Acetic acid-containing seasoning

Abstract

To obtain a general-purpose acetic acid-containing seasoning which has a low pH like a seasoning vinegar, and physical properties / cooking suitability suitable for stir-frying and grilling use besides dipping / pouring use.SOLUTION: An acetic acid-containing seasoning has a smooth and natural viscosity and is mixed well with food materials when being used in stir-frying cooking and grilling cooking besides dipping / pouring cooking use, and is suitable for various cooking uses by mixing both xanthan gum and pectin with an acetic acid-containing seasoning. Furthermore, as the pectin, especially, pectin having a high esterification degree is mixed so as to achieve excellent swelling / dispersion of a thickener in liquid, and so as to prevent aggregation / precipitation, and adhesion to a container wall surface of thickener grains.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an acetic acid-containing seasoning suitable for various cooking purposes.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, as uses of acetic acid-containing seasonings such as seasoned vinegar prepared by blending food vinegar and various seasonings, not only seasoning of conventional sushi rice, pickled foods, salads, pickles, etc., but also pouring over / coating cooked meat, fish and shellfish, vegetables, or adding as a seasoning during stir-frying / broiling cooking, etc., the usage scenes are expanding.

[0003] Not limited to food vinegar-containing seasonings, as a problem when using liquid seasonings for various cooking, it is often mentioned that when the liquid is poured on the food material, it runs off, and it is difficult to preferably maintain the taste and appearance. As a method for solving such a problem, for example, there is a seasoning composition (Patent Document 1) etc. that contains a thickener, starch, and trehalose to improve the entanglement with the ingredients and enable long-term maintenance of gloss and absorption of drips. However, in this finding, the blending in seasonings with a significantly low pH such as seasoned vinegar, and the physical properties and cooking suitability of the seasoning are not examined.

[0004] On the other hand, as a finding regarding containing a thickener in an acetic acid-containing seasoning, there are known seasoned vinegars (Patent Document 2) etc. that contain food vinegar and a starch decomposition product soluble in cold water and have an action of sustaining / holding the sour taste for sushi rice containing food vinegar. However, this finding relates to the seasoning of sushi rice containing food vinegar, and does not examine, for example, the case of using an acetic acid-containing seasoning in stir-frying / broiling cooking etc.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

[0006] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to obtain a versatile acetic acid-containing seasoning that has a low pH, such as seasoned vinegar, and possesses physical properties and cooking suitability suitable not only for dipping and pouring but also for stir-frying and grilling. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] As a result of diligent research to solve the above problems, the inventors found that while xanthan gum is suitable as a thickening agent when trying to maintain stable viscosity in seasonings with a strongly acidic pH, when a vinegar-containing seasoning containing xanthan gum is used for seasoning during stir-frying or grilling, it can become stringy during heating, resulting in unnatural physical properties for a seasoning.

[0008] Therefore, the present inventors conducted further studies and discovered that by combining xanthan gum and pectin with an acetic acid-containing seasoning, it is possible to obtain an acetic acid-containing seasoning that has a smooth, natural viscosity that adheres well to ingredients not only when used for dipping and pouring, but also when used for stir-frying and grilling, making it suitable for various cooking applications. Furthermore, they discovered that by incorporating pectin with a particularly high degree of esterification, the thickener swells and disperses well in the liquid, preventing the thickener particles from agglomerating, settling, or adhering to the container walls, thus completing the present invention. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The acetic acid-containing seasoning of the present invention has excellent physical properties that make it suitable not only for pickling, dipping, and drizzling, but also for heating cooking such as stir-frying and grilling, making it extremely versatile. Furthermore, because the acetic acid-containing seasoning of the present invention exhibits good swelling and dispersion of the thickener in liquid, it is possible to prevent aggregation, sedimentation, and adhesion of the thickener particles to the container walls during storage. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a photograph of a liquid (150) observed under a microscope after storing an acetic acid-containing seasoning (pH 2.6-2.7) with 12% esterification pectin overnight in a PET bottle. The scale in the lower right represents 100 μm. The white dots are thickening agent particles, and the clusters of white dots indicate that the thickening agent particles have aggregated. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a photograph of a liquid (at 150x magnification) observed under a microscope after storing an acetic acid-containing seasoning (pH 2.6-2.7) with pectin at a degree of esterification (40%) overnight in a PET bottle. The scale in the lower right represents 100 μm. The white dots are thickening agent particles, and the clusters of white dots indicate that the thickening agent particles have aggregated. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a photograph of the liquid obtained by microscopic observation (150x magnification) of an acetic acid-containing seasoning (pH 2.6-2.7) with pectin with a degree of esterification of 72% added, after being stored overnight in a PET bottle. The scale in the lower right indicates 100 μm. The white dots are thickening agent particles, and there was no aggregation of the thickening agent particles; they were uniformly dispersed. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] The acetic acid-containing seasoning of the present invention contains at least acetic acid, xanthan gum, and pectin with a degree of esterification of 35% or more as raw materials.

