JP7549500B2 - Fried chicken manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for producing fried chicken.

Techniques relating to the production of fried foods are described in Patent Documents 1 and 2.
Patent Document 1 (JP Patent Publication 7-67565A) describes a method for producing fried foods, which comprises adding water or a mixture of liquid egg and water to a coating material for deep-fried foods, which comprises 50 to 70 parts by weight of wheat flour, 10 to 30 parts by weight of modified starch, and 5 to 25 parts by weight of a powder consisting of three or more of powdered egg white, powdered egg yolk, powdered vegetable protein, powdered oil and fat, a leavening agent, and a thickening polysaccharide, to prepare a coating liquid, which is then applied to ingredients and deep-fried. According to the same document, by applying the above-mentioned coating material to ingredients and deep-frying, it is possible to produce deep-fried foods and frozen foods using the same that have a good flavor and maintain the quality immediately after deep-frying without losing the desirable coating texture specific to deep-fried foods and without impairing the appearance due to the seepage of oil, even if the deep-fried foods are stored at room temperature after deep-frying, or are stored in a frozen or refrigerated state after deep-frying and then reheated in a microwave oven, boiled food, or oven.

Patent Document 2 (JP Patent Publication 2015-23846A) describes a technology for producing frozen fried foods for indoor cooking, which includes preparing a solid food that has been alkalized using a pH-adjusted alkaline aqueous solution as a filling; preparing a mixture containing multiple different types of sugars that have one or more properties selected from the group consisting of thickening, foam-generating property, foam stability, pH stability, oil-draining property, anti-segregation property, anti-dripping property, acid resistance, salt resistance, enzyme resistance, and heat resistance as a coating material raw material; attaching the coating material raw material to the surface of the filling to produce a pre-prepared product; frying the pre-prepared product to make the coating material raw material into a coating material that is brittle, glossy, adhesive, oil-draining property, non-stringing property, and freezing resistance, producing a fried food with the filling covered by the coating material; freezing the fried food; and packaging the frozen fried food in a packaging material for frozen fried food.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-67565 JP 2015-23846 A

As a result of the inventors' investigation of the above-mentioned technology, it became clear that there was room for improvement in terms of improving the crispness of fried chicken, which is heated in a hot water bath after production and before consumption.

According to the present invention, there are provided a method for producing fried chicken, a method for improving the crispness of fried chicken heated in a hot water bath before eating after the cooking, and a method for improving the juiciness of fried chicken heated in a hot water bath before eating after the cooking.
[1] A method for producing fried chicken that is heated in a hot water bath before eating, comprising the steps of:
applying batter to the foodstuff;
applying a breader to the battered food material;
frying the food material to which the batter and the breader are attached to obtain fried chicken;
Freezing the fried chicken;
After the freezing step, the fried chicken is placed in a packaging container and vacuum-packaged to obtain a fried chicken package;
Including,
The batter:
A first flour;
One or more selected from the group consisting of oxidized starch and acid-treated starch;
Including,
The breader,
A second flour; and
One or more selected from the group consisting of the following components (A) and (B);
The method for producing fried chicken includes:
Component (A): A powdery or granular material that satisfies the following conditions (1) to (4): (1) A starch content of 75% by mass or more; (2) A starch having an amylose content of 5% by mass or more and containing 3% to 45% by mass of a degraded starch, the degraded starch having a peak molecular weight of 3 x ¹⁰³ to 5 x ¹⁰⁴ ; (3) A cold water swelling degree at 25°C of 5 to 20; and (4) A content of a fraction that falls under a 1.4 mm sieve and on a 0.15 mm sieve is 5% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less. Component (B): one or more selected from the group consisting of gelatinized grain flour (excluding the first and second grain flours), ground rice crackers, and breadcrumbs, the content of which in the fraction that falls under a sieve with a mesh size of 2.8 mm and on a sieve with a mesh size of 0.15 mm is 80% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less. [2] The method for producing fried chicken described in [1], wherein the packaging container is a plastic bag.
[3] The method for producing fried chicken according to [2], wherein the material of the bag contains polyamide and the thickness of the bag is 0.05 mm or more and 0.1 mm or less.
[4] The method for producing fried chicken according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the step of vacuum packaging is a step of tightly vacuum packaging.
[5] The method for producing fried chicken described in any one of [1] to [4], further comprising a step of freezing and storing the fried chicken package.
[6] The method for producing fried chicken according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein the batter contains the oxidized starch.
[7] The method for producing fried chicken according to [6], wherein the batter further contains the acid-treated starch and cross-linked starch.
[8] A method for producing fried chicken described in any one of [1] to [7], wherein the sum of the content of the oxidized starch and the acid-treated starch relative to the content of the first grain flour in the batter is 0.3 or more and 3 or less in mass ratio.
[9] The method for producing fried chicken described in any one of [1] to [8], wherein the batter further contains the component (A).
[10] The method for producing fried chicken described in any one of [1] to [9], wherein the total content of the components (A) and (B) relative to the content of the second grain flour in the breader is 0.05 or more and 6.0 or less in mass ratio.
[11] A method for producing fried chicken described in any one of [1] to [10], wherein the first and second grain flours are both wheat flour.
[12] The method for producing fried chicken described in any one of [1] to [11], wherein the food material is one or more selected from the group consisting of chicken, squid, octopus, and fish.
[13] A method for improving the crispness of fried chicken that is heated in a water bath before eating, comprising:
applying batter to the foodstuff;
applying a breader to the battered food material;
frying the food material to which the batter and the breader are attached to obtain fried chicken;
Freezing the fried chicken;
After the freezing step, the fried chicken is placed in a packaging container and vacuum-packaged to obtain a fried chicken package;
Including,
The batter:
A first flour;
One or more selected from the group consisting of oxidized starch and acid-treated starch;
Including,
The breader,
A second flour; and
One or more selected from the group consisting of the following components (A) and (B);
The method comprising:
Component (A): A powdery or granular material that satisfies the following conditions (1) to (4): (1) A starch content of 75% by mass or more; (2) A starch having an amylose content of 5% by mass or more and containing 3% to 45% by mass of a degraded starch, the degraded starch having a peak molecular weight of 3 x ¹⁰³ to 5 x ¹⁰⁴ ; (3) A cold water swelling degree at 25°C of 5 to 20; and (4) A content of a fraction that falls under a sieve having a mesh size of 1.4 mm and on a sieve having a mesh size of 0.15 mm is 5% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less. Component (B): one or more selected from the group consisting of gelatinized cereal flour (excluding the first and second cereal flours), ground rice crackers, and bread crumbs, the content of which in the fraction that falls under a sieve with a mesh size of 2.8 mm and on a sieve with a mesh size of 0.15 mm is 80% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less. [14] The method according to [13], wherein the total content of the oxidized starch and the acid-treated starch relative to the content of the first cereal flour in the batter is 0.3 to 3 in terms of mass ratio.
[15] The method according to [13] or [14], wherein the sum of the contents of the components (A) and (B) relative to the content of the second cereal flour in the breader is a mass ratio of 0.05 to 6.0.
[16] The method according to any one of [13] to [15], wherein the packaging container is a resin bag.
[17] The method according to [16], wherein the material of the bag contains polyamide and the thickness of the bag is 0.05 mm or more and 0.1 mm or less.
[18] A method for improving the juiciness of fried chicken that is heated in a water bath before eating, comprising the steps of:
applying batter to the foodstuff;
applying a breader to the battered food material;
frying the food material to which the batter and the breader are attached to obtain fried chicken;
Freezing the fried chicken;
After the freezing step, the fried chicken is placed in a packaging container and vacuum-packaged to obtain a fried chicken package;
Including,
The batter:
A first flour;
One or more selected from the group consisting of oxidized starch and acid-treated starch;
Including,
The breader,
A second flour; and
One or more selected from the group consisting of the following components (A) and (B);
The method comprising:
Component (A): A powdery or granular material that satisfies the following conditions (1) to (4): (1) A starch content of 75% by mass or more; (2) A starch having an amylose content of 5% by mass or more and containing 3% to 45% by mass of a degraded starch, the degraded starch having a peak molecular weight of 3 x ¹⁰³ to 5 x ¹⁰⁴ ; (3) A cold water swelling degree at 25°C of 5 to 20; and (4) A content of a fraction that falls under a sieve having a mesh size of 1.4 mm and on a sieve having a mesh size of 0.15 mm is 5% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less. Component (B): one or more selected from the group consisting of gelatinized cereal flour (excluding the first and second cereal flours), ground rice crackers, and bread crumbs, in which the content of the fraction that falls under a sieve with a mesh size of 2.8 mm and on a sieve with a mesh size of 0.15 mm is 80% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less. [19] The method according to [18], in which the total content of the oxidized starch and the acid-treated starch relative to the content of the first cereal flour in the batter is 0.3 to 3 in terms of mass ratio.
[20] The method according to [18] or [19], wherein the total content of the components (A) and (B) relative to the content of the second cereal flour in the breader is 0.05 or more and 6.0 or less in mass ratio.
[21] The method according to any one of [18] to [20], wherein the packaging container is a resin bag.
[22] The method according to [21], wherein the material of the bag comprises polyamide and the thickness of the bag is 0.05 mm or more and 0.1 mm or less.

