JPH0612978B2 - Scale-like crystals of stevia sweetener and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a scaly crystal of a sweetening ingredient extracted from a stevia drug, and more particularly, to a scaly crystal of the stevia sweetening ingredient to rapidly cool water. The present invention relates to a stevia sweetening ingredient that dissolves in water and a method for producing the same.

[Conventional technology]

Generally, sweeteners are roughly classified into artificial sweeteners such as saccharin, natural sweeteners such as sucrose, stevia sweetener, isomerized sugar, and glycyrrhizin. Among them, stevia sweetener is particularly excellent as a diet sweetener, has a sweetness about 300 times that of sucrose, has a sweetness quality similar to that of sucrose, and is almost non-calorie. Therefore, it is used for soft drinks, frozen desserts, filled beverages, miso, soy sauce, table sugar, etc.

Stevia sweetening ingredient is a sweet glycoside contained in the leaves of Lebadiana Bertoni, which is usually called simply Stevia. ing.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

Stevia sweeteners are excellent natural sweeteners, but are poorly soluble in cold water and require a day or night to prepare, for example, a 35% aqueous solution at room temperature. Needless to say, the dissolution rate of the agglomerated crystals is slow, but even in the powder form, the powder particles are bound to each other, and even if they are stirred, it takes a long time to dissolve them. Thus, the slow dissolution rate is the biggest drawback when used as table sugar.

In reality, stevia sweeteners are seldom used alone, but blends with other sweeteners such as sugar, glycyrrhizin and sorbit are used. An object of the present invention is to provide a stevia sweetener which is easily dissolved in water, has no bitterness, and can be used as a plain substance.

[Means for Solving Problems] and [Action] The present invention is to solve the above problems by solving a stevia sweetening ingredient in the form of scaly crystals,
An extremely thin shape increases the surface area for dissolution, and since it is not in the form of powder, there is no chance of binding to each other, and the dissolution rate can be significantly improved. Such scale-like crystals can be produced by supplying a hot concentrated aqueous solution of stevia sweetening component in a thin layer on a smooth plate, then drying and peeling.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

The stevia sweetening ingredient according to the present invention is a general term for all ingredients having sweetness extracted from the above stevia leaves. Furthermore, even if the ingredient is not originally contained in Stevia leaf,
The component produced in the process of extraction and purification, and the component produced by being subjected to a physical treatment such as vibration, supercooling, pressurization and the like have a sweetness, which is referred to as the stevia sweetening component of the present invention.

It is desirable that the scale-like crystals of the stevia sweetening component are as thin as possible, and the thickness is 30 μm or less, preferably 10 μm or less, more preferably 3 to 5 μm.

It is desirable that the hot concentrated aqueous solution of stevia sweetening component is close to saturation at a temperature that does not decompose the stevia sweetening component and does not impair workability. In practice, 50 to 110 ° C., preferably 80
An aqueous solution of about 40-50% at ~ 95 ° C.

A brush to supply a concentrated aqueous solution of a sweet component onto a smooth plate,
A method of impregnating a water-absorbing material such as sponge or plastic foam with a concentrated aqueous solution and applying it on a smooth plate, a method of dropping it on a smooth plate, a method of applying with a rotary roll impregnated with a concentrated aqueous solution, or a thin slit to a smooth plate There is no particular limitation such as a method of continuously supplying the above.

The smooth plate is continuously moved using a belt conveyor or the like, the concentrated aqueous solution is supplied by the above method, and then dried by a heat source such as hot air, infrared rays, or high frequency. Since the concentrated aqueous solution is in the form of a thin layer, it can be dried relatively quickly.

The material used as the smooth plate is preferably a polyolefin such as polyethylene, polypropylene or polybutylene.
These materials are not limited to homopolymers of olefin monomers,
A monomer copolymerizable with these monomers, for example, a copolymer with vinyl chloride, styrene, or the like, or a polymer blend with a material having a good compatibility therewith can also be used. Above all, polypropylene and polyethylene are particularly excellent, and when dried, they almost simultaneously turn up from the end of the dry film, and a large number of scale-like crystals float on the smooth plate. Therefore, in the pulley portion of the belt conveyor, the smooth plate naturally falls when it rotates downward, and most of it can be collected without using a peeling operation. Some of the scale-like crystals that remain without falling can be dropped by the stimulus when the smooth plate is vibrated by a vibrator or the like. The method of scraping off with a blade or the like is not preferable because it may destroy the scaly crystals.

