Edible composition and production method therefor

Abstract

This edible composition 10 contains a partially removed fish head 12 obtained by removing a specific part from a head 11 of a fish, wherein the specific part is a gill 13, and said edible composition contains a paste 14 or powder of the partially removed fish head 12 and sweet potato 16. The sweet potato 16 contains vitamin C and dietary fiber. Moreover, the sweet potato 16 is confirmed to have the effect of suppressing the fish smell of the head 11 of the fish.

Description

Edible composition and method for producing same

[0001] The present invention relates to an edible composition containing fish heads and a method for producing the same.

[0002] Protein is one of the nutrients most likely to be in short supply in the future food situation. Globally, protein is often obtained from meat, but meat production is said to be inefficient due to the large amount of grain required. Currently, veggie meat made from soybeans, cultured meat made from animal stem cells, and insect consumption are being considered as ways to make up for the meat shortage.

[0003] Incidentally, when bonito is eaten as sashimi, seared fish, dried bonito, or the like, only about 50% by mass of the fish is typically used for food. The remaining parts, including the head, may be used as feed, fertilizer, or fuel for biomass power generation, but in most cases are discarded. This is not unique to bonito, and other edible fish, such as tuna and yellowtail, are no exception.

[0004] In this regard, the edible use of parts of food ingredients that have not been used for food purposes is expected to play a part in solving food problems. The mass ratio of the bonito head to the whole bonito is approximately 20%, which, when converted to Japan's 2019 bonito catch of 228,949 tons, amounts to just under 30,000 tons, making the use of bonito heads for food significant. As an example of the use of fish heads for food, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a nutritious fish food. The nutritious fish food disclosed in Patent Document 1 is prepared by boiling the head, bones, etc. of a fish until soft, removing the broth, pulverizing it in a mixer, and then cooling and solidifying it.

[0005] Through experiments, the inventors have confirmed that 100 g of paste made by pressurizing and heating the whole head of bonito contains approximately 24.3 g of protein, as shown in Table 1 below.

[0006]

[0007] The 2020 edition (seventh revision) of the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan lists the protein content of autumn-caught bonito fillets (filleted with the head, bones, and internal organs removed) as 25.0 g per 100 g of raw material (see Table 1). This indicates that bonito heads contain the same amount of protein as bonito fillets. According to the Dietary Reference Intakes for Japanese (2020 edition), the recommended daily protein intake for Japanese people is 65 g for men aged 15 to 64 and 50 g for women aged 18 and over. Based on the 2019 bonito catch mentioned above, if all bonito heads were consumed, this would provide enough protein for over 100 million Japanese people.

[0008] Table 1 also confirms that bonito heads contain minerals, vitamins, and the unsaturated fatty acids DHA and EPA, and that compared to bonito fillets, bonito heads contain more minerals such as iron, calcium, and zinc, as well as more vitamins such as vitamin D and vitamin E.

[0009] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-225070

[0010] However, in the above experiments, it was found that the paste made by pressurizing and heating the entire bonito head had a strong, pungent odor (fishy odor). Therefore, the inventors considered it important to suppress the odor when using bonito heads as a food ingredient. Furthermore, as can be seen from Table 1, bonito heads do not contain vitamin C or dietary fiber. Therefore, to make a food containing bonito heads into a nutritionally balanced food, such as a so-called complete nutritional food, it is necessary to supplement it with at least vitamin C and dietary fiber. The above-mentioned issues regarding odor and nutritional components are common not only to bonito heads but to fish in general.

[0011] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide an edible composition containing fish heads, which contains vitamin C and dietary fiber and has a reduced fishy odor, and a method for producing the same.

[0012] The edible composition of the first invention that meets the above-mentioned objective is an edible composition containing a partially removed fish head, in which a specific part has been removed from the head of a fish, the specific part being the gills, and containing a paste or powder of the partially removed fish head and sweet potato.

[0013] The second invention, which meets the above-mentioned objective, provides a method for producing an edible composition containing a partially removed fish head, in which a specific part has been removed from the fish head, and includes the steps of: removing the gills, which are the specific part, from the fish head to produce the partially removed fish head; pressurizing and heating the partially removed fish head, and then pulverizing it to form a paste; and mixing the partially removed fish head paste with sweet potato.

