JP2012139148A - Dispersant and beverage using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dispersant which can stably disperse a cell wall constituent inclusion into water spoiling neither texture nor taste of a beverage.SOLUTION: The dispersant includes a high strength agar in which a jelly strength is 1.5%, and an agar concentration is 1,200 g/cm. The dispersant is for the cell wall constituent inclusion dispersion.

Description

  The present invention relates to a dispersant and a beverage using the same.

Conventionally, there are many beverages containing insoluble components such as cocoa beverages. In these beverages, it is desired to homogenize by preventing precipitation of insoluble component contents. For example, in a cocoa beverage, carrageenan is used as a dispersant for an insoluble component-containing material (Patent Document 1). In addition, a beverage using a low-strength agar having a jelly strength of 1.5% agar concentration and 250 g / cm ² or less as a dispersant is disclosed (Patent Document 2).

  In beverages and the like that contain fruit puree and solids such as fruit pulp, there is an increasing need for beverages that give a feeling of flesh. As such a beverage dispersant, polysaccharides such as pectin, xanthan gum, locust bin gum and tamarind are known. For example, those using gellan gum as a dispersant (Patent Document 3), those using gellan gum in combination with low methoxyl (LM) pectin (Patent Document 4), and the like are known.

Japanese Patent No. 3126830 Japanese Patent No. 3181428 JP 59-88051 A Japanese Patent No. 3544274

  In a cocoa beverage using carrageenan as a dispersant, a uniform dispersion state of cocoa powder is maintained due to the thickening effect due to the interaction between casein and carrageenan. However, due to this thickening effect, there is a disadvantage that it has a pasty feeling and the throat is not good.

  On the other hand, when the low-intensity agar of Patent Document 2 is used as a dispersant, a cocoa beverage with less pasty feeling than when carrageenan is used as a dispersant can be obtained, but the disadvantage of having a pasty feeling and viscosity In order to adjust the amount, there is a disadvantage that it must be added in a large amount.

  In addition, in beverages blended with solid substances such as fruit puree or fruit pulp, the viscosity required for stable dispersion is obtained when gum-based polysaccharides are used as dispersants as in Patent Documents 3 and 4. To achieve this, the amount added is increased, and this causes the disadvantage that the pasty sensation peculiar to polysaccharides makes the throat feel worse, and the flavor and refreshing feeling of beverages are impaired by the taste peculiar to polysaccharides or the taste of polysaccharides themselves. There are drawbacks.

  In this way, in beverages containing insoluble components such as cocoa powder and cell wall components such as fruit puree and fruit pulp, these cell wall components can be stably dispersed and marketed. No dispersant has been obtained that can achieve the throat feeling and fruit feeling required by the company.

  Then, an object of this invention is to provide the dispersing agent which can disperse | distribute a cell wall component containing material to water stably, without impairing the food texture and taste of a drink. The present invention also aims to provide a beverage containing the dispersant.

The present invention provides a dispersant comprising a high-strength agar having a jelly strength of 1,200 g / cm ² or more at a 1.5% agar concentration. Since the dispersant of the present invention has the above-described configuration, it is possible to stably disperse water-insoluble matter such as cell wall component-containing material in an aqueous solution such as a beverage, and to prevent formation of a precipitate.

  Since the above-mentioned dispersant can stably disperse the cell wall component-containing material, it can be preferably used for dispersing the cell wall component-containing material.

  The present invention also provides a beverage containing a cell wall component-containing material and the dispersant, wherein the content of the dispersant is 0.025 to 0.15% by mass relative to the total amount. Since the beverage of the present invention uses the dispersant, precipitation of the cell wall component-containing material is prevented even when the content of the dispersant is as low as 0.025 to 0.15% by mass. Moreover, since content of a dispersing agent is low, it has the outstanding food texture and taste without a paste-like feeling. For example, in the case of a beverage blended with pulp and the like, an excellent throat feeling without a paste-like feeling overflowing with a flesh feeling can be obtained.

