JP7627933B2 - Bean paste products and their manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to bean paste products and their manufacturing methods.

An paste is made by boiling beans such as red beans in water, adding sugar and water, and reducing the amount. It is sold as it is, but is also used and sold mainly in confectionery products such as yokan, manju, steamed buns, sweet bread, daifuku mochi, zenzai, ohagi, and cakes.

However, because bean paste is boiled down with the addition of the same amount of sugar as the beans or more, its energy value as a food is high, and it does not meet the consumer needs for "low calorie" or "low sugar" preferences. As a result, the amount of sugar used in making bean paste has been reduced, or sugars with lower calories than sugar, such as highly saccharified reduced starch syrup (Patent Document 1), fructooligosaccharides (Patent Document 2), and xylose (Patent Document 3), have been used. D-psicose (D-allulose) has also been used as a substitute for sugars used in confectionery products, as it has about 60-70% of the sweetness of sugar but almost no calories, and has physiological functions such as suppressing blood sugar rise (Patent Document 4).

However, adding D-psicose during the production of bean paste causes the paste to become hard and sticky, resulting in a poor texture.

JP 2006-061130 A Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-159 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-9876 International Publication WO2008/142860

In other words, the object of the present invention is to provide a low-calorie bean paste that has a good texture and is as soft as conventional products, and a method for producing the bean paste.

The inventors conducted various investigations to solve this problem and discovered that the above problem can be solved by adding a specific starch hydrolysate when D-psicose is added during the production of bean paste.

That is, the present invention is composed of the following [1] to [6], and the first invention is a method for producing a bean paste containing D-psicose according to [1] to [4].
[1] A method for producing bean paste, comprising the steps of boiling down raw bean paste in a liquid containing a starch hydrolysate having a DE of 9 to 18 and sugar, subsequently adding D-psicose, and further boiling down the liquid until the Brix is 40 to 70, wherein the starch hydrolysate is added in an amount of more than 5% and less than 40% of the total of the starch hydrolysate, sugar, and D-psicose.
[2] The method for producing bean paste according to the above-mentioned [1], wherein D-psicose is added in an amount of 10 to 50% based on the total amount of the starch hydrolysate, sugar and D-psicose.
[3] The method for producing bean paste described in [1] or [2] above, wherein the starch hydrolysate is starch hydrolyzed with an enzyme or with an acid and an enzyme.
[4] The method for producing bean paste according to any one of the above [1] to [3], wherein the starch hydrolyzate is one or more selected from tapioca starch, corn starch, and sweet potato starch.

The second invention relates to a bean paste containing a starch hydrolyzate and D-psicose in a specific ratio as described below in [5].
[5] A bean paste having a Brix of 40 to 70, which contains a starch hydrolyzate having a DE of 9 to 18 in a proportion of more than 5% to less than 40%, and contains D-psicose in a proportion of 10 to 50%, in a total of a starch hydrolyzate having a DE of 9 to 18, sugar, and D-psicose.

The third invention is a method for improving the hardness of a D-psicose-containing bean paste as described below in [6].
[6] A method for improving the hardness of a D-psicose-containing bean paste in the production of a bean paste having a Brix of 40 to 70, by adding a starch hydrolysate having a DE of 9 to 18 in an amount of more than 5% and less than 40% of the total of the starch hydrolysate, sugar, and D-psicose.

By using this invention, it is possible to provide a filling that is low in calories and has a good texture.

One embodiment of the present invention is a bean paste, which contains a starch hydrolysate with a DE of 9 to 18 and D-psicose and has a Brix of 40 to 70.

