JP7743965B2 - Processed foods and their manufacturing methods - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to processed foods and methods for producing the same, and more specifically to processed foods that can replace conventional typical processed foods using fewer ingredients without adding additives, and methods for producing the same.

Conventionally, liquid chocolate sauces or chocolate syrups of various viscosities have been poured directly onto dishes or mixed into them as ingredients in order to impart a chocolate flavor to ingredients and improve their taste. One such chocolate syrup proposed for coating flaky or granular grain foods by spraying is one that contains sugars, cocoa powder, and chocolate with a fat content of 20-30% by weight, with the cocoa powder and chocolate with a fat content of 20-30% by weight in a ratio of 1:0.3-1, the total content of the cocoa powder and chocolate being 5-12% by weight, and the moisture content being 25-35% by weight (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Meanwhile, various nutritious agricultural products that have long been known overseas are being introduced to Japan. For example, prunes and dates are being imported in large quantities, processed, and offered on the market. Dates in particular, also known as dates, are rich in minerals and dietary fiber, have a high sugar content, and are offered in various forms such as dried dates and fruit juice. For example, one proposed technology aims to provide a continuous production method for fruit juice and puree from fruits such as dates and prunes, which are excellent raw materials for beverages, pastes, fermentation ingredients, and seasonings. The raw material fruit, such as dates, is crushed using a micro-radar while adding water or hot water to form a muddy (magma-like) state. This is then indirectly heated (80-95°C) in a jacketed cooker to inactivate enzymes and extract sugars and other components. The seeds and other impurities are then separated using a seed pulper, and the resulting juice, obtained by separating the coarse pulp using a finisher, is then processed sequentially using a vibration separator, spiral decanter, descalar, etc. to separate the fine pulp and other impurities. After this, the juice is filtered using a check filter and concentrated and sterilized (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-65831 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 61-88865

However, conventional chocolate sauces and chocolate syrups contain chocolate and cocoa powder, as well as sugars such as granulated sugar and various food additives such as emulsifiers, making them unsuitable for the health-conscious market of recent years. Furthermore, while they may provide the flavor of chocolate, they are poor in nutritional value other than calories. Meanwhile, dates are an extremely nutritious fruit, but traditionally they have only been processed by drying and concentrating, meaning they have not been fully utilized as a highly nutritious food ingredient.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. Its objective is to provide a processed food with a taste equal to or superior to that of conventional chocolate sauce by adding only date juice in an optimal manner, rather than by adding numerous food additives to cocoa powder to produce chocolate sauce. It also aims to provide processed foods in various forms, such as beverages, pastes, fermented ingredients, and seasonings, that contain cocoa powder and date juice, in addition to chocolate sauce.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention described in claim 1 of the present application is a processed food consisting of date juice, cocoa powder and water , characterized in that it contains 15-90% by weight of date juice, 5-75% by weight of cocoa powder and 0-80% by weight of water.

The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that in the processed food described in claim 1, the date juice includes a first date juice and a second date juice having different mineral contents.

The invention described in claim 3 is the processed food described in claim 2, characterized in that the first date juice has a lower mineral content than the second date juice.

The invention described in claim 4 is characterized in that, in the processed food described in claim 2 or 3, the first date juice contains 50% by weight and the second date juice contains 25% by weight.

The invention described in claim 5 is characterized in that, in the processed food described in claim 1, the date juice used is one type of date juice with an adjusted mineral content.

The invention described in claim 6 is a beverage characterized by containing a processed food described in any one of claims 1 to 5.

The invention described in claim 7 is a processed food according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
It is characterized by having a viscosity of 500 to 2000 cP.

The invention described in claim 8 is a processed food according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The chocolate sauce is characterized by containing 70 to 80% by weight of date juice and 10 to 20% by weight of cocoa powder.

The invention described in claim 9 is the processed food according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the seasoning contains 15 to 55% by weight of water.

The invention described in claim 11 is a method for producing processed foods, characterized by comprising a producing step of producing date juice by pitting, squeezing, purifying and heating raw dates, a mixing step of mixing a predetermined amount of the produced date juice with a predetermined amount of cocoa powder , and a hydration step of further mixing water as needed with the mixed date juice and cocoa powder .

