JP7793411B2 - Manufacturing method of egg processed food - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for producing processed egg foods and processed egg foods.

Traditionally, known processed egg foods include stir-fried eggs, such as crab and egg omelets, which are made by frying eggs with ingredients such as vegetables, meat, or seafood, as well as egg-covered dishes such as soups, soups, rice porridge, and rice bowls. These processed egg foods are popular for their fluffy appearance and are used in prepared dishes at convenience stores and supermarkets.

Patent Document 1 describes a method for producing processed egg foods, which involves heating an egg liquid containing eggs and a gelling agent to 60-75°C and then molding it in a molding machine. The document also states that this method enables the mass production of processed egg foods with a good texture.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-37446

In recent years, with the diversification of consumer needs, there has been a demand for a production method that can stably produce egg processed foods such as fried eggs with an even fluffier appearance than before.
In contrast to this, the conventional technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not at all take into consideration a manufacturing method for stably obtaining a soft appearance.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing method that can stably produce fluffy egg products such as fried eggs.

After extensive research, the inventors have discovered that the above objectives can be achieved by mixing a dispersion containing egg-derived protein with a heated aqueous liquid to produce an egg-containing mixed liquid with a specified protein content, and then using this in cooking.

The present invention provides a method for producing a processed egg food, which involves mixing a dispersion containing egg-derived protein with an aqueous liquid at 98°C or higher to prepare a pre-cooked egg-containing mixed liquid having an egg-derived protein content of 5.5% by mass to 12% by mass, and then using the resulting pre-cooked egg-containing mixed liquid for cooking.

The present invention also provides a processed egg food produced by the above-mentioned production method, particularly preferably fried eggs in which the total amount of coagulated egg pieces having a volume of 15 cm or ^more is 50% by mass or more and 80% by mass or less.

The method for producing processed egg foods of the present invention makes it possible to consistently produce egg processed foods such as fried eggs with a fluffy appearance. Furthermore, the processed egg foods of the present invention have an excellent fluffy appearance.

The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments thereof.
The present invention provides a method for producing a processed egg food, which comprises mixing a dispersion containing an egg-derived protein with an aqueous liquid at 98°C or higher to prepare a pre-cooked egg-containing mixed liquid having an egg-derived protein content of 5.5% by mass or more and 12% by mass or less relative to the total amount of egg components and water, and then using the pre-cooked egg-containing mixed liquid obtained for cooking with heat.

First, the egg-derived protein-containing dispersion will be described. This dispersion is for obtaining a pre-cooked egg-containing mixed liquid, and when mixed with an aqueous liquid at 98°C or higher, it preferably provides a pre-cooked egg-containing mixed liquid having an egg-derived protein content of 5.5% by mass to 12% by mass.
Examples of egg-derived protein sources contained in the dispersion include whole eggs, egg yolks, egg whites, and mixtures of these in any ratio. Furthermore, as long as they are capable of coagulating upon heating, whole eggs, egg yolks, egg whites, and the like obtained through various processes such as enzyme treatment, sugaring, salting, refrigeration, freezing, drying, and sterilization may also be used. Examples of eggs include chicken eggs, quail eggs, duck eggs, and ostrich eggs, with chicken eggs being preferred. A dispersion containing egg-derived protein preferably contains egg yolk and egg white as egg-derived protein sources, as these provide excellent color, are suitable for uses such as egg stir-frying, and improve taste. Furthermore, a dispersion containing egg-derived protein preferably contains liquid egg, as these provide excellent production efficiency and improved taste. Liquid egg refers to shell-free whole eggs, egg yolks, and egg whites, as well as liquid versions of these eggs that have been subjected to the various processes described above. In this specification, egg-derived protein sources are sometimes referred to as "egg components."

The egg-derived protein contained in the dispersion is preferably an uncoagulated protein. "Uncoagulated egg-derived protein" preferably means that it has not been heated to, for example, 58°C or higher for 3 minutes or longer, and more preferably means that it has not been heated for 1 minute or longer.

