Food hardness maintenance agent

Abstract

To provide a novel agent capable suppressing temporal change in food in long-term storage and maintaining original firmness, texture, etc. of the food.SOLUTION: A food firmness maintaining agent contains starches and / or polysaccharide thickeners, and is formed of a solution with viscosity η at a shear rate of 10 1 / s at 10°C of greater than 1 mPa s and less than 209 mPa s. The food firmness maintaining agent, where the food is a raw vegetable, contains starches and / or polysaccharide thickeners, and is formed of a solution with viscosity η at a shear rate of 10 1 / s at 10°C of greater than 1 mPa s and less than 209 mPa s.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a food firmness-maintaining agent. More specifically, the present invention relates to a food firmness-maintaining agent comprising a solution containing starches and / or thickening polysaccharides and having a viscosity η of more than 1 mPa s and less than 209 mPa s at 10°C and a shear rate of 10 1 / s.

[0002] Foods sold at convenience stores, supermarkets, etc., such as salads, prepared dishes, and sandwiches, have a best-by date of about four days after production, and are kept refrigerated or chilled until purchased. During this storage period, changes over time in the raw vegetables, cooked vegetables, meat, seafood, processed foods, etc. contained in these foods can cause syneresis, leading to the infiltration of moisture into other ingredients and problems such as a loss of texture and appearance. In particular, salads and sandwiches containing raw vegetables suffer from the problem of losing the crisp texture that contributes to their deliciousness. Therefore, various technologies have been developed to solve these problems, such as devising new food manufacturing methods and using syneresis inhibitors.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a syneresis inhibitor for processed foods containing succinoglycan, and describes that by incorporating this agent, it is possible to prepare tuna mayonnaise, coleslaw salad, etc., which exhibit little change in texture over time and are inhibited from syneresis. Patent Document 2 also discloses the addition of a certain amount of octenyl succinylated alpha-starch, which results in a tuna salad with a favorable texture that does not synersize over time. Patent Document 3 also discloses the addition of pregelatinized starch as a method for preventing syneresis in vegetables, and describes that the syneresis rate was reduced when pregelatinized rice starch, pregelatinized potato starch, pregelatinized corn starch, etc. were mixed with cucumber and tossed in mayonnaise.

[0004] Patent Document 4 discloses an aerated acidic oil-in-water emulsified food containing egg yolk, edible oil, etc., and describes the production of salads with excellent storage stability, such as potato salad, burdock salad, and radish salad, by mixing the food with the aerated acidic oil-in-water emulsified food, in which syneresis of water from vegetables over time is suppressed. Patent Document 5 describes the production of potato salad that is not watery and macaroni salad with little syneresis by adding a complex of plant sterols and egg white lipoprotein as an ingredient. Patent Document 6 discloses a method for producing a salad in which a powdered gum is added during the mixing stage of vegetables and an oil-in-water emulsified food, and describes the suppression of wateriness in a salad containing cucumber, carrot, mayonnaise, and a dispersed gum containing powdered gum. Furthermore, Patent Document 7 discloses a composition for soaking cut root vegetables, which contains salt, acetic acid, and an edible organic acid, and describes that lotus root and yam soaked in an aqueous solution of this composition for 120 minutes retained a crisp texture without browning, decay, or strange tastes or odors even after storage for one month.

[0005] As described above, various technologies have been developed, but all of these require the incorporation of various ingredients, such as succinoglycan, pregelatinized starch such as octenyl succinylated alpha-starch, or aerated acidic oil-in-water emulsified food, into food, or the immersion of food ingredients in an aqueous seasoning solution containing salt, acetic acid, edible organic acids, etc., and therefore the taste, type, and cooking method of the foods that can be produced are limited. Furthermore, depending on the ingredients incorporated, there are also problems such as an oily or stringy texture. Furthermore, although these methods can suppress syneresis of the entire food and maintain a crisp texture, they cannot be said to be able to maintain sufficient firmness or texture in vegetables other than root vegetables, such as lettuce, cucumber, and cabbage. Therefore, the present inventors attempted to provide an agent that can be used in the production of various foods including lettuce, cucumber, cabbage, etc., and that can suppress changes in foods over time during long-term refrigerated or chilled storage, etc., and that can maintain the original hardness, texture, etc. of the food. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-131509 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-276706 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 02-163054 [Patent Document 4] Patent No. 5021527 [Patent Document 5] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-222051 [Patent Document 6] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-185161 [Patent Document 7] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-34448 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The objective of the present invention is to provide a novel agent that can suppress changes in food over time during long-term storage and can maintain the original hardness, texture, etc. of the food. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] As a result of extensive research into providing such an agent, the present inventors have discovered an agent consisting of a solution containing starches and / or thickening polysaccharides and having a viscosity η of more than 1 mPa·s and less than 209 mPa·s at 10°C and a shear rate of 10 1 / s. By treating food with this agent before storing it, it is possible to suppress changes in the food over time, such as the occurrence of syneresis, changes in hardness, texture and appearance, even during long-term storage.

