produced and sold by breweries.

[0003] In recent years, various studies have been conducted on methods for producing plum wine. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for producing plum wine with a low content of ethyl carbamate by heating plum fruits in a hot water bath and then immersing them in an alcohol solution. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-306973 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Plums contain cyanogenic glycosides, which can produce hydrogen cyanide. As a result, plum wine and plum wine-containing beverages contain hydrogen cyanide. While the amount of hydrogen cyanide present in regular plum wine is not harmful to the human body, it would be preferable to reduce the amount.

[0006] One way to reduce the hydrogen cyanide content is to dilute the plum liquor used as the raw material. However, hydrogen cyanide is produced from cyanogenic glycosides contained in plums, and components such as glucose, which are produced as by-products during this production process, contribute significantly to the aged feel and rich flavor unique to plum wine. Therefore, when plum wine is diluted, the concentrations of these components also decrease. Therefore, plum wine and plum wine-containing beverages with low hydrogen cyanide content tend to lack the aged feel and rich flavor unique to plum wine.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to improve the aged feeling or high-quality body of plum wine or plum wine-containing beverages that have a low hydrogen cyanide content. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present inventors have discovered that the aged feel or rich, refined flavor can be improved by adjusting the furfural content and / or ethyl octanoate content within a specific range in plum liquor with a low hydrogen cyanide content or a beverage containing such plum liquor, and have completed the present invention.

[0009] The present invention relates to, but is not limited to, the following: (1) Plum wine or plum wine-containing beverages containing a furfural content of 1,000 ppb or more and a hydrogen cyanide content of less than 8 ppm on a 100% alcohol basis. (2) Plum wine or plum wine-containing beverages containing 50 ppb or more of ethyl octanoate and less than 8 ppm of hydrogen cyanide on a 100% alcohol basis. (3) Plum wine or plum wine-containing beverages containing furfural at a content of 1,200 ppb or more and ethyl octanoate at a content of 50 ppb or more. (4) A method for producing plum wine or a plum wine-containing beverage in which the furfural content is 1000 ppb or more and the hydrogen cyanide content is less than 8 ppm in terms of 100% alcohol. (5) A method for producing plum wine or a plum wine-containing beverage in which the ethyl octanoate content is 50 ppb or more and the hydrogen cyanide content is less than 8 ppm on a 100% alcohol basis. (6) A method for producing plum wine or a plum wine-containing beverage having a furfural content of 1200 ppb or more and an ethyl octanoate content of 50 ppb or more. (7) A method for improving the aged feeling or rich flavor of plum wine or plum wine-containing beverages whose hydrogen cyanide content is less than 8 ppm in terms of 100% alcohol, The method includes a step of mixing raw materials so that the furfural content in the plum wine or plum wine-containing beverage is 1000 ppb or more. (8) A method for improving the ripeness or richness of plum wine or plum wine-containing beverages having a hydrogen cyanide content of less than 8 ppm on a 100% alcohol basis, The method includes a step of mixing raw materials so that the content of ethyl octanoate in the plum wine or plum wine-containing beverage is 50 ppb or more. (9) A method for improving the aged feel or rich flavor of plum wine or a plum wine-containing beverage, the method comprising a step of mixing raw materials so that the plum wine or plum wine-containing beverage has a furfural content of 1200 ppb or more and an ethyl octanoate content of 50 ppb or more. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] The present invention can improve the aged feeling or high-quality body of plum wine or plum wine-containing beverages with a low hydrogen cyanide content. In this specification, the term "matured feeling" used in relation to plum wine or beverages containing plum wine refers to the aroma and taste felt when drinking plum wine or a beverage containing plum wine, and means that while there is a complex taste composed of sourness, sweetness, aroma, etc., the overall taste is well-balanced and there is a mellow, pleasant aftertaste. Furthermore, the term "high-quality body" refers to the aroma and taste felt when drinking plum wine or a beverage containing plum wine, and means that while there is richness and complexity in the aroma and taste, they are well-balanced and there is a feeling of richness, spread, and persistence in the mouth. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The plum wine and plum wine-containing beverages of the present invention, and related methods, are described below. Unless otherwise specified, "ppm" and "ppb" used in this specification mean ppm and ppb of weight / volume (w / v), and are synonymous with "mg / L" and "μg / L," respectively.

