Oil-in-water composition

Abstract

Provided is an oil-in-water composition that contains water, oils and fats, and a cereal flour, wherein the cereal flour content is 20-50 mass%, and the median diameter of the particles contained therein is 5-35 μm. Further provided is a dough that contains the oil-in-water composition.

Description

oil-in-water composition

[0001] The present invention relates to oil-in-water compositions for use as food ingredients.

[0002] Doughs made from cereal flours such as wheat flour are used to produce a variety of foods, including bread, noodles, and fried food coatings. Many proposals have been made to improve the quality of foods made from such doughs. Patent Document 1 describes how fried foods with a good coating texture can be produced by using wheat flour with a specific degree of gelatinization and viscosity obtained by pulverizing moist heat-treated wheat flour. Patent Document 2 describes a batter for deep-fried foods containing liquid edible oils and fats, a lipophilic emulsifier, cereal flour, modified starch, and water, and how the batter for deep-fried foods made from this batter is less likely to soften upon thawing in the cold. Patent Document 3 describes how fried foods with a voluminous, light, and crispy texture can be produced without compromising the original flavor of the fried foods by using a batter containing an oil-in-water emulsified oil composition containing a specific emulsifier, edible oils and fats, water, carbohydrates, and thickening polysaccharides in specific amounts.

[0003] JP 2008-067675 A JP 2019-33701 A JP 2022-182949 A

[0004] To improve the texture and storage stability of foods (dough foods) made from dough containing cereal flour, leavening agents or emulsifiers are sometimes added to the dough. However, these leavening agents and emulsifiers can sometimes impair the flavor of the food. Furthermore, the use of additives such as leavening agents and emulsifiers is often undesirable. The present invention relates to providing a dough food that has good texture and storage stability without using leavening agents and emulsifiers, which are unsafe to use.

[0005] The present inventors have found that by using an oil-in-water emulsion containing water, oil and cereal flour and having a specific particle size as dough, foods produced from the dough have a good crisp texture without using a leavening agent or an emulsifier, and can maintain that good texture even after storage.

[0006] The present invention provides the following as representative embodiments. [1] An oil-in-water composition comprising water, oils and fats, and cereal flour, wherein the content of the flour is 20 to 50% by mass, and the median diameter of the particles contained therein is 5 to 35 μm. [2] The oil-in-water composition according to [1], wherein the content of the oils and fats is 15 to 45% by mass. [3] The oil-in-water composition according to [1] or [2], wherein the content of the water is 15 to 45% by mass. [4] The oil-in-water composition according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the content ratio of the water to the oil is 1:5 to 5:1 by mass. [5] The oil-in-water composition according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the total content of the water and the oil is 50% by mass or more. [6] The oil-in-water composition according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein the viscosity is 12 to 100 Pa s. [7] The oil-in-water composition according to any one of [1] to [6], wherein the cereal flour is wheat flour. [8] The oil-in-water composition according to any one of [1] to [7], wherein the cereal flour is heat-treated cereal flour. [9] The oil-in-water composition according to any one of [1] to [8], wherein the cereal flour is heat-treated cereal flour.

[10] Dough containing the oil-in-water composition according to any one of [1] to [9].

[11] The dough according to

[10] , wherein the dough is a coating material for deep-fried foods.

[12] A method for producing deep-fried foods, comprising: adhering the deep-fried food coating material according to

[11] to ingredients; and frying the ingredients with the deep-fried food coating material adhered thereto.

[13] Use of the oil-in-water composition according to any one of [1] to [9] as a dough.

[14] The use according to

[13] , wherein the dough is a coating material for deep-fried foods.

[15] Use of the oil-in-water composition according to any one of [1] to [9] in the production of dough.

[16] The use according to

[15] , wherein the dough is a coating material for deep-fried foods.

[0007] The oil-in-water composition of the present invention is suitable for use as food dough. Dough foods produced from dough prepared using the oil-in-water composition have a good crisp texture without the use of leavening agents or emulsifiers, and can maintain their good texture even after storage or reheating.