[0009] That is, the present invention relates to the following food hardness maintaining agents (1) to (3). (1) A food firmness maintaining agent consisting of a solution containing starches and / or thickening polysaccharides and having a viscosity η of more than 1 mPa·s and less than 209 mPa·s at a shear rate of 10 1 / s at 10°C. (2) The food firmness maintaining agent according to (1) above, wherein the food is raw vegetables. (3) A method for producing food that maintains its firmness, comprising the following steps (A) and (B): (A) A step of contacting a food with the food hardness maintaining agent described in (1) or (2) above. (B) A process for removing excess food consistency maintaining agents from the food that has undergone the process in (A). [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] By providing the food firmness maintaining agent of the present invention, it becomes easier to provide foods that are sold in convenience stores, supermarkets, etc. and require long-term refrigerated or chilled storage, by suppressing changes over time such as syneresis and changes in texture and appearance, and maintaining the same firmness as before storage. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing the correlation between the viscosity η (mPa·s) of a food firmness maintaining agent and the hardness (Force (g)) of food (Example 1). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] The "food hardness maintaining agent" of the present invention refers to an agent that, when brought into contact with food, can maintain the food's hardness equivalent to that before storage even after long-term storage. Here, "food hardness" can be expressed as a numerical value (Force (g)) measured using an instrument such as a texture analyzer, or as texture such as chewiness when eaten. For example, when examining hardness (Force (g)) using the following measuring equipment and conditions, if the measured values ​​before and after storage are within the range of 100±10%, it can be said that the food's hardness has been maintained. Measuring equipment: Texture analyzer TA XT Plus (Eiko Seiki Co., Ltd.) Measurement conditions: HDP / BS is used as the measurement jig, and the measured value is when the penetration distance is 99.9% strain at a penetration speed of 1 mm / sec.

[0013] Such a "food firmness maintaining agent" may be a solution that contains "starches and / or thickening polysaccharides and has a viscosity η of more than 1 mPa·s and less than 209 mPa·s at a shear rate of 10 1 / s at 10°C." This viscosity η can be measured using the following measuring equipment and under the following conditions. Measuring equipment: Viscotester (trademark) iQ (Thermo Fisher Scientific) Measuring jig: CCB25DIN / SS Shear rate: 0-100 1 / s Measurement temperature: 10℃

[0014] The "food firmness maintaining agent" of the present invention may have a viscosity η of more than 1 mPa·s and less than 209 mPa·s, preferably 3 mPa·s or more, more preferably 5 mPa·s or more, even more preferably 7 mPa·s or more, and preferably 200 mPa·s or less, more preferably 150 mPa·s or less, even more preferably 100 mPa·s or less, and particularly preferably 98 mPa·s or less. Furthermore, the "food hardness maintaining agent" of the present invention may contain any conventionally known starch or thickening polysaccharide as long as it is a solution that satisfies the viscosity η requirement. The starch or thickening polysaccharide may contain one or more types, or may contain two or more types in combination. The "food firmness maintaining agent" of the present invention may be produced by heating or non-heating. Here, "non-heating" means not being treated at a temperature of 90°C or higher, 80°C or higher, 70°C or higher, 60°C or higher, 50°C or higher, 40°C or higher, or 30°C or higher.

[0015] The starches contained in the "food firmness maintaining agent" of the present invention can be of any origin that can be used in food production, and examples include those derived from corn, wheat, rice, potato, sweet potato, cassava, dogtooth violet, kudzu, etc. Specifically, starch, pregelatinized starch, modified starch, etc. can be used. Examples of pregelatinized starch include unprocessed pregelatinized starch, as well as pregelatinized starch obtained by pregelatinizing 11 processed starches newly designated as food additives by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in October 2008, such as pregelatinized acetylated adipic acid cross-linked starch, pregelatinized acetylated oxidized starch, pregelatinized acetylated phosphate cross-linked starch, pregelatinized octenyl succinate starch sodium, pregelatinized acetate starch, pregelatinized oxidized starch, pregelatinized hydroxypropylated phosphate cross-linked starch, pregelatinized hydroxypropyl starch, pregelatinized phosphate cross-linked starch, pregelatinized phosphate monoesterified phosphate cross-linked starch, etc. The processed starch may be starch processed by any of the processing methods, such as acetylation, etherification, oxidation, esterification, etc. These starches may be commercially available or may be prepared by any conventional method.

