JPH0451487B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

(Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a method for treating potassium chloride, and in particular to a method for treating potassium chloride for food, which has been separated and purified from rock salt, by treating it with water to remove the unpleasant taste and other unpleasant tastes that potassium chloride has. This invention relates to a method for treating potassium chloride that significantly reduces or eliminates its taste. (Prior art) Salting agents, like sweeteners, acidulants, flavoring agents, etc., are important flavoring agents in food processing and seasoning.
A typical example is sodium chloride (salt). Sodium chloride is important not only for providing a salty taste, but also as an antiseptic and anti-mold preservative, and is widely used for salting fish and manufacturing various foods such as delicacies, tsukudani, pickles, miso, and soy sauce. It is a well-known fact that there is a close relationship with dietary habits. However, in recent years, it has been pointed out that there is a causal relationship between so-called adult diseases such as circulatory system diseases such as hypertension and heart disease and excessive intake of sodium chloride. Reducing the intake of sodium chloride is recommended for prevention, and even healthy people are increasingly choosing so-called salt-free or low-salt foods, which are foods that do not contain sodium chloride or have a low sodium chloride content. There is. However, salting agents such as sodium chloride also have the function of an auxiliary agent that enhances the sweetness when coexisting with sweeteners, etc. Therefore, foods that do not contain sodium chloride have a so-called strong taste and are inferior in taste. Become something. Furthermore, if the use of sodium chloride is eliminated in various processed foods, their shelf life will naturally decrease. Therefore, various studies have been conducted on salting agents to replace sodium chloride, and various substances have been proposed. Among these, potassium chloride, which is the object of the present invention, is a typical substitute thereof. This potassium chloride is relatively low-priced, has no problems under the Food Sanitation Act, and has similar molecular weight, crystal structure, solubility, etc. to sodium chloride, and also has the preservative and anti-mold effects of sodium chloride. Salting agents have already appeared on the market in which part of the sodium chloride is replaced with potassium chloride because the effect is similar to that of the salt. However, when the mixing ratio of potassium chloride is increased, the taste is different from that of sodium chloride, resulting in a so-called "bitter taste".
Therefore, it has not been widely used in the food industry or daily life. For this purpose, that is, in order to eliminate the above-mentioned defects that potassium chloride has on taste, various attempts have been made in the past, but these attempts have been made to mask the bitter taste of potassium chloride. For example, in JP-A-57-138359, glycine, L-alanine, potassium chloride,
It is disclosed that at least one of sodium 5'-inosinate, sodium L-glutamate, glycyrrhizin, and sodium glycyrrhizinate is added, and JP-A-58-81758 discloses the addition of glycyrrhizin, licorice extract, and stevioside to potassium chloride. It is disclosed that at least one sweetening ingredient such as monoglycosyl stevioside, stevia extract, and an edible artificial sweetener is blended. On the other hand, in the Special Publication No. 47-13698, the relative proportion is approximately
20-80% by weight sodium chloride and about 80-20% by weight
Disclosed is a method for obtaining a cooking seasoning salt composition by mixing potassium chloride with potassium chloride until a homogeneous mixture is obtained. Furthermore, JP-A-58-209956 discloses that 0.2-1 part by weight of calcium chloride and/or magnesium chloride is added to 100 parts by weight of a mixture of 80-30% by weight of sodium chloride and 20-70% by weight of potassium chloride. and, if necessary, add sodium glutamate,
A pungent composition is disclosed in which a flavor component such as sodium inosinate is added and mixed. However, this publication does not describe any specific examples and does not demonstrate the effects. Since the compositions produced by the above conventional methods are all mixtures of powdered raw materials, there is a possibility that classification may occur during the distribution process or during use.
There are various problems with the mixing method and mixing ratio. In other words, if the amount of the taste improver etc. added to potassium chloride is small, it is extremely difficult to mix it uniformly, and if the amount added is too large, the taste of the taste improver etc. will develop and this The taste may not harmonize with the taste of the food itself, resulting in an overall unpleasant taste. For example, in the case of a composition of potassium chloride and monosodium glutamate, addition to soups gives good results, but it is unsuitable for addition to vegetable salads. Furthermore, JP-A-59-198953 discloses a mixture in which the weight ratio of sodium chloride and potassium chloride is in the range of 1:9 to 1:1, and a low-sodium product consisting of powdered solid bittern in an amount of 1 to 20% by weight based on the total amount. A salty seasoning is disclosed. This conventional technology is unique in that it attempts to counteract the bitter taste of potassium chloride by incorporating powdered bittern, which is one of the sources of bitterness, but uses at least 10% by weight of sodium chloride relative to potassium chloride. Moreover, the use of bittern, even in the form of a solid powder, is undesirable because it accelerates the moisture absorption of potassium chloride and the concomitant caking phenomenon. In addition, in JP-A-59-187761, potassium chloride
100 parts by weight, 1.5-30 parts by weight of organic acid calcium salt,
A seasoning composition containing 1-30 parts by weight of glutamate and/or 0.01-5 parts by weight of a nucleic acid taste substance is disclosed. In the experimental examples in this publication, it appears that compositions are prepared by blending powder raw materials, but in the examples, raw materials other than potassium chloride are dissolved in water,
The above composition is prepared by spraying or scattering this aqueous solution onto flowing potassium chloride particles while drying them. Therefore, the composition according to the invention described in this publication can be said to be potassium chloride particles coated with a mixture of an organic acid, an amino acid, and a nucleic acid-based taste substance.
