Udon flour composition, and method for producing udon using the same

Abstract

To provide udon noodles that contain an abundance of dietary fiber but yet have excellent workability of dough and also have high shape retentivity and a good texture.SOLUTION: A grain flour composition for udon noodles contains high amylose wheat flour of 20-100 mass% in grain flour, the high amylose wheat flour having a an amylose content of 40 mass% or more in the total starch content.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a wheat flour composition for udon noodles and a method for producing udon noodles using the same.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the demand for low-carbohydrate foods has been expanding, and low-carbohydrate bakery foods and noodles produced from dough containing dietary fiber materials instead of wheat flour have been provided. Patent Documents 1 to 4 disclose low-carbohydrate noodles containing indigestible starch or indigestible dextrin in addition to wheat flour. Patent Document 5 describes a water-soluble dietary fiber fortifier composed of modified starch in which the total amount of water-insoluble dietary fiber (IDF) and water-soluble polymer dietary fiber (HSDF) is 5% by mass or less and the amount of water-soluble low-molecular dietary fiber (LSDF) is 25% by mass or more, the use of this in bakery foods and noodles, and that the texture of the food containing the dietary fiber fortifier is good. However, noodles containing indigestible starch or indigestible dextrin instead of wheat flour have poor workability and shape retention of the dough and tend to have a deteriorated texture.

[0003] Grain starch contains amylose and amylopectin. Amylose is poorly digestible by digestive enzymes and therefore can function as a non-digestible component, i.e., dietary fiber, and is classified as a non-digestible starch. High-amylose corn starch derived from high-amylose corn is a well-known example of high-amylose starch. In recent years, high-amylose wheat has been developed in which the amylose content is increased by having mutations in enzymes related to starch synthesis (Non-patent documents 1 and 2). Patent documents 6 to 9 disclose high-amylose wheat that has a point mutation in the starch branching enzyme SBEIIa gene, resulting in reduced SBEIIa activity and a high amylose content in the starch contained in the grain. However, on the other hand, amylose is also a cause of dryness and hardness in food. For example, Non-Patent Document 2, mentioned above, describes how bread made from high-amylose wheat rose less and was of lower quality compared to bread made from regular wheat, while on the other hand, how the incorporation of high-amylose wheat flour resulted in Chinese noodles with a pasta-like texture. Therefore, in bakeries and noodle manufacturers, low-amylose flour is sometimes used when a soft and pleasant texture is desired. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2016-2000 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2017-23050 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-313804 [Patent Document 4] International Public Gazette No. 2018 / 216706 [Patent Document 5] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2009-95316 [Patent Document 6] Special Publication No. 2007-504803 [Patent Document 7] Special Publication No. 2008-526690 [Patent Document 8] Special Publication No. 2015-504301 [Patent Document 9] Special Publication No. 2019-527054 [Non-patent literature]

[0005] [Non-Patent Document 1] J Jpn Assoc Dietary Fiber Res, 2003, 7(1):20-25 [Non-Patent Document 2] Trends in Food Science and Technology, 2006, 17:448-456 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] The present invention relates to providing udon noodles that are rich in dietary fiber, yet have excellent workability, high shape retention, and a good texture. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention provides a flour composition for udon noodles, which contains 20 to 100% by mass of high-amylose wheat flour, which has an amylose content of 40% by mass or more in total starch as analyzed by the concanavalin A method, in a cereal flour mixture. The present invention also provides a method for producing udon noodles using a raw material flour that contains 20 to 100% by mass of high-amylose wheat flour, which has an amylose content of 40% by mass or more in total starch as analyzed by the concanavalin A method, in the cereal flour. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The flour composition of the present invention makes it possible to produce udon dough that is rich in dietary fiber yet has excellent workability. Udon noodles made with the flour composition of the present invention have high shape retention, so they do not easily lose their shape when boiled and have good edges, and they maintain a good texture and loosen well not only immediately after cooking but also after storage. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The present invention provides a cereal flour composition for udon noodles and a method for producing udon noodles using the same. The udon noodles produced according to the present invention are characterized by containing high-amylose wheat flour in their raw cereal flour. The high-amylose wheat flour used in the present invention preferably has an amylose content of 40% by mass or more, more preferably 43% by mass or more.

[0010] The amylose content of wheat flour refers to the amount of amylose in the total starch contained in the wheat flour. In this specification, the amylose content of wheat flour is defined as the value analyzed by the concanavalin A (ConA) method, which can be measured, for example, by analyzing the wheat flour with Megazyme's amylose / amylopectin analysis kit (AMYLOSE / AMYLOPECTIN ASSAY KIT). Conventional methods for analyzing amylose content include (1) methods that utilize the high binding ability of amylose to iodine (iodine affinity measurement methods; e.g., electrotitration, colorimetric quantitative analysis, AACC61-03 method, etc.), and (2) methods that utilize the specific binding of amylopectin and ConA (ConA method). However, methods using (1) tend to calculate the amylose amount as higher than it actually is. For example, the amylose content of high-amylose wheat flour containing a loss-of-function mutation (null mutation) in the SGP-1 gene, as described in Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2, is approximately 37% by mass according to the iodine affinity measurement method, but approximately 31% by mass according to the ConA method. In contrast, the amylose content of conventional wheat flour is less than 32% by mass according to the iodine method and less than 28% by mass according to the ConA method.