The amount of egg-derived protein in the dispersion is preferably 6.0% by mass or more and 12.3% by mass or less, based on the total amount of egg components and water. Having an egg-derived protein amount of 6.0% by mass or more in the dispersion successfully produces a pre-cooked egg-containing mixture with an egg-derived protein content of 5.5% by mass or more and at a suitable temperature, as described below. Furthermore, having an egg-derived protein amount of 12.3% by mass or less in the dispersion is preferable in terms of production costs and achieving a fluffy appearance. From this perspective, it is even more preferable that the amount of egg-derived protein in the dispersion be 7.0% by mass or more and 12.0% by mass or less, based on the total amount of egg components and water. As described above, the amount of egg-derived protein referred to here is the amount relative to the total amount of water and egg components in the dispersion. Therefore, if the dispersion contains ingredients other than water and egg components, such as seasonings, grain flour, meat, seafood, vegetables, etc., the amounts of these other ingredients are not included in the calculation of the egg-derived protein content in the dispersion.

The egg-derived protein is dispersed in a dispersion liquid. This dispersion liquid can be prepared by stirring the egg-derived protein source as is, or by adding an aqueous liquid or the like as needed and stirring. Examples of aqueous liquids include water. Stirring can be done manually using a stirrer or chopsticks, or by using a mixer, blender, shaker, or other stirring device.

The dispersion may contain ingredients other than egg components (egg-derived protein source) and water. Such ingredients include the auxiliary ingredients described below. The solid content other than egg components (egg-derived protein source) in the dispersion is preferably 30 parts by mass or less, and more preferably 25 parts by mass or less, per 100 parts by mass of the solid content of egg components (egg-derived protein source). The solid content refers to the amount excluding water.

The dispersion containing egg-derived protein is mixed with an aqueous liquid at 98°C or higher. Examples of the aqueous liquid include water and seasoning liquid. Examples of seasoning liquid include a mixture of conventional seasonings such as salt, soy sauce, sugars, dashi, amino acids, and extracts with water. The proportion of water in the aqueous liquid is preferably 60% by mass or more, more preferably 70% by mass or more, even more preferably 80% by mass or more, and may be 90% by mass or more. From the perspective of production efficiency, it is preferable that the aqueous liquid is substantially free of egg-derived protein. "The aqueous liquid being substantially free of egg-derived protein" preferably means that the amount of egg-derived protein in the aqueous liquid is 0.5% by mass or less, and more preferably 0.1% by mass or less.

From the standpoint of production efficiency, it is preferable to mix the dispersion liquid and aqueous liquid at normal pressure, and from this standpoint, the temperature of the aqueous liquid is preferably 100°C or less. Furthermore, the temperature of the dispersion liquid immediately before mixing with the aqueous liquid is preferably, for example, 3 to 30°C, and more preferably 4 to 25°C, in order to successfully obtain a pre-cooking mixed egg liquid at the desired temperature.

When mixing an aqueous liquid at 98°C or higher with a dispersion containing egg-derived protein, it is important that the amount of egg-derived protein in the egg-containing mixed liquid before cooking, which is obtained by mixing the two, is within a specified range. The inventors conducted extensive research into the appearance of egg-processed foods such as fried eggs. As a result, they found that the fluffy appearance of egg-processed foods is related to the relatively large size of the coagulated egg pieces and the fact that there are a large number of coagulated egg pieces above a certain size overall. As a result of further research, they found that when the egg-containing mixed liquid to be cooked is prepared using a heated aqueous liquid, if the amount of egg-derived protein in the egg-containing mixed liquid is above a specified amount, large coagulated egg pieces are easily obtained even with short heating times.

Specifically, in the present invention, the egg-derived protein content in the egg-containing mixed liquid before cooking is 5.5% by mass or more, based on the total amount of egg components and water. By satisfying this requirement, large coagulated egg pieces can be easily obtained by heating for a short period of time. Furthermore, in the present invention, the egg-derived protein content in the egg-containing mixed liquid before cooking is 12% by mass or less, which can achieve the effect of obtaining a fluffier texture than conventional products using a heated aqueous liquid. From these points of view, the egg-derived protein content in the egg-containing mixed liquid before cooking is preferably 5.5% by mass or more and 12% by mass or less, and particularly preferably 6% by mass or more and 11.5% by mass or less, based on the total amount of egg components and water.
In this specification, the egg-derived protein content in an egg-containing mixture is defined as the ratio of egg-derived protein to the total amount of water and egg components. Therefore, even if the egg-containing mixture contains other components besides water and eggs, such as seasonings, grain flour, meat, seafood, or vegetables, the amounts of these other components are not included in the denominator when calculating the protein content.