Any combination of these configurations and conversion of the present invention between methods, devices, etc. are also valid aspects of the present invention.
For example, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a fried chicken package obtained by the above-mentioned production method of the present invention.

As explained above, the present invention can provide fried chicken with excellent crispness after boiling in hot water.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention, giving specific examples of each component. Each component may be used alone or in combination of two or more types. The symbol "~" indicating a numerical range means "greater than or equal to" or "less than or equal to," and includes both the upper and lower limits.

In the following embodiments, crispiness refers to the crispiness of the coating when bitten into.
In the following embodiments, the juiciness of the food material means that the fried food material is juicy and not dry. Furthermore, the suppression of stickiness means that the batter is easy to bite through and has a good bite.

(Method of manufacturing fried chicken)
In this embodiment, the method for producing fried chicken is a method for producing fried chicken that is heated in a hot water bath before consumption, and includes the following steps.
(Step 1) A step of applying batter to food ingredients; (Step 2) A step of applying a breader to the food ingredients with the batter applied; (Step 3) A step of deep frying the food ingredients with the batter and breader applied to obtain fried chicken; (Step 4) A step of freezing the fried chicken; (Step 5) A step of placing the fried chicken in a packaging container and vacuum packaging it after the freezing step to obtain a fried chicken package. The batter contains a first grain flour and one or more types selected from the group consisting of oxidized starch and acid-treated starch.
The breader comprises a second flour and one or more selected from the group consisting of the following components (A) and (B):
Component (A): A powdery or granular material satisfying the following conditions (1) to (4): (1) A starch content of 75% by mass or more; (2) A starch content of 5% by mass or more and a peak molecular weight of 3×10 3 to 5×10 4 inclusive is contained, and the peak molecular weight of the degraded starch is 3×10 ³ to 5×10 ⁴ inclusive; (3) A cold water swelling degree at 25° C. is 5 to 20 inclusive; (4) The content of the fraction that falls under a sieve having a mesh size of 1.4 mm and on a sieve having a mesh size of 0.15 mm is 5% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less. Component (B): One or more selected from the group consisting of pregelatinized grain flour (excluding the first and second grain flours), ground rice confectionery products, and bread crumbs, the content of which is the fraction that falls under a sieve having a mesh size of 2.8 mm and on a sieve having a mesh size of 0.15 mm inclusive is 80% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less.

In this embodiment, the process for producing fried chicken includes steps 1 to 5, and the batter and breader are selected from those containing specific ingredients and used in combination, so that fried chicken with excellent crispness after boiling in water can be obtained. Also, according to this embodiment, it is possible to obtain fried chicken with excellent crispness and juiciness of ingredients after boiling in water.
Furthermore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to obtain fried chicken that has an excellent balance of the effects of crispness after boiling in water, juiciness of the ingredients, preferred hardness, and the lack of stickiness of the batter.

Each step will now be described in more detail.
In steps 1 and 2, the batter and the breader are applied to the food material in this order.
Food ingredients include, for example, meat such as chicken; and seafood such as fish, squid, and octopus.
From the viewpoint of ensuring a more stable and excellent crispness after boiling in water, the food material is preferably one or more selected from the group consisting of chicken, squid, octopus and fish.

In step 1, the batter is specifically a liquid coating material. The batter is obtained, for example, by adding water to a powder component (batter powder). The components of the batter will be described later.
The batter may be applied to a part of the food material or to the whole of the food material. From the viewpoint of improving the texture of the fried chicken and the juiciness of the food material, it is preferable that the batter be applied to a part of the food material, and more preferable that the batter be applied uniformly to the whole outside of the food material.

In step 2, the breader is specifically a solid coating material, more specifically a granular coating material. The components of the breader will be described later. The breader may be attached to a part of the food material, or to the entire food material. From the viewpoint of improving the texture of the fried chicken and the juiciness of the food material, it is preferable for the breader to be attached to a part of the food material, and it is more preferable for the breader to be attached uniformly to the entire outside of the food material.

In step 3, the food material with the batter and breader attached thereto is deep-fried. The oil or fat used for deep-frying may be, for example, a liquid oil commonly used for fried or non-fried foods. Specifically, the liquid oil is one or more selected from rapeseed oil, soybean oil, corn oil, safflower oil, sesame oil, olive oil, rice oil, grapeseed oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, and palm olein oil.
The temperature and time for deep frying can be set according to the type and size of the food material, and are, for example, about 100 to 200° C. and about 1 to 10 minutes, respectively.

In step 4, the freezing temperature is, for example, 0°C or lower, preferably -4°C or lower, more preferably -20°C or lower, and even more preferably -40°C or lower. The freezing time can be set according to the type, size, freezing temperature, etc. of the food material, and is, for example, about 30 to 360 minutes.

The vacuum packaging in step 5 can be any vacuum packaging that can be used for food. For example, a chamber type vacuum packaging machine or a nozzle type vacuum packaging machine can be used for vacuum packaging.
From the viewpoint of improving the crispness of the fried chicken after it is boiled in water, step 5 is preferably a step of tightly vacuum packaging.

In step 5, the shape of the packaging container is not limited, but from the viewpoint of improving the crispness of the fried chicken after boiling in hot water, a bag shape is preferable, and the packaging container is more preferably a resin bag. The bag may be composed of one resin layer or may have two or more resin layers.
The material for the bag is preferably one that has excellent resistance to freezing and boiling in water, and specifically, it contains one or more resins selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polyamide (such as nylon) and polypropylene, preferably contains polyamide, and more preferably is a laminate containing a polyamide layer such as a nylon layer.
From the viewpoint of improving the storage stability of the fried chicken, the thickness of the bag is preferably 0.05 mm or more, more preferably 0.06 mm or more, and even more preferably 0.07 mm or more.
From the viewpoint of improving the shape retention of the fried chicken, the thickness of the bag is preferably 0.1 mm or less, and more preferably 0.09 mm or less.

