Wheat bran-containing noodle mix

Abstract

To provide noodles containing common wheat bran which have an excellent flavor and texture without a powdery and acrid flavor or a rough and unpleasant texture.SOLUTION: A bran-containing noodle mix contains wheat bran and yam flour. It is preferable that the bran-containing noodle mix contain 5 to 50 mass% of wheat bran and 0.5 to 14 mass% of yam flour, based on the total mass of the mix. Further, the bran-containing noodle mix is suitable for making Soba or pasta.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a bran-containing noodle mix that contains wheat bran and is capable of producing noodles with excellent flavor and texture. [Background Art]

[0002] Wheat bran is the outer hull portion of wheat kernels, which is removed when wheat kernels are milled to prepare wheat flour. In recent years, components contained in wheat bran such as dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals have attracted attention, and food production using wheat bran as an ingredient has been carried out. However, wheat bran has characteristic rough texture and acrid bitterness, which causes a problem of reducing the palatability of food products. For example, noodles produced by blending wheat bran into raw material flour tend to have a powdery, acrid flavor and a rough, unpleasant mouthfeel even when eaten immediately after boiling.

[0003] Studies have been conducted on such problems of wheat bran. Patent Document 1 describes a wheat bran composition produced from white wheat, having a dietary fiber content of 43 mass% or more and a carbohydrate content of 18 mass% or less, and further describes that this wheat bran composition has high suitability for secondary processing and can produce food products excellent in appearance, flavor and texture. Patent Document 2 describes noodles containing 0.3 to 40 mass% of water-roasted bran in raw material flour. Patent Documents 3 and 4 describe a method for producing noodles by cutting or extruding using a noodle dough containing 4 to 55 mass% of steam-treated wheat bran. Patent Document 5 describes noodles containing wheat bran composed of a fine powder fraction containing 35 to 90 mass% of fine particles with a particle diameter of less than 200 μm and a coarse powder fraction containing 10 to 65 mass% of coarse particles with a particle diameter of 200 μm or more. Patent Document 6 also describes that udon is produced from raw material flour consisting of 30 wt% of udon flour, 15 wt% of freeze-dried Jerusalem artichoke powder, 50 wt% of bran powder and 5 wt% of gluten. [Prior Art Literature] [Patent Literature]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2021 / 065869 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-191552 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2017-29145 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2017-29146 [Patent Document 5] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2017-225464 [Patent Document 6] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-79606 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0005] The conventional technology described above uses special wheat bran, leaving room for improvement in terms of convenience and effectiveness. Therefore, the present invention aims to provide noodles that have excellent flavor and texture while containing general wheat bran. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] As a result of diligent research, the inventors have discovered that noodles made from a mixed flour containing wheat bran and yam flour, even if they contain a large amount of bran, do not have a powdery, bitter taste or a rough, unpleasant texture, and instead possess the good texture inherent to noodles.

[0007] The present invention provides a bran-containing noodle mix containing wheat bran and yam flour. The present invention also provides a method for producing bran-containing noodles using the bran-containing noodle mix. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a noodle mix that, while containing common wheat bran, does not have a powdery, bitter flavor or a rough, unpleasant texture, and has the good texture inherent to noodles. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] In the present invention, wheat bran refers to the residue remaining after removing the endosperm from wheat grains in a general wheat milling process, or the residue obtained by further removing any attached endosperm and germ. The wheat bran used in the present invention is not particularly limited and may be, for example, coarse-grained wheat bran obtained in a normal wheat milling process, powdered bran obtained by crushing it, or a mixture thereof. Furthermore, the wheat bran used in the present invention may be un-defatted (whole fat) bran, defatted bran that has undergone a degreasing treatment, unheated wheat bran, or heat-treated wheat bran. The heat treatment may be one or more of the following: dry heat treatment without water addition, or moist heat treatment with water addition. Furthermore, the wheat bran used in the present invention may be wheat bran that has undergone two or more of the above-mentioned crushing, degreasing, and heat treatments. As the wheat bran used in the present invention, various types of wheat bran can be used individually or in combination of two or more types. Alternatively, various commercially available wheat bran products may be used as the wheat bran used in this invention.