[0014] The third invention, which is in line with the above-mentioned objective, provides a method for producing an edible composition containing a partially removed fish head, in which a specific part has been removed from the fish head, and includes the steps of: removing the gills, which are the specific part, from the fish head to produce the partially removed fish head; pressurizing and heating the partially removed fish head, pulverizing it, and freeze-drying it to form a powder; and mixing sweet potato with the powdered partially removed fish head.

[0015] The edible composition of the first invention is an edible composition containing a partially removed fish head, where a specific part has been removed from the fish head, the specific part being the gills, and contains a paste or powder of the partially removed fish head and sweet potato, making it possible to contain a fish head that contains vitamin C and dietary fiber and has a suppressed fishy odor.

[0016] The methods for producing the edible composition according to the second and third inventions are methods for producing the edible composition according to the first invention, and therefore both correspond to the edible composition according to the first invention.

[0017]

[0023] Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram of an edible composition according to one example of the present invention. (A) and (B) are explanatory diagrams of experimental results in which the odors of a paste sample and a powder sample were measured, respectively. (A) and (B) are both explanatory diagrams of experimental results in which a person evaluated the strength of the fishy odor. (A) and (B) are explanatory diagrams of experimental results in which a person evaluated the likeability of the odor. (A) and (B) are both explanatory diagrams of experimental results in which a person compared the strength of the fishy odor.

[0018] Next, with reference to the accompanying drawings, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described for better understanding of the present invention. As shown in Figure 1, an edible composition 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention is an edible composition containing a partially removed fish head 12 in which a specific part has been removed from a fish head 11, the specific part being the gills 13. The specific part will be described in detail below.

[0019] The fish head 11 used in this embodiment is the head of a skipjack tuna of the Scombridae family, but the fish is not limited to skipjack tuna and may be any type of fish, such as a blue fish or white fish. As shown in Figure 1, the partially removed fish head 12 is the portion remaining after removing the gills 13 from the fish head 11 using a blade or the like. In this embodiment, the partially removed fish head 12 is the fish head 11 from which only the gills 13 have been removed, but a fish head from which other parts (for example, the mouth) have also been removed in addition to the gills 13 may also be treated as a partially removed fish head.

[0020] However, the bones of the fish head 11 contain nutrients such as calcium phosphate and protein, and the eyes of the fish head 11 contain the unsaturated fatty acids DHA and EPA. Therefore, from the viewpoint of the nutritional value of the edible composition 10, it is preferable to remove the bones and eyes from the fish head 12.

[0021] The partially removed fish head 12 is pressurized and heated in a pressure vessel, and then crushed into a paste using a crusher (such as a mass colloider, feather mill, or mixer). Crushing can be facilitated by pressurizing and heating before the crushing process. Hereinafter, the paste of the partially removed fish head 12 will be referred to as "fish paste 14." The partially removed fish head 12 is pressurized and heated, for example, at a temperature set to 100°C or higher and 150°C or lower for a period of 60 minutes to 180 minutes.

[0022] There are no particular limitations on the size of the particles to be crushed into the grinder, but in order to improve the texture of the edible composition 10 produced from the partially removed fish head 12, it is preferable to set the size of the particles (the distance between the base member and the grinder when a mass colloid is used) to 0.5 mm or less, preferably 0.3 mm or less. Note that even if the size of the particles is set to a value less than 0.1 mm, such as 0.05 mm, it becomes difficult to achieve the effect of improving the texture compared to when the size of the particles is 0.1 mm, so the lower limit of the size of the particles may be set to 0.1 mm.

[0023] The edible composition 10 is prepared by mixing fish paste 14 and sweet potato (Ipomoea genus, Convolvulaceae family). In this embodiment, the sweet potato mixed with the fish paste 14 is sweet potato paste 16, which is made by steaming raw sweet potato 15 and then straining it to form a paste. However, this is not limiting. Instead of the sweet potato paste 16, for example, sweet potato powder made by drying the sweet potato paste 16, raw sweet potato 15 that has been finely chopped and heated, or raw sweet potato 15 that has been finely chopped and heated and then further dried can be used.

[0024] Therefore, the method for producing the edible composition 10 includes a step of removing the gills 13 from the fish head 11 to produce the partially removed fish head 12 (i.e., producing the partially removed fish head 12 based on the fish head 11), a step of pressurizing and heating the partially removed fish head 12 and then crushing it into a paste, and a step of mixing the sweet potato and fish paste 14.

