JPS6345774B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a novel fruit juice granule, a method for producing the same, and a fruit juice beverage using the fruit juice granule.

In the present invention, granules for fruit juice can be added to fruit juice in an appropriate amount to enhance the flavor and palatability of the fruit juice drink, or can be seasoned to the taste of fruit juice. For example, it is a small spherical substance that is used as a decoration for cakes or scooped out with a spoon and eaten as is.

In addition, in the present invention, fruit juice refers to oranges, apples, peaches, grapefruit, grapes, etc.
Vegetables such as strawberries, tomatoes, watermelons, celery, and carrots are squeezed to produce pulp using conventional methods, and pulp is produced from this process, containing crushed materials such as insoluble pectin and fibers. It includes both the so-called youth from which ground materials have been removed.

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

The present inventor focused on achieving this objective by forming granules by a known three-dimensional cross-linking reaction using an alginate aqueous solution and a calcium salt aqueous solution, and initially used the fruit juice itself as a core material. However, fruit juice usually has a pH of 3 to 4.
Because it is an organic acid solution, it reacts with alginic acid and increases its viscosity, causing alginic acid to form and aggregate on its own, or cause alginic acid molecules to
COOH groups compete with the COOH groups of fruit juice molecules, making it difficult for a strong crosslinking reaction to occur, or they may react with calcium salts, reducing calcium ions for crosslinking reactions, and even turn into organic acid calcium, making it edible. Various problems arose, such as the production of an unpleasant off-taste, and in any case, the problem of making the granule formation reaction difficult to occur was encountered.

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 In addition, in order to produce fruit juice granules with good flavor and texture, we learned that it is best 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 knowledge by changing the method to first form small granules, then draining the core liquid, and filling it with fruit juice or fresh water instead. .

Therefore, the fruit juice granules of the present invention are characterized in that they are composed of small granules of calcium alginate material whose inner cavities are filled with fruit juice or fresh water. In addition, the method for producing fruit juice granules of the present invention includes pH5 to
Add a small amount of calcium salt and xanthan gum to the fruit juice or fat-soluble pigment dispersion adjusted to 7 and then add sugar to prepare a core liquid with a specific gravity of more than 1. Drop this core liquid into an aqueous alginate solution to obtain a small Form granules and immediately rinse with clean water to replace the core liquid in the lumen of the small granules with clean water, and if desired, further soak the small granules in fruit juice to remove the fresh water in the lumen. It is characterized by replacing it with fruit juice. The fruit juice beverage of the present invention is obtained by immersing an appropriate amount of fruit juice granules made of small particles of calcium alginate whose inner cavities are filled with fruit juice or fresh water in a fruit juice of the same kind or a different kind as the above-mentioned fruit juice. It is characterized by this.

Hereinafter, the method for producing fruit juice granules and fruit juice beverages according to the present invention will be explained.

In the present invention, the fruit juice used as the core liquid in the initial granule formation reaction is neutralized by adding an appropriate alkaline agent such as sodium bicarbonate to adjust the pH to 5 to 7 before use. It is difficult to use fruit juice as a core material for crosslinking reactions unless the pH is adjusted to at least 5.
This core liquid is discharged and removed as soon as possible after the formation of the granules, but the reason why fruit juice is used as the core liquid is that the granules are given a unique flavor of each fruit juice. Natural fat-soluble pigments contained in fruit juice (mandarin oranges contain flavonoids,
Tomatoes contain lycopene, carrots contain carotenoid pigments, and apples contain tannin pigments) that remain in the lumen in small amounts even after the core fluid has been drained, giving the juice its unique color. be. Therefore, in this process, the fruit juice is
It is more economical to use pulp than pulp, and it is also sufficient.

Therefore, if flavor and the like are not important, fruit juice may not be used as the core liquid, and for example, a sugar solution in which fat-soluble pigments are dispersed may be used.

A small amount of calcium salt and xanthan gum are then added to the core solution thus prepared. Calcium concentration may be about 0.5 to 1%, and 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, in order to form a strong and thin film as quickly as possible on the core liquid dropped in a spherical shape, it is necessary to precipitate the core liquid in an alginate aqueous solution, and for this purpose, sugars such as sucrose, glucose, and fructose are used as specific gravity adjusting agents. was added in an amount of 20 to 50%, preferably to a specific gravity of about 1.05. Sugars were chosen as the specific gravity adjusting agent because they are easy to remove by soaking in water, and even if a small amount remains, the flavor of the fruit juice will not be affected.

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 so that the core liquid inside the small granules is passed through the mesh structure film of calcium alginate into the clean water. Replace/remove. 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. As a result of washing with water, some of the core liquid has already begun to flow outward. In addition, the main purpose of water exposure is to remove excess calcium in the core liquid, which is necessary for the granule formation reaction, and thereby shrinks the granule film.
Another purpose is to prevent deformation after the product is finished. 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. Fruit juice granules made of small particles of calcium alginate material are obtained.

