Off-taste masking agent and method for masking off-taste

Abstract

[Problem] Food products with functional appeal have various food materials blended therein in order to add functionality. However, these food products sometimes have unpleasant smells and tastes, and have major issues related to taste and flavor. In particular, in beverages and food products having several minerals blended therein directly or in the form of a salt, the astringent taste and bitterness of minerals cause a major problem. The present invention addresses the problem of providing a method for further masking, in a beverage or food product containing several minerals, an off-taste derived from the minerals. [Solution] This method is for suppressing an off-taste derived from minerals by using a combination of yeast-derived low-molecular weight water-soluble dietary fibers and high-molecular weight water-soluble dietary fibers at a ratio of 1:1 to 1:5.

Description

Taste masking agent and taste masking method

[0001] The present invention relates to a composition for masking the off-taste of minerals and their salts.

[0002] Due to the recent increase in demand for home-cooked meals, various functional processed foods, including functional food products, have been commercialized. These functional foods contain various food ingredients to impart their functionality, but they sometimes have unpleasant odors or tastes, posing significant challenges in terms of taste and flavor. In particular, the astringency and bitterness of foods containing multiple minerals, either directly or in the form of salt, have been a major issue.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 describes an edible composition containing one or more specific functional ingredients, such as collagen or proteoglycan, and dextrin with a dextrin equivalent of 10 or more, as well as a method for masking the unpleasant taste of the edible composition caused by the functional ingredients. This unpleasant taste refers to the unpleasant taste derived from the raw materials of the functional ingredients (fishy odor, fishy odor, etc.) or the distinctive smell of thiamine chloride hydrochloride. Patent Document 2 also describes a method for masking the harsh taste of potassium chloride, which is present in reduced-salt foods and beverages at 0.5% by weight or more, using water-soluble dietary fiber containing 85% to 95% indigestible components.

[0004] However, Patent Document 1 is aimed at functional ingredients, mainly collagen and peptides, and does not mask minerals. Also, the masking method described in Patent Document 2 is difficult to say is sufficient in reducing the unpleasant taste caused by functional ingredients.

[0005] JP 2024-11771 International Publication WO2012 / 017710

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an excellent method for masking off-tastes derived from a plurality of minerals or salts in foods and beverages containing the minerals or salts.

[0007] As a result of extensive research into solving the above-mentioned problems, the inventors have discovered that the off-flavors derived from minerals and their salts can be suppressed by using a combination of yeast-derived low-molecular-weight water-soluble dietary fiber and high-molecular-weight water-soluble dietary fiber in a specific ratio.

[0008] That is, the present invention provides: (1) a composition for masking the unpleasant taste of minerals, containing 50% or more of water-soluble dietary fiber that is a yeast extract; (2) the masking composition according to claim 1, wherein the water-soluble dietary fiber is a water-soluble dietary fiber having a ratio of low molecular weight water-soluble dietary fiber to high molecular weight water-soluble dietary fiber of 1:1 to 1:5; (3) the masking composition according to claim 1, wherein the minerals are one or more selected from the group consisting of K, Mg, Na, Ca, Fe, Cu, Cr, Mo, Zn, Cu, Mn, I, Se, P, Cl, and S; (4) the masking composition according to claim 1, wherein the minerals are potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, or sodium acetate; (5) a method for producing a food or beverage, comprising a step of allowing the composition according to (1), minerals, and food or beverage to coexist; (6) a method for masking the unpleasant taste of minerals using the composition according to (1); (7) a composition for food or beverage, comprising the masking composition according to (1) and minerals; (8) a food or beverage containing the composition according to (7).

[0009] The composition containing dietary fiber of the yeast extract of the present invention can effectively mask the unpleasant taste of minerals.

[0010] The term "minerals" as used herein refers to one or more minerals or mineral salts, and is not limited to those commonly used for food. Examples of minerals include K, Mg, Na, Ca, Fe, Cu, Cr, Mo, Zn, Cu, Mn, I, Se, P, Cl, and S, preferably K, Mg, Na, Ca, Fe, Cu, Cr, Mo, Zn, and Cu. Examples of mineral salts include salt substitutes and shelf-life enhancers, such as potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, and calcium chloride, which are used as salt substitutes, and sodium acetate, which is used as a shelf-life enhancer.