The temperature of the egg-containing mixture obtained by mixing an aqueous liquid at 98°C or higher with a dispersion containing egg-derived protein is preferably below 60°C, more preferably below 58°C, and particularly preferably between 30°C and 55°C. By keeping the temperature of the egg-containing mixture below 60°C, and particularly between 30°C and 55°C, coagulation of the egg-derived protein is suppressed up to the time of cooking, while coagulation upon cooking is moderately accelerated, resulting in the production of particularly stable, fluffy coagulated egg pieces. From this perspective, the temperature of the egg-containing mixture obtained by mixing with a dispersion containing egg-derived protein is more preferably between 35°C and 55°C. The temperature of the egg-containing mixture referred to here may be any of the above temperatures at any time from the time the egg-containing mixture is prepared until it is cooked, but it is preferably the temperature immediately before cooking.

Preferably, the egg-containing mixed liquid before cooking refers to a liquid in which the egg-derived proteins are not coagulated. In this context, "not coagulated" preferably refers to a liquid that has not been heated to 58°C or higher for 3 minutes or longer, and more preferably refers to a liquid that has not been heated to 58°C or higher for 1 minute or longer.

For these reasons, it is preferable to adjust the amount of aqueous liquid of 98°C or higher to 100 parts by mass or less per 100 parts by mass of dispersion. This is because the resulting egg-containing mixed liquid before cooking can more easily be brought into an uncoagulated state. Furthermore, it is preferable to adjust the amount of aqueous liquid of 98°C or higher to 5 parts by mass or more per 100 parts by mass of dispersion, in order to keep the egg-containing mixed liquid at 30°C or higher before cooking. For these reasons, it is more preferable that the amount of aqueous liquid of 98°C or higher be 10 parts by mass or more and 100 parts by mass or less per 100 parts by mass of dispersion.

The egg-containing mixture obtained above is then subjected to cooking. "Cooking" here refers to cooking by heating, and includes stir-frying, baking other than stir-frying, boiling, stewing including egg-covered dishes, steaming, and frying. However, in order to obtain egg-covered dishes and egg-covered dishes in a suitable manner, stir-frying or stewing is preferred as it is easier to obtain a fluffy appearance, and stir-frying is particularly preferred as it is more effective in obtaining a fluffy appearance.

From the standpoint of manufacturability, it is preferable that the time required from preparing an uncoagulated egg-containing mixture by mixing an aqueous liquid at 98°C or higher with the dispersion to cooking with heat be 30 seconds or more, but 60 seconds or more is particularly preferred because it is more effective to prepare an egg-containing mixture with a specified temperature and protein concentration. Furthermore, from the standpoint of workability, it is preferable that the time from preparing the egg-containing mixture to cooking with heat be 30 minutes or less, and more preferably 15 minutes or less. It is particularly preferable that the egg-containing mixture be maintained at the above-mentioned preferred temperature conditions for the above-mentioned time. In other words, it is preferable that the temperature be less than 60°C, more preferably less than 58°C, and particularly preferably between 30°C and 55°C for the above-mentioned time.

The method of stir-frying, specifically egg stir-frying, is not particularly limited, as long as it involves heating the heating surface of a cooking utensil, adding the uncooked egg-containing mixture, and stir-frying.

For example, one method of frying involves repeatedly bringing the egg-containing mixture into contact with the heated surface, leaving it to stand, and then peeling the egg from the heated surface. A heated surface temperature of 180°C or higher and 270°C or lower is preferred, as this makes it easier to achieve a fluffy appearance. Furthermore, it is even more preferred, as this makes it easier to achieve a fluffy appearance, that the time from when the egg-containing mixture comes into contact with the heated surface until it is peeled off, and the time from when it is peeled off once and then peeled off again, be between 5 seconds and 20 seconds.

Cooking utensils include pots, hot plates, frying pans, steam cookers, induction cookers, stir-fries, etc. To remove the egg-containing mixture from the heated surface, it is preferable to use a scraper that moves along the heated surface and relatively to the heated surface. "Moving relatively" here is intended to include cases where the heated surface moves relative to the scraper without the scraper moving. The scraper may also be a manual spatula, and the egg removal process may be performed manually, for example.