Incidentally, the granules thus obtained may be further immersed in fruit juice to displace and fill the small granules with fruit juice. In this case, it will take about 2 hours as well.
The fresh water replaces the fruit juice, and the lumen of the small granules is completely filled with the fruit juice, which is collected and taken out and placed in a container. Inside this container,
A small amount of fruit juice may be added and the collection of small particles may be immersed in this fruit juice. The fruit juice granules prepared up to this point are directly filled into a container, heat sterilized if necessary, and stored. You can scoop it up with a spoon and eat it as is (instead of drinking the juice), or you can use it as a decoration for cakes, puddings, etc. Of course, a suitable amount of this can be added to fruit juice to make a fruit juice drink.

In addition, if the fruit juice granules are still filled with fresh water in their lumens, they should be immersed in an appropriate amount of fruit juice of the same kind or a different kind (the concentration should be higher than usual). The fresh water in the lumen is replaced with fruit juice and discharged, making it possible to produce a fruit juice drink similar to the above. There is no particular limit to the amount added to fruit juice, but 5 to 20
% is preferable from the viewpoint of flavor. Heat sterilization can also be performed if necessary.

When the fruit juice granules produced in this manner are immersed in fruit juice, they settle in the fruit juice liquid (due to the difference in specific gravity of the calcium alginate materials) or float in the liquid. This is a matter of preference, but if you want the granules to float on the surface of the juice,
A small amount of oil (salad oil) may be included in the initial core liquid, or a small amount of air may be included in the fruit juice or clean water that fills the inner cavity.

By the way, although the lumen of these fruit juice granules is filled with fruit juice or fresh water, they are
Since they are in a so-called "temporarily sealed" state, if they are left as is for a while, fruit juice or fresh water tends to ooze out from the inner cavity of the small granules. Therefore, as mentioned above, adding a small amount of fruit juice of the same type (same taste) or different type (different taste) and storing a large number of small particles immersed in this fruit juice as an aggregate can prevent the juice 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, the fruit juice granules according to the present invention are colored yellowish-white for apples, yellow for tangerines, red for tomatoes, etc., so they can be used in two or more different colors. For example, a fruit juice drink mixed with fruit juice granules divided into two colors, red and white, can be kept clean just by putting it in a container.
Suitable for use in auspicious dishes. Also, by mixing it with ingredients such as puddings and jelly, you can make puddings and jelly that have a good flavor and a beautiful appearance.

As explained above, the production method of the present invention makes it possible to make the inner cavity of calcium alginate small granules acidic by an extremely simple method. ' can be easily created.

In the present invention, all percentages are by weight.

Production example A Apple pulp (PH3.8), celery, tomato,
Prepare mixed lettuce vegetable juice (PH4.2) and mandarin orange pulp (PH3.6), add bicarbonate of soda,
Adjust to PH5.5, PH6.0, and PH7.0 respectively.

(b) Calcium chloride 0.7% (calculated as anhydrous salt)
and 0.6% xanthan gum, and further glucose to adjust the core liquid to a specific gravity of 1.05 (sugar content around 15%).

C. Drop this core solution little by little into a stream of 0.7% sodium alginate solution, allow it to settle for about 120 seconds, and move it around. At the end, catch the small particles with a net and wash them with water by showering from above.

D. Immediately pour the washed fruit into a tank containing fresh water and leave it exposed for 2 to 3 hours, changing the water every 30 minutes during the process, to obtain fruit juice granules whose inner cavities are filled with fresh water.

E) 10% of the obtained fruit juice granules "mandarin oranges" were added to mandarin orange juice to make a mandarin juice drink.

In addition, the same ``apple'' will be bottled with a small amount of apple juice added and used as a dessert ingredient.

Furthermore, the same "mixed vegetables" are 20% in tangerine juice.
% was added to produce a modified mandarin orange juice drink.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Granules for fruit juice, characterized in that they are made of small granules of calcium alginate material whose inner cavities are filled with fruit juice or fresh water. 2. The granules for fruit juice according to claim 1, which are colored with a fat-soluble pigment. 3 Add a small amount of calcium salt and xanthan gum to the fruit juice or fat-soluble pigment dispersion adjusted to pH 5 to 7, add sugars to prepare a core liquid with a specific gravity greater than 1, and drop this core liquid into the alginate aqueous solution. to form small granules, and immediately wash and expose them with clean water to replace the core fluid in the lumen of the small granules with clean water.
A method for producing granules for fruit juice, which comprises further immersing the small granules in fruit juice to replace the fresh water in the lumen with the fruit juice, if desired. 4 Fruit juice granules made of small granules of calcium alginate material whose inner cavities are filled with fruit juice or fresh water,
A fruit juice beverage characterized by being immersed in an appropriate amount of fruit juice of the same type or different type as the above-mentioned fruit juice.