[0012] Acetic acid may be incorporated in any form as long as it is suitable for consumption. That is, it may be grain vinegars such as rice vinegar, black rice vinegar, black barley vinegar, sake lees vinegar, and millet vinegar, or brewed vinegars such as apple vinegar, grape vinegar, plum vinegar, and persimmon vinegar, or synthetic vinegar. The acetic acid-containing seasoning of the present invention has an acetic acidity of 0.3 to 2.0%, and more preferably 0.8 to 1.5%. Furthermore, the acetic acid-containing seasoning of the present invention has a pH of 2.0 to 3.5, more preferably 2.0 to 3.3, and even more preferably 2.5 to 2.9, based on the desired taste.

[0013] The acetic acid-containing seasoning of the present invention contains at least xanthan gum and pectin with a degree of esterification of 35% or more as thickeners. The pectin used in the acetic acid-containing seasoning of the present invention can be any pectin that is suitable for use as a food ingredient, and examples include those produced from various fruits and vegetables such as apples, lemons, limes, grapefruits, oranges, sugar beets, and sunflowers.

[0014] The degree of esterification of pectin is a numerical value that indicates the proportion of galacturonic acid, the main component of pectin (a complex polysaccharide), in which the carboxyl groups are methyl esterified. It is also called the DE value. The pectin used in the acetic acid-containing seasoning of the present invention has a degree of esterification of 35% or more, more preferably 55% or more, and even more preferably 65% ​​or more. The degree of esterification of the pectin may be greater than or equal to the values ​​shown between these values, and may be 40% or more, 45% or more, 60% or more, or 70% or more. The upper limit of the degree of esterification is not particularly limited as long as it is within the range usable in food, but may be 75% or less, 80% or less, 90% or less, or 100% or less. If the degree of esterification is less than 35%, precipitation due to aggregation and separation of the thickener is extremely likely to occur, and the risk of the product being unsuitable is extremely high.

[0015] The pectin used in the acetic acid-containing seasoning of the present invention may be a single type of pectin, or it may be a combination of multiple pectins with different degrees of esterification. In this case, the degree of esterification of the pectin in the acetic acid-containing seasoning of the present invention is calculated as the ratio (%) of total methyl-esterified galacturonic acid (mol) to the total galacturonic acid (mol) blended.

[0016] The acetic acid-containing seasoning of the present invention can preferably contain xanthan gum in an amount of 0.03 to 0.2% (w / v), more preferably 0.04 to 0.1% (w / v), and still more preferably 0.04 to 0.08% (w / v) based on the total weight of the seasoning. If the content of xanthan gum is more than the above range, stringing may be observed during heat cooking, resulting in an unnatural appearance.

[0017] When pectin with an esterification degree of less than 50 is blended as pectin, it can preferably be contained in an amount of 0.05 to 0.4% (w / v), more preferably 0.10 to 0.25% (w / v) based on the total weight of the seasoning. If it is more than 0.4%, it may gel due to mineral components derived from raw materials such as kelp.

[0018] When pectin with an esterification degree of 50 or more is blended as pectin, it can preferably be contained in an amount of 0.05 to 2% (w / v), more preferably 0.10 to 1% (w / v) based on the total weight of the seasoning. If the blending amount is more than 2%, the taste of the thickener itself may be felt, which may impair the original flavor of the acetic acid-containing seasoning.