[0008] As used herein, "dough" refers to a paste-like or liquid food dough obtained by mixing a raw material flour whose main ingredient is cereal flour with water. Therefore, "dough" in the present invention encompasses both paste-like dough and liquid dough (so-called batter). As used herein, "dough food" refers to a food prepared by shaping the dough as necessary, or by combining it with other ingredients, and then cooking it. Preferably, the dough food is a baked food or a deep-fried food. Preferred examples of the dough food include bakery foods and battered fried foods. Examples of the bakery foods include foods that use batter-like dough, such as crepes, cakes, pancakes, and okonomiyaki. Examples of the battered fried foods include fried confectionery, tempura, fried chicken, and breaded fries.

[0009] The present invention provides an oil-in-water composition suitable for use as food dough. By using the oil-in-water composition of the present invention, dough foods with good texture can be produced without using a leavening agent or an emulsifier.

[0010] The oil-in-water composition of the present invention is prepared from water, fats and oils, and cereal flour. The cereal flour used in the oil-in-water composition of the present invention is not particularly limited, and may be cereal flour obtained from edible grains. Examples of cereal flour include wheat flour, barley flour, rye flour, oat flour, oat flour, rice flour, buckwheat flour, millet flour, barnyard millet flour, soy flour, corn flour, and white sorghum flour. Any one of these cereal flours or a combination of two or more of these cereal flours may be used. These cereal flours can be prepared by grinding cereal grains according to a standard method appropriate for the type of grain, and classifying them as necessary. Alternatively, commercially available cereal flours may be used. The cereal flour may be untreated after milling, or may have been subjected to treatment such as heating, drying, or humidity adjustment.

[0011] Preferably, the flour used in the oil-in-water composition of the present invention is wheat flour. There are no particular limitations on the wheat flour, as long as it is wheat flour milled from edible wheat grains by a conventional method. Examples of wheat flour include hard flour, semi-hard flour, medium-strength flour, weak flour, durum wheat flour, semolina flour, whole wheat flour, etc., and any one of these may be used alone or in combination of two or more. Among these, weak flour is preferred.

[0012] The use of heat-treated flour as the flour is preferred because it improves the crispness of dough foods. Heat-treated flour may be commercially available, or may be obtained by heating flour using a known method. Examples of heating methods include dry heat treatment, in which heating is performed without adding moisture, and moist heat treatment, in which heating is performed with adding moisture, and these may be combined. Heating the flour is preferably performed under conditions that do not cause scorching or discoloration of the flour. The heat-treated flour can be used alone or in combination with non-heat-treated flour, such as untreated flour.

[0013] The content of cereal flour in the oil-in-water composition of the present invention is preferably 20 to 50% by mass, more preferably 22 to 45% by mass, even more preferably 24 to 40% by mass, and even more preferably 26 to 36% by mass of the total amount of the composition. If the content of cereal flour is too little or too much, the composition will have difficulty maintaining its oil-in-water structure, and as a result, the texture of the dough food will not be improved.

[0014] The oil-in-water composition of the present invention contains water and fats and oils in addition to the above-mentioned cereal flour. The water can be any type of water suitable for use in food, including clean water and distilled water. The fat and oil can be any type of fat and oil suitable for use in food, including vegetable fats, animal fats, liquid fats, and solid fats. Examples of such fats and oils include corn oil, cottonseed oil, soybean oil, and olive oil.

[0015] The water and oil contents in the oil-in-water composition of the present invention are each preferably 10 to 55% by mass, more preferably 15 to 50% by mass, even more preferably 20 to 45% by mass, and even more preferably 25 to 40% by mass, based on the total mass of the composition. The combined water and oil content in the composition is preferably 50% by mass or more, and preferably 80% by mass or less, more preferably 78% by mass or less, even more preferably 76% by mass or less, and even more preferably 74% by mass or less, based on the total mass of the composition. The water to oil content ratio in the composition (water:oil) is preferably 1:5 to 5:1, more preferably 1:3 to 3:1, and even more preferably 1:2 to 2:1. If the water or oil content in the composition is too low or too high, the composition will have difficulty maintaining its oil-in-water structure, resulting in a difficulty in improving the texture of the dough food.