[0011] The off-tastes referred to in the present invention are metallic tastes, bitterness, astringency, etc., derived from minerals, and the present invention is particularly effective in masking bitterness and astringency.

[0012] Dietary fiber can be divided into water-insoluble dietary fiber and water-soluble dietary fiber. In the present invention, water-soluble dietary fiber is used as dietary fiber. Water-soluble dietary fiber can be divided into high molecular weight water-soluble dietary fiber that precipitates in 78% ethanol and low molecular weight water-soluble dietary fiber that is also soluble in 78% ethanol. Generally, the content of each can be determined by measuring the content according to the AOAC 2011.25 method described in the Journal of the Japanese Society for Food Science and Technology, Vol. 66, No. 6 (June 2019), pp. 187-194.

[0013] The dietary fiber as a yeast extract used in the present invention can be used as a yeast extract obtained by washing yeast cells with hot water, treating them with an enzyme, and extracting soluble components from the yeast cells.

[0014] The yeast cells used are those that can be lysed by yeast cell wall-lytic enzymes. Examples include fungi belonging to the genera Saccharomyces, Endomycopsis, Saccharomycodes, Nematospora, Cyberlindn (formerly Candida), Torulopsis, Brettanomyces, and Rhodotorula, as well as so-called brewer's yeast, baker's yeast, sake yeast, and torula yeast. Among these, Cyberlindnera jadinii (formerly Candida Utilis), which is particularly popular in food, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae are preferred. The yeast culture method may be any culture method commonly used in food manufacturing, and there are no restrictions on the method, such as batch culture or continuous culture.

[0015] The yeast cells used in the present invention are not limited as long as they are edible, but it is preferable to use the cells obtained after separating and removing the soluble extract components from the yeast, i.e., the yeast cell residue. The method for separating these soluble extract components is not particularly limited, and for example, yeast cells are used that have been washed using one or more of hot water, acid / alkali solution, autolysis, mechanical crushing, etc. from the cultured yeast.

[0016] Water is added to the yeast cells or yeast cell residue after the above washing to prepare a cell suspension with a concentration of about 10% by weight based on the dry cell weight. If necessary, water may be added to the cell suspension again for washing. The pH of the prepared cell suspension is adjusted to 5.5 or higher, preferably 6.0 to 7.0.

[0017] A cell wall-lytic enzyme is added to this bacterial cell suspension. The cell wall-lytic enzyme used here is preferably a glucanase that does not contain protease. Specific examples include "Denazyme GEL" (manufactured by Nagase ChemteX Corporation), a β-glucanase derived from the genus Streptomyces, and "Giltrase BRX" (manufactured by DSM Japan), a β-glucanase derived from the genus Talromyces. Of these, "Denazyme GEL" is preferred.

[0018] Many commonly used cell wall-lytic enzymes contain protease activity as a compound or contaminant, and if such cell wall-lytic enzymes are used as is, the resulting cell wall fraction will have a low dietary fiber content. The amount of cell wall-lytic enzyme to be added varies depending on the amount of yeast cells used as the raw material and the type of enzyme used, but is preferably 4 to 1,000 units, more preferably 20 to 200 units, per 100 g of dry weight of the raw material yeast cell residue.

[0019] After the addition of the cell wall-lytic enzyme, the enzyme reaction is carried out at 50°C or higher, preferably 50-70°C, more preferably 55-65°C, for 2-7 hours, preferably 3-4 hours. The enzyme reaction time can be adjusted appropriately depending on the amount of cell wall-lytic enzyme added and the yeast cells used as raw material. If the enzyme reaction is insufficient due to an insufficient amount of enzyme added or a short reaction time, or conversely, if the enzyme reaction proceeds excessively due to an insufficient amount of enzyme added or a long reaction time, the amount of high molecular weight water-soluble dietary fiber may be reduced or the amount of low molecular weight water-soluble dietary fiber may be excessively increased. Therefore, the water-soluble dietary fiber of the present invention may be measured appropriately and adjusted to achieve the composition described in the next paragraph. After the enzyme reaction, the enzyme is inactivated by any method, such as heat treatment at 90°C for 10 minutes or more. After the enzyme reaction, the cells are removed. The cell removal method may be a known method, such as separation by centrifugation or filtration.