  The dispersant of the present invention can stably disperse cell wall component-containing materials in water even when used at a dilute concentration. Moreover, when it uses for a drink, it can be set as the drink excellent in food texture and taste.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

In the present specification, the jelly strength means the jelly strength measured by a method according to the Nissho water method. Specifically, it is the maximum breaking load (g / cm ² ) measured by the method described below. Powdered agar is suspended in distilled water so as to be 1.5% by mass (1.5% agar concentration), and dissolved by autoclaving (120 ° C., 10 minutes). This solution is allowed to stand at 20 ° C. for 15 hours, and an agar gel solidified into a cylindrical shape having a diameter of 22 mm and a height of 18 mm is used as a test piece. Using an INSTRON 5942 (INSTRON) device, a load at which the test piece breaks at a speed of 30 mm / min with a cylindrical (φ10 mm) plunger at 20 ° C. at 20 ° C. (maximum breaking load) Measure. The maximum breaking load referred to here is a value obtained by measuring the load at which the test piece breaks for three test pieces and averaging the measured values.

  In the present specification, a cell wall component refers to a component insoluble in water derived from a plant cell wall, and a cell wall component-containing substance refers to a substance containing a cell wall component. Plant cell walls contain cellulose, lignin, pectin and the like as main components. For this reason, a cell wall component containing substance is hard to melt | dissolve in water, and when it is contained in a drink etc., it causes a precipitation.

  The cell wall component-containing material includes processed plant products used in ordinary food and drink products. The processed plant includes, for example, plant pomace, squeezed juice, crushed material, cut product, ground product, and the like. In addition, plants include everything that can be eaten, such as vegetables, mushrooms, fruits, cereals, potatoes, beans, and algae. Specific examples of the cell wall component-containing material include cocoa powder, kinako, okara, pulp, pulp fragments, fruit pulp (fruit juice containing fruit fibers), fruit puree, gypsum, vegetable puree, ground rice cake, Examples include mashed potato, eggplant, rice flour, fine algae (chlorella, etc.), wood, bamboo and seaweed powder. Among these, cocoa powder, pulp and fragments thereof, and fruit pulp are preferable.

Agar is a polymer obtained by freezing or drying a mucus extracted from red algae such as plovers and lobsters. The main components of agar are polysaccharides (agarose, agaropectin). Agar exists as a random coil in a solution state (sol state). When this sol solution is cooled, a three-dimensional network in which double helix structures are associated is formed (gel state). Because of this property, agar is used as a gelling agent for various uses such as foods, pharmaceuticals, and agar media. Usually, the jelly strength of agar used for these applications is about 400 to 800 g / cm ² at 1.5% agar concentration.

The high-intensity agar according to the present invention is an agar having a high jelly strength of 1,200 g / cm ² or more at a 1.5% agar concentration. Because of such high jelly strength, water-insoluble matter such as cell wall component-containing materials can be stably dispersed in an aqueous solution.

The jelly strength of the high-intensity agar according to the present invention is more preferably 1,500 g / cm ² or more at 1.5% agar concentration. The higher the jelly strength, the better, and there is no particular upper limit. However, from the viewpoint of ease of handling, cost, etc., it is preferable that the 1.5% agar concentration be 3,500 g / cm ² or less.

  The high-intensity agar according to the present invention can be produced by, for example, the method described in Japanese Patent No. 4494517.

  The dispersant of the present invention is composed of the above-described high-strength agar. The form of the dispersant may be any of solid forms such as powder form, flake form, thread form, square piece form and the like. It may also be provided in a pre-hydrated state.

  Agar is used in foods such as Tokoten, Konjac, Jelly, etc., and is safe to eat. Therefore, the dispersing agent of the present invention comprising the above-described high-strength agar is suitable for use in dispersing cell wall component-containing materials in food and drink products.

  The beverage of the present invention contains a cell wall component-containing material and the dispersant of the present invention. Here, content of the said dispersing agent is 0.025-0.15 mass% with respect to drink whole quantity. When this content is lower than 0.025 mass%, it becomes difficult to obtain the effect of stably dispersing the cell wall component-containing material. On the other hand, when it exceeds 0.15% by mass, there is a tendency that partial gelation tends to occur and a preferable texture is difficult to obtain. The content of the dispersant is more preferably 0.05 to 0.1% by mass.

  The pH of the beverage is not particularly limited as long as it is within the pH range generally used in foods. Specifically, the pH is preferably in the range of 2.8 to 10.0. In the low pH range, when the beverage is heated in the beverage production process, acid decomposition of the agar may occur. For this reason, when it is necessary to add an acid to a drink, adding after a temperature fall is preferable.

  In the beverage, at least one of polysaccharides, proteins, or fractions thereof may be used in combination with the dispersant. Examples of the polysaccharide include starch, dextrin, cellulose, carrageenan, fercelan, guar gum, locust bin gum, tamarind seed polysaccharide, tara gum, gum arabic, tragacanth gum, caraya gum, pectin, xanthan gum, pullulan and gellan gum. Examples of the protein include milk protein and soybean protein.