[0016] The oil-in-water composition of the present invention may contain other ingredients in addition to the above-mentioned flour, water, and oils and fats. Examples of such other ingredients include, but are not limited to, starches; proteins; sugars such as dextrin, starch syrup, and sugar alcohols; salts; seasonings; thickeners; enzymes; and the like. These other ingredients may be contained alone or in combination of two or more. However, unless necessary for improving the flavor or nutritional value of the food, it is preferable that the oil-in-water composition of the present invention contain as few ingredients as possible other than the above-mentioned flour, water, and oils and fats and oils and fats and the like. For example, the oil-in-water composition of the present invention does not need to contain starches. In particular, the oil-in-water composition of the present invention does not need to contain a leavening agent or an emulsifier. For example, leavening agents such as baking powder, and emulsifiers such as glycerin fatty acid esters, polyglycerin fatty acid esters, sucrose fatty acid esters, organic acid monoglycerides, propylene glycol fatty acid esters, sorbitan fatty acid esters, polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid esters, and lecithin, which are required to be labeled under the Food Sanitation Act, are often not preferred for use from a health perspective, and are therefore preferably not included in the oil-in-water composition of the present invention.The total content of these other components in the oil-in-water composition of the present invention is preferably less than 30% by mass, more preferably less than 20% by mass, even more preferably less than 10% by mass, even more preferably less than 5% by mass, and even more preferably less than 1% by mass, of the total mass of the composition, and most preferably substantially 0% by mass.

[0017] The oil-in-water composition of the present invention can be prepared by mixing and homogenizing the above-mentioned cereal flour, water, oil, and other ingredients as needed. The order of mixing the ingredients is not particularly limited; all ingredients may be mixed at once, or each ingredient may be added sequentially while the homogenization operation is being performed. As the method of homogenization, any method for preparing an oil-in-water composition, i.e., a composition in which an oil phase is dispersed in a continuous aqueous phase, can be used without particular limitation. Examples of such methods include stirring and mixing the ingredients using a manual or electric stirring device such as a mixer, whipper, mill, juicer, or blender. From the viewpoint of easily adjusting the median diameter of particles in the composition described below to a predetermined range, it is preferable to use an electric mixer or electric blender.

[0018] The oil-in-water composition of the present invention contains oil droplets, flour particles, and, if present, particles of other components dispersed in a continuous aqueous phase. The particles contained in the composition of the present invention preferably have a median diameter of 3 to 38 μm, more preferably 5 to 35 μm, even more preferably 10 to 32 μm, and even more preferably 15 to 30 μm. As used herein, the median particle diameter refers to the particle diameter at 50% cumulative volume in a cumulative volume-based distribution measured by a laser diffraction method at a product temperature of 25°C. The median particle diameter of the particles in the composition can be measured by a wet method using a laser diffraction / scattering particle size distribution analyzer (e.g., the "SALD-2300 Laser Diffraction Particle Size Distribution Analyzer" manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation). If the median diameter of the particles contained in the composition of the present invention is less than 5 μm, the dough food may have a hard texture, while if it exceeds 35 μm, the dough food may have a rough texture. The median diameter of the particles in the composition tends to decrease as the shear force of stirring during preparation of the composition increases. Therefore, the median diameter of the particles in the composition can be adjusted to fall within the above-mentioned range by adjusting the rotation speed and stirring time of the stirring device used for preparing the composition.