In the case of mass production, for example, a heating device may be used in which a pot is used as the cooking utensil, the pot is rotated around an axis extending in the vertical direction, a stirrer is provided in the pot that rotates around an axis (hereinafter also referred to as a horizontal axis) that intersects with the vertical axis, and a scraper is positioned where the stirrer faces the bottom of the pot. In this case, for example, the stirrer may be located at a position corresponding to the radius when the pot is viewed from above.
When using the above-mentioned heating device, during the frying process, the eggs are left on the heating surface for a predetermined time and then peeled from the bottom of the pot after that time has elapsed. During this peeling process, the heating surface of the pot rotates around a vertical axis, while the agitator rotates around a horizontal axis. The rotation of the two axes is preferably such that the eggs scraped up by the scraper (agitator) are sent from the side of the heating surface close to the scraper (agitator) to the side away from the scraper (agitator). Examples of the shape of the scraper include a spiral shape that rotates around a horizontal axis. Such a heating device is described, for example, in Published Japanese Patent Application No. 2020/084815. It is preferable that the peeled eggs are repeatedly left on the heating surface for the above-mentioned time.

The frying process is preferably carried out until the temperature at the center of the coagulated egg mass reaches 85°C or higher. The temperature at the center of the coagulated egg mass is also referred to as the core temperature. The location of the center of the coagulated egg mass is a location that is not exposed to the outside, is determined within the scope of common technical knowledge in the food industry, and is determined visually. The temperature at the center of the coagulated egg mass can be measured by inserting a needle probe thermometer into the aforementioned center location. The coagulated egg mass may be a single coagulated egg piece or an agglomerate of multiple coagulated egg pieces. Preferably, the length, width, and height of the coagulated egg mass to be measured in a planar view are all 1 cm or greater. The length in a planar view refers to the length of the longest line segment intersecting the planar image of the mass, and the width refers to the length in the direction perpendicular to the longest line segment in the planar view. The center of the mass is preferably approximately the center of the mass in the height direction, and is also preferably approximately the center in a cross section parallel to the horizontal plane at that height position. There is no restriction on the location of the coagulated egg mass to be measured when frying eggs, but the temperature should be the lowest temperature among the centers of three or more randomly selected masses. The temperature in the center is measured when stirring has stopped.

In the above-mentioned production method, the egg-containing mixture introduced into the pan in the frying step is heated on the heating surface of the cooking utensil. The amount of egg-containing mixture introduced into the cooking utensil is preferably 0.1 g to 20 g per ¹ cm2 of heating surface, from the viewpoint of successfully obtaining fried eggs with the volume of coagulated egg pieces described below and the mass ratio described below.

The processed egg foods, particularly fried eggs, obtained by the present invention have multiple coagulated egg pieces, and it is preferable that the total of coagulated egg pieces with a volume of ^{15 cm3} or more is 50% to 80% by mass inclusive in the fried eggs, in order to obtain a fluffy appearance with little burnt food. When the total of coagulated egg pieces with a volume of 15 cm3 or more is 50% by mass or more, a particularly fluffy appearance can be obtained because a suitable number of large coagulated egg pieces are present. Furthermore, when the total of coagulated egg pieces with a volume of 15 ^cm3 or more is 80% by mass or less, it is easy to suppress burning and has the advantage of allowing efficient heating. In the present invention, an egg-containing mixed solution with a predetermined protein content is used using an aqueous liquid heated to 98°C or higher, so that an egg-processed food having the above numerical range can be successfully produced.
From the viewpoint of further improving the appearance, it is more preferable that the total amount of coagulated egg pieces having a volume of 15 cm or ^more in the processed egg food is 55% by mass or more and 80% by mass or less. The volume of the coagulated egg pieces can be measured using a measuring cylinder as described below.

The coagulated egg pieces referred to above are formed by heating and coagulating an egg-containing liquid mixture through cooking, such as stir-frying. The coagulated egg pieces may be in the form of granules, plates, lumps, irregular shapes, etc.

