JPS6228674B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to a novel method for producing granules for alcoholic beverages.

In the present invention, granules for alcoholic beverages can be added in an appropriate amount to alcoholic beverages to enhance the flavor and palatability of the alcoholic beverage, or can be used to season the taste of various alcoholic beverages. It is a small spherical substance that is used, for example, as a decoration for cakes, added to tea, or scooped with a spoon and enjoyed as is.

Furthermore, in the present invention, alcoholic beverages refer to beverages containing 1% or more alcohol as stipulated by the Liquor Tax Law, and specifically include sake, synthetic sake, shochu, and fruit liquor. (wine), distilled spirits (whiskey, brandy, spirits, etc.), liqueurs, etc.

Furthermore, the term "alcoholic beverage" has almost the same meaning as alcoholic beverages, but it also includes beverages in which various alcoholic beverages are appropriately mixed or diluted, or alcoholic beverages are added to non-alcoholic beverages.

The object of the present invention is to provide such granules for alcoholic beverages (so-called "edible sake"), a method for producing the same, and uses thereof.

The present inventor focused on this purpose by forming granules by a known three-dimensional cross-linking reaction using an alginate aqueous solution and a calcium salt aqueous solution, and initially created granules using the alcoholic beverage itself as a core material. I tried to do that. However, in addition to the fact that alcoholic beverages are low-molecular-weight compounds and have a low viscosity, this is probably due to the effect of the alcohol component contained within them. Various problems occur, such as the alginate solution not forming into granules well, and even when dropped as granules, it crumbles on the surface of the alginate solution.
In any case, we encountered the problem of making it difficult for the granule formation reaction to occur.

After various studies, we found that in this crosslinking reaction, calcium ions sterically crosslink between the COOH groups of alginic acid molecules to form a film of calcium alginate. If the core substance is liquid, it can be easily replaced with liquid outside the small granules, and if small granules are made from a core liquid containing calcium salts in raw materials with small molecular weight, the core liquid Furthermore, in order to produce granules for alcoholic beverages with good flavor and texture, we learned that it is necessary to form a film as quickly as possible and drain the core liquid as quickly as possible. .

The present invention was completed based on the above findings by changing the method to first form small granules, then draining the core liquid, and filling it with alcoholic beverages or fresh water instead. .

Therefore, the method for producing granules for alcoholic beverages of the present invention involves adding a small amount of calcium salt and xanthan gum to a sugar solution to prepare a core liquid with a specific gravity of more than 1, and dropping this core liquid into an alginate aqueous solution. After forming small granules, they are immediately rinsed with clean water and exposed to water to replace the core fluid in the lumen of the small granules with fresh water.If desired, the small granules are further immersed in alcoholic beverages to remove the inside of the lumen. It is characterized by replacing fresh water with alcoholic beverages.

Hereinafter, a method for producing granules for alcoholic beverages according to the present invention will be explained.

In the present invention, the core liquid that undergoes the granule formation reaction first needs to be precipitated in the alginate aqueous solution in order to form a strong and thin film as quickly as possible when dropped in the form of a sphere.
For this purpose, sugars such as sucrose, glucose, and fructose are used as a specific gravity adjusting agent at a concentration of 10 to 50%, preferably specific gravity.
We decided to use a sugar solution that was added to have a concentration of about 1.05. Saccharides were chosen as the specific gravity adjusting material because
This is because sugar can be easily removed by soaking in water, and even if a small amount remains, it will not impair the flavor of the alcoholic beverage.

Then, a small amount of calcium salt and xanthan gum are added to the core solution thus prepared. The concentration of calcium salt may be about 0.5 to 1%, and the concentration of xanthan gum may be about 0.1 to 1%. The reason for using xanthan gum is that it allows the dropping core liquid to maintain its spherical shape without becoming stringy.

In addition, if you want to add a fruit juice flavor to the granules of the present invention, or if you want to give them a fruit juice-like color, neutralize the fruit juice together with the sugar solution by adding an appropriate alkaline agent, such as sodium bicarbonate, to a pH of 5 to 7. Adjust and use. It is difficult to use fruit juice as a crosslinking reaction material unless the pH is adjusted to at least 5. When fruit juice is used in this way, the granules are given a flavor unique to each fruit juice, and the natural fat-soluble pigments contained in the fruit juice (flavonoids in mandarin oranges, chlorophyll and carotene in vegetables, chlorophyll and carotene in tomatoes, contains lycopene, carotenoids, etc.)
This is because even after the core fluid has been discharged, a small amount remains in the lumen, resulting in a color unique to each fruit juice. Therefore, in this process, it is more economical to use pulp than juice as the fruit juice, and it is also sufficient.

Therefore, if flavor is not important, the fat-soluble pigment may be dispersed in the sugar solution and used without adding fruit juice as the core liquid.

In the present invention, the core liquid thus prepared is dropped into an aqueous alginate solution to form granules of calcium alginate material. The calcium salt used may be one that is approved as a food additive, such as calcium chloride. Moreover, as the alginate, sodium alginate is suitable, and its concentration is about 0.3 to 1%. This calcium alginate granule forming reaction can be carried out based on a known method, so the details are omitted, but small granules with a diameter of about 4 to 10 mm are obtained by dropping the core solution one after another into an aqueous sodium alginate solution. are formed one after another while avoiding adhesion to each other. The dropping position, nozzle diameter, concentration of both liquids, etc. are adjusted as appropriate according to known methods.

