Soft candy and production method for soft candy

Abstract

Provided is a soft candy that has good quality such as elasticity, chewing properties, and less adhesion to teeth, without relying on addition of gelatin. Provided is a soft candy comprising: sugar; a low-molecular-weight saccharide that has a molecular weight of at most 500 and that is a saccharide other than sugar; carrageenan; and pullulan. The soft candy contains 32-46 mass% of the sugar, 18.3-50 mass% of the low-molecular-weight saccharide, 0.3-1.5 mass% of the carrageenan, and 0.3-1.5 mass% of the pullulan.

Description

Soft candy and method for producing soft candy

[0001] The present invention relates to a soft candy and a method for producing the soft candy.

[0002] Traditionally, soft candies have been known as sweets with a unique chewiness. They are chewy when first chewed, but as you chew, they soften and become chewy, and the sweet ingredients dissolve in your mouth. They are sweets that allow you to enjoy their flavor and texture until you swallow them, and are popular with a wide range of age groups. Generally, gelatin is blended into such soft candies to impart their unique chewiness.

[0003] On the other hand, for example, Patent Document 1 devise a recipe for a soft candy that does not contain gelatin. Patent Document 1 states that by replacing gelatin with the thickening polysaccharides pullulan and carrageenan, stickiness when cutting after molding can be reduced. Demand for gelatin-free confectioneries that do not contain gelatin is expected to be strong for people with vegetarian, vegan, and halal eating habits.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-105105

[0005] However, according to the investigations of the present inventors, soft candies made using recipes that do not contain gelatin appear to have problems in terms of chewiness, elasticity, bite, etc.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a soft candy that can produce a high-quality soft candy without relying on the addition of gelatin, and a method for producing the soft candy.

[0007] The present inventors have conducted extensive research to solve the above problems and have discovered that by devising the blending of low molecular weight sugars other than sugar, it is possible to obtain high quality soft candies without relying on the blending of gelatin, thereby completing the present invention.

[0008] That is, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a soft candy comprising sugar, a saccharide other than the sugar that is a low-molecular-weight sugar having a molecular weight of 500 or less, carrageenan, and pullulan, the soft candy containing 32 to 46% by mass of the sugar, 18.3 to 50% by mass of the low-molecular-weight sugar, 0.3 to 1.5% by mass of the carrageenan, and 0.3 to 1.5% by mass of the pullulan.

[0009] In one embodiment of the soft candy, the low molecular weight sugar may be one or more types of low molecular weight sugar selected from the group consisting of disaccharide sugars, monosaccharide sugars, and sugar alcohols.

[0010] In addition, in one embodiment of the soft candy described above, the disaccharide sugar as the low molecular weight sugar may be one or more disaccharide sugars selected from the group consisting of maltose, isomaltose, reduced isomaltulose, trehalose, and lactose.

[0011] In addition, in one embodiment of the soft candy described above, the monosaccharide sugar as the low molecular weight sugar may be one or more types of monosaccharide sugar selected from the group consisting of glucose and fructose.

[0012] In addition, in one embodiment of the soft candy described above, the sugar alcohol serving as the low molecular weight sugar may be one or more sugar alcohols selected from the group consisting of sorbitol, xylitol, and erythritol.

[0013] In addition, in one embodiment of the soft candy described above, the low molecular weight sugar may be 18 to 40% by mass of saccharides having a molecular weight of 200 or more.

[0014] In addition, in one embodiment, the soft candy may contain 0.3 to 10% by mass of saccharides having a molecular weight of less than 200 as the low molecular weight sugar.

[0015] In addition, in one embodiment of the soft candy, in any of the above-mentioned embodiments, the soft candy may further contain starch syrup, oligosaccharides, and / or starch.

[0016] In one embodiment, the soft candy described above may further contain the starch syrup, oligosaccharides, and / or starch, and the starch, oligosaccharides, and / or starch may be derived from raw materials containing one or more selected from the group consisting of starch syrup, reduced starch syrup, isomaltooligosaccharides, dextrin, raw starch, pregelatinized starch, and modified starch.

[0017] Furthermore, in one embodiment of the soft candy described above, the hardness of the soft candy may be such that when a cylinder having a diameter of 10 mm is pressed into the soft candy at a rate of 1 mm / sec at a temperature of 20°C using a texture analyzer, the peak stress value falls within a range of 1000 to 8000 g.