Coagulated egg pieces have a definite shape, unlike liquid or flowable eggs which have no definite shape.
The method for distinguishing between coagulated egg fragments and liquid or fluid eggs is as follows. A horizontally held stainless steel sieve (with mesh holes of 0.2 cm x 0.2 cm) is placed 30 cm above the horizontal surface, and the coagulated eggs are placed on the sieve with a space between them. This is left to stand for 30 minutes, and the remaining portions are taken as coagulated egg fragments. The coagulated eggs are placed on the mesh so that the area projected from top to bottom while placed on the mesh is maximized. The remaining portions are taken as the portions that are lifted after being left to stand for 30 minutes. If the lifted coagulated egg fragments do not contain any ingredients, they are immediately placed in a measuring cylinder placed on a balance, and their volume and mass are measured. Furthermore, as described below, if the coagulated egg fragments contain ingredients, the coagulated egg fragments are transferred to a stainless steel tray or the like to remove the ingredients, and then placed in a measuring cylinder placed on a balance to measure their volume and mass.
Furthermore, the remaining portion weighing 0.1 g or more is considered to be a coagulated egg piece, and if it weighs less than 0.1 g, it is not included in the coagulated egg pieces.
Furthermore, to determine whether or not the eggs are coagulated, and to measure their mass and volume, the fried eggs (egg processed food) are vacuum-cooled to a product temperature of 10°C after completion, then left to stand at room temperature, and measurements are made after the product temperature has returned to room temperature. When measuring frozen fried eggs (egg processed food), they are thawed in a microwave oven at an output of 600 W for a heating time of 1 second per 1 g of weight, and after being completely thawed, are subjected to the same measurements as above.

In processed egg foods such as fried eggs, coagulated egg pieces are adjacent to other coagulated egg pieces, and if the processed egg food contains ingredients other than eggs, the coagulated egg pieces will contain or be adjacent to those ingredients. Incidentally, when coagulated egg pieces contain ingredients, it is possible to cite, for example, cases in which the ingredients and eggs are bound together.

When the coagulated egg pieces contain ingredients, the weight and volume of the coagulated egg pieces should be measured after removing the ingredients attached to the surface of the coagulated egg pieces and the ingredients inside the coagulated egg pieces with tweezers, etc. If the coagulated egg pieces separate when removing the ingredients, the volume should be measured by including the separated parts and counting the coagulated egg pieces before separation as one piece.
Examples of dishes that can be subjected to this ingredient processing method include dishes in which ingredients are mixed with liquid eggs and heat-treated, such as crab meat and egg dishes and Chinese-style egg stir-fries. Also, even in cases where eggs are fried alone, the heated eggs are removed, other ingredients are fried separately from the eggs, and then the fried eggs are added to the fried ingredients and mixed together for cooking, a separation operation of the coagulated egg pieces and the ingredients is carried out as necessary.

As mentioned above, the volume of the coagulated egg pieces can be measured using a measuring cylinder, for example, by the method described in the Examples below. The coagulated egg pieces are lifted with chopsticks or tweezers, and the volume and mass are measured while they are placed in a measuring cylinder placed on a balance. If part of the coagulated egg pieces break off while being transferred from the mesh to the measuring cylinder, the volume of the separated part is measured.

Ingredients (secondary ingredients) for egg-derived foods other than egg-derived protein sources include flours; seasonings (including sugars); oils and fats; ingredients other than eggs such as vegetables, meat, and mushrooms; and water. These may be contained in a dispersion containing egg-derived protein, in an aqueous liquid at 98°C or higher, or added to an egg-containing mixture obtained by mixing a dispersion and an aqueous liquid.

Egg-processed foods preferably contain cereal flours, as this facilitates achieving a fluffy texture and maintains its soft appearance and texture even after refrigeration or freezing. Examples of cereal flours include cereal flour and starch. Examples of cereal flours include wheat flour, rice flour, corn flour, waxy corn, potato flour, tapioca flour, and sweet potato flour. Examples of starch include starch derived from the above-mentioned cereal flours and modified starches. Such modified starches include raw starch that has undergone one or more of the following treatments: etherification, esterification, gelatinization, cross-linking, oxidation, and oil processing. Etherification includes hydroxypropylation, and esterification includes acetylation. Here, "starch" refers to "pure starch" isolated from plants such as wheat, and is distinct from starch contained in cereal flour. From the perspective of texture, waxy corn starch, tapioca starch, potato starch, or modified starches thereof are preferred, and from the perspective of freeze resistance, modified starch is preferred, cross-linked starch is more preferred, and acetylated phosphate cross-linked starch is particularly preferred.