[0011] Examples of high-amylose wheat flour that can be used in the present invention include wheat flour derived from modified wheat with low activity of the starch branching enzyme SBEIIa. Examples of such wheat flour derived from modified wheat include wheat flour derived from high-amylose wheat that has a mutation in the SBEIIa gene and has reduced SBEIIa activity, as described in Patent Documents 6 to 9. More specific examples include wheat flour derived from high-amylose wheat in which the amount or activity of SBEIIa protein in the grain is lower than 2% of the amount or activity in wild-type wheat grain, and wheat flour derived from high-amylose wheat that has one or more, for example, one or two null mutations in the SBEIIa gene.

[0012] The high-amylose wheat flour used in the present invention can be produced by milling the aforementioned high-amylose wheat grains using a conventional procedure. For example, the high-amylose wheat flour used in the present invention may be flour that substantially contains only the endosperm fraction of the high-amylose wheat grain, or it may be flour (e.g., whole wheat flour) that further contains germ and bran fractions in addition to the endosperm fraction of the high-amylose wheat grain.

[0013] The high-amylose wheat flour used in this invention has an ash content of preferably 1.0% by mass or less, more preferably 0.2 to 0.8% by mass. The ash content of wheat flour as used herein refers to the value measured according to the direct ashing method (ISS Standard Methods No. 104 / 1).

[0014] In the present invention, the aforementioned high-amylose wheat flour is used as a raw material flour for udon noodles. That is, the raw material flour containing the high-amylose wheat flour is used as an udon flour composition, and udon noodles are produced using this flour composition. Of the raw material flour, preferably 20 to 100% by mass, more preferably 40 to 90% by mass, and even more preferably 40 to 80% by mass is the high-amylose wheat flour. Therefore, the udon flour composition of the present invention may contain the high-amylose wheat flour at a concentration of preferably 20 to 100% by mass, more preferably 40 to 90% by mass, and even more preferably 40 to 80% by mass of the total mass of flours contained in the flour composition.

[0015] The udon flour composition of the present invention may contain other flours other than the high amylose wheat flour described above. Examples of such other flours include flours other than the high amylose wheat flour described above (typically flours with an amylose content of less than 28% by mass), rye flour, barley flour, corn flour, rice flour, buckwheat flour, etc. Any one or more of these can be used. Preferably, the other flours are flours other than the high amylose wheat flour, and examples thereof include one or more selected from strong flour, semi-strong flour, medium flour, weak flour, durum flour, whole grain flour, etc.

[0016] In addition to the raw material flour containing the high amylose wheat flour, the udon flour composition of the present invention can contain other materials. Examples of such other materials include those that can be normally used in the production of udon, such as starches, proteins, saccharides, seasonings such as salt and powdered soy sauce, oils and fats, emulsifiers, thickeners, expanding agents, etc. Any one or more of these can be used. Examples of the starches include starches such as tapioca starch, potato starch, corn starch, waxy corn starch, wheat starch, rice starch, etc., and modified starches obtained by subjecting these to treatments such as gelatinization, acetylation, etherification, esterification, oxidation treatment, crosslinking treatment, etc. Examples of the proteins include gluten, soy protein, egg protein, milk protein, etc.

[0017] The total amount of flours and the blending amount of other materials in the udon flour composition of the present invention can be appropriately changed according to the properties desired for the udon to be produced. Preferably, the total amount of flours (including the high amylose wheat flour and other flours) in the flour composition is preferably 50% by mass or more, more preferably 70% by mass or more, and even more preferably 80% by mass or more.

[0018] The udon provided by the present invention can be produced according to the normal procedures, except that the udon flour composition of the present invention is used as the raw material flour. Specifically, the raw material flour and kneading water are kneaded to prepare the dough. At this time, the high amylose wheat flour, other cereal flours, and other materials can be mixed at once or in any order. As the kneading water, water, salt water, gas-containing water (such as carbonated water), etc. can be used. The amount of kneading water for the dough raw material may be adjusted as appropriate, but is preferably 20 to 67 parts by mass, more preferably 25 to 57 parts by mass, based on 100 parts by mass of the raw material flour. In the present invention, by using high amylose wheat flour, it is possible to produce udon dough even under conditions where the amount of added water is slightly higher compared to the case of using wheat flour with a conventional amylose content.

[0019] Next, the prepared dough is shaped to produce raw udon noodles. The method of shaping the noodle dough is not particularly limited, such as roll noodle making including processes such as rolling, compounding, and cutting, extrusion noodle making, combinations thereof, etc. The shape of the udon to be produced is not particularly limited, but for example, from the perspective of chewiness, the thickness of the raw noodles is preferably 1.7 mm or more, more preferably 2 mm or more.