[0018] On the other hand, in a second aspect, the present invention provides a method for producing a soft candy, comprising: a dough preparation step of preparing a dough by boiling down a base liquid, optionally adding other ingredients, and mixing them; and a shaping step of shaping the dough into a predetermined shape, wherein the base liquid contains sugar, a sugar other than the sugar that is a low-molecular-weight sugar having a molecular weight of 500 or less, carrageenan, and pullulan, and wherein in the dough preparation step, the dough contains 32 to 46% by mass of the sugar, 18.3 to 50% by mass of the low-molecular-weight sugar, 0.3 to 1.5% by mass of the carrageenan, and 0.3 to 1.5% by mass of the pullulan.

[0019] According to the present invention, by devising the blending of low molecular weight sugars other than sugar in soft candies, it is possible to obtain soft candies of good quality without relying on the blending of gelatin.

[0020] In this specification, unless otherwise specified, the term "to" in a numerical range means from above to below, and both end values ​​are included. Furthermore, when a numerical range is indicated, the upper and lower limits can be combined as appropriate, and the resulting numerical range is also considered to be disclosed.

[0021] The soft candy provided by the present invention contains sugar, a low molecular weight sugar other than sugar, carrageenan, and pullulan.

[0022] The low molecular weight sugars other than sugars used in the present invention are not particularly limited as long as they have a molecular weight of 500 or less, and may be, for example, disaccharide sugars, monosaccharide sugars, sugar alcohols, etc. Specific examples of disaccharide sugars include maltose, isomaltose, reduced isomaltulose, trehalose, lactose, cellobiose, nigerose, etc. Monosaccharide sugars include glucose, fructose, galactose, etc. Sugar alcohols include sorbitol, xylitol, erythritol, maltitol, lactitol, mannitol, etc. The above low molecular weight sugars may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

[0023] The carrageenan used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is a material having functional properties such as thickening and gelling, and examples thereof include those extracted from red algae and further optionally purified to prepare them. Commercially available products include "Gelrich (registered trademark)" (manufactured by San-Ei Gen F.F.I. Co., Ltd.), and these can be preferably used.

[0024] The pullulan used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is a material having functional properties such as adhesiveness and water retention, and examples thereof include pullulan prepared by culturing a microorganism belonging to Aureobasidium pullulans, collecting extracellular products, and optionally further purifying them. Commercially available pullulan products include "Pullulan" (manufactured by Hayashibara Co., Ltd.), and these can be preferably used.

[0025] However, in the present invention, sugar, which is essential for soft candy, low molecular weight sugars other than the sugars mentioned above, carrageenan, and pullulan are contained in specific proportions, which allows for the production of high-quality soft candy without relying on the addition of gelatin.

[0026] More specifically, in the present invention, the soft candy contains 32 to 46% by mass of sugar, 18.3 to 50% by mass of low-molecular-weight sugar, 0.3 to 1.5% by mass of carrageenan, and 0.3 to 1.5% by mass of pullulan, each of which satisfies the specified content range. In this case, in one embodiment, the sugar content may be 33 to 42% by mass, 34 to 40% by mass, or 35 to 39% by mass. The low-molecular-weight sugar content may be 19 to 49% by mass, 20 to 48% by mass, 21 to 47% by mass, or 25 to 45% by mass. The carrageenan content may be 0.5 to 1.2% by mass or 0.6 to 1.0% by mass. The pullulan content may be 0.5 to 1.2% by mass or 0.6 to 1.0% by mass.

[0027] In certain embodiments of the present invention, the content range of the low molecular weight sugars may be further specified based on the detailed molecular weight characteristics. Specifically, the content range of the low molecular weight sugars having a molecular weight of 200 or more may be 18 to 40% by mass, 20 to 38% by mass, or 25 to 35% by mass. The content range of the low molecular weight sugars having a molecular weight of less than 200 may be 0.3 to 10% by mass, 0.5 to 8% by mass, 1 to 8% by mass, 2 to 7% by mass, or 4 to 6% by mass. Here, the low molecular weight sugars having a molecular weight of 200 or more are preferably one or more disaccharide sugars selected from the group consisting of maltose, isomaltose, reduced isomaltulose, trehalose, and lactose, among the sugars exemplified above. Furthermore, the low molecular weight sugars having a molecular weight of less than 200 are preferably one or more monosaccharide sugars selected from the group consisting of glucose and fructose, and / or one or more sugar alcohols selected from the group consisting of sorbitol, xylitol, and erythritol.