According to the present invention, a processed food consisting only of date juice, cocoa powder, and water , which contains 15-90% by weight of date juice, 5-75% by weight of cocoa powder, and 0-80% by weight of water, can be provided, which has a nutrient quality equivalent to or superior to that of conventional chocolate sauce.In addition to chocolate sauce, various processed foods containing cocoa powder and date juice can be provided, such as beverages, fermented ingredients, and seasonings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a series of steps in a method for producing a frozen food according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the processed food and its manufacturing method of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Chocolate sauce and other processed foods]
Chocolate sauce or chocolate syrup is an ingredient that adds a chocolate flavor to dishes and fruits, and can be easily used by pouring it directly onto fresh fruit, ice cream, pancakes, and other dishes, or by adding it to dough and cooking it.

Generally, chocolate is produced by mixing cocoa mass, cocoa, cocoa butter, cocoa substitute, sweeteners, milk powder, etc., as appropriate, followed by rolling, conching, and tempering processes. However, conventional chocolate sauce can be produced by adding water and other liquid ingredients to chocolate produced in this manner. Specifically, as described in Patent Document 1, for example, chocolate containing sugars, cocoa powder, and 20-30% by weight of fat and oil can be produced by adding 25-35% by weight of water. In other words, conventional chocolate sauce currently contains sugars and various fats and oils in addition to cocoa powder derived from cocoa beans to bring out the chocolate flavor, and also contains various food additives, including emulsifiers, for manufacturing convenience.

In recent years, the health boom and natural food-oriented market have led to a demand for foods that contain as little food additives, sugars, and fats as possible. After extensive testing, the inventors discovered that processed foods with flavor and taste comparable to or superior to conventional chocolate sauces can be produced using only specific fruit juice, in this embodiment, date juice, cocoa powder (and water). In other words, the inventors discovered that, thanks to the inherent sweetness of date juice, various chocolate-flavored processed foods can be produced by adding only cocoa powder, without the need for additional sugars or milk fats. Furthermore, while cocoa powder requires additives such as emulsifiers to melt into a liquid due to the residual fats and oils, the inventors discovered that specific components of date juice allow it to melt easily without such additives. This makes it possible to produce the chocolate sauce or processed food of this embodiment using only cocoa powder and date juice. Furthermore, date juice is rich in minerals and dietary fiber, providing a health-conscious effect not achieved with conventional chocolate sauces.

[Processed food of this embodiment]
As described above, the processed food of this embodiment is made of date juice and cocoa powder with adjusted moisture content, and has the following composition depending on the form in which it is provided. Here, the processed food may include, but is not limited to, chocolate sauce, beverage, paste, fermented ingredients, or seasonings, and also includes any food containing the same ingredients in various compositions.

The moisture content primarily determines the viscosity and characteristics of the final product. In this embodiment, the moisture content can be 0-80% by weight. For example, when used as a chocolate sauce, in order to achieve a certain level of viscosity, e.g., approximately 100-5000 cP (Tokyo Keiki, B-type viscometer, No. 3 rotor, 12 rpm), the moisture content can be 0-30% by weight, with 5-20% by weight being preferable, and 7-15% by weight being even more preferable. Furthermore, as a beverage, the moisture content can be 20-80% by weight, with 30-65% by weight being preferable, and 40-50% by weight being even more preferable. Furthermore, as a seasoning, the moisture content can be 0-70% by weight, with 15-55% by weight being preferable, and 30-45% by weight being even more preferable. When used for purposes other than chocolate sauce, the viscosity can vary, but the desired value can be achieved by adjusting the composition of each component depending on the application. For example, when used as a beverage, the viscosity can be approximately 1 to 500 cP, preferably approximately 1 to 100 cP.

In addition, the date juice of this embodiment is made by mixing two types of fruit juice—extra-rich concentrated fruit juice obtained by the manufacturing method described below and an adjusted concentrated fruit juice with an adjusted mineral content—in an optimal ratio for each product. However, this is not limited to this, and it is also possible to use only one of the two juices. Here, the mineral components of the adjusted concentrated fruit juice are preferably 1-50 mg sodium, 0.1-20 mg calcium, 0.1-10 mg magnesium, 0.01-0.1 mg iron, and 1-200 mg potassium per 100 g of juice, while the mineral components of the extra-rich concentrated fruit juice are preferably 100-400 mg sodium, 40-150 mg calcium, 25-80 mg magnesium, 0.5-4 mg iron, and 400-800 mg potassium per 100 g of juice. In this embodiment, a mixed date juice made by mixing two types of date juice in an appropriate ratio can contain 15-90% by weight of date juice. If the date juice content is too high, the flavor derived from the date juice will be too strong, while if it is too low, the cocoa powder may not completely melt. For example, when used as a chocolate sauce, the date juice content can be 30-85% by weight to impart a certain degree of sweetness and a stronger mineral flavor, with 55-85% by weight being preferable, and 70-80% by weight being even more preferable. Furthermore, while this embodiment uses two types of date juice with different mineral contents, this is not limited to this; a single type of date juice can also be used by adjusting the final mineral content to an appropriate level. While this embodiment uses date juice as the juice to be mixed with the cocoa powder, any juice known in the art containing similar components can be used.