This composition was prototyped and a taste comparison test was conducted by an expert panel with potassium chloride treated according to the present invention, and it was found that potassium chloride treated according to the present invention was significantly superior (Test Example 5 described later). reference). (Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In view of the above-mentioned problems regarding the prior art, the present invention does not simply attempt to hide the unpleasant taste, that is, the bitterness and unpleasant aftertaste that potassium chloride has. The aim is to actively eliminate these unpleasant tastes without sacrificing the various effective properties that potassium chloride has. (Means and effects for solving the problem) According to the present invention, the above problem can be solved by dissolving potassium chloride in water having an electrical conductivity of about 140 μS/cm or more, and then draining the water of this solution. The problem is solved by a method for treating potassium chloride, which is characterized by evaporation. In other words, although the mechanism of action has not yet been elucidated, when potassium chloride is treated as described above, the unpleasant taste of potassium chloride is significantly alleviated or eliminated, and the unpleasant taste of potassium chloride is significantly reduced. This results in a very close approximation. The "electrical conductivity" referred to in this specification is the reciprocal of the electrical resistance between facing surfaces in a solution with a cross-sectional area of 1 cm ² and a distance of 1 cm volume. This is a value measured at a temperature of 25°C using "Conduct Meter CM-73" manufactured by Denpa Co., Ltd., and this value is related to the total amount of cations and anions present in water or an aqueous solution. For example, if 1 mg of Na ⁺ , Ca ⁺⁺ or Cl ^- is dissolved in water per liter of water,
The influence of these ions on the electrical conductivity value is 25
℃ as follows. Na ⁺ : 2.13 (μS/cm) Ca ⁺⁺ : 2.60 Cl ^- : 2.14 In the present invention, “water with electrical conductivity of about 140 μS/cm or more” is specified, but distilled water with extremely low electrical conductivity It does not preclude the use of water or deionized water. However, when using water of such quality, at least one substance selected from minerals, acids, and their salts should be added to increase the electrical conductivity to approximately 140 μS/cm or more as described above. It is necessary to make adjustments in advance. That is, "water" referred to in this specification refers to drinking water such as tap water, drinking well water, mineral water, drinking spring water, distilled water, and deionized water, and when the electrical conductivity value is low. The above-mentioned additives are added to adjust the value to about 140 μS/cm or more. In addition, when using the above drinking water, the water contains Na,
Mineral ions such as K, Ca, Mg ions, Cl,
Anions such as SO ₄ ions, salts, free carbonic acid, mineral acids, organic acids, etc. may be dissolved in the drinking water, and there are also substances that remain when potassium chloride is dissolved in this drinking water and water is evaporated. However, these substances may exist. In this specification, "potassium chloride" is not absolute, but it is separated and purified from rock salt and contains 99% potassium chloride when quantified after drying at about 105°C for 2 hours. It refers to food grade potassium chloride. Among the additives mainly used to adjust the electrical conductivity of water, minerals and salts are preferably water-soluble for their purpose, but even if they are poorly soluble in water, they can be made solubilized. For example, it can be used by lowering the pH of water by using an acid in combination. The acids in the additives are mainly organic acids and amino acids; examples of the organic acids include citric acid, malic acid, and fumaric acid, and examples of the amino acids include glycine, alanine, and glutamic acid. If any of these additives has a taste of its own, excessive use should be avoided. For example, it is not preferable to add more than about 1% by weight of an organic acid or a salt thereof, and about 2% by weight of an amino acid or a salt thereof, based on potassium chloride. Potassium chloride can be dissolved directly in drinking water or in an aqueous solution of the additive in drinking water, distilled water or deionized water. The solubility of potassium chloride is 34.4g in 100g of water at 20℃, 60℃
The amount is 45.9g, but the amount added can be determined as appropriate in consideration of the melting temperature. In this specification, "mineral ions" naturally refer to monovalent or divalent mineral ions that are dissociated in water, and water-insoluble minerals are those that affect the improvement of the taste of potassium chloride. isn't it. For example, potassium chloride obtained by adding a water-insoluble salt such as CaCO ₃ to distilled water, dissolving potassium chloride in this water, and then evaporating the water does not exhibit effects such as reducing bitterness or enhancing salty taste. . However, if an organic acid such as malic acid is added to the water to solubilize the water-insoluble salt CaCO ₃ and ionize calcium, the taste of potassium chloride obtained by evaporation of water will be improved. . This fact indicates that dissociated ions in water have a great effect on improving the taste of treated potassium chloride. However, after preparing a concentrated solution by dissolving potassium chloride in water of a specified water quality,
Potassium chloride, which is obtained by recrystallizing using the solubility difference, followed by filtration and dehydration using a centrifugal dehydrator and then drying the residue to a specified moisture content, does not show any improvement in taste and is similar to untreated potassium chloride. This shows that water evaporation treatment is a requirement of the present invention. This moisture evaporation can be carried out by a method known per se, such as an evaporation to dryness method, a spray drying method, a vacuum drying method, a hot air drying method, etc., or by an appropriate combination of these methods. (Examples and Test Examples) Example 1 Add 30% of food-grade potassium chloride to 100ml of tap water with an electrical conductivity of 180μS/cm, heat until boiling to dissolve the potassium chloride, and then add 60% of this solution to 100ml of tap water with an electrical conductivity of 180μS/cm.
Cool to ℃ and concentrate under reduced pressure using a rotary evaporator to reduce water content to 18% by weight. This concentrated product was collected in a porcelain dish and treated with a hot air dryer at 80℃ to remove moisture.
A dried product containing 0.3% by weight was then sieved through a 20-mesh sieve to obtain tap water-treated potassium chloride. On the other hand, deionized water with an electrical conductivity of 0.11 μS/cm
30 g of food-grade potassium chloride was added to the solution, and the mixture was dissolved, dried, and sized in the same manner as above to obtain deionized water-treated potassium chloride. Expert panel regarding both potassium chloride samples above.
A sensory test was conducted by 20 people. Judgments were made for bitterness and salty taste using untreated food-grade potassium chloride as a control product, using Kramer's test method at a risk rate of 5%. The results are shown in the table below, and it can be seen that the tap water treated product showed a clear improvement in taste, while the deionized water treated product had a low taste improvement effect.