The method for producing fried chicken may further include a step of freezing and storing the fried chicken package (step 6). From the viewpoint of obtaining a more preferable crispness of the fried chicken after boiling in water, step 6 is preferably performed after step 5.
The freezing temperature is, for example, 0° C. or lower, preferably −4° C. or lower, more preferably −10° C. or lower, and further preferably −15° C. or lower.

Through the above steps, the fried chicken of this embodiment is obtained.
In this embodiment, the fried chicken is obtained as a fried chicken package, and is heated in a water bath before being eaten. The water bathing is preferably performed by placing the fried chicken in the package in hot water.

In order to further improve the crispness of fried chicken after it has been boiled in water, the fried chicken may be deep-fried after it has been removed from the fried chicken package after it has been boiled in water and before it is eaten.

(method)
The production method of this embodiment is suitable, for example, as a method for improving the crispness of fried chicken after boiling in water.
Furthermore, the production method of this embodiment is suitable, for example, as a method for improving the juiciness of fried chicken after it has been boiled in water.

Next, the configuration of the batter in step 1 and the breader in step 2 will be described.
(Batter)
The batter comprises a first flour and one or more selected from the group consisting of oxidized starch and acid treated starch.
The first cereal flour includes, for example, one or more selected from the group consisting of wheat flour and rice flour. From the viewpoint of crispiness of the fried chicken after boiling in water, the first cereal flour is preferably wheat flour.

The content of the first grain flour in the batter is preferably 25% by mass or more, more preferably 30% by mass or more, and even more preferably 35% by mass or more, based on the total powder components in the batter, from the standpoints of achieving a desired hardness of the coating, improving the crispness of fried chicken, improving the juiciness of the ingredients, and suppressing stickiness.
From a similar viewpoint, the content of the first grain flour in the batter is preferably 75% by mass or less, more preferably 70% by mass or less, and even more preferably 65% by mass or less, of the total powder components in the batter.

From the viewpoints of achieving a desired hardness of the coating, improving the crispness of the fried chicken, and improving the juiciness of the food ingredients, the batter preferably contains oxidized starch, and more preferably contains oxidized starch, as well as acid-treated starch and crosslinked starch.

Specifically, the oxidized starch is starch that has been subjected to an oxidation treatment. More specifically, the oxidized starch is a modified starch that is produced by reacting starch with sodium hypochlorite in an alkaline solution.
There are no particular restrictions on the oxidation treatment conditions, but for example, sodium hypochlorite with an available chlorine concentration of about 10% is added dropwise to a starch suspension adjusted to a pH of 8 to 11 and a temperature of 40 to 60° C., and the reaction is carried out for 30 minutes to 4 hours.
Examples of the raw starch for the oxidized starch include one or more selected from the group consisting of corn starch such as waxy corn starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, wheat starch, and modified starches thereof (excluding acid-treated starch). The oxidized starch is preferably oxidized tapioca starch.

The content of oxidized starch in the batter is preferably 10% by mass or more, more preferably 12% by mass or more, and even more preferably 15% by mass or more, based on the total powder components in the batter, from the viewpoints of achieving a desired hardness of the coating, improving the crispness of fried chicken, improving the juiciness of ingredients, and suppressing stickiness.
From the same viewpoint, the content of oxidized starch in the batter is preferably 70% by mass or less, more preferably 65% by mass or less, and even more preferably 55% by mass or less, based on the total powder components in the batter.

There is no particular limit to the method by which the acid-treated starch is produced; for example, starch is suspended in a dilute acid solution of 0.5 to 10% hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, or the like, and stirred at a temperature of 20 to 60° C. for 1 to 100 hours to reduce the viscosity of the starch.
Examples of raw starches for the acid-treated starch include one or more types selected from the group consisting of corn starch such as waxy corn starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, wheat starch, and modified starches thereof (excluding oxidized starch).

The content of the acid-treated starch in the batter is preferably 10% by mass or more, more preferably 12% by mass or more, and even more preferably 15% by mass or more, based on the total powder components in the batter, from the viewpoints of achieving a desired hardness of the coating, improving the crispness of fried chicken, improving the juiciness of ingredients, and preventing sticking.Furthermore, from the same viewpoint, the content of the acid-treated starch in the batter is preferably 60% by mass or less, more preferably 45% by mass or less, and even more preferably 35% by mass or less, based on the total powder components in the batter.

The batter may also contain ingredients other than those mentioned above, such as starches other than oxidized starches and acid-treated starches, such as the cross-linked starches mentioned above (which have not been subjected to either acid or oxidation treatment).
Specific examples of the cross-linked starch include phosphate cross-linked tapioca starch and adipic acid cross-linked tapioca starch, and preferably phosphate cross-linked tapioca starch.
The content of cross-linked starch in the batter is preferably 10% by mass or more, more preferably 15% by mass or more, and even more preferably 18% by mass or more, based on the total powder components in the batter, from the viewpoints of achieving a desired hardness of the coating, improving the crispness of fried chicken, improving the juiciness of ingredients, and suppressing stickiness.
From the same viewpoint, the content of crosslinked starch in the batter is preferably 40% by mass or less, more preferably 32% by mass or less, and even more preferably 28% by mass or less, based on the total powder components in the batter.

From the viewpoint of suppressing squashing, the total content of oxidized starch and acid-treated starch relative to the content of the first cereal flour in the batter is preferably 0.3 or more in mass ratio, more preferably 0.5 or more, and even more preferably 0.7 or more.
From a similar viewpoint, the total content of oxidized starch and acid-treated starch relative to the content of the first grain flour in the batter is preferably 3 or less in mass ratio, more preferably 2 or less, even more preferably 1.8 or less, even more preferably 1.4 or less, and even more preferably 1.3 or less.

The batter may further contain component (A) described below.
In this case, the content of component (A) in the batter is preferably 0.5% by mass or more, more preferably 2% by mass or more, and even more preferably 4% by mass or more, based on the total powder components of the batter, from the viewpoint of improving the crispness of the fried chicken.
In addition, from the viewpoint of suppressing squid, the content of component (A) in the batter is preferably 25 mass % or less, more preferably 20 mass % or less, and even more preferably 15 mass % or less, based on the total powder components of the batter.

The content of component (A) relative to the total content of component (A), oxidized starch and acid-treated starch in the batter is preferably 0.01 or more, more preferably 0.1 or more, in terms of mass ratio, from the viewpoint of improving the crispness of the fried chicken and the juiciness of the food ingredients.
Furthermore, from the viewpoint of improving the juiciness of the food material, the content of component (A) relative to the total content of component (A), oxidized starch and acid-treated starch in the batter is preferably 0.35 or less, more preferably 0.25 or less, and even more preferably 0.19 or less, in terms of mass ratio.

(Breader)
The breader includes a second flour and one or more selected from the group consisting of components (A) and (B).

Specific examples of the second flour include those mentioned above as the first flour. The second and first flours may be the same or different.
From the standpoint of suppressing creaking, the second and first flours are preferably the same, and more preferably both are wheat flour.

From the viewpoint of improving the juiciness of the food material, the content of the second grain flour in the breader is preferably 15% by mass or more, more preferably 22% by mass or more, and even more preferably 25% by mass or more.
From the same viewpoint, the content of the second grain flour in the breader is preferably 92 mass% or less, more preferably 70 mass% or less, and even more preferably 45 mass% or less, of the entire batter.