[0012] Additionally, the term "alcohol" used herein means ethanol unless otherwise specified. (Umeshu and plum wine-containing beverages) The term "umeshu" as used in this specification refers to a beverage obtained by steeping raw materials such as unripe plums or aged plums, or parts thereof (including seeds), in a liquid containing alcohol such as shochu, and extracting the ingredients.

[0013] The plum varieties used to provide the plum fruit are not particularly limited as long as they are those commonly used in the production of plum wine, but examples include Nankou plum, Shirakaga plum, Ryukyo small plum, Koshu small plum, Tsuyuakane, Uguisujuku, Suiko, Kaga Jizo, Hachiro, Mineharu, Purple Queen, Kino Takara, Minabe 21, NK14, Daidai Takara, Purple Nankou, You Jack, Maezawa small plum, Kairyo Uchida, Yoshimura small plum, Shinshu Bungo, Takada plum, Shinpeitayu, Tamaorihime, Natsumidori, Fukutayu, Beni no Mai, Hanakami, Kojo, Tsukisekai, and Umego. The ripeness of the fruit is not particularly limited, and either immature or fully ripe plums may be used. The plum fruit or a portion thereof may be immersed in the alcohol-containing solution as is, or may be processed, for example, by crushing, cutting, heating, freezing, or drying, before being used in the immersion step.

[0014] The alcohol-containing liquid used in the soaking process usually contains water in addition to alcohol. In one example, the liquid contains a distilled alcoholic beverage, thereby containing alcohol. The distilled alcoholic beverage is not limited by its raw material or production method. Examples of the distilled alcoholic beverage include whiskey, brandy, spirits (e.g., vodka, rum, tequila, gin, aquavit), neutral spirits, liqueurs, and shochu. Preferably, the distilled alcoholic beverage is whiskey, brandy, or neutral spirits. The typical soaking temperature is room temperature (around 25°C), and the typical soaking time is 1 to 12 months, for example, about 1 to 3 months.

[0015] The term "umeshu-containing beverage" as used herein means a beverage containing umeshu. A typical example of a umeshu-containing beverage is a beverage obtained by diluting umeshu with water or carbonated water.

[0016] The plum liquor content in the plum liquor-containing beverage is preferably 1 to 99 v / v%, more preferably 5 to 99 v / v%, more preferably 10 to 99 v / v%, more preferably 20 to 99%.

[0017] The content of hydrogen cyanide in the plum wine or plum wine-containing beverage of the present invention is very low, and the content is less than 8 ppm, preferably 7 ppm or less, more preferably 6 ppm or less, more preferably 5 ppm or less, more preferably 4 ppm or less, more preferably 3 ppm or less, and more preferably 2 ppm or less, calculated as 100% alcohol.

[0018] Here, "100% alcohol equivalent" refers to the amount of hydrogen cyanide per a certain amount of alcohol contained in a beverage sample such as plum wine or a beverage containing plum wine, and is calculated using the following formula.

[0019] (Hydrogen cyanide content in 100% alcohol equivalent) = (hydrogen cyanide content in the beverage sample) / (alcohol content in the beverage sample (v / v%)) × 100 The content of hydrogen cyanide in a beverage may be measured by any known method, for example, by the method shown in the examples below.

[0020] The plum wine or plum wine-containing beverage of the present invention also preferably contains components that are normally contained in plum wine. In a preferred embodiment, the plum wine or plum wine-containing beverage contains 0.5 to 100 ppm of benzaldehyde.

[0021] (Furfural, ethyl octanoate) The plum wine or plum wine-containing beverage of the present invention contains specific amounts of furfural and / or ethyl octanoate. These components can improve the aged feel and rich flavor of the plum wine or plum wine-containing beverage.

[0022] The furfural content in the plum wine or plum wine-containing beverage of the present invention is 1000 ppb or more, preferably 1200 ppb or more, preferably 1000 to 3000 ppb, more preferably 1000 to 2500 ppb, more preferably 1300 to 1700 ppb.

[0023] The content of ethyl octanoate in the plum liquor or plum liquor-containing beverage of the present invention is 50 ppb or more, preferably 50 to 300 ppb, more preferably 50 to 200 ppb, and more preferably 80 to 200 ppb.