In the present invention, the raw material for the bean paste can be red beans, of course, but other beans can also be used, and the resulting bean paste is in the form of kneaded bean paste, i.e., "crushed bean paste" or "smooth bean paste". To produce these kneaded bean pastes, it is first necessary to prepare "raw bean paste". The beans are soaked in water, the lye is removed, and then cooked, crushed and filtered to produce "smooth raw bean paste", while the one that does not undergo the process of crushing and filtering is "crushed raw bean paste". The raw bean paste obtained in this way is not sweetened and is usually adjusted to a moisture content of 60-65%, and 50-100 parts by weight of sugar and water are added to 100 parts by weight of the raw bean paste, which is then boiled down and kneaded over a fire to produce a "kneaded bean paste" with a Brix of 40-70. The sugar used can be sucrose, and can be in any form, such as white sugar, granulated sugar, or brown sugar. Brix can be measured using a saccharometer (refractometer, such as ATAGO's MASTER-80H).

The bean paste of the present invention is made by replacing sugar, a raw material of conventional bean paste, with D-psicose in order to make it lower in calories than conventional products, and the amount of D-psicose in the bean paste is 10-50% by mass, 20-50% by mass, or 30-50% by mass of the total amount of starch hydrolysate, sugar, and D-psicose described below. The D-psicose used in the present invention may be in any form as long as it contains D-psicose, and a mixture containing other sugars may also be used as long as it is possible to achieve a lower calorie content than conventional products. An example of a commercially available pure product is "ASTRAEA" manufactured by Matsutani Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., and an example of a commercially available mixed product is "Rare Sugar Sweet" manufactured by Matsutani Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. Other sweeteners can also be used to make the product lower in calories than conventional products or to adjust the change in sweetness caused by substituting D-psicose for sugar. Examples of high-intensity sweeteners include acesulfame potassium, sucralose, thaumatin, aspartame, stevia (rebaudiosides A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, O, stevioside, etc.), saccharin, saccharin sodium, licorice, monk fruit, neotame, monellin, glycyrrhizin, alitame, neohesperidin, etc.

Generally, starch hydrolysates refer to starch hydrolysates that are decomposed by enzymes or acids and are soluble in cold water. The starch hydrolysates of the present invention may be obtained by any of these methods, but in order to efficiently obtain the effects of the present invention, enzymatic hydrolysis is preferable, and a combination of enzymatic and acidic hydrolysis is more preferable. The DE (abbreviation of Dextrose Equivalent. If completely decomposed and all becomes glucose, the DE is 100) of starch hydrolysates varies depending on the reaction time of hydrolysis and the type of enzyme used, but the starch hydrolysates used in the bean paste product of the present invention must have a DE of at least 9 to 18, preferably 12 to 18, and more preferably 15 to 18. In addition, the starch species used as the raw material for the starch hydrolysates is not particularly limited, and may be any species such as tapioca, sweet potato, corn, rice, potato, wheat, or glutinous species of these, but from the viewpoint of efficiently obtaining the effects of the present invention, it is preferable to use one or more species selected from tapioca, sweet potato, and corn. Furthermore, in order to obtain the effects of the present invention, the amount of starch hydrolysate added is important, and the proportion of starch hydrolysate in the total of sugar, D-psicose, and starch hydrolysate must exceed at least 5% by mass. Furthermore, since excessive use of starch hydrolysate can cause food to have a sticky texture (slippery texture), it is preferable that the amount does not exceed 40% by mass. In other words, the amount of starch hydrolysate added is preferably more than 5% by mass and less than 40% by mass, more preferably 10 to 30% by mass, and even more preferably 10 to 20% by mass. Furthermore, it is preferable to add the starch hydrolysate as a replacement for sugar, so as not to increase the calorie value of the bean paste, which has already been made low in calories by adding D-psicose.

Another aspect of the present invention is a method for producing bean paste. Usually, kneaded bean paste is produced by adding sugar and water to the raw bean paste described above, boiling and kneading it over a fire, but the method for producing bean paste of the present invention involves adding sugar and starch hydrolysate together with water to the raw bean paste, boiling it over a fire for a while, adding D-psicose, and producing kneaded bean paste with a Brix of 40 to 70.