[0010] The wheat bran used in this invention is preferably in powder form because it can prevent a gritty texture. In terms of particle size, powdered wheat bran with an average particle size of 10 to 800 μm is preferable, more preferably 20 to 500 μm, and even more preferably 30 to 200 μm is desirable. In this invention, the average particle size refers to the cumulative volume of 50% (D50) measured dry using a laser diffraction scattering particle size distribution analyzer (for example, Nikkiso Co., Ltd.'s "Microtrac Particle Size Distribution Analyzer 9200FRA").

[0011] Furthermore, the wheat bran used in this invention is preferably heat-treated wheat bran, particularly dry-heat treated wheat bran, as this tends to improve the flavor and texture of the resulting noodles.

[0012] The wheat bran content in the noodle mix of the present invention is preferably 5 to 50% by mass, more preferably 10 to 40% by mass, and even more preferably 14 to 30% by mass of the total amount of the mix. If the wheat bran content in the mix is ​​less than 5% by mass, the significance of adding wheat bran (such as improving the nutritional function of the noodles) is diminished, while if it exceeds 50% by mass, the resulting noodles may have a strong powdery, bitter flavor and a rough, unpleasant texture.

[0013] The noodle mix of the present invention contains yam flour in addition to the wheat bran. Yam flour is made by powdering the rhizome (tubercle) obtained from a climbing plant of the genus Dioscorea in the family Dioscoreaceae. The yam flour is not particularly limited and may be used by grinding harvested yams after drying (e.g., freeze-drying), or various commercially available products may be used. The particle size of the yam flour is not particularly limited, but is generally about 100 to 200 μm on average.

[0014] In the noodle mix of the present invention, the content of yam flour is preferably 0.5 to 14% by mass, more preferably 1 to 12% by mass, and even more preferably 1.5 to 10% by mass of the total amount of the mix. If the content of yam flour in the noodle mix is ​​less than 0.5% by mass or more than 14% by mass, the resulting noodles may have a strong powdery, bitter flavor and a rough, unpleasant texture.

[0015] The noodle mix of the present invention contains cereal flour as a further main ingredient. The cereal flour is not particularly limited as long as it can be used in the production of noodles, and for example, one or more selected from wheat flour such as strong flour, semi-strong flour, medium flour, weak flour, and durum flour; buckwheat flour such as first flour (inner layer flour), second flour (middle layer flour), third flour (outer layer flour), and whole layer flour; barley flour; rye flour; and rice flour can be used alone or in a mixture of two or more. Among these, wheat flour and buckwheat flour are preferred because they have good aromatic compatibility with yam flour, respectively. The cereal flour content in the noodle mix of the present invention is preferably 20 to 95% by mass, more preferably 30 to 85% by mass, and even more preferably 40 to 80% by mass of the total amount of the mix.

[0016] In addition to the wheat bran, yam flour and grain flour described above, the noodle mix of the present invention may optionally contain other raw materials that are commonly used in the production of noodles, as long as the effects of the present invention are not impaired. Examples of other raw materials include starches; saccharides; proteins such as wheat gluten, milk protein and egg protein; seasonings such as common salt and powdered soy sauce; fats and oils such as liquid oil and solid fat; emulsifiers; thickeners; swelling agents and the like. The content of other raw materials is preferably 30% by mass or less, more preferably 20% by mass or less, based on the total amount of the noodle mix of the present invention.

[0017] The noodle mix of the present invention can preferably be in the form of powder, granules or the like at normal temperature and normal pressure. Furthermore, the noodle mix of the present invention can also be prepared as a mix in a form where part of the raw materials are stored separately from the remaining raw materials and combined together when used. For example, by sealing only yam flour separately to preserve the flavor of yam, opening the package immediately before use and combining it with the remaining raw materials for use, a mix with excellent yam flavor can be obtained.

[0018] There are no particular limitations on the shape or type of noodles produced using the noodle mix of the present invention, and they may be noodle strands or noodle wrappers. Examples of noodles include pasta such as spaghetti and macaroni; buckwheat noodles; udon; somen; Chinese noodles; rice flour noodles and the like. Examples of noodle wrappers include dumpling wrappers, lasagna and the like. Among these, the noodle mix of the present invention is suitable for buckwheat noodles and pasta.