[0024] In one embodiment of the plum wine or plum wine-containing beverage of the present invention, the furfural content is preferably 1200 ppb or more and the ethyl octanoate content is preferably 50 ppb or more.

[0025] The plum wine or plum wine-containing beverage of the present invention may contain both of these components in the above-mentioned amounts. In order to adjust the content of these components, for example, some or all of the components can be added externally. To add a desired component from the outside, it may be added directly to plum wine or a plum wine-containing beverage, or a raw material such as plum juice, plum extract, or undiluted liquor containing some or all of the components may be added to plum wine or a plum wine-containing beverage.

[0026] The contents of these components can be analyzed using any known method such as GC-MS, LC-MS, etc. For example, the contents can be measured by gas chromatography (GC), and examples of the measurement conditions are those described in the Examples below.

[0027] (alcohol) The plum wine or plum wine-containing beverage of the present invention contains alcohol. The alcohol content of the plum wine or plum wine-containing beverage is preferably 1.0 to 30 v / v%, more preferably 3.0 to 25.0 v / v%, and more preferably 5.0 to 22.0 v / v%.

[0028] In this specification, the alcohol content can be measured by any known method, for example, by a vibration density meter. Specifically, the carbon dioxide gas is removed from the beverage by filtration or ultrasonication to prepare a sample, and the sample is then distilled over an open flame. The density of the resulting distillate is measured at 15°C, and the alcohol content can be calculated by conversion using "Table 2: Conversion Table of Alcohol Content, Density (15°C) and Specific Gravity (15 / 15°C)," which is an appendix to the National Tax Agency's Prescribed Analysis Methods (National Tax Agency Ordinance No. 6 of 2007, revised June 22, 2007).

[0029] (Other ingredients) The plum wine or plum wine-containing beverage of the present invention can also contain additives that are typically added to beverages, such as sugars, flavorings, vitamins, colorings, antioxidants, preservatives, seasonings, acidulants, extracts, pH adjusters, and quality stabilizers, as long as the additives do not impair the unique taste inherent to plum wine and do not impair the effects of the present invention.

[0030] (packaged beverages) The plum wine or plum wine-containing beverage of the present invention may be provided in a container, which may be a metal container such as a can, a plastic bottle, a paper pack, a glass bottle, a pouch, or the like, but is not limited to these.

[0031] (method) In another aspect, the present invention is a method for improving the aged feel or rich flavor of plum wine or a plum wine-containing beverage having a hydrogen cyanide content of less than 8 ppm on a 100% alcohol basis. The method comprises the following steps: A step of mixing the raw materials so that the furfural content in the plum wine or plum wine-containing beverage is 1000 ppb or more; and / or A process of mixing raw materials so that the content of ethyl octanoate in plum wine or a plum wine-containing beverage is 50 ppb or more.

[0032] These steps can also be used in the production of plum wine or plum wine-containing beverages. The method for adjusting the content is as described above for plum wine or plum wine-containing beverages, or is obvious from the same. Specific examples and amounts of are as described above for plum wine or plum wine-containing beverages.

[0033] (Numerical range) For clarity, numerical ranges expressed herein by a lower limit and an upper limit, i.e., "from the lower limit to the upper limit," are inclusive of the lower limit and the upper limit. For example, a range expressed by "from 1 to 2" includes 1 and 2. [Example]

[0034] The present invention will be described below based on examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples. (Test Example 1) Effect of furfural on beverages with low hydrogen cyanide content A commercially available plum wine product A (plum wine in a paper carton containing flavoring) was used as a control (Control 1). The control contained 5 ppm hydrogen cyanide based on 100% alcohol, 94.6 ppb furfural, and 17.5 ppb ethyl octanoate. Various amounts of furfural were then added to the control to obtain multiple beverages. The alcohol content of each beverage ranged from 10 to 15% v / v.

[0035] The hydrogen cyanide content was measured as follows. An alkali was added to the sample beverage to inactivate the plum-derived hydrolase contained in the sample, the pH was adjusted to approximately 5.5, and the sample was subjected to steam distillation. The liberated hydrogen cyanide was then collected in the alkaline solution. The resulting solution was then colored by adding a pyridine pyrazolone reagent, and the hydrogen cyanide concentration was quantified by colorimetry. The same procedure was followed in subsequent test examples.