[Table] Evaluation〓〓〓〓No significant difference

[Table] Evaluation〓〓〓Example 2 with significant difference Electrical conductivity is 310μS/cm, Ca, Mg, K,
Using mineral water containing a total of 110 ppm of minerals such as Na as dissolution water, potassium chloride was dissolved, dried, and sized in the manner described in Example 1 to obtain mineral water-treated potassium chloride with a water content of 0.3% by weight. Obtained. A panel test was conducted on this potassium chloride sample in the same manner as described in Example 1, using untreated potassium chloride as a control product. The results are shown in the table below, and it was found that there was a significant difference between the two in both bitterness and salty taste.

【table】

[Table] Example 3 Dissolve 15 g of sodium chloride in 120 ml of deionized water with an electrical conductivity of 0.11 μS/cm and measure the electrical conductivity.
It was set at 140mS/cm. 15 g of food-grade potassium chloride was dissolved in this aqueous solution. This sodium chloride
Boil a mixed solution of equal amounts of potassium chloride until the moisture content is 13.
It was concentrated to 0.3% by weight and then treated in a hot air dryer at 75°C to evaporate water to 0.3% by weight. The obtained dried product was sized to within the range of 20 to 32 meshes. On the other hand, as a control product, the water content was 0.3% by weight and the particle size was
Equal amounts of sodium chloride and food-grade potassium chloride within the range of 20 to 30 mesh were collected and thoroughly mixed to prepare a mixture (this mixture was
(corresponds to the one described in Publication No. 13698). Next, this control product and the product produced by the method of the present invention described above were subjected to a panel test using a two-point preference test method. The results are shown in the table below, and the risk rate is 5%.
It was found that the products treated by the method of the present invention were preferred.