Next, components (A) and (B) will be described.
(Component (A))
Component (A) is a granulated product mainly composed of starch and satisfies the above-mentioned conditions (1) to (4). Component (A) may be obtained by granulating the raw material components, and may be, for example, granulated to the same size as the granules, or granulated and then adjusted to a predetermined size by pulverization or the like.
Incidentally, component (A) may be mixed into the bread machine as a powdery or granular material itself, or may be mixed into the bread machine as ground bread obtained by baking dough containing component (A). In this case, the ground bread is composed of component (A) and materials other than component (A), and the materials other than component (A) correspond to component (B) described below.

Regarding condition (1), from the viewpoint of improving the crispness of fried chicken, component (A) contains 75% by mass or more of starch, preferably 80% by mass or more, and more preferably 85% by mass or more.
There is no upper limit to the starch content in component (A) and it is 100% by mass or less, but it may be, for example, 99.5% by mass or less, or, for example, 99% by mass or less.

Regarding condition (2), component (A) contains a specific proportion of low molecular weight starch made from starch having an amylose content of 5% by mass or more as the starch, and the low molecular weight starch used has a specific size. That is, the starch in component (A) contains 3% to 45% by mass of low molecular weight starch made from starch having an amylose content of 5% by mass or more as the raw material, and the peak molecular weight of the low molecular weight starch is 3 x ¹⁰³ to 5 x ¹⁰⁴ .

From the viewpoint of improving the crispness of fried chicken, the peak molecular weight of the low molecular weight starch is 3 × 10 ³ or more, and preferably 8 × 10 ³ or more. From the same viewpoint, the peak molecular weight of the low molecular weight starch is 5 × 10 ⁴ or less, preferably 3 × 10 ⁴ or less, and more preferably 1.5 × 10 ⁴ or less. The method for measuring the peak molecular weight of the low molecular weight starch is described in the Examples section.

From the viewpoint of excellent production stability, the low molecular weight starch is preferably one or more types selected from the group consisting of acid-treated starch, oxidized starch, and enzyme-treated starch, and more preferably acid-treated starch.

The conditions for the acid treatment when obtaining the acid-treated starch are not limited, but for example, the treatment can be carried out as follows.
First, starch with an amylose content of 5% by mass or more, which is the raw material for low molecular weight starch, and water are charged into a reactor, and then acid is further charged. Alternatively, acid water in which an inorganic acid has been dissolved in advance and the raw starch are charged into the reactor. From the viewpoint of carrying out the acid treatment more stably, it is desirable that the total amount of starch during the reaction is in a state of being homogeneously dispersed in the aqueous phase or in a slurried state. For this purpose, the concentration of the starch slurry for the acid treatment is adjusted to be, for example, in the range of 10% by mass or more and 50% by mass or less, preferably 20% by mass or more and 40% by mass or less. If the slurry concentration is too high, the viscosity of the slurry increases, and it may become difficult to stir the slurry uniformly.

Specific examples of acids used in acid treatment include inorganic acids such as hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, and nitric acid, and any acid can be used regardless of type or purity.

Regarding the acid treatment reaction conditions, for example, from the viewpoint of stably obtaining acid-treated starch, the inorganic acid concentration during the acid treatment is preferably 0.05 normality (N) or more and 7N or less, more preferably 0.1N or more and 4N or less, and even more preferably 0.2N or more and 3N or less. From the same viewpoint, the reaction temperature is preferably 30°C or more and 70°C or less, more preferably 35°C or more and 70°C or less, and even more preferably 35°C or more and 65°C or less. From the same viewpoint, the reaction time is preferably 0.5 hours or more and 120 hours or less, more preferably 1 hour or more and 72 hours or less, and even more preferably 1 hour or more and 48 hours or less.

The content of low molecular weight starch in component (A) is 3% by mass or more, preferably 8% by mass or more, and more preferably 13% by mass or more, from the viewpoint of improving the crispness of fried chicken.
From the same viewpoint, the content of low molecular weight starch in component (A) is 45% by mass or less, preferably 35% by mass or less, and more preferably 25% by mass or less.

In addition, the amylose content in the raw starch of the low molecular weight starch is 5% by mass or more, preferably 12% by mass or more, more preferably 22% by mass or more, even more preferably 40% by mass or more, even more preferably 45% by mass or more, and even more preferably 55% by mass or more, from the viewpoint of improving the crispness of fried chicken. There is no upper limit to the amylose content in the raw starch of the low molecular weight starch, and it is 100% by mass or less, preferably 90% by mass or less.

As the starch having an amylose content of 5% or more by mass, which is the raw material for low molecular weight starch, one or more types selected from the group consisting of high amylose corn starch, corn starch, tapioca starch, sweet potato starch, potato starch, wheat starch, high amylose wheat starch, rice starch, and processed starches obtained by chemically, physically, or enzymatically processing these raw materials can be used. The starch having an amylose content of 5% or more by mass is preferably one or more types selected from high amylose corn starch, corn starch, and tapioca starch, and more preferably high amylose corn starch. High amylose corn starch with an amylose content of, for example, 40% or more by mass is available. The starch having an amylose content of 5% or more by mass is more preferably corn starch with an amylose content of 40% or more by mass.

Furthermore, component (A) satisfies condition (3) with respect to the degree of swelling in cold water. That is, from the viewpoint of improving the crispness of fried chicken, the degree of swelling in cold water at 25° C. of component (A) is 5 or more, preferably 6 or more, and more preferably 6.5 or more.
From the same viewpoint, the cold water swelling degree of component (A) at 25° C. is 20 or less, preferably 17 or less, and more preferably 15 or less.
The method for measuring the cold water swelling degree of component (A) will be described in the Examples section.

The component (A) satisfies the size requirement (4).
In component (A), the content of the fraction under the 1.4 mm sieve and over the 0.15 mm sieve is, from the viewpoint of improving the crispness of fried chicken, preferably 5 mass% or more, more preferably 8 mass% or more, and even more preferably 12 mass% or more, relative to the total amount of component (A); the upper limit may be 100 mass% or less, for example 98 mass% or less, or for example 95 mass% or less, and it is also preferable that it is 85 mass% or less.

When component (A) is used in a batter, the content of the fraction under the 1.4 mm sieve and over the 0.15 mm sieve is preferably 5% by mass or more, more preferably 7% by mass or more, based on the total amount of component (A), from the viewpoint of improving the crispness of the fried chicken, and the upper limit may be 100% by mass or less, preferably 80% by mass or less, more preferably 70% by mass or less, and even more preferably 65% by mass or less.

When component (A) is used in a breader, the content of the fraction under the 1.4 mm mesh sieve and over the 0.15 mm mesh sieve is preferably 5% by mass or more, more preferably 30% by mass or more, and even more preferably 60% by mass or more, based on the total amount of component (A), from the viewpoint of improving the juiciness of the food material and suppressing squashing, and the upper limit may be 100% by mass or less, or may be 98% by mass or less.

In this embodiment, component (A) contains starch other than the low molecular weight starch. Various starches can be used as the starch component other than the low molecular weight starch in component (A). Specifically, depending on the application, any type of starch may be used as long as it is a food starch, and one or more types may be appropriately selected from starches such as corn starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, wheat starch, and the like; and processed starches obtained by chemically, physically, or enzymatically processing these starches. Component (A) preferably contains one or more types of starch selected from the group consisting of corn starch, wheat starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, and crosslinked starches thereof.