In the present invention, "improved hardness of bean paste" refers to an improvement in the hardness that occurs when D-psicose is added to bean paste, specifically, to an equivalent hardness in comparison with normal bean paste without the addition of D-psicose. The comparison of hardness can be performed using a physical property measuring device (rheometer), for example, using a creep meter (Yamaden Co., Ltd. "RE-2-33005B") and comparing the 50% load (N) (the load when the plunger is lowered to the 50% point of the measured strain rate at a constant speed). The harder the sample, the higher the 50% load. For example, when a bean paste sample is filled in a stainless steel petri dish of φ40 mm x 15 mm and measured, the hardness of the bean paste can be considered to have been improved if the relative value, expressed as 1.0, is 0.8 to 1.2, more preferably 0.9 to 1.1, when the measured value of bean paste without the addition of D-psicose is taken as 1.0. It is advisable to carry out this measurement at least four times for each sample and evaluate it based on the average value.

The present invention will be described in detail below, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, "%" in the formulation is "% by mass". Also, about 600g of bean paste was produced for each test plot, but the formulation table shows the relative amount (parts by mass) when "Koshi nama bean paste" is taken as 100 parts by mass.

<Hardness of bean paste when D-psicose is added>
First, the hardness of bean paste was confirmed when D-psicose was added to the paste. The method for preparing the paste and the method for measuring the hardness of the paste are shown in [Table 1], and the specific recipe for preparing the paste is shown in [Table 2]. In addition, the presence or absence of an undesirable sticky texture (slippery texture) of the paste was also confirmed. The measurement and evaluation results are shown at the bottom of [Table 2].

When 10% or more of the sugar is replaced with D-psicose, the relative value of the 50% point load (N) increases and the bean paste clearly becomes harder, so we decided to investigate ways to improve this hardness.

<Effect of adding various starch hydrolysates to bean paste containing D-psicose-1>
In bean paste in which 50% of the sugar was replaced with D-psicose, the hardness and pastiness were examined when 5, 10, 20, 30, and 40% of the sugar was replaced with each of the starch hydrolysates of Samples No. 1 to 7 in [Table 3] (all products of Matsutani Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) (mixtures No. 1 to 5). The methods for preparing the bean paste and measuring the hardness were the same as in the above test, and the specific mixes for preparing the bean paste are shown in [Table 4] below. [Table 5] shows the relative values of the hardness of the bean paste (relative values when the hardness without the addition of starch hydrolysates is set to 1), and the boxes for test plots in which the bean paste had a pasty texture are marked in black, and the boxes for test plots in which the bean paste had a slightly pasty texture are marked in light black.

In bean paste that becomes hard when 50% of the sugar is replaced with D-psicose, when 10-30% of the sugar (mixtures No. 2-4) is further replaced with a specific starch hydrolysate (samples No. 3-6), the hardness of the bean paste approaches that of when D-psicose is not added, and is good. However, when the replacement ratio of starch hydrolysate is increased, the paste becomes too soft and even becomes sticky.

<Effect of adding various starch hydrolysates to bean paste containing D-psicose-2>
Next, the bean paste in which 30% of the sugar was replaced with D-psicose and then 20% of the sugar was replaced with the starch hydrolysate (TK-16) of sample No. 3 in Table 3 was examined (the method of preparing the bean paste and the method of measuring the hardness were the same as in the above test).

In the bean paste (mixture No. 7) which becomes hard when 30% of the sugar is replaced with D-psicose, when 20% of the sugar is further replaced with the starch hydrolysate of sample No. 3 (TK-16) (mixture No. 8), the relative hardness value when compared to bean paste of mix No. 6 improved from 1.50 to 0.92, there was no sticky feeling, and both the hardness and texture of the bean paste were very good.