Next, the small granules are taken out of the alginate aqueous solution as quickly as possible, washed with clean water, and then immersed in clean water to allow the core liquid inside the small granules to pass through the mesh structure film of calcium alginate. Replace and remove with clean water. If you leave water without doing this, the granules will stick to each other, and the unreacted alginic acid and calcium will react, causing the film to grow thickly outwards, so it is best to use a shower etc. It is necessary to do so promptly. By washing with water, a portion of the core liquid begins to flow outward. In addition, the main purpose of water bleaching is to remove as much as possible of the excess calcium in the core solution that was necessary for the granule formation reaction, but this also causes the coating of the granules to shrink, making it easier to remove after production. It also has the purpose of preventing deformation. The time required for this water exposure differs slightly depending on the size of the grains and the thickness of the film, but by doing this for around 1 to 2 hours, you can almost completely decalcify and desugar, allowing clean water to enter the lumen. Alcoholic beverage granules consisting of small particles of calcium alginate material were obtained.

Incidentally, the granules thus obtained may be immersed in an alcoholic beverage to displace and fill the small granules with the alcoholic beverage. In this case, in about 30 minutes to 2 hours, the fresh water will be replaced by the alcoholic beverage, and the small granular body cavity will be completely filled with the alcoholic beverage, so collect it, take it out, and put it in a container. . A small amount of alcoholic beverage may be placed in this container, and the collection of small particles may be immersed in the alcoholic beverage. The alcoholic beverage granules prepared up to this point are stored as is by filling them into a container. You can scoop it up with a spoon and eat it as is (instead of drinking alcohol), or you can add a few grains to your tea to further enhance the flavor. Furthermore, it can be used as a decoration material for cakes, puddings, etc., or mixed into such materials. Of course, it can also be added in an appropriate amount to alcoholic beverages to make an alcoholic beverage with rich palatability.

In addition, the granules for alcoholic beverages with the inner cavity filled with fresh water can be used to drink alcoholic beverages of the same type or different type (the concentration should be adjusted to a higher concentration than usual. This depends on the amount of granules added). When adding the same amount, it is usually preferable to double the concentration.) If an appropriate amount is immersed in the solution, the fresh water in the lumen will be replaced with alcoholic beverages and discharged, making it possible to produce alcoholic beverages similar to those described above. can. There is no particular limit on the amount added to alcoholic beverages, but 5 to 20
% is preferable from the viewpoint of flavor.

When the granules for alcoholic beverages produced in this manner are immersed in alcoholic beverages (due to the difference in specific gravity of the calcium alginate material), they either settle in the liquor liquid or float in the liquid. This is a matter of preference, but
If it is desired to suspend the granules on the surface of the alcoholic beverage, a small amount of air may be included in the alcoholic beverage or fresh water that fills the inner cavity.

By the way, although these granules for alcoholic beverages have their inner cavities filled with alcoholic beverages or fresh water, they are
Since they are in a so-called "temporarily sealed" state, if they are left as is for a while, alcoholic beverages or fresh water are likely to ooze out from the inner cavities of the small particles. Therefore, as mentioned above, adding a small amount of alcoholic beverages of the same type (same taste) or different types (different tastes) and storing a large number of small particles immersed in this alcoholic beverage as an aggregate can prevent the alcoholic beverage from bleeding. can. However, since it is originally used as a "drink", there is nothing to prevent it from bleeding. It is better to keep the texture epithelial membrane soft,
If it is made too hard, it will create a sense of resistance, but if you prefer, you can eliminate this bleeding.

Furthermore, if the granules for alcoholic beverages according to the present invention are colored, such as yellowish white of an apple or yellow of a mandarin orange, etc.,
It can be used in two or more different colors.

As explained above, the production method of the present invention allows alcoholic beverages to be encapsulated in calcium alginate small particles using an extremely simple method.
You can easily create ``grained sake'' that has never been seen before.

In the present invention, all percentages are by weight.

Production Example A A 33% aqueous solution of glucose containing 0.7% calcium chloride (calculated as anhydrous salt) and 0.6% xanthan gum is prepared as a core liquid (sugar content 15%, specific gravity 1.05).

(b) This core liquid is dropped little by little into a flow of 0.8% sodium alginate solution, allowed to settle for about 130 seconds and moved, and at the end small particles are caught with a net and washed with water by showering from above.

(c) The washed granules are placed in a water tank containing fresh water and exposed for 2 to 3 hours to obtain granules for alcoholic beverages whose inner cavities are filled with fresh water.

D. The obtained granules for alcoholic beverages were added at 10% to wine with an alcohol content of 15% to make a wine drink.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Add a small amount of calcium salt and xanthan gum to the sugar solution to prepare a core solution with a specific gravity of more than 1, drop this core solution into an alginate aqueous solution to form small particles, and immediately rinse with fresh water. For use in alcoholic beverages, the core liquid inside the lumen of the small granules is replaced with fresh water by washing and bleaching with water, and the small granules are further immersed in alcoholic beverage according to preference to replace the fresh water inside the lumen with alcoholic beverage. Granule manufacturing method.