JP7588819B2 - Fin sake essence and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a fin sake essence that imparts the flavor of fin sake to sake and a method for producing the same.

Generally, fin sake is made and served in restaurants and other establishments by grilling pufferfish fins, soaking them in sake, and heating them.
Also, as a way to enjoy fin sake outdoors or at home, rather than at a restaurant or restaurant, a method is disclosed in Patent Document 1 in which sake and heat-treated pufferfish fins are sealed in a container with a heating device, and when drinking, the heat is applied with the heating device to make fin sake. The pufferfish fins used in this method are heat-treated until their tips are sufficiently carbonized.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 01-101877

However, when the fillets are grilled in the way that is offered at restaurants and other establishments, they can become burnt and mix with the sake, ruining its flavor. Also, depending on how well the fillets are grilled, the fishy smell of the fish may remain, which can add to the flavor of the fillet sake and ruin the flavor.
Furthermore, in the method described in Patent Document 1, the tips of the fins become burnt, which may mix with the sake and impair its flavor.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to obtain an essence of fish fin sake that can suppress the occurrence of fishy smell and burnt food and can provide a sufficient flavor of fish fin sake.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the gist of the invention resides in the following [1] to [3].
[1] A fin sake essence having an ethanol-containing water with an ethanol content of 50% by volume or more and 80% by volume or less and having a specific flavor, said specific flavor being the flavor of fin sake that is produced when at least 0.01 ml of this essence is added to 180 ml of sake.
[2] A method for producing a fillet sake essence, comprising soaking fillets that have been dried and grilled in ethanol-containing water with an ethanol content of 80% by volume or more and 98% by volume or less for a period of one week to two months, and then removing the ethanol until the ethanol content is 50% by volume or more and 80% by volume or less.
[3] The method for producing the fin sake essence described in [2], in which the fins are degreased, dried for a period of one week to one month, and then heated in an oven.

When about one drop (0.01 ml or more) of the fin sake essence of this invention is dropped into 180 ml of sake using a toothpick or thin needle, the sake is given the flavor of fin sake with reduced fishy smell and charcoal taste, allowing the fin sake to be enjoyed.
Also, by using alcohol other than sake, you can enjoy a unique flavor that cannot be obtained with that alcohol.
The fin sake essence of the present invention is essentially ethanol-containing water containing 50% by volume or more and 80% by volume or less of ethanol, and does not contain fins or the like, so it can be stored and used for a longer period of time.

The fin sake essence according to the present invention is an essence having an ethanol-containing water having an ethanol content of 50% by volume or more and 80% by volume or less, and having a specific flavor.
This particular flavor refers to a flavor that produces the flavor of fin sake when dripped into sake as described below (hereinafter referred to as "fin sake flavor").
This "flavor" refers to the taste of sake, which is composed of aroma, taste, etc. Also, "Fugu fin sake flavor" generally refers to the flavor produced by fin sake, which is obtained by grilling pufferfish fins, soaking them in sake, and heating them.

This fin sake essence can be produced by the following method.
First, the fins of pufferfish, especially tiger pufferfish, are prepared and the slime of the fins is removed. This slime is one of the causes of the fishy smell, so it is necessary to remove it.
Methods for removing this slime include scraping it off with a bladed tool such as a knife, removing the slime by applying salt, and applying salt and then scraping the slime off with a bladed tool such as a knife.

Next, the fins from which the slime has been removed are dried. The drying method can be natural drying or forced drying using a dryer.
The natural drying method includes placing the fins outdoors or indoors and drying them. In this case, any of the following methods can be used: sun drying in the sunlight, shade drying out of the sunlight, or a combination of these. The fins may also be dried in the wind or in a windless environment.
In this natural drying, the fins may be placed on a wooden, metal, or plastic plate or wire mesh, or may be hung using clips or the like.
The drying time can be appropriately set depending on the method, but from the viewpoint of further removing the fishy odor, a period of one week or more and one month or less is preferable.

In the method using a dryer, the drying can be performed more quickly by increasing the temperature, but if the drying time is too short, it becomes difficult to further remove the remaining fishy odor, so the temperature should be no more than the temperature at the dryer +30° C., preferably no more than the temperature at the dryer +20° C., and more preferably no more than the temperature at the dryer +10° C. On the other hand, the lower limit of the dryer should be higher than the temperature at the dryer, and is preferably the temperature at the dryer +5° C.
In this case, the drying time is preferably from one day to one month from the viewpoint of further removing the fishy odor.

However, in order to more reliably remove the fishy odor, it is more preferable to dry the fish naturally.