Component (A) may also contain components other than starch. Specific examples of components other than starch include colorants, insoluble salts such as calcium carbonate and calcium sulfate, and emulsifiers.

It is preferable to incorporate an insoluble salt into component (A) from the viewpoint of further stabilizing the bubble structure within the particles of component (A) and improving production stability. From the same viewpoint, the amount of insoluble salt incorporated is preferably 0.1% by mass or more, and preferably 2% by mass or less.

The emulsifier may be, for example, a food emulsifier.
Specific examples of the emulsifier include nonionic surfactants such as sucrose fatty acid esters, monoglycerin fatty acid esters, polyglycerin fatty acid esters, polyglycerin condensed ricinoleic acid esters, propylene glycol fatty acid esters, acetate monoglyceride, lactate monoglyceride, citrate monoglyceride, succinate monoglyceride, polysorbates, and sorbitan fatty acid esters;
anionic surfactants, such as diacetyl tartaric acid monoglyceride; and amphoteric surfactants, such as lecithin.
From the viewpoint of improving the crispness of the fried chicken and suppressing stickiness of the batter, the emulsifier is preferably a nonionic surfactant, and more preferably one or more selected from sucrose fatty acid esters and monoglycerin fatty acid esters.

Among nonionic surfactants, sucrose fatty acid esters include, for example, esters of sucrose and fatty acids having 10 to 24 carbon atoms, and more specifically, sucrose stearate, sucrose palmitate, sucrose myristic acid ester, sucrose oleate, sucrose behenate, and sucrose erucate.
The number of carbon atoms of the fatty acid in the sucrose fatty acid ester is not limited, but is, for example, 10 or more, preferably 12 or more, more preferably 14 or more, and even more preferably 16 or more.
Although there are no limitations, the number of carbon atoms of the fatty acid in the sucrose fatty acid ester is, for example, 24 or less, preferably 22 or less, more preferably 20 or less, and even more preferably 18 or less.

The fatty acid in the sucrose fatty acid ester is preferably a saturated fatty acid or a monounsaturated fatty acid, more preferably a saturated fatty acid, from the viewpoints of improving the crispness of the fried chicken and suppressing stickiness of the batter.
The sucrose fatty acid esters may include any of mono-, di-, tri- and polyesters of fatty acids.
The HLB of the sucrose fatty acid ester is preferably 0 or more, more preferably 0.5 or more, even more preferably 4 or more, and even more preferably 8 or more, from the viewpoints of improving the crispness of fried chicken and suppressing stickiness of the batter.
From the same viewpoint, the HLB of the sucrose fatty acid ester is preferably 18 or less, more preferably 17 or less.

Examples of monoglycerol fatty acid esters include esters of glycerol and fatty acids having 6 to 24 carbon atoms, and more specifically, examples of such esters include glycerol monocaprate, glycerol monopalmitate, glycerol monostearate, and glycerol monobehenate.
The number of carbon atoms of the fatty acid in the monoglycerin fatty acid ester is, for example, 6 or more, preferably 10 or more, and more preferably 14 or more, from the viewpoints of improving the crispness of fried chicken and suppressing stickiness of the batter.
From the same viewpoint, the number of carbon atoms of the fatty acid in the monoglycerin fatty acid ester is, for example, 24 or less, preferably 22 or less, and more preferably 20 or less.
From the same viewpoint, the fatty acid in the monoglycerin fatty acid ester is preferably a saturated fatty acid or a monounsaturated fatty acid, and more preferably a saturated fatty acid.
From the same viewpoint, the HLB of the monoglycerin fatty acid ester is preferably 0 or more, and more preferably 1 or more.
From the viewpoint of improving the crispness of fried chicken and suppressing stickiness of the batter, the HLB of the monoglycerol fatty acid ester is preferably 16 or less, more preferably 9 or less, and even more preferably 6 or less.

From the viewpoint of improving the crispness of fried chicken, the content of the emulsifier in component (A) is preferably 5 mass% or more, more preferably 0.6 mass% or more, and even more preferably 0.9 mass% or more, based on the total mass of component (A).
From the same viewpoint, the content of the emulsifier in component (A) is preferably 11 mass % or less, more preferably 9 mass % or less, and even more preferably 6 mass % or less, based on the total amount of component (A).

Next, a method for producing the component (A) will be described. The method for producing the component (A) includes, for example, the following steps.
(Preparation process of low molecular weight starch) A process of subjecting starch having an amylose content of 5% by mass or more to a low molecular weight treatment to obtain low molecular weight starch having a peak molecular weight of 3 x 10 ³ or more and 5 x 10 ⁴ or less.
(Granulation process) A process of heating, gelatinizing and granulating a raw material, the raw material containing 3% by mass or more and 45% by mass or less of low molecular weight starch and the total content of low molecular weight starch and starches other than low molecular weight starch being 75% by mass or more.

The process for preparing low molecular weight starch involves decomposing starch with an amylose content of 5% by mass or more to produce low molecular weight starch. Decomposition here refers to decomposition that involves breaking down starch into smaller molecules, and representative decomposition methods include acid treatment, oxidation treatment, and enzyme treatment. Of these, acid treatment is preferred from the standpoints of decomposition speed, cost, and reproducibility of the decomposition reaction.

In addition, the granulation step can use a general method used for granulating starch, but it is preferable to use a general method used for heat gelatinization of starch in order to obtain a predetermined cold water swelling degree. Specifically, methods using machines such as a drum dryer, jet cooker, extruder, and spray dryer are known, but in this embodiment, from the viewpoint of more reliably obtaining component (A) whose cold water swelling degree satisfies the above-mentioned specific condition, heat gelatinization using an extruder or drum dryer is preferable, and an extruder is more preferable. When processing with an extruder, water is usually added to the raw material containing starch to adjust the moisture content to about 10% by mass to 60% by mass, and then the raw material is heated and expanded under conditions such as a barrel temperature of 30°C to 200°C, an outlet temperature of 80°C to 180°C, a screw rotation speed of 100 rpm to 1,000 rpm, and a heat treatment time of 5 seconds to 60 seconds.

In this embodiment, the granulated product obtained by heat gelatinization in the granulation process can be pulverized and sieved as necessary to appropriately adjust the size. This can also produce component (A) that satisfies condition (4).

The content of component (A) in the breader is preferably 3% by mass or more, more preferably 7% by mass or more, and even more preferably 15% by mass or more, based on the entire breader, from the viewpoints of improving the desired hardness of the coating and the crispness of the fried chicken, and suppressing the coating from sticking.
From the same viewpoint, the content of component (A) in the breader is preferably 80 mass% or less, more preferably 65 mass% or less, even more preferably 50 mass% or less, and even more preferably 40 mass% or less, based on the entire breader.

The content of component (A) relative to the total content of the second grain flour and component (A) in the breader is preferably 0.04 or more in mass ratio, more preferably 0.12 or more, and even more preferably 0.3 or more, from the viewpoints of improving the desired hardness of the coating and the crispness of the fried chicken, and suppressing the coating from sticking.
From a similar viewpoint, the content of component (A) relative to the total content of the second cereal flour and component (A) in the breader is preferably 0.9 or less in mass ratio, more preferably 0.75 or less, and even more preferably 0.6 or less.

(Component (B))
Component (B) is a granular material having a content of 80% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less of a fraction that is under a sieve with a mesh size of 2.8 mm and over a sieve with a mesh size of 0.15 mm. Component (B) is one or more selected from the group consisting of gelatinized grain flour (excluding the first and second grain flours), ground rice crackers, and bread crumbs.