[0019] The viscosity of the acetic acid-containing seasoning of the present invention is preferably a value of 14 to 300 mPa·s, more preferably 17 to 200 mPa·s or more when measured under the conditions of 25°C and 30 rpm using a B-type viscometer No. 1 rotor as the measuring instrument. Also, it may be any range between these numerical values, and the viscosity may be a range sandwiched between any two numerical values selected from 20, 30, 40, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175 mPa·s, etc. When the viscosity is within this range, the seasoning will be well entangled with the ingredients and suitable for cooking when used in various cooking methods such as dipping and cooking applications.

[0020] When adjusting to the desired viscosity, the weight ratio of xanthan gum to pectin is preferably 1:1 to 1:33, more preferably 1:1.5 to 1:17. If there is too much xanthan gum relative to these numerical values, there will be a problem that stringing occurs during heat cooking. If there is too much pectin, a large amount of pectin will be required, resulting in a strong flavor of pectin, which may cause a problem of impairing the original flavor of the acidic-containing seasoning.

[0021] In addition to the acetic acid, xanthan gum, and pectin, the acetic acid-containing seasoning of the present invention can be blended with various raw materials as long as they do not have an excessive influence on physical properties and pH. Specifically, soy sauces such as thick soy sauce, light soy sauce, tamari soy sauce, concentrated soy sauce, and white soy sauce, various fermented foods such as miso, mirin, and sake, salts such as salt and potassium chloride, sugars such as sugar, liquid sugar, fructose glucose liquid sugar, and starch syrup, various seasonings such as sodium glutamate, amino acid seasonings, and nucleic acid seasonings, dashi raw materials such as dried bonito flakes, kelp, and shiitake mushrooms, and dashi, extracts, and extracts extracted from the raw materials, extracts derived from livestock meat, fish and shellfish, fruits, vegetables, yeast, etc., fruit juices and fruit components derived from yuzu, sudachi, kabosu, daidai, lemon, grapefruit, seakwasha, apple, pineapple, passion fruit, apricot, berries, etc., flavors, acidulants other than acetic acid such as citric acid and lactic acid, and spices can be mentioned. Also, for the purpose of adjusting the pH of the seasoning, it is also possible to blend salts such as sodium acetate, sodium citrate, and sodium malate.

[0022] The acetic acid-containing seasoning of the present invention is obtained by mixing the above raw materials. When mixing, all the raw materials may be added simultaneously, or for example, the dashi of kelp or dried bonito flakes may be extracted separately and then added, or the thickener may be dissolved in a solvent such as water in advance and then added. After mixing the raw materials to obtain the seasoning, if necessary, for example, a heat sterilization treatment at about 70°C to 120°C for about 2 seconds to 10 minutes may be performed.

[0023] The acetic acid-containing seasoning of the present invention is filled into containers that can normally be used for food, such as bottles made of synthetic resins like polyethylene terephthalate (PET), bags or bag-in-boxes made of synthetic resins, glass bottles, metal cans, and paper containers. Among these, synthetic resin bottles, and especially PET bottles, are preferred. The capacity of the container can be set from any range, for example, from 5 mL to 100 L, but 10 mL to 5 L, 100 mL to 2 L, or even 150 mL to 800 mL are preferred from the viewpoint of preservation and ease of use. The heat sterilization treatment may be performed before filling the container, at the same time as filling the container, or after filling.

[0024] As described above, the acetic acid-containing seasoning, which combines xanthan gum and pectin, can be used not only for conventional dipping and drizzling purposes, but also for cooking without producing unnatural stringiness, allowing for extremely desirable stir-frying and grilling results. Furthermore, the flavor of pectin blends well with the flavor of vinegar, resulting in a smooth consistency that coats ingredients nicely, regardless of whether it is heated or not.

[0025] The acetic acid-containing seasoning of the present invention has a pH of 2.0 to 3.5, more preferably 2.0 to 3.3, and even more preferably 2.5 to 2.9. However, by adjusting the degree of esterification of the pectin added according to the pH of the seasoning, it is possible to achieve not only good cooking suitability but also desirable physical properties during storage after filling into containers.