<Effect of adding various starch hydrolysates to bean paste containing D-psicose-3>
The above was a study on a paste based on a blend of 100 parts by weight of smooth raw bean paste and 90 parts by weight of sugar, but next, a study was conducted on a paste based on 100 parts by weight of smooth raw bean paste and 70 parts by weight of sugar. In Blend No. 9 in Table 7, 50% of the sugar was replaced with D-psicose (Blend No. 10), and 20% of the sugar was replaced with the starch hydrolyzate (TK-16) of Sample No. 3 in Table 3 (Blend No. 11) was examined. The method of preparing the paste was the same as in the above test, except that the final sugar content was Brix 56, and the method of measuring the paste was the same as in the above test, except that the hardness of the paste in Blend No. 9 was calculated as a relative value with the hardness of 1.00.

Similarly, when 70 parts by mass of sugar was added to 100 parts by mass of smooth raw bean paste, the relative value of the hardness of the bean paste in which 50% of the sugar was replaced with D-psicose (blending No. 10) was 1.49, whereas the relative value of the hardness of the bean paste in which 20% of the sugar was further replaced with the starch hydrolysate of sample No. 3 (TK-16) (blending No. 11) was 1.03, with no sticky feel and both the hardness and texture of the bean paste being very good.

<Effect of adding various starch hydrolysates to bean paste containing D-psicose-4>
Next, we decided to study a basic bean paste in which 100 parts by mass of sugar was added to 100 parts by mass of smooth raw bean paste. In Blend No. 12 in [Table 8], 50% of the sugar was replaced with D-psicose (Blend No. 13), and further 20% of the sugar was replaced with the starch hydrolysate (TK-16) of Sample No. 3 in [Table 3] (Blend No. 14) was examined. The method of preparing the bean paste was the same as in the above test, except that the final sugar content was Brix 63, and the method of measuring the bean paste was the same as in the above test, except that the hardness of the bean paste in Blend No. 12 was calculated as a relative value with the hardness of 1.00.

Similarly, when 100 parts by mass of sugar was added to 100 parts by mass of smooth raw bean paste, the relative value of the hardness of the bean paste in which 50% of the sugar was replaced with D-psicose (blending No. 13) was 1.81, whereas the relative value of the hardness of the bean paste in which 20% of the sugar was further replaced with the starch hydrolysate of sample No. 3 (TK-16) (blending No. 14) was 1.08, with no sticky feel and both the hardness and texture of the bean paste being very good.

Next, using resistant dextrin, bean paste was made with the blends No. 2 to 4 in Table 4, and the hardness and texture of the bean paste was confirmed. Resistant dextrin is a fraction obtained by acid roasting starch and enzymatically decomposing it with α-amylase, etc., followed by fractionation of a fraction containing a large amount of resistant parts. Matsutani Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.'s Fibersol 2 (DE12) was used to make the above bean paste. As a result, the relative values of hardness were 0.98, 0.93, and 0.88, respectively, which was almost the same hardness as bean paste without the addition of D-psicose. In addition, the texture of the paste was slightly sticky.

Claims (6)

A process of boiling down the raw bean paste in a liquid containing starch hydrolysate with a DE of 9 to 18 and sugar;
then adding D-psicose;
Further, the process includes a step of boiling down the mixture until the Brix is 40 to 70.
The method for producing bean paste, wherein the starch hydrolyzate is added in an amount of more than 5% and less than 40% of the total of the starch hydrolyzate, sugar and D-psicose. The method for producing bean paste according to claim 1, wherein D-psicose is added in an amount of 10 to 50% of the total amount of starch hydrolysate, sugar and D-psicose. The method for producing bean paste according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the starch hydrolyzate is starch hydrolyzed with an enzyme or with an acid and an enzyme. The method for producing bean paste according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the starch hydrolysate is one or more selected from tapioca starch, corn starch and sweet potato starch that have been hydrolyzed. A bean paste with a Brix of 40 to 70, containing more than 5% but less than 40% of a starch hydrolysate with a DE of 9 to 18, sugar, and D-psicose, and containing 10 to 50% of D-psicose. A method for improving the hardness of bean paste containing D-psicose by adding a starch hydrolysate having a DE of 9 to 18 in a ratio of more than 5% and less than 40% of the total of the starch hydrolysate, sugar, and D-psicose in the production of bean paste having a Brix of 40 to 70.