[0025] Furthermore, instead of the fish paste 14, a dried powder of the fish paste 14 (hereinafter also referred to as "fish powder") may be selected as the material to be mixed with the sweet potato, or a mixture of the fish paste 14 and fish powder may be selected. Fish powder is advantageous in that it has a longer edible period (best before date) than the fish paste 14. The drying process for powdering the fish paste 14 is preferably freeze-drying using liquid nitrogen or the like to prevent oxidation of the components contained in the fish paste 14 (DHA, EPA, etc.).

[0026] Therefore, the method for producing an edible composition using powdered partially removed fish heads 12 includes the steps of removing the gills 13 from the fish heads 11 to produce the partially removed fish heads 12, pressurizing and heating the partially removed fish heads 12, crushing them, and drying them (preferably freeze-drying) to form a powder, and mixing sweet potato and the powdered partially removed fish heads 12.

[0027] Although there are no particular limitations on the type of sweet potato, purple sweet potato (Ipomoea purpurea) is preferred because it contains a large amount of anthocyanin, a type of polyphenol. Examples of purple sweet potato varieties include Murasaki Masari, Yamakawa Murasaki, Aya Murasaki, Purple Sweet Road, Tanegashima Gold, Miyatoyo 36, Bise, Oki Yume Murasaki, Hawaii Beni, Toyo Murasaki, Chura Koi Beni, and Ake Murasaki.

[0028] Next, we will explain why we use partially removed fish heads 12, in which the gills 13 have been removed from the fish heads 11, rather than the entire fish heads 11, and why we mix sweet potatoes into the partially removed fish heads 12.

[0029] <Odor> The inventors of the present invention confirmed through experiments that a paste produced by pressurizing, heating, and pulverizing the entire fish head 11 including the gills 13 (hereinafter also referred to as "comparative fish paste") has an odor that is offensive to humans, and they thought that in order for food products using the fish head 11 to be widely accepted by consumers, it is necessary to suppress the odor. Therefore, they conducted experiments to establish a method for effectively suppressing the odor.

[0030] As a result of various experiments, it was found that fish paste 14, which is made by turning partially removed fish heads 12 (gills 13 removed from fish heads 11) into a paste, can more effectively suppress fishy odor than the fish paste of the comparative example. Furthermore, the effective suppression of odor was also observed when the fish paste of the comparative example and the fish paste 14 were each made into powder. Furthermore, as a result of further experiments, it was confirmed that the fishy odor can be further suppressed by mixing sweet potato with the paste of partially removed fish heads 12.

[0031] Furthermore, in terms of suppressing the fishy odor and making it more widely accepted as a food ingredient, it was confirmed that the mass ratio of sweet potato to the partially removed fish head 12 (fish paste 14 or fish powder) is preferably in the range of 50% to 200%, with a lower limit of 75% and an upper limit of 150%, respectively.

[0032] Here, the method of suppressing odor by removing the gills 13 is less likely to harm the human body when eating the target product than the method of suppressing odor by adding additives, etc., and is expected to ensure safety for the human body, which is important for food ingredients. Moreover, it has been confirmed that removing the gills 13 from the fish head 11 is easy, and there are no problems in terms of production efficiency.

[0033] Furthermore, it was experimentally confirmed that the addition of koji mold suppresses the odor (fishy odor) of edible composition 10. Therefore, from the viewpoint of suppressing odor, it is preferable that edible composition 10 contains koji mold.

[0034] <Nutrition> As shown in Table 1, bonito heads (fish heads 11) contain a variety of nutrients, including minerals and vitamins, but do not contain vitamin C or dietary fiber. In contrast, sweet potatoes, as can be seen in Table 2 below, are rich in nutrients that are lacking in bonito heads, including vitamin C and dietary fiber. Table 2 is an excerpt from the relevant section on sweet potatoes (with skin, steamed) in the 2020 edition (7th revision) of the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan.

[0035]

[0036] Therefore, the edible composition 10 obtained by mixing the partially removed fish head 12 with the sweet potato can be said to be a food ingredient with a reduced odor and excellent nutritional balance. There are no particular restrictions on the form of the edible composition 10, and examples include a solid, paste, or powder form.

