JP7797792B2 - Mochi-like chocolate confectionery - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to chocolate confectioneries that are distributed at room temperature.

Japanese people have traditionally preferred mochi or a mochi-like texture, and there are a wide variety of mochi confections in different regions. These are basically fresh confections made primarily from glutinous rice or rice flour, but many of them have a longer shelf life due to the inclusion of a large amount of sugar. However, methods that primarily rely on sugar to improve shelf life can result in products that are too sweet or have a sticky or gooey texture.
Patent Document 1 is an application relating to a rice cake confectionery that has an improved shelf life while reducing the amount of sugar used, characterized by being baked using a liquid made from glutinous rice flour, gelatinized starch, acetylated starch, and/or hydroxypropylated starch.

Meanwhile, attempts are also being made to use chocolates to create confectioneries that go beyond the traditional mochi confectionery framework while still maintaining a mochi-like texture (chewy texture). Patent Document 2 is an application relating to a water-containing chocolate with a mochi-like texture that can be distributed over a long period of time, containing gelatin with a specific jelly strength, a linear polyhydric alcohol, and hard butter. Patent Document 3 is an application relating to oil-in-water mochi-like chocolates for enrobing, using a combination of thickening stabilizers.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-106825 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-39915 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-265111

The objective of the present invention is to provide a new chocolate confectionery that has a good texture and can be stored for a long time even at room temperature.

The inventors conducted extensive research into the above-mentioned problems and discovered that by using chocolates with specific SFC, it is possible to produce chocolate confectionery that has a mochi-like texture, melts easily in the mouth, and can be distributed at room temperature, thereby completing the present invention.

That is, the present invention
(1) A chocolate confectionery containing at least chocolate, liquid sugar, and a gelling agent, characterized in that the SFC (solid fat content) of the fat portion of the chocolate satisfies all of the following conditions (a) to (d):
(a) 35-55% at 5°C, (b) 30-50% at 10°C, (c) 8-20% at 20°C, (d) 2-10% at 30°C
(2) The chocolate confectionery according to (1), wherein the amount of chocolates blended is 30 to 70% by weight.
is.

The present invention makes it possible to provide sweets that can be distributed at room temperature and have a good texture.

The present invention will now be described in detail.

(Chocolate)
The chocolates referred to in this invention include not only those that are subject to regulations ("Fair Competition Regulations for the Labeling of Chocolates") or legal restrictions, but also various chocolates, oil-and-fat processed foods, and chocolate products that use animal and vegetable fats and oils other than cocoa butter.
The chocolate content is 30 to 70% by weight, preferably 40 to 65% by weight. If the content is less than this, it may not melt well in the mouth, and if it is more than this, it may not be possible to obtain a good mochi-like texture.

(SFC of fats and oils in chocolate)
The chocolates used in the present invention are characterized by an SFC (solid fat content) of the total fat content of 35-55% at 5°C, 30-50% at 10°C, 8-20% at 20°C, and 2-10% at 30°C. More preferably, it is 40-50% at 5°C, 35-45% at 10°C, 10-20% at 20°C, and 2-5% at 30°C. If the SFC is too high or too low, the effects of the present invention may not be achieved. The SFC in the present invention is measured in accordance with IUPAC.2 150 "SOLID CONTENT DETERMINATION IN FATS BY NMR" after the sample fat obtained by hexane extraction from the chocolate is completely melted.

(liquid sugar)
In the present invention, the use of liquid sugar can improve shelf life and texture. There are no particular limitations on the type of liquid sugar, and examples include high-fructose glucose liquid sugar, maltose syrup, maltosyl trehalose, sugar alcohols, various oligosaccharide syrups, honey, various starch syrups, and starch syrup. These liquid sugars can be used singly or in combination. The amount of liquid sugar added is 5 to 40% by weight, preferably 10 to 35% by weight, and more preferably 10 to 20% by weight, of the raw materials.

(Gelling Agent)
In the present invention, a mochi-like texture is obtained by using a gelling agent. Gelatin is particularly preferred, and commercially available preparations that use gelatin as the main ingredient can also be suitably used.
The amount of gelling agent added can be adjusted as appropriate depending on the type of gelling agent and the desired texture, but in the case of gelatin, the amount is typically 0.5 to 4% by weight, preferably 1 to 3% by weight, of the raw materials.