[Table] Example 4 Add and dissolve 0.88 g of anhydrous citric acid, 1.4 g of glycine, and 2.9 g of sodium chloride to 800 g of deionized water with an electrical conductivity of 0.11 μS/cm, and adjust the electrical conductivity of the solution to 69 mS/cm. After that, 300 g of food-grade potassium chloride was dissolved, and this solution was sprayed with a spray dryer equipped with a disk type atomizer at an air blowing temperature of 165°C and an exhaust air temperature of 67°C to obtain a water content of 0.8% by weight. Processed potassium chloride with good taste was obtained. Example 5 0.003 g of magnesium chloride and sodium glutamate in 100 ml of tap water with an electrical conductivity of 178 μS/cm
Add and dissolve 0.06g to increase the electrical conductivity of the solution.
After adjusting to 447μS/cm, food grade potassium chloride 30
g was dissolved and then treated in the same manner as in Example 1 to obtain treated potassium chloride with a water content of 0.3% by weight. In order to confirm the taste improvement effect of potassium chloride, a panel test was conducted using untreated potassium chloride as a control product, and all panelists judged the treated potassium chloride sample according to this example to be preferable. Example 6 In the same manner as in Example 1, potassium chloride obtained by the treatment was sized into 20 to 50 meshes (Japanese Industrial Standards). On the other hand, a potassium chloride-containing solution was separately prepared in the same manner as in Example 4, and this potassium chloride-containing solution was sprayed onto the sized potassium chloride particles while drying with hot air. The diameter of the particles was gradually increased to obtain granular products with a diameter of about 3 mm. In this example, a similar granular product could be obtained even if the spraying treatment of the potassium chloride-containing solution was replaced with a dropping treatment. Test Example 1 (Application to food) 0.85 g of the treated potassium chloride obtained in Example 4 and 0.85 g of commercially available purified salt (sodium chloride) were dissolved in 95 ml of water as a salty source, and 95 g of commercially available frozen corn was dissolved. This retort pouch was heat-sealed by a conventional method and heat sterilized in the retort at 118°C for 30 minutes to obtain a sweet corn sample packed in a retort pouch. On the other hand, as a control product, untreated food grade potassium chloride 0.836g, citric acid 0.002g, glycine 0.004
A control sweet corn sample in a retort pouch was obtained in the same manner as above except that 0.008 g of sodium chloride and 0.85 g of commercially available purified common salt (sodium chloride) were used as the salty taste source. When both retort pouches were opened and a panel test was conducted, all the panelists judged that the sweet corn sample containing potassium chloride treated by the method of the present invention had good taste. Test Example 2 (Application to foods) The treated mixture of potassium chloride and sodium chloride described in Example 3 (product produced by the method of the present invention) and the simple mixture of potassium chloride and sodium chloride (Takko Showa)
47-13698 (comparison product) according to the method described in Publication No. 47-13698), and
1.2% by weight was added and coated, then the turnips were placed in each glass bottle, a weight was placed on top, and the mixture was left in a refrigerator at 8°C for 48 hours. The turnips from the test and control groups were subjected to a panel test, and all panelists judged the turnips from the test group to have good taste. Test example 3 (Relationship between the electrical conductivity of dissolving water and the bitterness and salty taste of treated potassium chloride) Citric acid was added and dissolved in deionized water with an electrical conductivity of 0.9 μS/cm, and the electrical conductivity was 430 and 200. ,140,
Solutions of 120 and 100 μS/cm (100 ml each) were prepared. 20 g of food-grade potassium chloride was added to each of these solutions, heated to 60°C to dissolve, and then concentrated under reduced pressure using an evaporator to a water content of 18% by weight. Next, this concentrated product was spread thinly on a porcelain plate and treated at 75°C with a hot air dryer to obtain treated potassium chloride with a moisture content of 0.3% by weight, and then sieved with a 20-mesh sieve. For each of the treated potassium chloride samples thus obtained, a panel test (20 panelists) was conducted using an untreated food grade potassium chloride sample (potassium chloride content of 99% by weight or more) as a control. The results are shown in the table below, and it can be seen that the taste improvement effect (reduction of bitterness and enhancement of salty taste) occurs when the electrical conductivity of the dissolving water is about 140 μS/cm or more.

[Table] Test Example 4 (Effect of the amount of minerals in the dissolving water on taste) The total amount of minerals such as Ca, Mg, K, Na, etc. is 143 ppm as measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and the electrical conductivity is 400 μS/ The total amount of minerals was adjusted to 100, 65, and 40 ppm by adding distilled water to cm of mineral water, and the total amount of minerals was adjusted to 160 ppm by adding distilled water and a trace amount of minerals to the mineral water. Prepare a solution;
Next, add and dissolve citric acid to each of these solutions to readjust the electrical conductivity to 400 μS/cm, and add and dissolve citric acid to each of these solutions.
100ml was collected and used as water for dissolution. 20g of food-grade potassium chloride was dissolved in each dissolution water in the same manner as in Test Example 3, and after drying, the granules were sized and the water was removed.
A 0.3% by weight treated potassium chloride sample was obtained. Next, for each of these treated potassium chloride samples, conductivity was determined by adding citric acid to distilled water.
A panel test (20 panelists) was conducted using a food-grade potassium chloride sample treated in the same manner as in Test Example 3 as a control using dissolution water adjusted to 400 μS/cm. The results are shown in the table below, and it was found that the salty taste increased as the amount of minerals in the dissolution water increased.