[0036] In addition, to measure the contents of furfural and ethyl octanoate in each beverage, GC-MS analysis was carried out under the following conditions. The same was done in subsequent test examples. ·Analyzer Agilent Technologies GCMS GC oven temperature conditions 40℃ (5 min) - 6℃ / min - 240℃ ·column DBwax 60m, inner diameter 320μm, film thickness 0.25μm (Agilent J&W) - No sample pretreatment These beverages were subjected to a sensory evaluation. Specifically, three expert panelists evaluated each beverage according to the following criteria, and the average scores were calculated (the average was rounded to the nearest integer). To minimize individual differences in evaluation, each panelist used a standard product corresponding to each score to establish a common understanding in advance of the relationship between each score and taste. This evaluation method was also used in other test examples unless otherwise noted.

[0037] <The mature feel and rich flavor of plum wine-containing beverages> 1 point: No sense of maturity or rich flavor 2 points: Not much of a matured feel or rich, refined flavor. 3 points: A sense of maturity and refined richness can be felt. 4 points: A sense of maturity and refined richness 5 points: A strong sense of maturity and refined richness The furfural content and evaluation results are shown in Table 1. When the furfural content was within a certain range, excellent effects were obtained.

[0038] [Table 1]

[0039] (Test Example 2) Effect of furfural on beverages with low hydrogen cyanide content Part 2 An experiment similar to Test Example 1 was conducted, except that plum wine product B (a sugar-free plum wine packaged with flavoring and packed in a paper carton) was used as a control (although the number of beverages containing added furfural was smaller). The control in this experiment is referred to as Control 2. The hydrogen cyanide content in Control 2 was less than 8 ppm, calculated as 100% alcohol, the furfural content was 193.3 ppb, and the ethyl octanoate content was 12.3 ppb. The alcohol content of each beverage was 8-12% v / v. The experimental results are shown below.

[0040] [Table 2]

[0041] Even when a different plum wine was used, a similar tendency to that in Test Example 1 was observed. This suggests that the present invention can be applied to a wide range of plum wines or plum wine-containing beverages. (Test Example 3) Effect of ethyl octanoate on beverages with low hydrogen cyanide content The plum wine product A used in Test Example 1 was used as a control. In this test example, this is referred to as Control 3. The hydrogen cyanide content of Control 3 was 5 ppm (calculated as 100% alcohol), the furfural content was 94.6 ppb, and the ethyl octanoate content was 17.5 ppb. Next, various amounts of ethyl octanoate were added to the control to obtain multiple beverages. The alcohol content of each beverage was 10-15 v / v%. These beverages were subjected to the same sensory evaluation as in Test Example 1.

[0042] The ethyl octanoate content and evaluation results are shown in Table 1. When the ethyl octanoate content was within a certain range, excellent effects were obtained.

[0043] [Table 3]

[0044] (Test Example 4) Effect of ethyl octanoate on low hydrogen cyanide content beverages Part 2 An experiment similar to Test Example 3 was conducted, except that the same plum wine product B as Test Example 2 was used as a control (although the number of beverages to which ethyl octanoate was added was smaller). The control in this experiment is called Control 4. The hydrogen cyanide content in Control 4 was less than 8 ppm, calculated as 100% alcohol, the furfural content was 193.3 ppb, and the ethyl octanoate content was 12.3 ppb. The alcohol content of each beverage was 8-12% v / v. The experimental results are shown below.

[0045] [Table 4]

[0046] Even when a different plum wine was used, a similar tendency to that in Test Example 3 was observed. This suggests that the present invention can be applied to a wide range of plum wines or plum wine-containing beverages.

Claims

1. A plum wine or plum wine-containing beverage having an ethyl octanoate content of 50 ppb or more and a hydrogen cyanide content of less than 8 ppm calculated on a 100% alcohol basis.

2. A method for producing plum wine or a plum wine-containing beverage in which the ethyl octanoate content is 50 ppb or more and the hydrogen cyanide content is less than 8 ppm in terms of 100% alcohol.

3. A method for improving the aged feeling or rich flavor of plum wine or a plum wine-containing beverage having a hydrogen cyanide content of less than 8 ppm in terms of 100% alcohol, comprising: The method further comprises a step of mixing the raw materials so that the content of ethyl octanoate in the plum wine or plum wine-containing beverage is 50 ppb or more.

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