[0019] From the viewpoint of improving handleability, the oil-in-water composition of the present invention preferably has a viscosity of 12 to 100 Pa·s, more preferably 15 to 77 Pa·s, and even more preferably 20 to 60 Pa·s. When the oil-in-water composition is not used immediately after preparation, the viscosity of the composition is preferably relatively high in order to stably maintain the oil-in-water structure, and it is preferable to prepare the composition with a viscosity of, for example, 30 Pa·s or higher as a guideline. When the oil-in-water composition is used immediately after preparation, it is preferable to adjust the viscosity to a level that facilitates cooking and other operations. In this specification, the viscosity of the composition is the value measured in accordance with JIS Z 8803 "Viscosity of Liquids - Measurement Method" at a product temperature of 25°C using a Brookfield viscometer at a rotation speed of 0.6 to 12 rpm. The viscosity of the composition of the present invention may vary depending on the contents of flour, water, and oil, the content ratio of water to oil, the type of oil used, and the like. Furthermore, the viscosity of the composition of the present invention tends to increase as the median diameter of the particles contained therein decreases. By taking these factors into consideration, a composition having a desired viscosity can be prepared.

[0020] The oil-in-water composition of the present invention prepared as described above is relatively stable at room temperature and can maintain its oil-in-water structure for several hours without separation of the oil and fat. Therefore, the oil-in-water composition of the present invention may be used to produce dough foods immediately after preparation, or may be stored at a product temperature of about 2°C to 35°C after preparation and then used to produce dough foods within several hours.

[0021] The oil-in-water composition of the present invention can be used to produce dough foods in the same way as regular dough. In one embodiment, pancakes can be produced by dropping and spreading the oil-in-water composition of the present invention onto a heated iron plate, and then flipping it over and baking both sides. In another embodiment, bakery foods such as cakes can be produced by putting the oil-in-water composition of the present invention into a mold and baking it in an oven.

[0022] The oil-in-water composition of the present invention has a crisp texture when cooked, making it suitable for use as a food coating material. The oil-in-water composition of the present invention is preferably used as a coating material for deep-fried foods, as the crisp texture is particularly enhanced by frying. In producing fried foods using the oil-in-water composition of the present invention as a coating material, the oil-in-water composition of the present invention is applied to the surface of an ingredient to produce a fried food material. The deep-fried food material is then fried to produce a fried food material with a coating made from the oil-in-water composition of the present invention. The deep-fried food material to which the oil-in-water composition of the present invention is applied may be fried after storage for a certain period of time, but is preferably fried immediately. The deep-fried food material may be fried according to a conventional method depending on the type of fried food to be produced. The type of fried food produced using the oil-in-water composition of the present invention is not particularly limited, and examples include tempura, fried chicken, and breaded fries.

[0023] The ingredients for the fried food are not particularly limited and include, for example, various food ingredients such as meats such as chicken, pork, beef, lamb, goat, etc.; seafood such as squid, shrimp, fish, shellfish, etc.; vegetables; fruits; imitation meats such as soy meat, etc. If necessary, the ingredients may be seasoned or coated with flour before being coated with the coating material of the present invention.

[0024] The dough food produced using the oil-in-water composition of the present invention can be stored at room temperature, or refrigerated or frozen. The stored dough food can be thawed or reheated as needed before eating.

[0025] The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

[0026] Test Example 1 (1) Preparation of oil-in-water composition (Raw materials) Strong wheat flour (manufactured by Nisshin Flour Milling Welna) Weak wheat flour (manufactured by Nisshin Flour Milling Welna) Heat-treated wheat flour (moisture-heat-treated wheat flour obtained by spreading the above-mentioned weak wheat flour evenly in an enclosed space and heat-treating it with steam at 120°C for 1 minute) Rice flour (manufactured by Kumamoto Flour Milling)

[0027] (Procedure) The raw materials were mixed according to the formulation shown in Table 1, and stirred and mixed using an electric blender at a product temperature of 25°C. The particle size of the particles in the mixture was measured as appropriate during stirring, and stirring was stopped when the median diameter shown in Table 1 was measured, to prepare oil-in-water compositions (Production Examples 1-1 to 1-5 and Comparative Examples 1-1 to 1-4). The particle size was measured using the particle size measurement method described below. The viscosity of the prepared compositions was measured using the viscosity measurement method described below. The results are shown in Table 1.