The dried fillets are then heated in an oven to obtain treated fillets. By using an oven instead of baking over an open flame, the generation of burnt residue and other burnt parts can be suppressed, and the bitter taste caused by the burnt parts can be prevented from being transferred to the ethanol-containing water in the next step.
The oven is preferably one that does not cause burning, and an example of such an oven is a convection oven.

In addition, the oven conditions are preferably such that no burning occurs. When using a convection oven, the set temperature should be 200°C or higher, preferably 210°C or higher. Also, it is better to set it to 250°C or lower, preferably 240°C or lower. If the temperature exceeds this range, there is a risk of burnt residue being generated. On the other hand, if the temperature is below this range, a longer time is required to achieve sufficient heating, which is not efficient.

In the above temperature range, the heating time is preferably 3 minutes or more, more preferably 5 minutes or more, and 8 minutes or less, more preferably 6 minutes or less. If the heating time exceeds this range, there is a risk of burning. On the other hand, if the heating time is below this range, sufficient heating is not achieved, and it is difficult to develop a sufficient flavor of the fin sake.
After heating in this oven, there is no need to roast it over an open flame, as this can easily cause it to burn.

The thus-obtained treated fin is then subjected to a step of immersing it in water containing a predetermined amount of ethanol.
The ethanol-containing water refers to water containing ethanol at a predetermined ethanol concentration (alcohol content). The ethanol concentration (alcohol content) is preferably 80% by volume (80 degrees) or more, more preferably 85% by volume (85 degrees) or more, more preferably 90% by volume (90 degrees) or more, and even more preferably 95% by volume (95 degrees) or more. Also, it is preferably 98% by volume (98 degrees) or less, more preferably 97% by volume (97 degrees) or less, and more preferably 96% by volume (96 degrees) or less. By using such ethanol-containing water, the concentration in the subsequent process can be increased, and by using a smaller amount, a sufficient fin sake flavor can be obtained.

The ethanol-containing water may be pure ethanol with water added to it to a certain concentration, or a distilled alcoholic drink with a high alcohol content, such as vodka or other distilled alcoholic drinks, such as spirits.
Examples of the vodka include Spiritus (alcohol content 95 to 96%, manufactured by Polmos Warsaw, Poland), Everclear (alcohol content 95%, USA), Dover Spirits 88 (alcohol content 88%, manufactured by Dover Spirits Trading Co., Ltd., Japan), Balkan 176 Vodka (alcohol content 88%, manufactured by Balkan, Bulgaria), and Devil's Springs Vodka (alcohol content 80%, USA).
Other distilled spirits include Coco Loco (96% alcohol, Bolivia), Knockeen Hills Pochin (90% and 80% alcohol, Ireland),
Examples include Straw 80 (alcohol content 80%, Austria).

The amount of the treated fins to be immersed in the ethanol-containing water should be 1 g or more, preferably 2 g or more, per 180 ml of the ethanol-containing water. If the amount is less than 1 g, there is a risk that the components that produce the flavor of fin sake (hereinafter, abbreviated as "fin sake flavor components") that transfer to the ethanol-containing water will be insufficient. There is no particular upper limit, but if it is 5 g, the fin sake flavor components that transfer to the ethanol-containing water will be sufficient.

The time for which the processed fillets are immersed in the ethanol-containing water is preferably 2 weeks or more, more preferably 3 weeks or more, and more preferably 2 months or less, more preferably 1 month or less. By immersing the fillets for this period, the fillet sake flavor components can be sufficiently extracted from the processed fillets and transferred to the ethanol-containing water.
The temperature when the processed fillet is immersed in the predetermined ethanol-containing water is preferably -60°C or higher, more preferably -30°C or higher, more preferably -10°C or higher, and particularly preferably 4°C or higher. Also, it is preferably 40°C or lower, more preferably 35°C or lower, and more preferably 30°C or lower. If the temperature is too low, it may be difficult to sufficiently transfer the fillet sake flavor components to the ethanol-containing water. On the other hand, if the temperature is too high, the degree of volatilization of volatile components such as aromas among the fillet sake flavor components increases, and there is a risk that a sufficient fillet sake flavor will not be obtained in the end. Furthermore, the amount of ethanol volatilization increases, which may cause danger during the work.

