JP7530683B2 - Method for producing whipped cream and whipped cream - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for producing whipped cream and the whipped cream produced by the method.

Honey is an excellent energy source, being made up of approximately 80% carbohydrates, and is also a nutritious substance containing various amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, and has long been a familiar part of human life. Normally, honey is added as is to foods and beverages, or used as a sweetener, but the applicant has previously proposed new products that go beyond the traditional uses of honey (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

Patent Document 1 relates to a technology for concentrating honey with added or mixed herbal extract under reduced pressure. By adding this to beverages, ice cream, and various other sweets and dishes, it is possible to consume the nutritional components of both the herbs and honey while reducing the bitterness and astringency characteristic of the herbs.

Patent Document 2 relates to cosmetics that use proteins or protein hydrolysates derived from honey. These cosmetics effectively utilize ingredients that were previously removed from honey and discarded because they reduced the transparency of the honey, and are excellent in promoting collagen production and moisturizing properties.

The applicant has continued to conduct research and development to provide new products using honey as an ingredient, and in the process came up with the idea of producing whipped cream made from honey.

Honey or its aqueous solution cannot be foamed by simply stirring it, and so far there have been no proposals for producing whipped cream using honey as the main ingredient. One proposal for foaming ingredients with a high sugar content like honey is to add gluten hydrolysate and a thickening agent made of agar, sodium alginate, etc. to fruit sauce or jam to foam it (see Patent Document 3). However, according to this proposal, unless both gluten hydrolysate and thickening agent are added, it is not possible to create a foam with good storage stability, so the ingredient composition is complex. In addition, this proposal requires that a mixture of gluten hydrolysate and thickening agent added to fruit sauce or jam be heated to 90°C and stirred, then cooled to room temperature and stirred to foam it, which makes production time-consuming.

JP 2007-189956 A JP 2006-290844 A Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-79758

In view of the above, the present invention aims to provide a method for easily producing whipped cream using honey as a main ingredient, and to provide whipped cream produced by the method.

In order to solve the above problems, the method for producing whipped cream according to the present invention comprises the steps of:
"A mixed solution containing honey, whey protein, and water is stirred at room temperature to incorporate air, thereby increasing the volume to at least 1.5 times that before stirring."

Conventionally, the idea of whipping honey to make whipped cream has not been considered. Furthermore, simply adding water to honey does not produce a whipped cream. After examining a variety of ingredients, the inventors discovered that adding whey protein to honey and water makes it possible to whip the mixture, and that the volume can be increased to at least 1.5 times that before mixing.

Therefore, according to this manufacturing method, whipped cream whose main ingredient is honey can be produced very easily by simply adding one substance, whey protein, to an aqueous honey solution and stirring it at room temperature to incorporate air.

Furthermore, by placing the whipped cream produced by the present invention on or between foods such as confectionery, or by floating it in a beverage, new food and beverage products can be provided, creating new uses for honey. In addition, because honey contains ingredients that have beneficial effects on the skin, such as moisturizing and antibacterial effects, the whipped cream produced by the present invention can also be used in cosmetics.

Honey is a highly viscous liquid, and is difficult to handle as it tends to drip when putting it into a container or taking it out of the container. In contrast, honey that has been made into whipped cream has the advantage of being easier to handle as it does not drip easily.

In addition to the above configuration, the whipped cream producing method according to the present invention further comprises:
"In the mixed solution, the concentration of solids derived from honey and whey protein is 57.4% by mass to 76.7% by mass, and the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids is 1.3 parts by mass to 32.3 parts by mass," and "the ratio of honey solids in the mixed solution is 43.4% by mass to 75.7% by mass."

The solids concentration derived from honey and whey protein (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "total solids concentration") is the proportion (mass%) of soluble solids in a mixed solution of honey, whey protein, and water. In other words, the total solids concentration is the proportion (mass%) of the combined solids of honey solids and whey protein in a mixed solution, and is synonymous with the Brix value.

As will be described in detail later, the results of the study showed that the lower the total solids concentration, i.e., the greater the proportion of water in the mixed solution, the higher the volume increase ratio (how many times the volume increases due to stirring compared to before stirring), while the higher the total solids concentration, the longer the storage period without honey separating from the foam, and the better the foam preservation properties. For whipped cream, it is desirable for the volume increase ratio to be high and the foam preservation properties to be good. It was also found that increasing the amount of whey protein added has a negative effect on the texture. As will be described in detail later, by setting the total solids concentration in the mixed solution of honey, whey protein, and water and the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids within the above ranges, it is possible to produce a whipped cream with a volume increase ratio of 1.5 times or more, good foam preservation properties, and good texture.