[0028] The soft candy provided by the present invention may contain raw materials containing sugars such as corn syrup, oligosaccharides, and starch, which have molecular weight characteristics other than the low-molecular-weight sugars described above, as long as the object of the present invention is not impaired. Specifically, raw materials containing corn syrup, oligosaccharides, and starch are not limited, but may be derived from raw materials containing corn syrup, reduced corn syrup, isomaltooligosaccharides, dextrin, raw starch, pregelatinized starch, modified starch, and the like. These raw materials containing corn syrup, oligosaccharides, and starch may be used alone or in combination of two or more. These raw materials containing corn syrup, oligosaccharides, and starch may contain the low-molecular-weight sugars with a molecular weight of 500 or less described above. The range of the content of low-molecular-weight sugars with a molecular weight of 500 or less described above refers to the total content of the low-molecular-weight sugars contained in the raw materials constituting the soft candy, including those derived from raw materials containing corn syrup, oligosaccharides, and starch.

[0029] The soft candy provided by the present invention may contain ingredients other than those mentioned above, as long as they do not impair the object of the present invention. For example, thickeners such as gum arabic, pectin, guar gum, xanthan gum, tamarind gum, deacylated gellan gum, native gellan gum, psyllium seed gum, carboxymethylcellulose, succinoglycan, and locust bean gum; edible vegetable oils and fats such as palm oil, soybean oil, rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, olive oil, coconut oil, corn oil, sesame oil, rice oil, castor oil, and linseed oil; and fats and oils obtained by hardening, fractionating, or otherwise processing the above oils and fats. and processed fats and oils that have been treated with interesterification or the like, emulsifiers such as sucrose fatty acid esters, sorbitan fatty acid esters, lecithin, propylene glycol fatty acid esters, and glycerin fatty acid esters, acidulants such as citric acid, malic acid, fumaric acid, lactic acid, acetic acid, gluconic acid, ascorbic acid, and tartaric acid, dairy products such as milk powder, condensed milk, whey powder, and fermented milk powder, flavorings, colorings, nuts, chia seeds, dried fruits, gummies, tablet candies, nonpareils, seamless capsules, etc.

[0030] The soft candy provided by the present invention may be prepared by any method known in the art, and any conventional method for preparing soft candies may be used. For example, a base liquid containing sugar may be boiled down, and other ingredients may be added and mixed to obtain a dough, which may then be molded into a desired shape.

[0031] However, as described above, the present invention contains sugar, the low-molecular-weight sugar other than the sugar, carrageenan, and pullulan in specific proportions. Therefore, the base liquid can be prepared by adjusting the respective proportions of sugar, the low-molecular-weight sugar other than the sugar, carrageenan, and pullulan appropriately, adding water or other moisture to form a base liquid, and boiling and mixing the resulting liquid. Other ingredients may be added to the base liquid as desired, as long as they do not impair the objectives of the present invention. During the boiling and evaporating of water from the base liquid, or during subsequent mixing while cooling to room temperature or the like, the sugar crystallizes, and the presence of other low-molecular-weight sugars, carrageenan, and pullulan gives the resulting dough a chewiness characteristic of soft candies. This can then be molded into a predetermined shape (e.g., a bite-sized rectangular prism) to obtain a soft candy.

[0032] The water content of the soft candy provided by the present invention is not limited, but from the viewpoints of preventing sticking to teeth and maintaining shape, it is preferably 5 to 12% by weight, more preferably 7 to 9% by weight.

[0033] The lipid content of the soft candy provided by the present invention is not limited, but is preferably 3 to 20% by mass, more preferably 4 to 18% by mass, and even more preferably 6 to 15% by mass.

[0034] The soft candy provided by the present invention is not limited in terms of the emulsifier content, but it may typically be, for example, 0.05 to 3% by weight.

[0035] The specific gravity of the soft candy provided by the present invention is not limited, but may typically be, for example, 1 to 1.4.

[0036] The soft candy provided by the present invention is not limited in terms of hardness, but may have a peak stress value measured at 20°C using a texture analyzer that is typically in the range of 1000 to 8000 g, 1200 to 6000 g, or 1500 to 5000 g.

[0037] In this specification, the hardness of a soft candy can be measured using a texture analyzer TA.XT plus (manufactured by Eiko Seiki Co., Ltd.) as follows, for example.