[0020] The obtained raw udon noodles may be further processed according to conventional methods, such as drying, cooking, freezing, refrigeration, combinations thereof, etc. The udon produced according to the present invention can maintain good looseness and a good texture even after being stored after cooking. Therefore, preferably, the udon produced by the present invention is refrigerated or frozen cooked udon with raw noodles cooked and then refrigerated or frozen.

Examples

[0021] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited only to these examples.

[0022] Materials • High-amylose wheat flour (HAW): Flour obtained from wheat grains containing the SBEIIa mutant gene and exhibiting low SBEIIa expression levels. Amylose content: 47.4% by mass (of total starch), Ash content: 0.57% by mass ·ASW: Flour derived from ASW (Australian Standard White). Amylose content 21.3% by mass (in total starch), ash content 0.37% by mass • Kitahonami: Wheat flour derived from Kitahonami wheat. Amylose content 21.6% by mass (of total starch), ash content 0.35% by mass • High-amylose corn starch: Amylose content 86.5% by mass (of total starch). The amylose content was measured using an amylose / amylopectin analysis kit (Megazyme).

[0023] Test Example 1 100 parts by mass of the raw flour listed in Table 1, 33 to 42 parts by mass of water, and 3 parts by mass of salt were mixed and mixed to prepare the dough. The dough was rolled and compounded using a noodle-making roll to produce a noodle sheet, and then cut with a cutting blade (#10 square) to produce fresh udon noodles (noodle thickness 3 mm). The workability of the dough during noodle making was evaluated by 10 trained panelists according to the following criteria, and the evaluation given by the most voters was adopted. <Workability Evaluation> A: No problem, everything is fine. B: Slightly sticky, slightly defective. C: Sticky and defective.

[0024] The obtained raw udon noodles were boiled in hot water to achieve a yield of approximately 170%, then rinsed and cooled to produce boiled udon noodles. The quality of the udon noodles immediately after boiling was evaluated by the same 10 panelists as above using the following evaluation criteria, and the average score of the 10 evaluations was calculated. <Quality evaluation: Immediately after boiling> (Angular) 5 points: Significantly superior to the control. 4 points: Superior to the comparison. 3 points: Slightly better than the control. 2 points: Equivalent to the control. 1 point: Worse than the comparison (chewiness) 5 points: Significantly superior to the control. 4 points: Superior to the comparison. 3 points: Slightly better than the control. 2 points: Equivalent to the control. 1 point: Worse than the comparison (persistence) 5 points: Superior to the control 4 points: Equivalent to the control. 3 points: Slightly inferior to the control, but still good. 2 points: Inferior to the control, somewhat poor. 1 point: Significantly inferior to the control.

[0025] Boiled udon noodles were individually packaged and stored in a refrigerator (4°C) for 24 hours. The ease with which the refrigerated udon noodles separated when soup was added was evaluated by the same 10 panelists as above, using the evaluation criteria below, and the average score of the 10 evaluations was calculated. <Quality evaluation: Refrigerated udon> (loosen up) 5 points: Significantly superior to the control. 4 points: Superior to the comparison. 3 points: Slightly better than the control. 2 points: Equivalent to the control. 1 point: Worse than the comparison

[0026] Boiled udon noodles were individually packaged, rapidly frozen at -40°C, and then stored frozen at -18°C. After one week of storage, the frozen noodles were heated in a microwave (1500W) until the product temperature reached 70°C. The same 10 panelists evaluated the noodles according to the evaluation criteria below, and the average score of the 10 evaluations was calculated. <Quality evaluation: Frozen udon> (clearly) 5 points: Significantly superior to the control. 4 points: Superior to the comparison. 3 points: Slightly better than the control. 2 points: Equivalent to the control. 1 point: Worse than the comparison

[0027] The evaluation results are shown in Table 1.

[0028] [Table 1]

[0029] Test Example 2 Using the same procedure as in Test Example 1, but with a #14 square cutting blade used to cut the noodle strands, raw udon noodles (2 mm thick) were produced, and the workability of the dough, as well as the udon after boiling, refrigeration, and freezing, were evaluated. The results are shown in Table 2.

[0030] [Table 2]

Claims

1. A flour composition for udon noodles, comprising 20 to 100% by mass of high-amylose wheat flour, which is a wheat flour derived from modified wheat with low SBEIIa activity and in which the amylose content in the total starch, as analyzed by the concanavalin A method, is 40% by mass or more, in the flours.

2. The cereal flour composition according to claim 1, wherein the udon noodles are refrigerated or frozen udon noodles.

3. A method for producing udon noodles, using a raw material flour containing 20 to 100% by mass of high-amylose wheat flour, which is a wheat flour derived from modified wheat with low SBEIIa activity and in which the amylose content in the total starch, as analyzed by the concanavalin A method, is 40% by mass or more, in the cereal flours.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the udon noodles are refrigerated or frozen udon noodles.

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