[0019] When the noodle mix of the present invention is a buckwheat noodle mix, a preferred formulation example is as follows. Wheat bran: 5 to 50% by mass (preferably 14 to 30% by mass) Yam flour: 0.5 to 14% by mass (preferably 1.5 to 10% by mass) Buckwheat flour: 10 to 75% by mass (preferably 20 to 60% by mass) Wheat flour (preferably medium-gluten flour): 10 to 85% by mass (preferably 30 to 70% by mass) Proteins (preferably wheat gluten): 0.5 to 14% by mass (preferably 1.5 to 10% by mass)

[0020] When the noodle mix of the present invention is a pasta mix, a preferred formulation example is as follows. Wheat bran: 5 to 50% by mass (preferably 14 to 30% by mass) Yam flour: 0.5 to 14% by mass (preferably 1.5 to 10% by mass) Wheat flour (preferably durum flour): 30 to 80% by mass (preferably 40 to 60% by mass)

[0021] The present invention also provides a method for producing bran-containing noodles, which uses the above-mentioned bran-containing noodle mix of the present invention. Production of noodles using the noodle mix of the present invention can be carried out according to conventional methods depending on the type of noodles to be produced. For example, noodles can be produced by a method comprising the steps of: mixing the bran-containing noodle mix of the present invention with an aqueous liquid to prepare dough; forming a noodle sheet from the dough; and cutting the noodle sheet into noodle strips for shaping, or a method comprising extruding the dough through fine pores for shaping. Additionally, in the case where the noodle mix of the present invention is in a form where some of the raw materials are stored separately from the remaining raw materials, dough can also be prepared by first mixing some of the raw materials with the aqueous liquid, and then mixing in the remaining raw materials. More specifically, for example, 23 to 45 parts by mass of an aqueous liquid (kneading water) relative to 100 parts by mass of the mix is mixed, kneaded to prepare dough, the dough is rolled to form a noodle sheet with a thickness of 1.1 to 1.6 mm, and the noodle sheet is cut with a cutting blade into noodle strips with a width of 1.6 to 2.2 mm for shaping, or the dough is extruded through fine pores with a diameter of 0.9 to 2.2 mm under reduced pressure conditions as necessary for shaping, whereby noodles (raw noodles) comprising the noodle mix of the present invention can be produced. Furthermore, the produced noodles may be dried.

Examples

[0022] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited by these examples.

[0023] [Examples and Comparative Examples: Production of Noodle Mixes] The flour ingredients were mixed according to the proportions (parts by mass) shown in Tables 1-4 to produce noodle mixes. Tables 1-3 are for soba noodles, and Table 4 is for pasta noodles. The flour ingredients used are as follows. Wheat bran: Commercially available granular defatted wheat bran (unheated) is ground into a powder using a blender (average particle size: 300 μm). Dry heat-treated wheat bran: Wheat Bran MP (powdered roasted wheat bran; manufactured by Nisshin Flour Milling Co., Ltd., average particle size: 100 μm) Yam powder: Made by peeling yams, freeze-drying them, and then grinding them into a powder. Sweet potato flour: Made by peeling sweet potatoes, freeze-drying them, and then grinding them into a powder. Jerusalem artichoke powder: Made by peeling the Jerusalem artichoke, freeze-drying it, and then grinding it into a powder. Flour: Whole-grain buckwheat flour (manufactured by Nikko Flour Milling Co., Ltd.) Medium-strength wheat flour (manufactured by Nisshin Flour Milling Co., Ltd.) Durum semolina flour (manufactured by Nisshin Flour Milling Co., Ltd.) Protein: Wheat gluten

[0024] [Test Example 1: Buckwheat Production] For each noodle mix listed in Tables 1-3, 30 parts by mass of water were mixed and kneaded in a mixer to prepare the dough. The dough was pressed and rolled out to a noodle sheet 1.3 mm thick. This noodle sheet was folded and cut into noodle strands 1.9 mm wide to obtain fresh soba noodles. The fresh soba noodles were hung on a rod and dried in a constant temperature room at 50°C for 48 hours to obtain dried soba noodles. Each dried soba noodle was boiled in a pot of plenty of boiling water for 7 minutes to obtain boiled soba noodles. Separately, as a reference example, fresh soba noodles were produced in the same manner as above, except that a raw material flour mixture of whole buckwheat flour, medium-strength wheat flour, and wheat gluten in a mass ratio of 30:65:5 was used. These were then dried to obtain boiled soba noodles. The flavor and texture of these boiled soba noodles were evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria. The evaluation was conducted by 10 trained professional panelists, and the average of the evaluation scores from the 10 panelists was calculated. The results are shown in Tables 1-3 below.