  The beverage may be any beverage that contains a cell wall component-containing material, and specific examples include cocoa beverages, pulp-dispersed beverages, nectars, amazake, pulp-mixed soft drinks, vegetable juices, and the like.

  The beverage of the present invention is blended so that the content of the dispersant is 0.025 to 0.15% by mass with respect to the total amount of the beverage obtained, for example, in the production process of the beverage containing the cell wall component-containing material. Can be manufactured. You may mix | blend the said dispersing agent in arbitrary processes. As a blending method, a method in which a heat-dissolved dispersant is mixed with a cell wall component-containing material and then mixed with a beverage in the production process, or a method in which a heat-dissolved dispersant is blended in a beverage in the production process is adopted. Can do.

  The present inventors consider the mechanism that can stably disperse water-insoluble substances such as cell wall component-containing substances in an aqueous solution by the dispersant of the present invention as follows. Since the high-strength agar according to the present invention has a high jelly strength, it forms a weak three-dimensional network even in a low-concentration solution that does not reach a gel state. This weak three-dimensional network functions as a support for water-insoluble matter such as cell wall component-containing materials, and can be stably dispersed without causing precipitation. Furthermore, since it has not reached the gel state, it is suppressed that the viscosity of the solution rises excessively, a pasty feeling does not occur, and the throat and texture are not impaired.

  Hereinafter, based on an Example, this invention is demonstrated more concretely. However, the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

[Cocoa drink]
Agar, commercially available cocoa powder and water were mixed at the blending ratio shown in Table 1 to produce cocoa beverages (Examples 1 to 3, Comparative Example 1 and Reference Example 1). The viscosity, precipitation amount and texture / taste of the cocoa beverage were evaluated by the following methods.

(Viscosity [mPa · s])
Using a BM viscometer (VISCOMETER, TOKIMEC), No. The measurement was performed at 60 rpm for 1 minute with two rotors, and the viscosity was calculated from the obtained measurement results.

(Precipitation amount)
After the cocoa beverage was allowed to stand for 24 hours, the amount of cell wall component-containing precipitates was visually confirmed and evaluated according to the following criteria.
◎: Uniformly dispersed ○: Almost not precipitated Δ: Mostly precipitated ×: Almost all precipitated

(Food texture / taste)
The cocoa drink was subjected to sensory evaluation. Six panelists tasted and evaluated the texture and taste according to the following criteria by comparison with the cocoa drink of Reference Example 1 to which agar was not added. The most numerous evaluation among panelists was the evaluation of the cocoa beverage. The cocoa drink was mixed immediately before tasting to disperse the precipitate.
○: There is a rich feeling and the texture is good △: There is a slightly rich feeling-: No change ×: There is a texture of gel or feels rough The texture and taste are equivalent to the cocoa drink of Reference Example 1 In the case of (1), no change was made. ○ or Δ means that the texture / taste is superior to that of the cocoa beverage of Reference Example 1, and x means that the texture / taste is inferior to that of the cocoa beverage of Reference Example 1.

[Example 1]
After water was added to Ina agar Kali Korikan (Ina Food Industry Co., Ltd.) having a jelly strength of 1.5% agar concentration of 2,707 g / cm ² , it was dissolved by heating and kept at 80 ° C. Commercially available cocoa powder (Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd.) was added thereto and mixed, followed by stirring at 7,000 rpm for 10 minutes using Polytron (KINEMATICA, RECO). This was cooled to 45 ° C. and homogenized using a homogenizer (MINI-LAB 8.30H, APV Rannies) at a pressure of 150 kg / cm ² . After homogenization, the mixture was cooled to 20 ° C., allowed to stand for 1 hour, and then mixed by shaking to produce a cocoa beverage. The beverage had a pH of 6.8.

The cocoa beverage of Example 1 had no cell wall component-containing precipitates (物 or ○) regardless of the agar content, and an excellent dispersion effect was confirmed.
Further, the cocoa beverage of Example 1 has an agar blending amount of 0.05% by mass and 0.1% by mass, an excellent throat feeling without paste-like feeling is obtained, and a moderate viscosity is added to concentrate. The feeling increased and the addition of agar gave a good texture and taste. On the other hand, when the blending amount of agar was 0.2% by mass, gelation was partially observed, resulting in inferior texture and taste compared to Reference Example 1 in which no agar was added.