[0028] (Particle size measurement method) Measurement was performed by a wet method according to the measurement manual using a laser diffraction particle size distribution measurement device (SALD-2300: manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation) at a product temperature of 25° C. (Viscosity measurement method) Measurement was performed using a Brookfield viscometer (model number TVB-10: manufactured by Toki Sangyo) at a product temperature of 25° C. with a rotor rotation speed of 0.6 to 12 rpm.

[0029] (2) Tempura Production Shrimp meat with tails attached (20 g / fish) was prepared as the filling. Moisture was removed from the surface of the filling with kitchen paper, and a thin layer of flour (soft wheat flour) was applied to the surface of the filling. The oil-in-water composition prepared in (1) was then applied to the entire surface of the shrimp meat. The amount of composition applied to the filling was approximately 15 g per shrimp (20 g). The composition-applied filling was placed in an oil bath at 170°C and deep-fried for 3 minutes to produce a deep-fried food (shrimp tempura). The resulting shrimp tempura was allowed to cool, after which its texture was evaluated. The resulting shrimp tempura was placed in a lidded container and stored in a refrigerator at 5°C for 6 hours. After storage, it was reheated in a microwave oven and its texture was evaluated. The texture was evaluated by 10 expert panelists according to the following evaluation criteria, and the average scores of the 10 panelists were calculated. The results are shown in Table 1.

[0030] <Evaluation criteria> 5 points: The batter is very crispy and very good. 4 points: The batter is crispy and good. 3 points: The batter is slightly hard but still crispy, with no problem. 2 points: The batter is hard or sticky, and the batter does not have much of a crispy texture, poor. 1 point: The batter is very hard or sticky, and the batter does not have a crispy texture, very poor.

[0031]

[0032] Test Example 2 An oil-in-water composition was prepared in the same manner as in Production Example 1-2, except that the blending of raw materials was changed as shown in Table 2. Tempura was produced using the prepared composition in the same manner as in Test Example 1, and evaluated. The results are shown in Table 2.

[0033]

[0034] Test Example 3 Oil-in-water compositions containing particles having the median diameters shown in Table 3 were prepared in the same manner as in Production Examples 1-2, except that the rotation speed and stirring time of the electric blender were varied. Tempura was made using the prepared compositions in the same manner as in Test Example 1, and evaluated. The results are shown in Table 3.

[0035]

[0036] Test Example 4 An oil-in-water composition was prepared in the same manner as in Production Example 1-2, except that the blending of raw materials was changed as shown in Table 4. Tempura was produced using the prepared composition in the same manner as in Test Example 1, and evaluated. The results are shown in Table 4.

[0037]

Claims

1. An oil-in-water composition comprising water, oil and fat, and cereal flour, wherein the cereal flour content is 20 to 50 mass %, and the particles contained therein have a median diameter of 5 to 35 μm.

2. The oil-in-water composition according to claim 1, wherein the content of the oil or fat is 15 to 45% by mass.

3. The oil-in-water composition according to claim 1, wherein the water content is 15 to 45% by mass.

4. The oil-in-water composition according to claim 1, wherein the content ratio of the water to the oil is 1:5 to 5:1 by mass.

5. The oil-in-water composition according to claim 1, wherein the total content of the water and the oil is 50% by mass or more.

6. The oil-in-water composition according to claim 1, which has a viscosity of 12 to 100 Pa·s.

7. The oil-in-water composition of claim 1, wherein said flour is wheat flour.

8. The oil-in-water composition of claim 1, wherein the flour is heat-treated flour.

9. The oil-in-water composition of claim 1, which does not contain an emulsifier.

10. A dough containing the oil-in-water composition according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. The dough according to claim 10, which is a coating material for deep-fried foods.

12. A method for producing fried foods, comprising: applying the batter described in claim 11 to ingredients; and frying the ingredients with the batter applied thereto.

13. Use of the oil-in-water composition according to any one of claims 1 to 9 as a dough.

14. The use according to claim 13, wherein the dough is a coating material for deep-fried foods.

15. Use of the oil-in-water composition according to any one of claims 1 to 9 in the manufacture of dough.

16. The use according to claim 15, wherein the dough is a coating material for deep-fried foods.

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