[0020] The above method can prepare a yeast extract, which is a composition containing low-molecular-weight and high-molecular-weight water-soluble dietary fiber derived from cell walls. The composition can be used as a composition for masking off-tastes as is, or it can be used as a mixture with other materials as long as the effects of the present invention are not impaired. In the present invention, there is no particular restriction on the amount of dietary fiber in the composition for masking off-tastes, but a higher amount is preferable. Specifically, the masking composition preferably contains 50% by weight or more, preferably 60% by weight, and more preferably 70% by weight or more. The dietary fiber content in the present invention is the content in the dry composition, measured according to the AOAC 2011.25 method.

[0021] Furthermore, the yeast dietary fiber composition has a weight ratio of low-molecular-weight water-soluble dietary fiber to high-molecular-weight water-soluble dietary fiber of 1:1 to 1:5, more preferably 1:2 to 1:4, and even more preferably 1:3 to 1:4. When a composition containing high-molecular-weight water-soluble dietary fiber and low-molecular-weight water-soluble dietary fiber is produced from yeast, it can be prepared by adjusting the enzymatic reaction conditions described above, or one or more dietary fibers selected from high-molecular-weight water-soluble dietary fiber and low-molecular-weight water-soluble dietary fiber can be blended, or commercially available products can be used. An example of a commercially available product that can be used is "Yeast Fiber F" from Mitsubishi Corporation Life Sciences Co., Ltd.

[0022] The masking composition of the present invention contains the above-mentioned dietary fiber as an active ingredient, and its form is not particularly limited. It can be in the form of an aqueous solution or in a state where water has been removed by spray drying, drum drying, freeze drying, or the like, depending on the method of use.

[0023] The masking composition can be added to foods and beverages containing minerals. The amount of the masking composition added is not particularly limited as long as the bitterness or astringency of the minerals is suppressed, and can be adjusted appropriately depending on the amount of minerals contained in the food and beverage. For example, the amount of the masking composition can be adjusted to a range of 0.01 to 10 wt %, preferably 0.05 to 5 wt %, relative to the food and beverage.

[0024] The food and drink products of the present invention may contain minerals as ingredients, and specific examples include beverages (fruit drinks, tea drinks, coffee drinks, soft drinks, carbonated drinks, nutritional drinks, alcoholic drinks, etc.), confectioneries (cakes, cookies, candy, gum, snacks, etc.), dessert foods (jelly, almond tofu, mousse, yogurt, etc.), cooked rice (white rice, brown rice, multigrain rice, mochi, instant cooked rice, etc.), noodles (udon, ramen, pasta, instant noodles, etc.), soups and their instant powdered foods (for example, instant soup, potage, etc.), frozen foods (udon, ramen, pasta, pizza, cooked rice, etc.), retort foods (curry, sauce, etc.), and supplements.

[0025] The minerals contained in foods and beverages may be any edible minerals, such as mineral mixes, salt substitutes (potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, etc.), and shelf life enhancers (sodium acetate, etc.). The masking composition of the present invention can also be mixed with minerals in advance to form a food and beverage composition. The amount of the masking composition added to the minerals in the food and beverage composition is not particularly limited as long as the off-flavor is suppressed.

[0026] The food and beverage composition may contain substances other than the minerals and the masking composition as long as they do not impair the effects of the present invention. Specifically, dextrin, sweeteners (aspartame, stevia, xylitol, saccharin, saccharin sodium, sorbitol, maltitol, etc.), proteins and their hydrolyzates (soy protein, wheat protein, pea protein, collagen, elastin, etc.), amino acids (alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glutamic acid, glycine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline), and the like. The active ingredient may be one or more of the following: amino acids (amino acids, amino ...

[0027] By adding the composition for food and beverage of the present invention to food and beverage, it is possible to obtain food and beverage containing minerals with a masked off taste. Food and beverages that can be added include those exemplified in paragraph 0024, and may not contain minerals.