[0038] [Measurement Method] (1) The dough is molded into a cylinder or rectangular parallelepiped with a thickness of 11 mm and a measurement surface including a circle with a diameter of 11 mm to obtain a molded product. (2) The molded product is fixed to the sample stage of a texture analyzer, and the product temperature is maintained at 20°C. (3) The analyzer's measurement probe (cylindrical with a diameter of 10 mm) is lowered at a speed of 1 mm / sec, and the measurement probe penetrates the surface near the center of the measurement surface of the molded product, and the load is measured within a maximum load range of 50 kg. (4) When the measurement probe penetrates 4 mm from the surface of the molded product (i.e., the measurement probe does not penetrate the molded product), the measurement probe is raised.

[0039] In any non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, the soft candy provided by the present invention preferably does not contain gelatin or has a gelatin content of 0.6% by mass or less, more typically 0.3% by mass or less. Furthermore, it is preferable that the raw material composition does not contain any animal-derived materials, or that the raw material composition meets the standards of plant-based certification or halal certification.

[0040] The present invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to examples, but these examples are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0041] [Preparation Example 1] Soft candies were prepared in accordance with the usual method according to the formulations shown in Tables 1-1 to 1-3. Specifically, they were prepared as follows.

[0042] The base liquid (main ingredient) was made by mixing each ingredient and boiling it down, then adding the fondant base at 60-80°C and mixing thoroughly to precipitate sugar crystals. The secondary ingredients were then added and mixed further, and then the mixture was allowed to cool naturally to room temperature (20°C).

[0043] The percentage (mass %) of low molecular weight sugars other than sugar per candy is shown in the bottom row of Table 1. The sugar content of the raw materials used is as follows:

[0044] (Sugar content of raw materials) "Mizuame" (per solid): Maltose content 48.1%, glucose content 3% "Sunmalto S" (per solid): Maltose content 92%, glucose content 8% "Palatinite" (per solid): Reduced isomaltulose content 100% "Trehalose" (per solid): Trehalose content 100% "Lactose" (per solid): Lactose content 99% "Isomaltooligosaccharide" (per solid): Isomaltooligosaccharide content 90%, monosaccharide content 1%, disaccharide content 8% "Reduced mizuame" (per solid): Monosaccharide content 3.5%, disaccharide content 50%, trisaccharide or higher sugar content 46.5% "Fondant base": Prepared by mixing and boiling down 70 parts by weight of sugar, 30 parts by weight of mizuame, and 20 parts by weight of water "Pregelatinized starch" "Waxy Alpha S-1" (per solid): Pregelatinized starch content 100% "Processed Starch 1" "Stabilose T-10" (per solid): Tapioca-derived oxidized starch content 100% "Raw Starch" (per solid): Tapioca starch content 100%

[0045]

[0046]

[0047]

[0048] [Test Example 1] Each of the soft candies prepared was subjected to a sensory evaluation and a physical property evaluation using a texture analyzer.

[0049] [1. Sensory Evaluation] Sensory evaluation was performed by three panelists according to the following criteria. (Elasticity) 1 point: Very weak 2 points: Weak 3 points: Normal 4 points: Strong 5 points: Very strong (The results were calculated based on the average scores of the panelists.) (Chewiness) 1 point: Very weak 2 points: Weak 3 points: Normal 4 points: Strong 5 points: Very strong (The results were calculated based on the average scores of the panelists.) (Chewiness) 1 point: Very strong 2 points: Strong 3 points: Normal 4 points: Weak 5 points: Very weak (The results were calculated based on the average scores of the panelists.) (Overall Evaluation) Pass: "Good" - all three items received 3 points or more Fail: "Poor" - at least one of the three items received 2 points or less.

[0050] [2. Physical Property Evaluation] The hardness of the soft candy was measured using a texture analyzer TA.XT plus (manufactured by Eiko Seiki Co., Ltd.).

[0051] [Measurement Method] (1) The dough is molded into a cylinder or rectangular parallelepiped with a thickness of 11 mm and a measurement surface including a circle with a diameter of 11 mm to obtain a molded product. (2) The molded product is fixed to the sample stage of a texture analyzer, and the product temperature is maintained at 20°C. (3) The analyzer's measurement probe (cylindrical with a diameter of 10 mm) is lowered at a speed of 1 mm / sec, and the measurement probe penetrates the surface near the center of the measurement surface of the molded product, and the load is measured within a maximum load range of 50 kg. (4) When the measurement probe penetrates 4 mm from the surface of the molded product (i.e., the measurement probe does not penetrate the molded product), the measurement probe is raised.

[0052] The results are shown in Table 2.