[0025] <Evaluation Criteria for Soba Flavor> 5 points: There was absolutely no powdery bitterness, and the flavor of the buckwheat was very noticeable; extremely good. 4 points: No powdery bitterness was detected, and the flavor of buckwheat was noticeable; good. 3 points: There is a slight powdery or bitter taste, but the buckwheat flavor is present and it is fairly good. 2 points: It had a powdery, bitter taste, and the buckwheat flavor was weak; poor quality. 1 point: It had a strong powdery, bitter taste, and the flavor of buckwheat was not noticeable; extremely poor. <Criteria for evaluating the texture of soba noodles> 5 points: There is absolutely no rough texture, and it is extremely good. 4 points: The texture is not rough to the touch, which is good. 3 points: There is a slight rough texture, but it is at an acceptable level and is fairly good. 2 points: It has a rough texture and is unacceptable. 1 point: The texture is very rough and gritty, extremely poor.

[0026] [Table 1]

[0027] [Table 2]

[0028] [Table 3]

[0029] [Test Example 2: Spaghetti Production] For each noodle mix in Table 4, 26 parts by mass of water were mixed and kneaded to prepare the dough. The dough was introduced into a pasta making machine and extruded through the pores under reduced pressure of -600 mmHg to form the dough. After drying by conventional methods, dried spaghetti with a thickness of 1.6 mm was obtained. Each dried spaghetti was boiled in a pot of plenty of boiling water for 12 minutes to obtain cooked spaghetti. Separately, as a reference example, commercially available 100% durum semolina dried spaghetti (1.6 mm in thickness) was used to prepare boiled spaghetti in the same manner as described above. The flavor and texture of each of these boiled spaghetti dishes were evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria. The evaluation was conducted by 10 trained professional panelists, and the average of the evaluation scores from the 10 panelists was calculated. The results are shown in Table 4 below.

[0030] <Criteria for evaluating spaghetti flavor> 5 points: There is absolutely no powdery bitterness, and the wheat flavor is very noticeable; extremely good. 4 points: No powdery bitterness was detected, and the wheat flavor was noticeable; good. 3 points: There is a slight powdery or bitter taste, but the wheat flavor is present and it is fairly good. 2 points: It has a powdery, bitter taste, and the wheat flavor is weak; it's poor quality. 1 point: It has a strong powdery, bitter taste, and there is no wheat flavor; it is extremely poor. <Criteria for evaluating spaghetti texture> 5 points: There is absolutely no rough texture; it is extremely smooth and excellent. 4 points: The texture is not rough at all, and it is smooth and pleasant. 3 points: There is a slight rough texture, but it is also smooth, making it fairly good. 2 points: It has a rough texture and is not very smooth; poor quality. 1 point: The texture is very rough and not smooth at all; extremely poor.

[0031] [Table 4]

Claims

1. A bran-containing mix for soba or pasta containing wheat bran and yam flour, A bran-containing mix for soba noodles or pasta, comprising 5 to 50% by mass of the wheat bran and 0.5 to 14% by mass of the yam flour in the total mass of the mix.

2. A method for producing bran-containing noodles, using the bran-containing mix for soba or pasta described in claim 1.

3. The manufacturing method according to claim 2, comprising the steps of: mixing the bran-containing soba or pasta mix according to claim 1 with an aqueous liquid to prepare dough; forming a noodle sheet from the dough; and cutting and shaping the noodle sheet into noodle strands.

4. The manufacturing method according to claim 2, comprising the steps of preparing a dough by mixing the bran-containing soba or pasta mix according to claim 1 with an aqueous liquid, and then extruding the dough through pores to form it.

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