[0028] The food and drink containing the masking composition of the present invention can be produced by adding the masking composition to a mineral-containing food and drink.Furthermore, the food and drink containing the composition for food and drink of the present invention can be produced by adding the composition for food and drink of the present invention to a general food and drink.

[0029] The food and drink of the present invention is a food and drink that contains a mineral and a masking composition, or a food and drink composition as described in the preceding paragraphs. Such a food and drink has the bitterness of the mineral masked.

[0030] The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

[0031] (Extract of the Present Invention) [Example 1] In this test, "Yeast Fiber F" (manufactured by Mitsubishi Corporation Life Sciences Inc.) was used as yeast dietary fiber. When the water-soluble dietary fiber of this product was measured according to AOAC 2011.25, the total amount of dietary fiber was 76% by mass, and the breakdown of the water-soluble dietary fiber was low-molecular-weight water-soluble dietary fiber: high-molecular-weight water-soluble dietary fiber = 1:3.5.

[0032] (Masking of Mineral Mix) [Example 2] Corn cream soup was prepared according to the formulation shown in Table 1. All raw materials were commercially available products. The commercially available mineral mix contained, per 1.81 g, 204 mg of calcium, 2.04 mg of iron, 96 mg of magnesium, 0.27 mg of copper, 3 μg of chromium, 2.64 mg of zinc, 1 / 14 mg of manganese, 8.4 μg of selenium, and 7.5 μg of molybdenum.

[0033] Eight trained panelists conducted a sensory evaluation of the "bitterness and astringency" of each corn cream soup using a 5-point rating system, with standard group 1 being given a score of 1 and standard group 2 being given a score of 5, with the stronger "bitterness and astringency" being given a score of 5 and the weaker "bitterness and astringency" being given a score of 1.

[0034] The results are shown in Table 2. For "astringency and bitterness," a lower score is more desirable.

[0035] *: There was a significant difference at a risk rate of less than 1% compared to comparison group 1 and comparison group 2. As shown in Table 2, the corn soup with added yeast-derived dietary fiber (test group 1) had mineral-derived "astringency and bitterness" significantly suppressed compared to indigestible dextrin (test group 1) and inulin (test group 2), making it a preferable corn soup.

[0036] Example 3 A tomato sauce was prepared according to the formulation shown in Table 3. All raw materials were commercially available. The commercially available mineral mix contained, per 1.81 g, 204 mg of calcium, 2.04 mg of iron, 96 mg of magnesium, 0.27 mg of copper, 3 μg of chromium, 2.64 mg of zinc, 1 / 14 mg of manganese, 8.4 μg of selenium, and 7.5 μg of molybdenum. Six trained panelists conducted a sensory evaluation of the "harshness and bitterness" of each tomato sauce using a 5-point rating system, with Reference Example 3 being given a score of 1 and Reference Example 4 being given a score of 5, with stronger "harshness and bitterness" being given a score of 5 and weaker being given a score of 1. For "harshness and bitterness," lower scores are more desirable.

[0037] As a result, the tomato sauce with added yeast-derived dietary fiber (Test Group 2) received an evaluation score of 2.7±1.25 (p<0.01), which showed that the "astringency and bitterness" derived from minerals was significantly suppressed compared to Reference Example 4, making it a preferable tomato sauce.

[0038] Example 4 A mentsuyu (noodle soup base) was prepared according to the composition shown in Table 4. All raw materials were commercially available. The commercially available mineral mix contained, per 1.81 g, 204 mg of calcium, 2.04 mg of iron, 96 mg of magnesium, 0.27 mg of copper, 3 μg of chromium, 2.64 mg of zinc, 1 / 14 mg of manganese, 8.4 μg of selenium, and 7.5 μg of molybdenum. Six trained panelists performed a sensory evaluation of the "harshness and bitterness" of each noodle soup base using a 5-point rating system, with Reference Example 5 being given a score of 1 and Reference Example 6 being given a score of 5, with stronger "harshness and bitterness" being given a score of 5 and weaker being given a score of 1. For "harshness and bitterness," lower scores are more desirable.