[0026] Specifically, when the pH is 2.9 or higher, using pectin with an esterification degree of 35% or higher can suppress undesirable physical properties during container storage, such as aggregation of thickening agent particles and adhesion of aggregated particles to the inner wall of the bottle. In the pH range of seasonings below 2.9, using pectin with an esterification degree of 55% or higher can suppress undesirable physical properties during container storage. The esterification degree of pectin at pH levels below 2.9 may be even higher, and pectin with an esterification degree of 60% or higher or 65% or higher may be used. If pectin with an esterification degree lower than the above range is used in each pH range, the dispersion of the thickening agent will be insufficient, and there is a high risk that the thickening agent particles will aggregate and precipitate, or that the particles will adhere to the inner wall of the container when stored, resulting in undesirable appearance. [Examples]

[0027] The present invention will be described below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited in any way by these examples. In these examples, where "viscosity" is mentioned, unless otherwise noted, the viscosity value refers to the viscosity measured using a Type B viscometer No. 1 rotor at 25°C and 30 rpm.

[0028] (Example 1: Examination of differences in physical properties depending on the type of thickener) Acetic acid-containing seasoning (acetic acidity 1%, pH 2.7) was prepared by mixing 300g of fructose-glucose liquid sugar, 70g of sugar, 10ml of soy sauce, 30g of lemon juice, 240ml of brewed vinegar, 50g of salt, kelp stock (broth extracted by heating 6g of kelp [per 1L of acetic acid-containing seasoning] in warm water for 30 minutes; the same applies hereafter) and bonito stock (broth extracted by heating 6g of bonito flakes [per 1L of acetic acid-containing seasoning] in warm water for 30 minutes; the same applies hereafter) and various thickeners, and adjusting the volume with water to 1000mL. The state of the liquid was observed visually when one of the following was added as a thickener: starch, agar, xanthan gum, or pectin (esterification degree 33%).

[0029] As a result, when starch was added, problems such as cloudiness of the seasoning liquid and starch sedimentation occurred, making it unsuitable. When agar was added, the viscosity decreased upon heating, making it unsuitable. When pectin was added, gelation occurred due to minerals derived from raw materials such as kelp when the pectin content was 0.5% (w / v) or more, making it unsuitable. On the other hand, gelation did not occur when the pectin content was 0.25% (w / v) or less.

[0030] When xanthan gum is added to the other thickening agents mentioned above, the aforementioned problem does not occur, and it has been found that it is suitable for use as a thickening agent in acetic acid-containing seasonings with a remarkably low pH. However, when teriyaki chicken is cooked using an acetic acid-containing seasoning containing only 0.2% or 0.3% (w / v) xanthan gum as a thickening agent, stringiness occurs when the water evaporates due to heating, which has been found to be an unnatural physical property during cooking.

[0031] (Example 2: Effects of using xanthan gum and pectin in combination) To address the problem of xanthan gum being unsuitable for cooking methods such as stir-frying when only xanthan gum is added, we investigated the combined use of xanthan gum and pectin.

[0032] To an acetic acid-containing seasoning (acetic acidity 1%, pH 2.7) consisting of the formulations shown in Table 1 below, xanthan gum and pectin (esterification degree 33%) were added as thickeners, and the effects of the combination of these two were investigated.

[0033] [Table 1]

[0034] As a result, in test groups 1 and 2, which contained only xanthan gum at concentrations of 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively, stringiness was observed during cooking and they were deemed unsuitable. In test group 3, which contained only xanthan gum at a concentration of 0.1%, no stringiness was observed during cooking, but the viscosity was insufficient when used to coat ingredients.

[0035] In contrast to the above, no stringiness was observed in test plot 4, which contained an additional 0.25% pectin, even when xanthan gum was added at a concentration of 0.2%.

[0036] Thus, in the acetic acid-containing seasoning formulated with both xanthan gum and pectin, no unnatural stringiness occurred even when heated, allowing for extremely desirable stir-frying. Furthermore, the flavor of pectin blended well with the flavor of vinegar, and regardless of whether it was heated or not, the consistency was smooth and coated the ingredients nicely, resulting in an extremely desirable acetic acid-containing seasoning.

[0037] (Example 3: Investigation of the effects of adding pectin with different degrees of esterification) Further investigations were conducted to examine the differences resulting from variations in the degree of esterification of the pectin used. Acetic acid-containing seasonings were prepared using the formulations shown in Table 2 as raw materials and heat-sterilized at 80°C. Pectin with esterification degrees of 12%, 23%, 30%, 40%, or 72% was used. Furthermore, the pH of the seasoning was adjusted in five stages within the range of 2.6 to 4.5 by changing the amount of sodium acetate used.