In addition to the above configuration, the whipped cream producing method according to the present invention further comprises:
"In the mixed solution, the concentration of solids derived from honey and whey protein is 67.0% by mass to 76.7% by mass."

As described in detail below, by setting the total solids concentration in the mixed solution within the above range, it is possible to produce whipped cream with better foam preservation properties.

In addition to the above configuration, the whipped cream producing method according to the present invention further comprises:
"No oil or fat is added to the mixed solution."

Normal whipped cream is made from fresh cream, a dairy product, and it is said that a fat content of 30% or more is suitable for whipping. Cream substitutes made by whipping non-dairy ingredients also use vegetable oils and fats as ingredients. Therefore, conventional whipped cream and cream substitutes have a high fat content. In contrast, the whipped cream manufacturing method of the present invention does not add fats or oils to the mixed solution, which is the raw material, so it has fewer calories than conventional whipped cream and cream substitutes, and meets the needs of consumers who want to reduce the intake of foods with a high fat content.

Next, the whipped cream according to the present invention is
"Containing honey, isolated and purified whey protein, and water ,
The solid content concentration derived from honey and the whey protein is 57.4% by mass to 76.7% by mass, and the ratio of the whey protein to 100 parts by weight of the honey solid content is 1.3 parts by weight to 32.3 parts by weight,
The solids content of the honey is 43.4% to 75.7% by mass .

This is the composition of the whipped cream produced by the above manufacturing method.

As described above, the present invention provides a method for easily producing whipped cream using honey as a main ingredient, and the whipped cream produced by the method.

1 is a graph plotting bulk increase rate versus total solids concentration. 1 is a graph plotting the volume increase ratio versus the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids. 1 is a graph plotting the percentage of whey protein per 100 parts by weight of honey solids against the total solids concentration. This is an enlarged graph of the portion of FIG. 3 where the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids is 10 parts by weight or less.

The following describes a method for producing whipped cream, which is one embodiment of the present invention, and the whipped cream produced by this method.

The method for producing whipped cream in this embodiment involves stirring (whipping) a mixture of honey, whey protein, and water at room temperature so as to incorporate air. This stirring creates bubbles, which increases the volume.

Here, whey is the liquid that remains after removing the coagulated milk components from milk during cheese production. Whey protein is a mixture of globular proteins isolated from whey, and contains lactalbumin, lactoglobulin, etc.

Normally, when whipping fresh cream or whipping vegetable oil to make a cream substitute, the whipping operation must be performed at a low temperature. In contrast, in this embodiment, the mixture is easy to whip even when stirred at room temperature, and whipped cream can be made with a simple operation. In this embodiment, no oil is added to the mixed solution that is the raw material for the whipped cream.

The whipped cream produced by this method is made primarily from honey and contains whey protein and water in addition to honey.

The mixed solutions of samples S-1 to S-3, in which the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids was kept constant at 7.6 parts by weight and the total solids concentration (concentration of solids derived from honey and whey protein) was varied, and samples S-4 to S-6, in which the total solids concentration was kept constant at approximately 71% by mass and the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids was varied, were stirred at room temperature.

Hungarian honey (solid content: 79.2% by mass) was used as the honey. Whey protein powder (product name "German Prot WPI") manufactured by Sachsenmilch was used as the whey protein.

For samples S-1 to S-6, the specific gravity before and after stirring was measured, and the volume increase rate due to stirring (how many times the volume increased) was calculated and used as an index of the degree of foaming. The specific gravity after stirring was calculated by using a container of a specified volume and measuring the mass of a level serving of whipped cream. In addition, the foam storage stability and texture of each sample were evaluated using the following methods.

<Foam preservation>
The whipped cream was placed in a container and stored at 5°C. The time it took for the honey to separate from the foam and become visible at the bottom of the container was recorded and rated on a four-point scale as follows.
"○": No separation of honey was observed even after one week or more.
"●": The time it takes for honey separation to be observed is more than 24 hours but less than one week.
"△": The time until separation of honey was observed was 5 hours or more but less than 24 hours.
"X": The time until separation of honey was observed was less than 5 hours.