[0037] Furthermore, considering that blue fish are rich in unsaturated fatty acids and the like, from a nutritional standpoint, it is preferable to use the head of a so-called blue fish as the fish head 11. Blue fish are, for example, fish that fall into the following groups: (1) the genus Bonito, the genus Bonito, the genus Mackerel, the genus Scombridae, and the genus Thunnus, of the order Perciformes, suborder Scombridae, (2) the family Perciformes and family Carangidae, of the order Perciformes, suborder Percoidei, (3) the family Marlinidae and family Swordfish, of the order Perciformes, suborder Scutigeridae, (4) the order Scarabaeidae, suborder Scutigeridae, family Sauryidae, and family Scarabae, (5) the genus Sardine, the genus Piper, the genus Clupeidae, the genus Sardine, the genus Sardine, the genus Scallop, the genus Scallop, and the genus Threadfin, of the order Clupeidae, and (6) the genus Engraulis, of the order Engraulidae,

[0038] Furthermore, elastin is known to have beneficial health effects on the human body. Therefore, in consideration of human health, it is preferable that edible composition 10 contains elastin. Here, since elastin can be extracted from the bulb of arteries of fish, it is preferable that the elastin contained in edible composition 10 is extracted from the bulb of arteries of fish having head 11, which is the raw material for edible composition 10. Obtaining not only the fish head 11 but also the bulb of arteries from the fish is effective in terms of work efficiency and yield. For example, a method using an alkaline solution can be used to extract elastin from the bulb of arteries. Experimental Example

[0039] Next, experiments conducted to confirm the effects of the present invention will be described. <First Experiment> A sample of a paste made from the entire bonito head (hereinafter also referred to as "gill-containing paste"), a sample of a paste made from a partially removed bonito head (hereinafter also referred to as "gill-less paste"), a sample of a powder made from the entire bonito head (hereinafter also referred to as "gill-containing powder"), and a sample of a powder made from a partially removed bonito head (hereinafter also referred to as "gill-less powder") were prepared, and the odor of each sample was measured using a measuring device. The powder samples were produced by pressurizing and heating the entire bonito head or the partially removed bonito head, followed by freeze-pulverizing using liquid nitrogen.

[0040] The measuring device used was a portable odor sensor XP-329m manufactured by New Cosmos Electric Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, the term "measuring device" refers to the same product). The measurement results are shown in Figures 2(A) and 2(B). "With gills" and "without gills" shown in Figure 2(A) are the measurement results for the "paste with gills" and "paste without gills", respectively, and "With gills" and "without gills" shown in Figure 2(B) are the measurement results for the "powder with gills" and "powder without gills", respectively. The measurement results confirmed that the odor index of the paste-type sample and the powder-type sample without gills was lower than that of the sample with gills.

[0041] <Second Experiment> Ten people of all ages and genders were asked to smell the paste with gills and the paste without gills and compare the smells. The results of the comparison are shown in Figures 3(A) and 3(B). Figure 3(A) shows the results of a comparison of whether the paste with gills was perceived as having a stronger or weaker pungent fishy smell than the paste without gills, and Figure 3(B) shows the results of a comparison of the superiority or inferiority of the smell of the paste with gills as a food ingredient compared to the paste without gills. The comparison results showed that many people (8 out of 10 people) felt that the paste with gills had a stronger pungent fishy smell than the paste without gills, and many people (6 out of 10 people) felt that the paste with gills had an inferior smell as a food ingredient to the paste without gills.

[0042] <Third Experiment> Three samples containing purple sorghum, an example of sweet potato, were prepared by mixing the gill-less paste with purple sorghum paste in different ratios. Ten people of all ages and genders were asked to smell the three samples (four samples in total) of the gill-less paste (excluding sweet potato) and the purple sorghum paste, and select the sample that they found to be the most pleasant to eat. The experimental results are shown in Figure 4.

[0043] 4, "no additives" represents the gill-less paste, "half amount" represents a sample with a mixing ratio (mass ratio) of gill-less paste to purple sardine paste of 2:1, "same amount" represents a sample with a mixing ratio (mass ratio) of gill-less paste to purple sardine paste of 1:1, and "double amount" represents a sample with a mixing ratio (mass ratio) of gill-less paste to purple sardine paste of 1:2. The experimental results confirmed that many people felt that the sample with a mass ratio of gill-less paste to purple sardine paste of 1:1 had the most pleasant smell as a food ingredient.