Specifically, the gelatinized flour is a component other than the first and second grain flours, and is grain flour that has been subjected to gelatinization treatment.
Specific examples of the grain flour in the gelatinized grain flour include corn flour such as corn grits and corn flour; and potato flour.
More specifically, the gelatinized flour is one or more flours selected from the group consisting of corn flours such as corn grits and corn flour.
A specific example of a commercially available pregelatinized grain flour is Soft Coat EL (a processed corn grits product, manufactured by J-Oil Mills).

The rice snacks in the pulverized rice snacks include rice crackers, okaki, persimmon seeds, arare, etc. The pulverized rice snacks may be pulverized to the above-mentioned particle size, and there is no limitation on the pulverization method.
As for the bread crumbs, they may be crushed to the above-mentioned particle size.

Regarding the particle size of component (B), from the viewpoint of improving the crispness of fried chicken, the content of the fraction under the sieve with a mesh size of 2.8 mm and over the sieve with a mesh size of 0.15 mm is 80% by mass or more, preferably 85% by mass or more, more preferably 90% by mass or more, and even more preferably 92% by mass or more, of the total component (B). In addition, the content of the fraction under the sieve with a mesh size of 2.8 mm and over the sieve with a mesh size of 0.15 mm may be, for example, 100% by mass or less.

The content of component (B) in the breader is preferably 3% by mass or more, more preferably 8% by mass or more, and even more preferably 15% by mass or more, based on the entire breader, from the viewpoints of improving the desired hardness of the coating and the crispness of the fried chicken, and suppressing the coating from sticking.
In addition, from the viewpoint of improving the juiciness of the food material, the content of component (B) in the breader is preferably 85 mass% or less, more preferably 70 mass% or less, and even more preferably 45 mass% or less, based on the entire breader.

The content of component (B) relative to the total content of the second grain flour and component (B) in the breader is preferably 0.03 or more, more preferably 0.12 or more, and even more preferably 0.28 or more, in terms of improving the preferred hardness of the coating and the crispness of the fried chicken, and improving the juiciness of the food ingredients.
In addition, from the viewpoint of improving the juiciness of the food ingredient, the content of component (B) relative to the total content of the second grain flour and component (B) in the breader is preferably 0.9 or less in mass ratio, more preferably 0.75 or less, and even more preferably 0.6 or less.

The content of component (A) relative to the total content of components (A) and (B) in the breader is preferably 0.1 or more in mass ratio, more preferably 0.2 or more, and even more preferably 0.3 or more, from the viewpoint of improving the juiciness of the food material and suppressing shrinkage.
In addition, from the viewpoint of improving the juiciness of the food material, the content of component (A) relative to the total content of components (A) and (B) in the breader is preferably 1.0 or less, more preferably 0.6 or less, in terms of mass ratio.

The total content of components (A) and (B) relative to the content of the second grain flour in the breader is preferably 0.05 or more in mass ratio, more preferably 0.1 or more, even more preferably 1.0 or more, and even more preferably 2.0 or more, from the viewpoints of improving the preferred hardness of the coating and the crispness of the fried chicken, and improving the juiciness of the food ingredients.
In addition, from the viewpoint of suppressing creaking, the total content of components (A) and (B) relative to the content of the second cereal flour is preferably 6.0 or less in mass ratio, more preferably 5.0 or less, even more preferably 4.0 or less, and even more preferably 3.0 or less.

The breader may also contain ingredients other than those mentioned above.

The following are examples of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to these.

(raw materials)
The main raw materials used were as follows:
High amylose cornstarch: Cornstarch Y, manufactured by J-Oil Mills
High amylose cornstarch: J-Oil Mills, HS-7, amylose content 70% by mass
Monoglycerol fatty acid ester: Poem P(V)S, constituent fatty acids C16 (60%), C18 (40%), manufactured by Riken Vitamin Co., Ltd. Wheat flour: Flower, manufactured by Nisshin Seifun Co., Ltd. Phosphate cross-linked tapioca starch: Actbody TP-4W, manufactured by J-Oil Mills Co., Ltd. Acid-treated starch: Gelcol R-100, manufactured by J-Oil Mills Co., Ltd. Oxidized tapioca starch: Gelcol SP-3, manufactured by J-Oil Mills Co., Ltd. (A)-1: manufactured by Powdery/granular material (A)-2 obtained in Production Example 1: Powdery/granular material (A)-3 obtained in Production Example 2: Powdery/granular material (A)-4 obtained in Production Example 3: Powdery/granular material (A)-5 obtained in Production Example 4: Powdery/granular material (B) obtained in Production Example 5 Pregelatinized grain flour 1: Corn grits processed product, Softcoat EL, manufactured by J-Oil Mills, Inc., content of the fraction under the sieve with 2.8 mm openings and over the sieve with 0.15 mm openings is 100% by mass
(B) Bread crumbs: Bread crumbs manufactured by Kyoei Food Co., Ltd., crushed and sieved (content of the fraction under the sieve with a mesh size of 2.8 mm and over the sieve with a mesh size of 0.15 mm: 100% by mass)
(B) Rice cracker pulverized product: Kameda Kakinotane, manufactured by Kameda Seika Co., Ltd., pulverized and sieved (content of fraction under sieve with 2.8 mm mesh and over sieve with 0.15 mm mesh: 100% by mass)
Commercially available fried chicken flour: Chubo-oh Juicy fried chicken flour, Daishow meat processing quality improver formulation: Hi-Trust TC-200, J-Oil Mills strong flour: Aution, Nisshin Seifun Co., Ltd. dough improver: Joker Kimo, Puratos fresh yeast: Regular yeast, Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd. shortening: Atlanta SS, J-Oil Mills

(Production Examples 1 to 3)
In this example, powdery and granular materials (A)-1, (A)-2 and (A)-3 were produced.
First, the acid-treated high amylose cornstarch was prepared by the following procedure. That is, the high amylose cornstarch was suspended in water to prepare a 35.6% (w/w) slurry, and the slurry was heated to 50° C. To the slurry, a 4.25N aqueous hydrochloric acid solution was added in an amount of 1/9 of the slurry mass ratio while stirring to start the reaction. After reacting for 16 hours, the mixture was neutralized with 3% NaOH, washed with water, dehydrated, and dried to obtain the acid-treated high amylose cornstarch.
The peak molecular weight of the resulting acid-treated high amylose cornstarch was measured by the following method and was found to be 1.2×10 ⁴ .

(Method of measuring peak molecular weight)
The peak molecular weight was measured using an HPLC unit manufactured by Tosoh Corporation (pump DP-8020, RI detector RS-8021, degasser SD-8022).
(1) The sample was pulverized, and the fraction that passed through a 0.15 mm mesh sieve according to JIS-Z8801-1 was collected. The collected fraction was suspended in a mobile phase to a concentration of 1 mg/mL, and the suspension was heated to 100° C. for 3 minutes to completely dissolve. The sample was filtered using a 0.45 μm filter (ADVANTEC, DISMIC-25HP PTFE 0.45 μm), and the filtrate was used as the analytical sample.
(2) The molecular weight was measured under the following analytical conditions.
Column: TSKgel α-M (7.8 mmφ, 30 cm) (manufactured by Tosoh Corporation) 2 columns Flow rate: 0.5 mL/min
Mobile phase: 90% (v/v) dimethyl sulfoxide solution containing 5 mM _NaNO3 Column temperature: 40 ° C.
Analysis volume: 0.2 mL
(3) Detector data was collected using software (Multistation GPC-8020 model II data collection ver. 5.70, manufactured by Tosoh Corporation), and molecular weight peaks were calculated.
For the calibration curve, pullulan with a known molecular weight (Shodex Standard P-82, Showa Denko KK) was used.