<Texture>
When the whipped cream was fine-grained, smooth to the touch, and had a good taste, it was evaluated as having a very good texture with an "O"; when it felt a little powdery but had an acceptable taste, it was evaluated as having a good texture with an "△"; and when the whey protein itself had a strong taste and had a bad taste, it was evaluated as having a poor texture with an "X".

The evaluation results for samples S-1 to S-3 are shown in Table 1 along with their compositions, etc. The evaluation results for samples S-4 to S-6 are shown in Table 2 along with their compositions, etc.

As shown in Tables 1 and 2, both the total solids concentration and the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids affected the bulk increase rate. The lower the total solids concentration and the higher the proportion of water, the greater the tendency for the bulk increase rate to be. Regarding the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids, in the relationship between sample S-4 and sample S-5, the bulk increase rate increased with an increase in the proportion of whey protein, but in the relationship between sample S-5 and sample S-6, the bulk increase rate decreased with an increase in the proportion of whey protein. From this, it was thought that whey protein increases the bulk increase rate up to a certain rate, but decreases the bulk increase rate once a certain rate is exceeded.

From the results in Table 1, it was considered that the preservation quality of the foam is mainly affected by the total solids concentration. As can be seen from Table 1, with a large increase in bulk of 2.5 to 9.9 times, whipped cream was obtained that had a very good texture and could preserve the foam for more than 5 hours. Furthermore, from the results in Table 2, it was considered that the texture is mainly affected by the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids. As can be seen from Table 2, with a large increase in bulk of 2.2 to 5.0 times, whipped cream was obtained that had a good or very good texture and could preserve the foam for more than 24 hours.

Based on these results, we conducted a detailed study of the effect of the total solids concentration on the volume increase rate, texture, and foam shelf life, as well as the effect of the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids on the volume increase rate, texture, and foam shelf life.

First, to investigate the relationship between the total solids concentration and the volume increase ratio, texture, and foam shelf life, the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids was kept constant at 7.6 parts by weight, and the total solids concentration was varied for samples S1-1 to S1-12. The volume increase ratio was calculated in the same manner as above, and the texture and foam shelf life were evaluated using the above method. The results are shown in Table 3 together with the composition. Figure 1 shows a graph plotting the volume increase ratio against the total solids concentration. The markers in Figure 1 correspond to the symbols "○", "●", "△", and "×" used to evaluate the foam shelf life.

As can be seen from Figure 1, there is an almost linear correlation between the total solids concentration and the bulk increase rate, and the lower the total solids concentration, i.e., the higher the proportion of water, the greater the bulk increase rate. On the other hand, the higher the total solids concentration, the better the foam preservation. For whipped cream, it is desirable for the bulk increase rate to be high and for the foam to have good preservation properties, so it is necessary to balance the opposing trends with respect to the total solids concentration. For the range of samples S1-3 to S1-9, with a total solids concentration of 76.7% by mass to 59.0% by mass, it is desirable for the bulk increase rate to be 1.5 times or more and for the foam preservation rate to be "○", "●", or "△", i.e., the time until honey separation is confirmed to be 5 hours or more.

In addition, for the range of samples S1-3 to S1-8, if the total solids concentration is 76.7% by mass to 64.5% by mass, the volume increase rate is 1.5 times or more, and the foam preservation is "○" or "●", that is, the time until honey separation is confirmed is 24 hours or more, which is more desirable.

Furthermore, in the range of samples S1-3 to S1-6, if the total solids concentration is 76.7% by mass to 72.7% by mass, the bulk increase rate is 1.5 times or more, and the foam preservation quality is "○", that is, the honey separation is not observed even after one week, and the product has a long-term preservation quality, which is even more desirable.

In addition, in each of these ranges of total solids concentration, if the upper limit is set to 75.5 mass% (the value for sample S1-4), the bulk increase rate exceeds 2 times, which is even more desirable.

Samples S1-1 and S1-2, which had a high honey content and a low bulk increase rate of less than 1.5 times, were rated as "good" for texture, but had a texture similar to honey and a heavy whipped cream texture.