[Table] Test Example 5 [Comparison with conventional technology method (coating method)] Test product: Tap water treated potassium chloride obtained in Example 1. Control product: Prepared as follows according to the teaching in Example 1 of JP-A-59-187761. Calcium lactate 3.0% by weight, sodium glutamate 8.5% by weight and 5'-ribonucleotide.
A 0.5 Kg aqueous solution containing 0.5% by weight of sodium was prepared. On the other hand, sieve the crushed potassium chloride to ensure that it is less than 35 mesh and above 50 mesh (particle size:
297-500μm) 0.5Kg using a fluidized bed granulation coating device (Floyd Co., Ltd.'s "Flow Coater" Model
A granular seasoning composition (control product) was obtained by fluid drying while spraying the above aqueous solution. A sensory test regarding the salty taste was conducted by a panel of 20 experts on this control product and the above-mentioned test product. Judgment is made using Kramer's test method, and the risk rate is 5.
%. The results are shown in the table below, and the potassium chloride treated by the method of the present invention was significantly superior. This is because the potassium chloride treated by the method of the present invention has an improved overall taste, whereas the control product has only the surface coated with the taste substance, and the inside has an unpleasant taste. This is thought to be due to the presence of normal potassium chloride.

[Table] Test Example 6 (Comparison with recrystallized product) Test product: Tap water treated potassium chloride obtained in Example 1. Control product: Recrystallized potassium chloride prepared as follows. 40 g of food-grade potassium chloride was added to 100 ml of tap water with an electrical conductivity of 180 μS/cm and heated to completely dissolve the potassium chloride. This solution was then heated to 0°C.
The mixture was cooled to a temperature of 100%, and the crystallized potassium chloride was collected by filtration using a glass filter, excess water was absorbed into a filter paper, and the mixture was dried with hot air to obtain recrystallized potassium chloride having a water content of 0.3% by weight. A sensory test regarding the salty taste was conducted by a panel of 20 experts on this control product and the above-mentioned test product. Judgment is made using Kramer's test method, and the risk rate is 5.
%. The results are shown in the table below, and the potassium chloride treated by the method of the present invention was significantly superior. This indicates that the taste improvement effect of potassium chloride cannot be obtained through recrystallization treatment, but is only brought about through water evaporation treatment.

[Table] (Effects of the Invention) Potassium chloride treated by the method of the present invention not only reduces or eliminates bitterness but also enhances salty taste. Both of these effects are affected by the electrical conductivity of the water used for treatment;
The effect becomes noticeable at 140 μS/cm or higher. The salty taste enhancing effect is also affected by the mineral content of the water used for treatment, and the effect becomes noticeable when the mineral content of the treated water is about 65 ppm or more. The treatment according to the method of the present invention does not simply mask the unpleasant tastes (bitterness and bad aftertaste) of raw potassium chloride, but actively significantly reduces or eliminates these unpleasant tastes. Therefore, potassium chloride treated according to the method of the present invention can be used as a partial or complete replacement for conventional sodium chloride, thereby reducing the sodium intake rate and thus reducing cardiovascular diseases. The effect is that treatment and prevention can be carried out without relying on the so-called "low-salt diet" which is almost tasteless. In addition, the potassium chloride treated by the method of the present invention can be used in powdered products such as table salt, sesame salt, and garlic salt, as well as in the production of general processed foods such as snacks, snack food, miso, and soy sauce. It has versatility in food preparation, etc., and can also be used in combination with sodium chloride. Furthermore, since the treatment according to the present invention consists of only a step of dissolving the raw material in water and a step of evaporating the water from the obtained solution, the present invention has the advantage of being advantageous in terms of cost. have.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method for treating potassium chloride, which comprises dissolving potassium chloride in water having an electrical conductivity of about 140 μS/cm or more, and then evaporating water from this solution. 2. When the electrical conductivity of water is low, the electrical conductivity is adjusted to a value of about 140 μS/cm or more by adding at least one substance selected from minerals, acids, and salts thereof. Claim 1
The method for treating potassium chloride described in Section 1. 3. Process for treating potassium chloride according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the water has a mineral content of about 65 ppm or more.