The cocoa powder content in this embodiment can be 5 to 70% by weight. For example, if a product similar to chocolate is to be made, the content can be 40 to 65% by weight to increase the hardness, but for use as a regular chocolate sauce, the content is preferably 7 to 30% by weight, and more preferably 10 to 20% by weight. Note that while this embodiment uses cocoa powder as the cocoa bean-derived material, any cocoa bean-derived food material known in the art, such as cocoa mass, cocoa, cocoa butter, and cocoa butter substitutes, can also be used as long as it has similar components.

[Processed food of this embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a process flow for a method for producing a processed food according to one embodiment of the present invention. First, dates, the raw material, are washed (step S101), pitted (step S102), and pressed to extract juice (step S103). The resulting juice is heated (step S104) and concentrated to produce a special concentrated fruit juice (step S105). If a modified concentrated fruit juice with adjusted mineral content is to be added (step S106), the minerals are removed using a filter to adjust the mineral content to produce a modified concentrated fruit juice (step S107). This modified concentrated fruit juice is then mixed with the special concentrated fruit juice produced in step S106 in a predetermined ratio, and then mixed with cocoa powder to adjust the viscosity and concentration by adding water (step S108). The resulting processed food is then packaged in an appropriate container (not shown) known in the art.

In this embodiment, extra-rich concentrated fruit juice is produced, and some of the produced fruit juice is adjusted for mineral content and mixed to form an adjusted concentrated fruit juice. However, this is not limited to this, and two types of fruit juice produced separately can be mixed together in advance and used, or all of the extra-rich concentrated fruit juice can be passed through a filter, and by appropriately adjusting the mineral content, it is possible to prevent the extra-rich concentrated fruit juice and the adjusted concentrated fruit juice from mixing, but this is not limited to these.

[Example]
In this example, a chocolate sauce was produced. The mineral content of the first of the two types of date juice (adjusted concentrated juice) was 7 mg sodium, 0.61 mg calcium, 0.47 mg magnesium, 0.07 mg iron, and 14 mg potassium per 100 g of juice. The mineral content of the second, extra-rich concentrated juice (extra-rich concentrated juice) was 286 mg sodium, 89.3 mg calcium, 58 mg magnesium, 2.47 mg iron, and 647 mg potassium per 100 g of juice. The viscosity was approximately 1000 cP (Tokyo Keiki, B-type viscometer, No. 3 rotor, 12 rpm). 50% adjusted concentrated juice, 25% extra-rich concentrated juice, and 15% cocoa powder were mixed together, and 10% water was added to adjust the viscosity. As a result, a processed food with a flavor and taste comparable to or superior to conventional chocolate sauce was obtained.

Claims (10)

A processed food consisting only of date juice, cocoa powder, and water, containing 15-90% by weight of date juice, 5-75% by weight of cocoa powder, and 0-80% by weight of water. The processed food product described in claim 1, characterized in that the date juice comprises a first date juice and a second date juice having different mineral contents. The processed food described in claim 2, characterized in that the first date juice has a lower mineral content than the second date juice. The processed food product described in claim 2, characterized in that the first date juice contains 50% by weight and the second date juice contains 25% by weight. The processed food according to claim 1, characterized in that the date juice is made from a single type of date juice with an adjusted mineral content. A beverage containing the processed food of any one of claims 1 to 5, and containing 30 to 65% by weight of water. The processed food according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it has a viscosity of 500 to 2000 cP. The processed food according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it is a chocolate sauce containing 70-80% by weight of date juice and 10-20% by weight of cocoa powder. The processed food according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the seasoning contains 15 to 55% by weight of water. a producing step of producing date juice by pitting, squeezing, purifying and heating raw dates;
mixing a predetermined amount of the produced date juice with a predetermined amount of cocoa powder;
and a hydration step of further mixing water appropriately into the mixed date juice and cocoa powder.