[Example 2]
After the Gelidium original algae, and 16 hours alkaline treatment at 90 ° C. by 2% by weight sodium hydroxide solution, adjusted to pH7 and extracted three hours at 115 ℃, 1944g / cm ² jelly strength at 1.5% agar concentration I got agar. Using this agar, a cocoa beverage was produced in the same manner as in Example 1. The beverage had a pH of 6.8.

Similar to Example 1, the cocoa beverage of Example 2 had no precipitation of the cell wall component-containing material (◎ or ○) regardless of the amount of agar, and an excellent dispersion effect was confirmed.
In addition, the cocoa beverage of Example 2 has an agar blending amount of 0.05% by mass and 0.1% by mass, an excellent throat feeling without paste-like feeling is obtained, and an appropriate viscosity is added to concentrate. The feeling increased and the addition of agar gave a good texture and taste. On the other hand, when the blending amount of agar was 0.2% by mass, gelation was partially observed, resulting in inferior texture and taste compared to Reference Example 1 in which no agar was added.

Example 3
Tengusa algae were extracted with a 0.4 mass% sodium hydroxide solution at 120 ° C. for 4 hours to obtain agar having a jelly strength of 1231 g / cm ² at a 1.5% agar concentration. Using this agar, a cocoa beverage was produced in the same manner as in Example 1. The beverage had a pH of 6.8.

Similar to Examples 1 and 2, the cocoa beverage of Example 3 had no cell wall component-containing precipitates (◎ or ○), regardless of the amount of agar, and an excellent dispersion effect was confirmed.
In addition, the cocoa beverage of Example 3 has an agar blending amount of 0.05% by mass and 0.1% by mass, an excellent throat feeling without a paste-like feeling is obtained, and an appropriate viscosity is added to concentrate. The feeling increased and the addition of agar gave a good texture and taste. On the other hand, when the blending amount of agar was 0.2% by mass, gelation was partially observed, resulting in inferior texture and taste compared to Reference Example 1 in which no agar was added.

[Comparative Example 1]
A cocoa beverage was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 using agar (Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.) having a jelly strength of 1.5% agar and 800 g / cm ² . The beverage had a pH of 6.8.

The cocoa beverage of Comparative Example 1 had almost no precipitation of cell wall component-containing materials even when the amount of agar was increased to 0.2% by mass. On the other hand, when the agar compounding amount was 0.05 mass% or 0.1 mass%, most of the cell wall component-containing material was precipitated (Δ or x), and the dispersion effect was extremely inferior.
In addition, the cocoa beverage of Comparative Example 1 was partially gelled or agglomerated when the agar content was increased to 0.2% by mass, resulting in poor texture and taste. In addition, when the agar content is 0.05 mass% or 0.1 mass%, the beverage is separated due to insufficient dispersion of the cell wall component-containing material, and the texture of the agglomerates is felt. The result was inferior in taste.

[Reference Example 1]
A cocoa beverage was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that agar was not used. The beverage had a pH of 6.8.

Table 1 shows the composition and evaluation results of the cocoa beverages produced in Examples 1 to 3, Comparative Example 1 and Reference Example 1.

[Fruit dispersion beverage]
Agar, fructose-glucose liquid sugar, citric acid, tangerine pulp and water were mixed at the blending ratios shown in Table 2 to produce a fruit-dispersed beverage (Examples 4 to 6, Comparative Example 2 and Reference Example 2). The viscosity and dispersion stability of the pulp-dispersed beverage were evaluated by the following methods.

(Viscosity [mPa · s])
Using a BM viscometer (VISCOMETER, TOKIMEC), No. The measurement was performed at 60 rpm for 1 minute with two rotors, and the viscosity was calculated from the obtained measurement results.

(Dispersion stability)
After the pulp-dispersed beverage was allowed to stand for 24 hours, the pulp in the pulp-dispersed beverage was visually confirmed and evaluated according to the following criteria.
◎: Evenly dispersed ○: Some flesh floats on the water surface or is settled (almost dispersed)
△: Most of the flesh is floating on the water surface or is sedimented (slightly dispersed)
X: Almost all the pulp is floating on the water surface or is settled

Example 4
After adding water to the same agar as in Example 1, it was dissolved by heating and kept at 80 ° C. Fructose glucose liquid sugar (Mitsui & Co., Ltd.) and citric acid (crystals, food additive, chameleon reagent) were added and mixed, and the mixture was stirred for 5 minutes at 300 rpm using a DC stirrer (SSK-112, IWAKI). This was cooled to 45 ° C. and homogenized with a homogenizer (MINI-LAB 8.30H, APV Rannies) at a pressure of 100 kg / cm ² . After the homogenized solution was cooled to 20 ° C., mandarin orange pulp was added and mixed by shaking to produce a pulp-dispersed beverage. The beverage had a pH of 3.0.