Next, to investigate the relationship between the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids, and the increase in volume, texture, and foam shelf life, the ratio of honey to the sum of water and honey was kept constant, and the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids was varied for samples S2-1 to S2-9 and S3-1 to S3-10. The increase in volume was calculated in the same manner as above, and the texture and foam shelf life were evaluated using the above method. Here, the ratio of honey to the sum of water and honey was kept constant at 90% by mass for samples S2-1 to S2-9, and the ratio of honey to the sum of water and honey was kept constant at 85% by mass for samples S3-1 to S3-10.

The results for samples S2-1 to S2-9 are shown in Table 4 together with their compositions, etc., while the results for samples S3-1 to S3-10 are shown in Table 5 together with their compositions, etc. Furthermore, combining the results of Tables 4 and 5, a graph in which the bulk increase rate is plotted against the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids is shown in Figure 2. The total solids concentration of samples S2-1 to S2-9 is approximately 71.0% by mass, while the total solids concentration of samples S3-1 to S3-10 is 67.4% to 74.6% by mass, which falls within the desirable range of 76.7% to 59.0% by mass and the more desirable range of 76.7% to 64.5% by mass for the total solids concentration already described using Table 3 and Figure 1. In Figure 2, samples with a texture of "x" (bad) are indicated with an "*", and samples with a texture of "o" (very good) or "△" (good) are indicated with the symbols "o", "●", "△", and "x" in the evaluation of foam storage stability. Note that samples with a poor texture were not evaluated for foam storage stability.

As can be seen from Figure 2, the increase in bulk increases with an increase in the whey protein ratio until the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids reaches 13.7 parts by weight (the value for sample S3-7). However, once the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids exceeds 13.7 parts by weight, the bulk does not increase. For samples S3-7 and S3-8, the increase in bulk is roughly the same until the whey protein ratio reaches 22.1 parts by weight, whereas for samples S3-9 and S3-10, where the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids exceeds 32.4 parts by weight, the increase in bulk decreases. Sample S3-10 was rated "x" (poor) for texture.

This shows that the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids increases the volume of the foam up to a certain value, but if the ratio is too high, it reduces the volume increase rate and has a negative effect on the texture.

In addition, in samples S2-1 to S2-8, where the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids is low at 0.40 parts by weight or less, not only was the increase in bulk small, but the foam preservation was also rated as "x". It can be seen that the foam preservation improves with an increase in the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids up to 32.4 parts by weight (the value for sample S3-9).

From the above investigation, it was found that the total solids concentration and the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids all affect the volume increase rate, texture, and foam storage stability, and that there is a desirable numerical range between the total solids concentration and the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids. Therefore, the desirable range was set as the range in which a whipped cream with a volume increase rate of 1.5 times or more, a texture that is very good or good, and a foam storage stability evaluation of "△" or higher, i.e., a time until honey separation is confirmed of 5 hours or more, is produced, and the desirable range in the relationship between the total solids concentration and the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids was investigated.

In the desirable range expected from the above results, the composition of the mixed solution was prepared so that the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids was close to the upper limit for samples S4-1 to S4-10, and the composition of the mixed solution was prepared so that the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids was close to the lower limit for samples S5-1 to S5-9. The bulk increase rate, texture, and foam preservation were evaluated in the same manner as above. The evaluation results are shown in Tables 6 and 7, respectively, along with the composition. The honey used in this study was Hungarian honey, and there were samples with solid content of 79.4 mass%, 79.5 mass%, 79.6 mass%, and 79.7 mass%, and for each sample, the solid content of the honey used was used to calculate the total solid concentration and the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids.

Compiling the results shown in Tables 1 to 7, Figure 3 shows a graph plotting the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids against the total solids concentration. In Figure 3, since the numerical values and evaluation results of each point in the range of small values on the vertical axis are difficult to understand, Figure 4 shows an enlarged graph of the part where the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids is 10 parts by weight or less. Markers in Figures 3 and 4 are as follows: samples with a bulk increase rate of less than 1.5 times are indicated with a "+", samples with a texture of "x" (bad) are indicated with an "*", and samples with a bulk increase rate of 1.5 times or more and a texture of "o" (very good) or "△" (good) are indicated with the symbols "o", "●", "△", and "x" in the evaluation of foam preservation.