[0038] Regarding the viscosity of the seasonings, for example, when the viscosity of seasonings adjusted to pH 2.6-2.7 (shaded area in Table 3) was measured, it was within the range of 21-69 mPa·s. Acetic acid-containing seasonings with a viscosity in this range adhered well to ingredients when used in various cooking methods, exhibiting desirable physical properties for cooking.

[0039] [Table 2]

[0040] Each prepared acetic acid-containing seasoning was filled into a container (330 mL PET bottle). The lids were closed, and after cooling to room temperature, the containers were left to stand overnight. The acetic acid-containing seasonings in the containers were then observed visually and under a microscope. The results are shown in Table 3 and Figures 1-3 below.

[0041] [Table 3]

[0042] In Table 3, the leftmost column, "Gum," indicates whether or not xanthan gum was added. The pH values ​​listed are actual measured values ​​taken after all ingredients, including the thickener, were blended. For evaluations of "○" and "×" when pectin with different degrees of esterification was added, "○" indicates that there was no pectin separation and no adhesion of thickener particles to the inner wall of the bottle, while "×" indicates that pectin separation and adhesion of thickener particles to the inner wall of the bottle were observed.

[0043] As a result, it became clear that when pectin with a degree of esterification of 12% was added, regardless of the pH range, the thickener separated and precipitated, or the thickener particles aggregated and adhered to the inner wall of the bottle, resulting in undesirable physical properties during storage in the container (Figure 1). Furthermore, in the pH range of approximately 3.6 to 4.5, the above-mentioned undesirable physical properties during storage were not observed in any of the acetic acid-containing seasonings, except for the case with a degree of esterification of 12%. In addition, when xanthan gum was added instead of pectin, such aggregation of thickener particles did not occur.

[0044] On the other hand, when the pH was 3.5 or lower, there was a difference in whether or not undesirable physical properties occurred during storage depending on the degree of esterification of the pectin used. Specifically, in seasonings in the pH range of 3.1 to 3.2, undesirable physical properties occurred when pectin with a degree of esterification of 30% was used, but when pectin with a degree of esterification of 40% or 72% was used, aggregation of thickening agent particles was not observed. In seasonings with a pH of 2.6 to 2.7, even when pectin with a degree of esterification of 40% was used, aggregation of thickening agent particles and adhesion of aggregated particles to the inner wall of the bottle were confirmed (Figure 2), whereas with pectin with a degree of esterification of 72%, these undesirable physical properties were not observed, and an acetic acid-containing seasoning with good physical properties was obtained (Figure 3).

[0045] Thus, it became clear that when acetic acid-containing seasonings were prepared, especially in the pH range of 3.5 or lower, undesirable phenomena such as aggregation of thickening agent particles and adhesion to the inner wall of the bottle occurred as the pH of the seasoning decreased. It also became clear that these undesirable physical properties could be suppressed by using pectin with a high degree of esterification, and that the lower the pH, the higher the degree of esterification of the pectin required to suppress these undesirable physical properties.

[0046] (Example 4) Examination of pectin content The amount of pectin with a high degree of esterification in acetic acid-containing seasonings was investigated. In the acetic acid-containing seasoning formulations shown in Table 2, seasonings were prepared without adding sodium acetate, and only the pectin (72% esterification degree) content was varied to 0g, 1.5g, 5g, 10g, and 20g. The pH of the seasonings was 2.6 to 2.7. The seasonings were filled into PET bottles similar to those in Example 3, and the contents of the containers were visually observed. The results are shown in Table 4 below. The evaluation criteria are the same as those in Table 3.

[0047] [Table 4]

[0048] As a result, even when only xanthan gum was added as a thickening agent (pectin 0% (w / v)), no separation of the thickening agent or aggregation of particles occurred. Similarly, no undesirable physical properties were observed during storage in the pectin content range of 0.15 to 2.0% (w / v).

Claims

1. A packaged acetic acid-containing seasoning characterized by having a pH of 2.6 to 2.9, containing only xanthan gum and pectin with a degree of esterification of 55% or more as thickeners, and having a viscosity of 14 to 300 mPa·s when measured using a Type B viscometer No. 1 rotor at 25°C and 30 rpm.

2. The bottled acetic acid-containing seasoning according to claim 1, containing 0.03 to 2% (w / v) of xanthan gum.

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