[0016] Furthermore, the "thickening polysaccharide" contained in the "food firmness maintaining agent" of the present invention can be any that can be used in the production of food, and examples thereof include galactomannans such as cassia gum, locust bean gum, tara gum, and guar gum, glucomannan, carrageenan, agar, alginic acids, xanthan gum, succinoglycan, welan gum, gellan gum, tamarind seed gum, psyllium seed gum, cellulose derivatives, tremella fuciformis polysaccharides, HM pectin, LM pectin, and soybean polysaccharides. Alternatively, a formulation containing a combination of multiple thickening polysaccharides may be used, and examples of such formulations include UNet Delica Keep (main ingredients: modified starch and pectin, Unitec Foods) and Unigum Z-0202 (main ingredients: modified starch and xanthan gum, Unitec Foods). These thickening polysaccharides may be commercially available or may be prepared independently by any conventionally known method.

[0017] The "food" of the present invention may be any food, but is preferably a "food" that requires refrigerated or chilled storage for up to about four days after production. Such "foods" include cooked foods such as salads, stick salads, side dishes, sandwiches, rice balls, noodles, rice bowls, bento boxes, sweets, etc. Also included in the "foods" of this invention are raw vegetables, seaweed, fruits, etc.; cooked vegetables, mushrooms, meat, seafood, seaweed, fruits, etc.; and processed foods such as ham, sausage, cheese, smoked salmon, kamaboko, chikuwa, and tofu, and also includes ingredients that have been simply washed with water as long as they can be eaten raw.

[0018] The "food" of the present invention is particularly preferably raw vegetables, and examples of such "raw vegetables" include bean sprouts, pea sprouts, chives, cabbage, spinach, Chinese cabbage, bok choy, komatsuna, crown chrysanthemum, rape blossoms, lettuce, onions, leeks, asparagus, carrots, radishes, turnips, tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, bell peppers, eggplants, zucchini, avocados, broccoli, cauliflower, and edible chrysanthemums.

[0019] The "method for producing food that maintains its hardness" of the present invention may be any method that includes the following step (A), and preferably further includes step (B). (A) contacting food with a food firmness maintaining agent comprising a solution containing starches and / or thickening polysaccharides and having a viscosity η of more than 1 mPa·s and less than 209 mPa·s at a shear rate of 10 1 / s at 10°C. (B) A process for removing excess food consistency maintaining agents from the food that has undergone the process in (A).

[0020] It is sufficient that the food firmness maintaining agent is evenly adhered to the entire surface of the food by step (A), and as long as this state is achieved, the "contact" can be achieved by any method, such as immersion, spraying, or application. If the food firmness maintaining agent is evenly attached to the entire surface of the food, the food's firmness can be maintained. Therefore, in step (B), by "removing excess food firmness maintaining agent" on the premise that the food maintains this state, it is possible to eliminate the effects that excessive "food firmness maintaining agent" may have, such as a deterioration in flavor or texture. The method for "removing excess food firmness maintaining agent" may be any conventionally known method, such as dehydration using a colander or dehydrator. Such "foods that maintain their firmness" obtained by the manufacturing method of the present invention can be eaten as is or used in various cooking methods.

[0021] The following examples will explain specific embodiments of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to these examples. [Example]

[0022] In the examples of the present invention, the following samples were used unless otherwise specified, and the produced foods were evaluated. 1. Sample 1) Starches and thickening polysaccharides A. Tamarind seed gum (1 w / w% (7 mPa·s)): Glyate (DSP Gokyo Food Chemicals Co., Ltd.), B. LM pectin (0.1 w / w% (15 mPa·s), 1 w / w% (23 mPa·s), 2 w / w% (39 mPa·s)): UNIPECTIN OF755CSB (Cargill), C. Pregelatinized hydroxypropylated phosphate cross-linked starch (1 w / w% (32 mPa·s)): PolarTex-Instant 12643 (Cargill), D. Xanthan gum (0.1 w / w% (98 mPa·s)): SATIAXAN CX90 (Cargill), a. Xanthan gum (0.3 w / w% (209 mPa·s)): SATIAXAN CX90 (Cargill)

[0023] 2) Food The core was removed from lettuce that had been washed with tap water, and the leaf portion (one leaf) was cut into pieces measuring 2.5 cm x 4 cm.

[0024] 2. Evaluation 1) Physical property evaluation Each food (2.5 cm x 4 cm) was analyzed for hardness using a texture analyzer TA XT Plus (Eiko Seiki Co., Ltd.) under the following measurement conditions. Measurement conditions: Using HDP / BS as a measuring jig, the hardness (Force (g)) was measured when the penetration distance reached 99.9% strain at a penetration speed of 1 mm / sec.