  In the fruit-dispersed beverage of Example 4, when the agar compounding amount is 0.05% by mass and 0.1% by mass, the pulp continues to disperse uniformly even when left standing, and is a paste that overflows with a sense of flesh. Excellent throat feeling without feeling was obtained. In addition, even when the agar compounding amount is 0.025% by mass, it exhibits the same level of dispersion stability as conventional pulp-dispersed beverages using polysaccharides such as pectin, xanthan gum, locust bin gum, tamarind as a dispersant, and An excellent throat feeling without sticky feeling was obtained.

Example 5
Using the same agar as in Example 2, a pulp-dispersed beverage was produced in the same manner as in Example 4. The beverage had a pH of 3.0.

  As in Example 4, the fruit-dispersed beverage of Example 5 was also uniformly dispersed even after standing when the agar compounding amount was 0.05% by mass and 0.1% by mass. An excellent throat feeling without a pasty feeling full of feeling was obtained. In addition, even when the agar compounding amount is 0.025% by mass, it exhibits the same level of dispersion stability as conventional pulp-dispersed beverages using polysaccharides such as pectin, xanthan gum, locust bin gum, tamarind as a dispersant, and An excellent throat feeling without sticky feeling was obtained.

Example 6
Using the same agar as in Example 3, a fruit-dispersed beverage was produced in the same manner as in Example 4. The beverage had a pH of 3.0.

  As in Examples 4 and 5, the pulp-dispersed beverage of Example 6 also has a uniform dispersion of the pulp even when left standing when the agar content is 0.05% by mass and 0.1% by mass. As a result, an excellent throat feeling with no fluffy feeling full of flesh was obtained. In addition, even when the agar compounding amount is 0.025% by mass, it exhibits the same level of dispersion stability as conventional pulp-dispersed beverages using polysaccharides such as pectin, xanthan gum, locust bin gum, tamarind as a dispersant, and An excellent throat feeling without sticky feeling was obtained.

[Comparative Example 2]
A pulp-dispersed beverage was produced in the same manner as in Example 4 using the same agar as in Comparative Example 1. The beverage had a pH of 3.0.

  In the fruit-dispersed beverage of Comparative Example 2, when the agar compounding amount was 0.025% by mass and 0.05% by mass, the pulp was not uniformly dispersed when left standing, and almost all the pulp floated on the water surface. Or precipitated. When the amount of agar was 0.2% by mass, the dispersion stability was similar to that of conventional fruit-dispersed beverages using polysaccharides such as pectin, xanthan gum, locust bin gum, and tamarind as dispersants. There was a feeling and it was inferior to the throat.

[Reference Example 2]
A pulp-dispersed beverage was produced in the same manner as in Example 4 except that agar was not used. The beverage had a pH of 3.0.

Table 2 summarizes the blending and evaluation results of the pulp-dispersed beverages produced in Examples 4 to 6, Comparative Example 2 and Reference Example 2.

Conventionally, the dispersion agent of the present invention has no dispersion stabilizing ability unless it is agar with low strength (jelly strength is 250 g / cm ² or less at a 1.5% agar concentration, see Patent Document 2). On the contrary, it was confirmed that an excellent dispersion effect can be obtained by using high-strength agar. In addition, by using the dispersant of the present invention at a relatively low concentration, it is possible to stably disperse both insoluble component-containing materials such as cocoa powder and solid materials such as pulp, and there is no pasty feeling and the throat is passed through. It was confirmed that it was possible to provide a beverage with good texture and taste.

Claims (3)

A dispersant comprising high-intensity agar having a jelly strength of 1,200 g / cm ² or more at a 1.5% agar concentration.   The dispersing agent according to claim 1, which is used for dispersing a cell wall component-containing material.   A beverage comprising a cell wall component-containing material and the dispersant according to claim 1, wherein the content of the dispersant is 0.025 to 0.15% by mass relative to the total amount.