When using a gelling agent such as gelatin that is dissolved in water, the water can be tap water, ion-exchanged water, distilled water, mineral water, etc., and soy milk, cow's milk, cream, various types of drinking water, etc. can also be used in part or in whole. The amount of water should be 2 to 10 times, preferably 3 to 7 times, the weight of the gelling agent, and should account for 5 to 20% by weight, more preferably 7 to 15% by weight of the confectionery.

(Other ingredients)
In addition to the above, the present invention can also use sugars, starches, modified starches, flavorings, alcoholic beverages, colorings, emulsifiers, etc., as long as the effects of the present invention are not impaired. Dried fruits such as raisins, nuts, etc. can also be mixed.

(Preparation of dough)
The method for preparing the dough is not particularly limited, but an example procedure is to first heat and melt the chocolate in a hot water bath or the like, then separately prepare an aqueous composition containing liquid sugar and a gelling agent, and mix them to obtain the dough. This dough is then poured into an appropriate mold and solidified (gelled) in a refrigerator to obtain the chocolate confectionery.

The following examples will explain the present invention in more detail. Note that "parts" and "%" are by weight unless otherwise specified.

(Preparation of fats and oils for chocolate)
A blended oil (iodine value 37) consisting of 60 parts by weight of palm oil, 20 parts by weight of a high-melting-point palm oil fraction, and 20 parts by weight of extremely hardened palm oil was randomly transesterified with sodium methylate, and then subjected to two-stage acetone fractionation to obtain a mid-melting-point fraction (iodine value 32) and a low-melting-point fraction (iodine value 63). These were refined using conventional methods, and the mid-melting-point fraction was designated "Oil A" and the low-melting-point fraction was designated "Oil B." Using these, the raw materials were melted and mixed according to the formulations in Table 1 to prepare oil mixtures A and B.

(Table 1) Preparation of fat mixture for chocolate

(Preparation of chocolates)
Chocolates A and B were prepared by mixing the raw materials, rolling, and conching them in the usual manner according to the formulations in Table 2. The SFC of the fats and oils in each chocolate is shown in Table 4, along with "Chocolate C" described below.

(Table 2) Chocolate composition (unit: parts by weight)

(Preparation of chocolate confectionery)
Water and liquid sugar were combined and heated according to the formulation in Table 3, and then pre-mixed granulated sugar and gelling agent were added and further heated to dissolve. This was added to chocolates that had been separately melted in a hot water bath and mixed uniformly. The mixture was then poured into a 35 mm diameter x 10 mm deep flexipan and left to solidify in the refrigerator for 3 hours.

The raw materials in Table 3 were the following commercially available products.
Chocolate C: Product name: "Couverture White", Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. Liquid sugar: Product name: "Amamil", Mitsubishi Corporation Life Sciences Co., Ltd. Gelling agent: Product name: "Punitoro G" (50% gelatin, 50% modified starch), Nitta Gelatin Co., Ltd.

(Table 3) Chocolate confectionery composition (unit: parts by weight)

(Table 4) SFC (%) of fats and oils in each chocolate

(evaluation)
The resulting chocolate confectionery was placed in a bag, the opening sealed, and stored at room temperature (20°C). The next day, a sensory evaluation was conducted by seven panelists engaged in confectionery development, and judged by consensus. The evaluation was based on the following criteria, each on a 5-point scale, with a score of 3 or higher being considered a pass for both items.
(Texture): Pleasant mochi-like texture (Melting in the mouth): Melts smoothly in the mouth and leaves no residue 5: Particularly good 4: Good 3: Average 2: Poor 1: Particularly poor

The evaluation results are summarized in Table 5. Example 1, which used Chocolate A, had a particularly good mochi-like texture and melt-in-the-mouth feel, and was also easy to work with.

(Table 5)

(Evaluation after storage at room temperature)
The chocolate confectionery of Example 1 was similarly subjected to a sensory evaluation after 1 month and 2 months of storage at 20° C. There were no noticeable changes in texture or melt-in-the-mouth property, and the confectionery was maintained in good condition.

Claims (1)

A chocolate confectionery having a mochi-like texture, which contains at least chocolates, liquid sugar, and a gelling agent, the chocolate content being 30 to 70% by weight , and the solid fat content (SFC) of the fat portion of the chocolates satisfying all of the following conditions (a) to (d):
(a) 35-55% at 5°C
(b) 30-50% at 10°C
(c) 8 to 20% at 20°C
(d) 2 to 10% at 30°C