[0039] As a result, the noodle soup base with added yeast-derived dietary fiber (Test Group 3) had a score of 2.7±1.25 (p<0.01), which significantly reduced the "astringency and bitterness" derived from minerals compared to Reference Example 6, making it a preferable noodle soup base.

[0040] (Masking of potassium chloride) [Example 5] An egg filling was prepared according to the formulation shown in Table 5. All of the raw materials used were commercially available products.

[0041] Six trained panelists conducted a sensory evaluation of the "bitterness and astringency" of each egg filling using a 5-point rating system, with Reference Example 7 being given a score of 1 and Reference Example 8 being given a score of 5, with 5 representing a stronger "bitterness and astringency" and 1 representing a weaker "bitterness and astringency."

[0042] As a result, the egg filling containing yeast-derived dietary fiber (Test Group 4) had a score of 2.4±0.48 (p<0.01), which significantly reduced the astringency and bitterness derived from potassium chloride compared to Reference Example 8, making it a preferable egg filling.

[0043] [Example 6] A mentsuyu (dipping sauce) was prepared according to the composition shown in Table 6. All of the raw materials used were commercially available products.

[0044] Six trained panelists conducted a sensory evaluation of the "harshness and bitterness" of each noodle soup base using a 5-point rating system, with Reference Example 9 being given a score of 1 and Reference Example 10 being given a score of 5, with stronger "harshness and bitterness" being given a score of 5 and weaker being given a score of 1. For "harshness and bitterness," lower scores are more desirable.

[0045] As a result, the noodle soup base with added yeast-derived dietary fiber (Test Group 5) had a score of 3.0±0.82 (p<0.01), which significantly reduced the astringency and bitterness derived from potassium chloride compared to Reference Example 10, making it a preferable noodle soup base.

[0046] (Masking of sodium acetate) [Example 7] Egg fillings were prepared according to the formulations shown in Table 7. All of the raw materials used were commercially available products.

[0047] Six trained panelists evaluated the "bitterness and astringency" of each egg filling using a 5-point rating system, with Reference Example 11 being given a score of 1 and Reference Example 12 being given a score of 5, with 5 representing a stronger "bitterness and astringency" and 1 representing a weaker "bitterness and astringency."

[0048] As a result, the egg filling containing yeast-derived dietary fiber (Test Group 6) had a score of 2.7±0.47 (p<0.01), which significantly reduced the bitterness and astringency derived from sodium acetate compared to Reference Example 12, making it a preferable egg filling.

[0049] [Example 8] A mentsuyu (dipping sauce) was prepared according to the composition shown in Table 8. All of the raw materials used were commercially available products.

[0050] Six trained panelists performed a sensory evaluation of the "harshness and bitterness" of each noodle soup base using a 5-point rating system, with Reference Example 13 being given a score of 1 and Reference Example 14 being given a score of 5, with stronger "harshness and bitterness" being given a score of 5 and weaker being given a score of 1. For "harshness and bitterness," lower scores are more desirable.

[0051] As a result, the noodle soup base with added yeast-derived dietary fiber (Test Group 7) had a score of 2.2±0.37 (p<0.01), which significantly reduced the astringency and bitterness derived from sodium acetate compared to Reference Example 14, making it a preferable noodle soup base.

Claims

1. A composition for masking the unpleasant taste of minerals, containing 50% or more of water-soluble dietary fiber, which is a yeast extract.

2. The masking composition according to claim 1, wherein the water-soluble dietary fiber is a water-soluble dietary fiber in which the ratio of low-molecular-weight water-soluble dietary fiber to high-molecular-weight water-soluble dietary fiber is 1:1 to 1:

5.

3. The masking composition according to claim 1, wherein the minerals are one or more selected from the group consisting of K, Mg, Na, Ca, Fe, Cu, Cr, Mo, Zn, Cu, Mn, I, Se, P, Cl, and S.

4. The masking composition according to claim 1, wherein the minerals are potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride or sodium acetate.

5. A method for producing food and drink, comprising the step of bringing the composition according to claim 1, minerals, and food and drink into coexistence.

6. A method for masking the unpleasant taste of minerals using the composition of claim 1.

7. A composition for food and drink, comprising the masking composition of claim 1 and minerals.

8. Food and drink containing the composition according to claim 6

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