The ethanol-containing water having the fin wine flavor components thus obtained (ethanol-containing water containing fin wine flavor components) is subjected to a step of distilling off the ethanol components under reduced pressure to obtain the fin wine essence of the present invention.
This distillation removal is carried out under conditions of room temperature or higher and 70°C or lower, to a degree that allows the ethanol to be distilled off from the ethanol-containing water containing the fin sake flavor components. By setting the temperature at 70°C or lower, excessive volatilization of the fin sake flavor components can be prevented, and a larger amount of the fin sake flavor components can be left in the obtained fin sake essence. A more preferred temperature is 60°C or lower, and an even more preferred temperature is 50°C or lower. The lower limit of the distillation conditions may be below room temperature, but since cooling is required, room temperature is sufficient. A more preferred temperature is 30°C or higher, and an even more preferred temperature is 40°C or higher. Room temperature generally refers to 25°C.
The conditions for the reduced pressure may be a degree of reduced pressure that allows ethanol to be distilled off according to the temperature, and although this may vary depending on the temperature, a range of 70 hPa to 800 hPa is preferred.

A general vacuum distillation apparatus can be used as the apparatus for distilling and removing the ethanol component under the reduced pressure. Examples of such vacuum distillation apparatus include evaporators such as rotary evaporators, and vacuum distillation apparatuses having condensers or coolers such as multi-tube condensers, plate condensers, and plate coolers.

By the distillation removal, the ethanol in the ethanol-containing water containing the fin sake flavor components is removed, and the ethanol content in the ethanol-containing water containing the fin sake flavor components is preferably 80% by volume or less, more preferably 75% by volume or less, and more preferably 70% by volume or less. It is also preferably 40% by volume or more, more preferably 50% by volume or more, and more preferably 60% by volume or more. By keeping the ethanol content within this range, a suitable fin sake flavor can be obtained when using the obtained fin sake essence.

The concentration ratio of the fin sake essence obtained by this distillation removal to the ethanol-containing water containing the fin sake flavor components before the distillation removal is 1% by volume or more and 20% by volume or less, preferably 2% by volume or more and 18% by volume or less.

The obtained fin sake essence is applied to the tip of a thin object such as a toothpick or needle, and about 1 to 10 drops of this are added to sake to impart the flavor of fin sake to the sake. Specifically, by adding one or more drops of this fin sake essence applied to the tip of a thin object to 180 ml of sake, sake having the flavor of fin sake can be obtained. There is no particular upper limit to the amount of this fin sake essence to be added to 180 ml of sake, but it is sufficient to add an amount that can sufficiently impart the fin sake flavor. A specific example of this amount is 10 drops of this fin sake essence applied to the tip of a toothpick.
The amount of liquid that is applied to the tip of a thin object varies depending on the type of object, the shape of the tip, and the thinness of the tip. In this invention, it is preferable to use an object with a thin tip that is approximately 0.01 ml to 0.1 ml per drop, because the effect of this invention can be achieved by applying one drop.
The measurement method involves applying the essence of the sake fin to a thin object and dropping one drop of it onto a weighing dish. This process is repeated 10 times, and the weight of the drop is then measured and divided by 1/10 of the increase in the weight.

The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to examples.
[Production of comparative fin sake]
The surface of 10 pieces of tiger pufferfish fin weighing 2g to 3g was scraped with a knife to remove the slime.
All fins were then attached to a wooden board and dried in the shade for two weeks.
The fillets were then grilled over charcoal for a few minutes.
One piece of the resulting grilled fillet was placed in 180 ml of sake to produce a control fillet sake.

[Example 1]
(Production of processed fins)
The surface of 10 pieces of tiger pufferfish fin weighing 2g to 3g was scraped with a knife to remove the slime.
All fins were then attached to a wooden board and dried in the shade for two weeks.
The fins were then placed in a convection oven (manufactured by Hitachi Ltd.) and heated at 220° C. for 6 minutes to prepare treated fins.

(Production of fin sake essence)
Each fillet slice was placed in 180 ml of spiritus (alcohol content 96%, manufactured by Polmos Warsaw, Poland) and left to marinate indoors (average temperature: 25-30° C.) for one month.
15.8 g of the obtained pickled liquor was placed in a 300 ml glass eggplant flask (mouth diameter 24 mm) and placed in a rotary evaporator.
Next, the recovery flask was rotated at a speed of 100 rpm in a warm bath at 60° C., and after the liquid temperature had risen sufficiently, the entire interior of the rotary evaporator was reduced in pressure to 100 hPa using an aspirator connected to the rotary evaporator, and the ethanol was distilled off.
When the amount of liquid became very small, the pressure inside the rotary evaporator was gradually returned to normal pressure, the rotation was stopped, the eggplant flask was removed from the hot bath, and a fin sake essence was obtained.
The weight of the obtained fin sake essence was 0.6 g, the ethanol concentration was 65% by volume, and the concentration rate was about 4% by volume.
The ethanol concentration was measured using a high performance liquid chromatograph (manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation).