Next, a powdery granular material was produced using the obtained acid-treated high amylose cornstarch. That is, 77 parts by mass of cornstarch, 20 parts by mass of acid-treated high amylose cornstarch, 1 part by mass of calcium carbonate, and 2 parts by mass of monoglycerol fatty acid ester were mixed in a bag until sufficiently uniform, to obtain a mixture. The mixture was pressurized and heated using a twin-screw extruder (KEI-45, manufactured by Kowa Kogyo Co., Ltd.). The treatment conditions were as follows.
Raw material supply: 275 g/min. Water added: The amount shown in each table. Barrel temperature: 50° C., 70° C., 100° C., and 130° C. from the raw material inlet to the outlet.
Outlet temperature: 130-150℃
Screw rotation speed: 230 rpm
The heated gelatinized material thus obtained by the extruder treatment was dried at 110° C. to adjust the moisture content to about 10% by mass.

Next, the dried heated gelatinized material was pulverized using a benchtop cutter pulverizer and then sieved using a JIS-Z8801-1 standard sieve. The fractions were mixed to obtain the particle size distribution shown in Table 1, yielding powdered and granular materials (A)-1 (Production Example 1), (A)-2 (Production Example 2), and (A)-3 (Production Example 3).

(Production Examples 4 and 5)
Powdery and granular materials (A)-4 (Production Example 4) and (A)-5 (Production Example 5) were produced in accordance with Production Example 1, except that the blending ratio in the production of the powdery and granular material in Production Example 1 was changed to 79 parts by mass of corn starch, 20 parts by mass of acid-treated high amylose corn starch, and 1 part by mass of calcium carbonate.

The particle size and cold water swelling degree of the powdered and granular materials (A)-1 to (A)-5 obtained in Production Examples 1 to 5 are shown in Table 1. The cold water swelling degree of each powdered and granular material was measured by the following method.

(Method for measuring cold water swelling degree)
1. 1 g of sample (A) was weighed into a 50 mL Falcon tube.
2. While stirring on a vortex mixer, water was added to the tube up to the 50 mL mark.
The mixture was mixed by inverting 3.5 times to disperse the precipitate, then stirred with a vortex mixer for 10 seconds and allowed to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
4. The mixture was centrifuged at 4,000 rpm for 30 minutes to separate the precipitate and the supernatant.
(Centrifuge: Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd., Hitachi tabletop centrifuge CT6E type; rotor: T4SS type swing rotor; adapter: 50TC x 2S adapter)
5. The supernatant was removed with a pipette, and the mass of the precipitate layer was measured and designated as B.
6. The mass of the precipitate layer when it was dried (105° C., 24 hours) was measured and designated as C.
7. B/C was determined as the cold water swelling degree of the powdery or granular material.

(Examples 1 to 29, Control Example 1)
In this example, fried chicken was produced and evaluated. The batter and breading formulations and the evaluation results of the fried chicken are shown in Tables 2 to 5.
For the examples other than Example 16, fried chicken was prepared, and for Example 16, fried octopus was prepared.

(Method of manufacturing fried chicken)
1. Chicken thigh meat (skinless) was cut into 25-30 g pieces, placed in pickle liquid (40% meat) and tumbled in a tumbler (VACONA, ESK-60) at 5° C. for 90 minutes with a vacuum rate of 80%.
2. Drain off the pickle liquid and add the meat to each batter and mix well.
3. The meat with the batter was then breaded with each example (approximately 5-8g per 25-30g chicken thigh).
4. Fry at 180°C for 3 minutes to obtain fried chicken.
5. The resulting fried chicken was cooled and then quickly frozen at -50°C for 1 hour.
6. The frozen fried chicken was placed in a packaging bag (Frame Nova Magic Bag exclusive cut bag, model number ACO1059, material: polyamide nylon, polyethylene, thickness 0.085 mm, 20 x 30 cm) (5 to 6 pieces/bag) and vacuum-packaged using a vacuum packaging machine (Hot Temp, model number LYNX32, manufactured by Nichiwa Electric Co., Ltd.) in standard mode with P1 vacuum setting to obtain a fried chicken package.
7. The fried chicken packages were frozen and stored at -18°C for 2 weeks.

In Example 16, fried octopus was obtained in the same manner as in the above-mentioned fried chicken manufacturing method, except that the chicken thigh meat in step 1 was replaced with octopus.

(Pickling liquid composition)
Ingredients Composition (mass%)
Meat quality improver preparation 10.00
White sugar 4.00
Salt 1.00
Pepper 0.30
Sodium glutamate 2.70
Soy sauce 10.00
Ice water 72.00
Total 100.00

(Evaluation Method)
The fried chicken packages obtained in each example after freezing were heated in a water bath at 100°C for 10 minutes. After the water bath, the fried chicken was removed from the bag and subjected to a sensory evaluation by two panelists for "preferable hardness,""crispyness,""juiciness of the food," and "pulp." The two panelists jointly assigned scores according to the following criteria. For each item, a score of 3 or more was considered a pass.
In addition to the above evaluations, sensory evaluation was also performed on fried chicken re-fried after boiling in hot water for Example 21. Specifically, the fried chicken package after freezing was left to stand in hot water at 100°C for 1 hour, and then the fried chicken was removed from the bag and fried at 180°C for 1 minute. The fried fried chicken was evaluated for "preferable hardness,""crispyness,""juiciness of the food," and "tenderness" using the above methods.
The evaluation results are shown in Tables 2 to 5.

(Preferred hardness)
5: Moderately hard 4: Almost moderately hard or slightly too hard 3: Slightly moderately hard or slightly too hard, but within the acceptable range 2: Not very hard or too hard 1: Not hard at all or quite too hard

(Sakumi)
5: Very crispy 4: Crispy 3: Slightly crispy 2: Not very crispy 1: Not crisp at all

(Juicy taste of ingredients)
5: Very juicy 4: Quite juicy 3: Very juicy 2: Slightly less juicy 1: Less juicy

(Clothing pull)
5: No pull at all 4: Almost no pull 3: A little pull 2: Some pull 1: Pull

(Production Example 6)
In this example, bread crumbs containing powder/granular material (A)-3 ("bread crumbs containing powder/granular material (A)-3") were produced by the following procedure.

(Bread for bread crumbs and method for producing bread crumbs)
According to the following procedure, bread for bread crumbs was produced according to the formulation shown in Table 6, and then crushed to obtain bread crumbs.
1. All the ingredients shown in Table 6 were placed in a mixer bowl and mixed under the following conditions using a bread mixer (Kanto Mixer HP-20M, manufactured by Kanto Mixing Co., Ltd.).
Mixing conditions: 3 minutes kneading with hook at 1st speed, 9 minutes kneading at 2nd speed 2. After mixing, the dough was removed from the mixer and left to rise at 26°C for 70 minutes.
3. The dough was divided into 215 g portions and left to rest for 15 minutes. Then, the portions were shaped into rods using a molder, and three pieces were twisted together, and two pieces were placed into each mold and shaped.
4. The molded dough was fermented in a proofing machine at 38°C and 85% relative humidity for 50 minutes.
5. After fermentation, the dough was baked in an oven under the following conditions for the following time.
Firing conditions: upper stage 180°C/lower stage 190°C
Baking time: 50 minutes 6. After baking, the baked bread was cooled to room temperature (20° C.) and then cooled.
7. Store in a freezer (-18°C).
8. The obtained frozen bread was returned to room temperature (20°C), and the inside of the bread was crushed in a mixer (product name: MiNi-PANKO PK-3, manufactured by Fujishima Koki Co., Ltd.). 1 g of the bread crumbs was heated and dried at 130°C using a moisture meter (manufactured by Kensei Kogyo Co., Ltd., model number MX-50) to measure the moisture content, which was 39.8% by mass.
9. The crushed bread crumbs were sieved, and the fractions below the 2.8 mm sieve and above the 0.15 mm sieve were collected and used for blending tests in a bread machine.