From the results of Figures 3 and 4, when the total solid concentration is X mass % and the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids is Y parts by weight, it can be seen that the range within the above-mentioned desirable range, i.e., the range within which a whipped cream having a bulk increase rate of 1.5 times or more, an excellent or excellent texture, and a foam preservability evaluation of "△" or higher, can be produced, is the range that satisfies the following conditions A and B.
Condition A: 57.4≦X≦76.7
Condition B: 1.3≦Y≦32.3

In the above-mentioned desirable range, when the total solids concentration is 57.4% by mass and the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids is 32.3 parts by mass (the upper left corner point of the rectangle which is the desirable range shown in the graph of FIG. 3), the ratio of honey solids in the mixed solution is the minimum value of 43.4% by mass, and when the total solids concentration is 76.7% by mass and the ratio of whey protein to 100 parts by weight of honey solids is 1.3 parts by mass (the lower right corner point of the rectangle which is the desirable range shown in the graph of FIG. 3), the ratio of honey solids in the mixed solution is the maximum value of 75.7% by mass. In other words, the mixed solution and the whipped cream produced by the manufacturing method of this embodiment contain honey at a high solids ratio of 43.4% to 75.7% by mass. Also, the inclined dashed lines shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are lines where the ratio of honey solids in the mixed solution is 65.0% by mass. In other words, within the desirable range described above, the range to the lower right of the dashed line is a range in which the honey solids content in the mixed solution and the whipped cream produced by the manufacturing method of this embodiment is very high, ranging from 65.0% by mass to 75.7% by mass. As described above, honey contains a high sugar content of approximately 80%, and it is difficult to whip a liquid with a high sugar content, so whipped cream containing such a high percentage of honey is very innovative in this respect as well. The whipped cream produced by the manufacturing method of this embodiment has a high sugar content, making it difficult for bacteria to grow, and it is believed that it can be stored for long periods of time without the addition of preservatives, etc.

Furthermore, from the results of Figures 3 and 4, it can be seen that a more desirable range for producing whipped cream in which the volume increase ratio is 1.5 times or more, the texture is very good or good, and the foam storage stability is rated as "●" or higher (the time until separation of honey is observed is 24 hours or more) is a range that satisfies the following conditions c) and ii).
Condition C: 67.0≦X≦76.7
Condition B: 1.3≦Y≦32.3

In the manufacturing method of this embodiment, no fats or oils are added to the mixed solution that is the raw material for the whipped cream, and therefore, unlike conventional whipped cream and cream substitutes, which are dairy products, a whipped cream containing almost no lipids is manufactured. However, since whey protein contains a very small amount of lipids, the whipped cream manufactured contains a very small amount of lipids derived from whey protein. The lipid content of the whey protein used in this embodiment is 1.0% by mass or less. Therefore, in the above desirable ranges (conditions A and B) and more desirable ranges (conditions C and B), the lipid content of the whipped cream manufactured is at most less than 0.2% by mass, which is a very small amount.

The present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various improvements and design changes are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention, as described below.

For example, in the above example, honey, whey protein, and water are used as the only ingredients, but in addition to these, small amounts of flavorings, colorings, emulsifiers, thickeners, etc. can also be added.

In the above, the texture of the whipped cream was evaluated, but the whipped cream produced can be used in foods and beverages, as well as cosmetics.

Claims (5)

A mixed solution containing honey, isolated and purified whey protein, and water is stirred at room temperature so as to incorporate air, thereby increasing the volume to 1.5 times or more of the volume before stirring ;
In the mixed solution, the solid content concentration derived from honey and the whey protein is 57.4% by mass to 76.7% by mass, and the ratio of the whey protein to 100 parts by weight of the honey solid content is 1.3 parts by weight to 32.3 parts by weight,
The solid content of honey in the mixed solution is 43.4% by mass to 75.7% by mass.
A method for producing whipped cream. In the mixed solution, the solid content concentration derived from honey and the whey protein is set to 67.0 % by mass to 76.7% by mass.
2. The method for producing whipped cream according to claim 1 . The method for producing whipped cream according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the solid content of honey in the mixed solution is 65.0% by mass to 75.7% by mass . 3. The method for producing whipped cream according to claim 1 , wherein no fat or oil is added to the mixed solution. The present invention comprises honey, isolated and purified whey protein, and water ,
The solid content concentration derived from honey and the whey protein is 57.4% by mass to 76.7% by mass, and the ratio of the whey protein to 100 parts by weight of the honey solid content is 1.3 parts by weight to 32.3 parts by weight,
The solid content of the honey is 43.4% to 75.7% by mass.
Whipped cream characterized by

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