In order to obtain the benefits of including the above-mentioned grain flours and in terms of texture and taste, egg processed foods preferably contain 0.5 to 6% by mass of grain flour, and more preferably 1 to 4% by mass. More specifically, when grain flour is used, the amount used is preferably 4 to 65 parts by mass, and more preferably 8 to 48 parts by mass, per 100 parts by mass of egg-derived protein, in terms of texture, etc.

Egg processed foods may contain oils and fats not derived from eggs. When the egg processed food is a fried egg dish, the inclusion of oils and fats reduces the tendency for the eggs to burn, making it easier to obtain fried eggs with the specified volume of coagulated egg pieces within the above proportion range. Examples of oils and fats include various animal and vegetable oils such as rapeseed oil, olive oil, rice oil, sesame oil, palm oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, fractionated palm oil (palm olein, etc.), butter oil, medium-chain fatty acid oil, and fish oil. It is preferable that the oils and fats be liquid at room temperature (25°C), as this allows the egg processed food to maintain a fluffy texture even at room temperature. The egg processed food and the coagulated egg pieces that make it up preferably contain 1 to 40% by mass of oils and fats, and more preferably 3 to 30% by mass.

Egg processed foods may contain ingredients other than eggs, such as vegetables, mushrooms, tofu, meats such as pork, beef, and chicken, seafood such as shrimp, crab, and fish, tempura scraps, and condiments. As mentioned above, egg processed foods can contain these ingredients in forms such as when the ingredients are contained separately from the coagulated egg pieces, or when the ingredients are contained within the coagulated egg pieces. Furthermore, when egg processed foods contain other ingredients, the other ingredients may be preheated or may be uncooked.

The present invention makes use of the property of stably obtaining a fluffy shape in processed egg foods, and can be used in a variety of stir-fry dishes, for example, in addition to crab and egg omelets, stir-fried eggs with tomatoes or other vegetables, seafood, meat, etc., and in egg dishes such as rice bowls (also simply referred to as "stir-fried eggs" in this specification), as well as egg dishes such as the egg-covered portion of soups, soups, rice porridge, etc., and ingredients for egg-covered rice bowls such as ingredients for oyakodon, Tianjindon, and katsudon (also simply referred to as "egg-covered eggs" in this specification), as well as in omelet dishes such as tamagoyaki, omelet rice, and omelettes.
Egg processed foods include foods that use a mold to solidify an egg-containing liquid, such as pudding and chawanmushi, and foods that are produced without using a mold. However, it is preferable to apply the present invention to foods that are solidified without using a mold, such as the above-mentioned fried eggs and egg covers, in that the effect of the present invention, that a fluffy shape can be stably obtained, can be exerted.

The present invention will be explained in more detail below using examples, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

[Examples 1 to 6, Comparative Example 1]
Whole eggs (10°C, protein content 12.3% by mass) were stirred for 10 seconds using a whisk as a stirring means to obtain dispersions having the temperatures and protein contents shown in Table 1. 100 parts by mass of this dispersion and hot water at 98 to 100°C were mixed in the amounts shown in Table 1 to obtain egg-containing mixtures having egg-derived protein contents shown in Table 1.

Stir-fried eggs were obtained from the egg-containing mixture as follows: The time from preparation of the egg-containing mixture to frying was 1 minute, and the temperature of the egg-containing mixture when used for frying was as shown in Table 1 (the same applies to the following Examples and Comparative Examples).
23.8 g of sesame oil was placed in a frying pan (heating surface radius 18.5 cm), and the frying pan and sesame oil were heated to 200°C. 500 g of egg-containing mixed liquid was then added. While the frying pan was heated at that temperature, 12 seconds after the addition, the egg was peeled from the inner surface of the frying pan using a spatula. The egg was peeled from the inner surface of the frying pan and then peeled again 12 seconds later, and this process was repeated to obtain fried eggs. Heating was terminated when the core temperature of the coagulated egg mass rose to 85°C. The core temperature was measured as the temperature at the center of the mass of the desired size.

The volume of the coagulated egg pieces was measured by placing 200 ml of water in a measuring cylinder (volume 500 ml, inner diameter 50 mm) placed on a balance, pouring the coagulated egg pieces into the measuring cylinder, and measuring the increase in volume. The volume of each coagulated egg piece in each example was 80 cm ^or less.
The resulting fried eggs were evaluated by 10 trained panelists according to the following evaluation criteria, and the average scores are shown in Table 1. The results are shown in Table 1.