Other materials for smooth plates include vinyl chloride resin, acrylic resin, AS, ABS, Tetoron, 6-nylon, 6,6-
Plastics such as nylon, fluororesin and polystyrene, and metals such as copper, stainless steel, aluminum, iron and brass are also used, but they are not preferable because they are inferior in peelability to polyolefin.

〔Example〕

 Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to examples.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of an apparatus for producing scale-like crystals of stevia sweetening ingredient according to the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes a belt conveyor in which a smooth plate 3 made of a polypropylene layer is connected to an outer peripheral surface of a belt body 2 made of polyurethane, which is driven by pulleys 4 and 5. Although it is sufficient to simply attach the polypropylene layer to the smooth plate 3, in the present embodiment, the deep groove 6 was provided in the direction traversing the belt conveyor to ensure smooth rotation in the pulley portion. Reference numeral 7 is a hot concentrated aqueous solution of stevia sweetener, and in this example, a 55% aqueous solution at 90 ° C. was used. 8 is a feeding roll which is partially immersed in an aqueous solution of stevia to rotate, and 9 is a supply roll which rotates in contact with the calling roll 8 and the transfer roll 10. 11 is a transfer roll
It is a support roll that rotates in the opposite direction at the same peripheral speed as 10, and the belt conveyor 1 moves between the transfer roll 10 and the support roll 11.

When the contact roll 8 having the stevia solution attached to its surface supplies the stevia solution 7 to the supply roll surface when it contacts the supply roll 9, the supply roll 9 transfers the stevia solution to the transfer roll 10 when it contacts the transfer roll 10. Supply to. The aqueous Stevia solution adhering to the outer periphery of the transfer roll 10 adheres to the surface of the smooth plate 3 made of polypropylene as a thin layer, and is then dried by the hot air dryer 12. The dried Stevia aqueous solution becomes a thin curtain with cracks, and it turns up from the outer peripheral portion of each crack, and a large number of scale-like crystals rise.

When the Bent conveyor passes the outer periphery of the pulley 5, the scale-like crystals naturally fall. Reference numeral 13 is a vibrator, which vibrates the belt conveyor to drop and collect the remaining crystals. 14 is a funnel for collecting scale-like crystals, and 15
Is a container for scaly crystals. A suction fan 16 was attached to the container 15.

In this example, the recovery rate of the scale-like crystals of the stevia sweetening component was 98%. The slightly peeled Stevia sweet component passes through the pulley 4 while being attached to the belt conveyor, and is dried and peeled together with the Stevia aqueous solution newly supplied in the next step, so that a scraping device is not necessary. The obtained scaly crystals had a thickness of about 3 to 5 μm and a size of about 3 to 10 mm ² . When I dropped a small piece by hand into cold water filled in a cup, it gradually became smaller and gradually dropped, and disappeared halfway before falling down.

The means for supplying the hot concentrated solution of the stevia sweetening component to the smooth plate is not limited to the roll method, and brush coating, dropping, or other methods can be adopted.

〔The invention's effect〕

The scale-like crystals of the stevia sweetening ingredient according to the present invention can be dissolved in a very short time (until the cup filled with water is dropped), unlike the conventional stevia sweetener which takes a long time to dissolve, The range of use is expanded, and it can be used alone for table sugar. Further, such an excellent crystal can be manufactured by a simple means.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the drawings, reference numeral 1 is a belt conveyor, 2 is a belt body, 3 is a smooth plate, 4 and 5 are pulleys, 7 is a hot concentrated aqueous solution of stevia sweetener, 10 is a transfer roll, 12 is a hot air dryer, 13 is a vibrator, 14 is a funnel, 15 is a container, and 16 is a suction fan.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A scaly crystal of a stevia sweetener having a large dissolution rate in water, which is composed of flat small pieces having a thickness of 30 μm or less. 2. A method for producing scaly crystals of a stevia sweetener, which comprises supplying a hot concentrated aqueous solution of a stevia sweetener in a thin layer on a smooth plate, followed by drying and peeling. 3. A process for producing scaly crystals of a stevia sweetener, which comprises supplying a hot concentrated aqueous solution of a stevia sweetener in a thin layer on a smooth plate made of polyolefin, followed by drying and peeling.