(Evaluation of Hirezake Essence)
The obtained fin sake essence was applied to the tip of a toothpick and one drop of it was dropped into 180 ml of sake to produce tasting fin sake 1, which was tasted by five people. The control fin sake was also tasted.
In addition, when the essence of the sake fin was applied to the tip of a toothpick and one drop of it was dropped into a weighing dish ten times, the weight increased by 0.4 g, and it was confirmed that the 10 drops of the essence were 0.4 g. Since the density of an aqueous solution with an ethanol concentration of 65% by volume is about 0.87 g/ ^cm3 , the 10 drops of the essence were about 0.57 ml, and one drop of the essence was about 0.057 ml.
As a result, all five of them felt that all the fin sakes had a sufficient fin sake flavor. In addition, the tasting fin sake 1 had a stronger fin sake aroma than the control fin sake.
On the other hand, the comparison fin sake tasted a little bitter, which was probably due to the burnt parts that were created when the fish was grilled over charcoal.

The resulting fin sake essence was stored at 40°C and 80% humidity for one week, but no mold or unpleasant odor was observed. Furthermore, when this essence was used to produce fin sake for tasting, there was no change in the aroma or flavor, and the same evaluation was obtained.

[Example 2]
(Production of processed fins)
The surfaces of 10 pieces of tiger pufferfish fin weighing 2 to 3 g each were smeared with salt, then scraped off with a knife to remove the slime.
All fins were then attached to a wooden board and dried in the shade for two weeks.
The fins were then placed in a convection oven (manufactured by Hitachi Ltd.) and heated at 220° C. for 6 minutes to prepare treated fins.

(Production of fin sake essence)
Ethanol was distilled off in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the amount of pickled liquor placed in the recovery flask was 80 g, the temperature of the hot bath of the rotary evaporator was 50° C., and the total pressure inside the rotary evaporator was 100 hPa.
In the same manner as in Example 1, the eggplant flask was removed, 75 g of pickled liquor was added, and the ethanol was distilled off in the same manner.
In the same manner as in Example 1, the eggplant flask was removed and a fin sake essence was obtained.
The weight of the obtained fin sake essence was 5.3 g, the ethanol concentration was 45 vol. %, and the concentration rate was about 3.5 vol. %.

(Evaluation of Hirezake Essence)
The obtained fin sake essence was applied to the tip of a toothpick, and one drop of this was added to 180 ml of sake to produce tasting fin sake 2, which was then tasted by five people. The control fin sake was also tasted.
As a result, all five participants felt that all of the fin sakes had a sufficient fin sake flavor. In addition, compared to the control fin sake, the tasting fin sake 1 had a stronger fin sake aroma and was slightly sweeter.
On the other hand, the comparison fin sake tasted a little bitter, which was probably due to the burnt parts that were created when the fish was grilled over charcoal.
The sweetness may be due to the salt used to remove the slime from the fins.

[Comparative Example 1]
The same procedure was followed as in Example 1, except that sake (15% alcohol) was used instead of spiritus. However, because the water content was high, most of the ethanol was distilled off, and 5 g of a concentrated liquid mainly composed of water was obtained.

(Evaluation of Hirezake Essence)
A drop of the resulting concentrate was placed on the tip of a toothpick and added to 180 ml of sake to produce sample fin sake 3, which was then tasted by five people. The control fin sake was also tasted.
As a result, all five of them evaluated that the sample fin sake 3 did not taste sufficiently like fin sake, and that the comparison fin sake tasted sufficiently like fin sake.

(Conclusion)
From the above Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Example 1, it was found that the fin sake essences obtained in Examples 1 and 2 can be fully used as an essence that imparts the flavor of fin sake to sake.
On the other hand, in Comparative Example 1, since the alcohol in which the fillets were soaked had a high water content, most of the ethanol was distilled off in the distillation removal process, and thereafter, water was mainly distilled off. As a result, the flavor components released from the fillets were distilled off together with the water, and it is believed that a sufficient flavor was not obtained.
The comparison fin sake had a slightly bitter taste due to the burnt parts that occurred when it was grilled over charcoal.

Claims (2)

The fillets that have been dried and grilled are soaked in ethanol-containing water with an ethanol content of 80% to 98% by volume for a period of one week to two months.
A method for producing a fin sake essence, comprising removing ethanol until the ethanol content is 40% by volume or more and 80% by volume or less. 2. The method for producing fin sake essence according to claim 1 , wherein the fins are degreased, dried for a period of one week to one month, and then heated in an oven.