[0025] 2) Sensory evaluation Five panelists evaluated the texture (crunchiness) of each food when chewing it according to the following criteria: Food that had not been treated with starch and / or thickening polysaccharides (control: no addition (before storage)) was given a score of 5, and an average overall score of 3 or higher was considered good. [Evaluation criteria] 5 points: Has the crunchy texture of the food itself 4 points: The food itself has a crunchy texture, but is slightly inferior 3 points: The food itself has a crisp texture, but is slightly inferior and is soggy in parts. 2 points: The overall texture is slightly soft. 1 point: Overall soft and lacking in crispness

[0026] [Example 1] 1. Manufacturing of food hardness maintaining agents 10 g of starch and / or thickening polysaccharide was added to a container containing 1,990 g of water and dissolved by stirring for 5 minutes with a mixer (Mazera NZ-1000, manufactured by Tokyo Rikakikai Co., Ltd.), producing a food hardness maintaining agent (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as hardness maintaining agent) with the viscosity adjusted to Table 1. The viscosity η of each hardness-retaining agent was measured using the following measuring equipment and conditions. For all of these hardness-retaining agents, the viscosity η at a shear rate of 10 1 / s at 10°C exceeded 1 mPa·s and was less than 209 mPa·s. [Measurement of viscosity η] Measuring equipment: Viscotester (trademark) iQ (Thermo Fisher Scientific) Measuring jig: CCB25DIN / SS Shear rate: 0-100 1 / s Measurement temperature: 10℃

[0027] 2. Manufacturing foods that maintain their firmness As a pretreatment, lettuce (2.5 cm x 4 cm) was washed in running water for 5 minutes, roughly drained in a colander, and dehydrated in a salad spinner for 2 minutes. Lettuce was immersed in each firmness maintaining agent prepared in 1 above for approximately 5 seconds, and then dehydrated in a salad spinner for 2 minutes to remove excess water adhering to the surface of the food, producing food (lettuce) that maintained its firmness.

[0028] 3. Evaluation Sandwiches were made using each of the produced foods (lettuce), and the hardness (one lettuce (2.5cm x 4cm)) was measured and a sensory evaluation of the texture was conducted. The sandwiches were made by layering one slice of bread with one slice of cheese, one slice of ham, 3g of sandwich sauce (a mixture of equal amounts of mayonnaise and French dressing (both manufactured by Kewpie Corporation)), and 45g of food (lettuce) at each firmness, in that order, and then layering another slice of bread with 2.5g of sandwich sauce on top.The result was cut diagonally, placed in a sandwich bag, and stored at 10°C for two days.

[0029] After storage, each sandwich was eaten, and the texture of each food (lettuce) was evaluated. The firmness of each food (lettuce) was also measured. The results are shown in Table 1. As controls, sandwiches were made using lettuce that had not been treated with a firmness-maintaining agent and stored in the same manner (no additives (after storage)), and sandwiches made using this lettuce at the time of evaluation (no additives (before storage)) were used. As a comparative example, lettuce was treated in the same manner as in 2 above with a solution containing starches and / or thickening polysaccharides prepared so that the viscosity η at 10°C and a shear rate of 10 1 / s was 209 mPa·s or more, and sandwiches were prepared and stored in the same manner.

[0030] [Table 1]

[0031] As shown in Table 1 and Figure 1, it was confirmed that by using a food firmness maintaining agent consisting of a solution containing starches and / or thickening polysaccharides and having a viscosity η of more than 1 mPa·s and less than 209 mPa·s at 10°C and a shear rate of 10 1 / s, foods stored in the refrigerator for several days can maintain the same firmness as before storage. Furthermore, as shown in Table 1, this food maintained its original crunchy texture even after storage. During the storage period, this food product did not lose moisture and seep into other ingredients (bread, etc.), its appearance was not affected, and it maintained the same fresh taste as the food before storage. [Industrial Applicability]

[0032] By providing the food firmness maintaining agent of the present invention, it becomes easier to provide foods that are sold in convenience stores, supermarkets, etc. and require long-term refrigerated or chilled storage, by suppressing changes over time such as syneresis and changes in texture and appearance, and maintaining the same firmness as before storage.

Claims

1. Contains starches and / or thickening polysaccharides, the starches and / or thickening polysaccharides are at least one of tamarind seed gum, LM pectin, pregelatinized hydroxypropylated phosphate cross-linked starch, and xanthan gum; The agent for maintaining the firmness of fresh lettuce or cabbage is a solution having a viscosity η of more than 5 mPa·s and less than 100 mPa·s at a shear rate of 10 1 / s at 10°C.

2. A method for producing fresh lettuce or cabbage that maintains its firmness, comprising the following steps (A) and (B). (A) contacting the firmness-maintaining agent according to claim 1 with fresh lettuce or cabbage. (B) A step of removing excess firmness-maintaining agent from the raw lettuce or cabbage that has been subjected to the step (A).

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