[0053]

[0054] The results revealed the following: (1) As seen from the results of Comparative Example 1, when using the conventional method (the same formulation as in Example 1 described in JP 2004-105105 A), the quality was significantly worse in sensory evaluation (elasticity, chewability, and bite) than the commercially available soft candy (containing gelatin) used as a reference. Furthermore, physical property evaluation using a texture analyzer also revealed that the quality did not provide a firm chewiness. (2) As seen from the results of Example 1, when the content of low-molecular-weight sugars (not sugars) with a molecular weight of 500 or less was increased by adjusting the amount of starch syrup, the quality of the sensory evaluation (elasticity, chewability, and bite) came closer to that of the commercially available soft candy (containing gelatin) used as a reference, and the overall evaluation was rated "pass." Furthermore, physical property evaluation using a texture analyzer also showed a significant improvement in quality, providing a firmer chewiness than that of Comparative Example 1. (3) As can be seen from the results of Examples 2 to 5, when the amount of starch syrup is reduced while the disaccharide sugar maltose is added to maintain the content of low-molecular-weight sugars (non-sugars) with a molecular weight of 500 or less within a predetermined range, the quality of soft candies containing no gelatin is improved, as in (2) above. (4) As can be seen from the results of Examples 6 to 8, when the amount of starch syrup is reduced to half that of Comparative Example 1 while the disaccharide sugars reduced isomaltulose, trehalose, or lactose are added to maintain the content of low-molecular-weight sugars (non-sugars) with a molecular weight of 500 or less within a predetermined range, the quality of soft candies containing no gelatin is improved, as in (2) and (3) above. (5) As can be seen from the results of Examples 9 to 14, even when isomaltooligosaccharide, reduced starch syrup, dextrin, pregelatinized starch, modified starch, or raw starch is added as a sugar, by adding maltose, a disaccharide sugar, and keeping the content of low-molecular-weight sugars (other than sugars) having a molecular weight of 500 or less within a predetermined range, the quality of soft candies without gelatin was improved, as in (2) to (4) above.

Claims

1. A soft candy containing sugar, a sugar other than said sugar that is a low molecular weight sugar having a molecular weight of 500 or less, carrageenan, and pullulan, the sugar being 32 to 46% by mass, the low molecular weight sugar being 18.3 to 50% by mass, the carrageenan being 0.3 to 1.5% by mass, and the pullulan being 0.3 to 1.5% by mass.

2. The soft candy according to claim 1, wherein the low molecular weight sugar is one or more types of low molecular weight sugar selected from the group consisting of disaccharide sugars, monosaccharide sugars, and sugar alcohols.

3. The soft candy according to claim 2, wherein the disaccharide sugar is one or more disaccharide sugars selected from the group consisting of maltose, isomaltose, reduced isomaltulose, trehalose, and lactose.

4. The soft candy according to claim 2, wherein the monosaccharide sugar is one or more types of monosaccharide sugar selected from the group consisting of glucose and fructose.

5. The soft candy according to claim 2, wherein the sugar alcohol is one or more sugar alcohols selected from the group consisting of sorbitol, xylitol, and erythritol.

6. The soft candy according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the low molecular weight sugars comprise 18 to 40% by mass of sugars with a molecular weight of 200 or more.

7. The soft candy according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the low molecular weight sugar comprises 0.3 to 10% by mass of sugars having a molecular weight of less than 200.

8. The soft candy according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising starch syrup, oligosaccharides, and / or starch.

9. The soft candy according to claim 8, wherein the starch syrup, oligosaccharides, and / or starch are derived from raw materials containing one or more selected from the group consisting of starch syrup, reduced starch syrup, isomaltooligosaccharides, dextrin, raw starch, pregelatinized starch, and modified starch.

10. The soft candy according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the hardness of the soft candy is such that when a cylinder with a diameter of 10 mm is pressed into the soft candy at a rate of 1 mm / sec at a temperature of 20°C using a texture analyzer, the peak stress value is in the range of 1,000 to 8,000 g.

11. A method for producing soft candies, comprising: a dough preparation step of boiling down a base liquid, optionally adding other ingredients, and mixing to prepare a dough; and a shaping step of shaping the dough into a predetermined shape, wherein the base liquid contains sugar, a sugar other than the sugar that is a low-molecular-weight sugar having a molecular weight of 500 or less, carrageenan, and pullulan; and wherein in the dough preparation step, the dough contains 32 to 46% by mass of the sugar, 18.3 to 50% by mass of the low-molecular-weight sugar, 0.3 to 1.5% by mass of the carrageenan, and 0.3 to 1.5% by mass of the pullulan.

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