<Evaluation criteria>
5 points: The coagulated egg pieces are moderately large, giving them a fluffy texture that is suitable for Chinese egg stir-fry.
4 points: The coagulated egg pieces are moderately large, giving a slight fluffy texture suitable for Chinese egg stir-fry.
3 points: The size of the coagulated egg pieces is slightly small, but within the acceptable range.
2 points: The coagulated egg pieces are not large enough to give the fluffy texture that is appropriate for Chinese egg stir-fry.
1 point: The coagulated egg pieces were not large enough to give the fluffy texture that is appropriate for Chinese egg stir-fry, and the texture was lumpy.

[Examples 7 to 13, Comparative Examples 2 to 8]
Whole eggs (10°C, protein content 12.3% by mass) and water at 25°C were mixed in the ratios shown in Table 1, and stirred for 10 seconds using a whisk as a stirring means to obtain dispersions having the temperatures and protein contents shown in Table 1. Hot water at 98°C to 100°C was mixed with 100 parts by mass of this dispersion in the ratios shown in Table 1 to obtain egg-containing mixtures having protein contents shown in Table 1.
The obtained egg-containing mixed liquid was subjected to the same evaluations as in Examples 1 to 6 and Comparative Example 1. The results are shown in Table 1 below.

Example 14
A fried egg dish was prepared in the same manner as in Example 9, except that 107 parts by mass of a seasoning liquid (a mixture of 100 parts by mass of water, 5 parts by mass of Chinese soup stock, and 2 parts by mass of salt) heated to 98°C to 100°C was used instead of 100 parts by mass of hot water, and the same evaluation was performed. The results are shown in Table 1 below.

Example 15
A fried egg dish was prepared in the same manner as in Example 15, except that 10 parts by mass of crab sticks were added to 100 parts by mass of the seasoning liquid and the dispersion liquid combined when the seasoning liquid (aqueous liquid) heated to 98°C to 100°C was mixed with the dispersion liquid, and the same evaluation was performed. The results are shown in Table 1 below.

Example 16
A fried egg dish was prepared in the same manner as in Example 15, except that 3 parts by mass of processed starch (acetylated phosphate cross-linked waxy corn starch) was added to 100 parts by mass of the seasoning liquid and the dispersion when the seasoning liquid (aqueous liquid) heated to 98°C to 100°C was mixed with the dispersion, and the same evaluation was performed. The results are shown in Table 1 below.

As shown in Table 1, in each example, an egg-containing mixture satisfying the specified egg-derived protein content was used, and the resulting processed egg food was highly rated for its fluffy appearance. The fried eggs obtained in each example had a total mass of coagulated egg pieces having a volume of 15 cm or ^more of 50% by mass or more and 80% by mass or less. On the other hand, in each comparative example in which the egg-derived protein content was less than 5.5% by mass, it was difficult to obtain large coagulated egg pieces, regardless of the temperature of the egg-containing mixture, and a fluffy appearance was not achieved.
Furthermore, in Examples 1 to 3, in which the temperature of the egg-containing mixed liquid was 30°C or higher and 55°C or lower, the evaluation increased as the egg-derived protein content increased, whereas in Examples 4 to 6, in which the temperature was below 30°C, the appearance evaluation decreased even when the protein content increased. This tendency was also observed in Examples 10 to 12. This shows that having an egg-containing mixed liquid temperature of 30°C or higher and 55°C or lower also contributes to improving the appearance of the resulting processed egg food.

Claims (3)

A method for producing a processed egg food product, comprising mixing a dispersion containing egg-derived protein with an aqueous liquid at 98°C or higher to prepare a pre-cooked egg-containing mixed liquid in which the egg-derived protein content is 5.5% by mass or more and 12% by mass or less relative to the total amount of egg components and water, and then using the resulting pre-cooked egg-containing mixed liquid for cooking. The manufacturing method described in claim 1, wherein the temperature of the egg-containing mixed liquid used for cooking is 30°C or higher and 55°C or lower before cooking. The method for producing a processed egg food product according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the protein content in the dispersion is 6.0% by mass or more and 12.3% by mass or less, based on the total amount of egg components and water.