[0044] <Fourth Experiment> Sweet potato-containing samples were prepared by mixing sweet potato paste with gill-less paste in a 1:1 mass ratio for three types of sweet potato (specifically, Beniharuka, Annouimo, and Koganesengan). Ten people of all ages and genders were asked to smell a total of four samples: a sweet potato-free sample containing only gill-less paste, and three sweet potato-containing samples containing a mixture of gill-less paste and sweet potato, and evaluate the strength of the fishy odor. The evaluation was conducted on a four-point scale from 1 to 4, with 4 being the strongest pungent odor and 1 being the weakest.

[0045] The experimental results are shown in Figure 5. In Figure 5, the bar graph shows the average score of 10 people. Note that for the sample without sweet potato, the standard deviation exceeded 4, so the maximum value on the vertical axis was set to 5. The experimental results confirmed that, although there were differences depending on the type of sweet potato, the samples with sweet potato were perceived as having a weaker fishy odor than the samples without sweet potato for all three types of sweet potato.

[0046] <Fifth Experiment> The gill-less powder was filled into an aluminum pouch, and the sample was degassed by about 70%. The pouch was then stored in a storage cabinet at 40°C, and an accelerated test was performed to measure predetermined values. The experimental results are shown in Table 3 below.

[0047]

[0048] The experimental results confirmed that there was no substantial decrease in the DHA and EPA levels over time. Furthermore, the peroxide value (POV), which indicates the amount of peroxides contained in the oil, and the oxidation value (AV), which indicates the amount of free fatty acids contained in the oil, were both low.

[0049] <Sixth Experiment> A sample of a mixture of gill-less paste and purple sardine to which koji mold was added was prepared, and a sample of the same mixture to which koji mold was not added was prepared. 12 people smelled both samples and were asked to choose the one with the stronger fishy odor. The mass ratio of gill-less paste to purple sardine paste in each sample was 1:4. Yellow koji mold and white koji mold were used in the experiment.

[0050] The results of experiments using yellow koji mold and white koji mold are shown in Figures 6(A) and 6(B), respectively. In Figures 6(A) and 6(B), the percentage values, such as 0% and 5%, represent the mass ratio of the mixture of gillless paste and purple sardines. The results in Figures 6(A) and 6(B) show that in both experiments using yellow koji mold and white koji mold, many participants recognized that the samples containing koji mold had a weaker fishy odor than the samples without koji mold.

[0051] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and all changes in conditions that do not depart from the gist of the present invention are within the scope of application of the present invention.

[0052] The edible composition of the present invention contains a paste or powder of partially removed fish heads (gills removed) and sweet potato, and thus contains vitamin C and dietary fiber and has a reduced fishy odor. The edible composition can be used to develop a variety of new foods. Furthermore, the method for producing the edible composition of the present invention can facilitate the production of the edible composition.

[0053] 10: Edible composition, 11: Fish head, 12: Partially removed fish head, 13: Gill, 14: Fish paste, 15: Raw sweet potato, 16: Sweet potato paste

Claims

1. An edible composition containing a partially removed fish head, in which a specific part has been removed from the head of a fish, said specific part being the gill, characterized in that the edible composition contains a paste or powder of said partially removed fish head and sweet potato.

2. The edible composition according to claim 1, characterized in that it contains koji mold.

3. The edible composition according to claim 1, characterized in that it contains elastin extracted from the bulbus arteriosus of said fish.

4. The edible composition according to claim 1, characterized in that the mass ratio of the sweet potato to the partially removed fish head is 50% or more and 200% or less.

5. The edible composition according to claim 1, wherein the mass ratio of the sweet potato to the partially removed fish head is 75% or more.

6. The edible composition according to claim 1, wherein the mass ratio of the sweet potato to the partially removed fish head is 150% or less.

7. An edible composition according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the fish is a member of the genus Skipjack of the Scombridae family.

8. An edible composition according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the sweet potato is a purple sweet potato.

9. A method for producing an edible composition containing a partially removed fish head, in which a specific part has been removed from the head of a fish, comprising the steps of: removing the gills, which are the specific part, from the head of the fish to produce the partially removed fish head; pressurizing and heating the partially removed fish head, and then pulverizing it to form a paste; and mixing sweet potato and the partially removed fish head paste.

10. A method for producing an edible composition containing a partially removed fish head, in which a specific part has been removed from the fish head, comprising the steps of: removing the gills, which are the specific part, from the fish head to produce the partially removed fish head; pressurizing and heating the partially removed fish head, pulverizing it, and freeze-drying it to form a powder; and mixing sweet potato and the powdered partially removed fish head.

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