(Example 30)
Fried chicken was produced and evaluated in accordance with Example 1, except that the batter and breading formulations were as shown in Table 7. The batter and breading formulations and the evaluation results of the fried chicken are shown in Table 7. In Table 7, the amount of component (A) in 35 parts by mass of "bread crumbs containing powdered or granular material (A)-3 (Production Example 6)" is 1.1 parts by mass, and the amount of component (B) is 33.9 parts by mass.

Claims (22)

A method for producing fried chicken that is heated in a hot water bath before eating,
applying batter to the foodstuff;
applying a breader to the battered food material;
frying the food material to which the batter and the breader are attached to obtain fried chicken;
Freezing the fried chicken;
After the freezing step, the fried chicken is placed in a packaging container and vacuum-packaged to obtain a fried chicken package;
Including,
The batter:
A first flour;
One or more selected from the group consisting of oxidized starch and acid-treated starch;
Including,
The breader,
A second flour; and
One or more selected from the group consisting of the following components (A) and (B);
The method for producing fried chicken includes:
Component (A): A powdery or granular material that satisfies the following conditions (1) to (4): (1) A starch content of 75% by mass or more; (2) A starch having an amylose content of 5% by mass or more and containing 3% to 45% by mass of a degraded starch, the degraded starch having a peak molecular weight of 3 x ¹⁰³ to 5 x ¹⁰⁴ ; (3) A cold water swelling degree at 25°C of 5 to 20; and (4) A content of a fraction that falls under a sieve having a mesh size of 1.4 mm and on a sieve having a mesh size of 0.15 mm is 5% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less. Component (B): one or more selected from the group consisting of gelatinized grain flour (excluding the first and second grain flours), ground rice crackers, and bread crumbs, the content of which is 80% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less of the fraction that is under the sieve having a mesh size of 2.8 mm and over the sieve having a mesh size of 0.15 mm The method for producing fried chicken according to claim 1, wherein the packaging container is a plastic bag. The method for producing fried chicken according to claim 2, wherein the material of the bag contains polyamide, and the thickness of the bag is 0.05 mm or more and 0.1 mm or less. The method for producing fried chicken according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of vacuum packaging is a step of tightly vacuum packaging. The method for producing fried chicken according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a step of freezing and storing the fried chicken package. The method for producing fried chicken according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the batter contains the oxidized starch. The method for producing fried chicken according to claim 6, wherein the batter further contains the acid-treated starch and cross-linked starch. The method for producing fried chicken according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the total content of the oxidized starch and the acid-treated starch relative to the content of the first grain flour in the batter is 0.3 to 3 in mass ratio. The method for producing fried chicken according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the batter further contains the component (A). The method for producing fried chicken according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the total content of the components (A) and (B) relative to the content of the second grain flour in the breader is 0.05 or more and 6.0 or less in mass ratio. The method for producing fried chicken according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the first and second grain flours are both wheat flours. The method for producing fried chicken according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the food material is one or more selected from the group consisting of chicken, squid, octopus, and fish. A method for improving the crispness of fried chicken that is heated in a hot water bath before eating,
applying batter to the foodstuff;
applying a breader to the battered food material;
frying the food material to which the batter and the breader are attached to obtain fried chicken;
Freezing the fried chicken;
After the freezing step, the fried chicken is placed in a packaging container and vacuum-packaged to obtain a fried chicken package;
Including,
The batter:
A first flour;
One or more selected from the group consisting of oxidized starch and acid-treated starch;
Including,
The breader,
A second flour; and
One or more selected from the group consisting of the following components (A) and (B);
The method comprising:
Component (A): A powdery or granular material that satisfies the following conditions (1) to (4): (1) A starch content of 75% by mass or more; (2) A starch having an amylose content of 5% by mass or more and containing 3% to 45% by mass of a degraded starch, the degraded starch having a peak molecular weight of 3 x ¹⁰³ to 5 x ¹⁰⁴ ; (3) A cold water swelling degree at 25°C of 5 to 20; and (4) A content of a fraction that falls under a 1.4 mm sieve and on a 0.15 mm sieve is 5% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less. Component (B): one or more selected from the group consisting of gelatinized grain flour (excluding the first and second grain flours), ground rice crackers, and bread crumbs, the content of which is 80% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less of the fraction that is under the sieve having a mesh size of 2.8 mm and over the sieve having a mesh size of 0.15 mm The method according to claim 13, wherein the total content of the oxidized starch and the acid-treated starch relative to the content of the first grain flour in the batter is 0.3 or more and 3 or less in mass ratio. The method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the total content of the components (A) and (B) relative to the content of the second cereal flour in the breader is 0.05 or more and 6.0 or less in mass ratio. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the packaging container is a plastic bag. The method of claim 16, wherein the bag material comprises polyamide and the bag has a thickness of 0.05 mm or more and 0.1 mm or less. A method for improving the juiciness of fried chicken after it is heated in a hot water bath before eating, comprising:
applying batter to the foodstuff;
applying a breader to the battered food material;
frying the food material to which the batter and the breader are attached to obtain fried chicken;
Freezing the fried chicken;
After the freezing step, the fried chicken is placed in a packaging container and vacuum-packaged to obtain a fried chicken package;
Including,
The batter:
A first flour;
One or more selected from the group consisting of oxidized starch and acid-treated starch;
Including,
The breader,
A second flour; and
One or more selected from the group consisting of the following components (A) and (B);
The method comprising:
Component (A): A powdery or granular material that satisfies the following conditions (1) to (4): (1) A starch content of 75% by mass or more; (2) A starch having an amylose content of 5% by mass or more and containing 3% to 45% by mass of a degraded starch, the degraded starch having a peak molecular weight of 3 x ¹⁰³ to 5 x ¹⁰⁴ ; (3) A cold water swelling degree at 25°C of 5 to 20; and (4) A content of a fraction that falls under a 1.4 mm sieve and on a 0.15 mm sieve is 5% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less. Component (B): one or more selected from the group consisting of gelatinized grain flour (excluding the first and second grain flours), ground rice crackers, and bread crumbs, the content of which is 80% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less of the fraction that is under the sieve having a mesh size of 2.8 mm and over the sieve having a mesh size of 0.15 mm The method according to claim 18, wherein the total content of the oxidized starch and the acid-treated starch relative to the content of the first grain flour in the batter is 0.3 or more and 3 or less in mass ratio. The method according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the total content of the components (A) and (B) relative to the content of the second cereal flour in the breader is 0.05 or more and 6.0 or less in mass ratio. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 20, wherein the packaging container is a plastic bag. The method of claim 21, wherein the bag material comprises polyamide and the bag has a thickness of 0.05 mm or more and 0.1 mm or less.