JPH11346656A - Cocoa composition - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cocoa composition richer in functional components of e.g. polyphenol and dietary fiber. SOLUTION: This composition comprises a cocoa powder so defatted by supercritical carbon dioxide extraction as to contain pref. <=5 wt.% of fats and oils and a trehalose, pref. comprises 1 to 50 wt.% of the thus defatted cocoa powder and 1 to 50 wt.% of trehalose.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a cocoa composition containing defatted cocoa powder and trehalose.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional cocoa powder is, for example, to sort cocoa beans with a cleaner, remove the beans with a separator, remove the skin, etc., add an alkali agent in a reactor, react, and roast with a roaster. The cocoa mass obtained by grinding with a grinder is crushed with a cocoa press, a part of cocoa butter is separated, and cocoa mill is used to produce fine particles. The amount is usually 11
~ 23%.

[0003] On the other hand, polyphenols and dietary fiber have been mentioned as functional components that have attracted attention in recent years, and cocoa powder derived from cocoa raw materials contains more of these components than other foods.

[0004] Polyphenols have long been said to be a type of tannin and have a strong antioxidant effect, prevent aging, prevent cancer, adult diseases, gastric ulcers, etc., and suppress stress, allergies, etc. Has been confirmed to be effective.

[0005] Dietary fiber is also important as a diet for bifidobacteria, which is a useful bacterium in the body, and remains in the large intestine for a long time to remove spoilage bacteria. Is essential.

[0006]

However, in order to ingest more functional components such as polyphenols and dietary fiber from a conventional cocoa food made from cocoa powder, it is necessary to eat and drink a large amount of the cocoa food. In addition, for example, in order to ingest twice the amount of the functional ingredient, it is necessary to eat and drink twice the amount of cocoa food, and since there is a limit to the amount that can be eaten and consumed, more functional ingredients are considered. There is a problem that can not be taken.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a cocoa composition containing more functional components such as polyphenols and dietary fiber.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the cocoa composition of the present invention comprises defatted cocoa powder defatted by a supercritical carbon dioxide extraction method, and trehalose.

When the cocoa powder is defatted by the supercritical carbon dioxide extraction method, the oil content can be easily reduced to, for example, less than 1% by weight, and is about 1/10 of the ordinary cocoa powder obtained by pressing with a cocoa press. Oil content. As a result, the content of functional components such as polyphenols and dietary fibers is relatively increased, and defatted cocoa powder containing more of the above functional components than conventional cocoa powder is obtained.

However, since dietary fiber is an insoluble component, it causes powderiness and roughness, and as the content thereof increases, the powderiness and roughness become more remarkable. Therefore, in the cocoa composition of the present invention, in addition to the defatted cocoa powder, trehalose is used to reduce powderiness and roughness, thereby improving after-taste and other flavors.

Therefore, according to the cocoa composition of the present invention, it is possible to provide a cocoa composition having a high content of functional components such as polyphenols and dietary fiber and having a good flavor. The cocoa food produced using the cocoa composition of the present invention as a raw material can ingest a large amount of functional components such as polyphenols and dietary fiber without increasing the amount of food and drink unlike conventional cocoa foods. .

The term "cocoa powder" refers to a substance having a fat content of 8% or more in the Code of Fairness, but the term "cocoa powder" used in the present invention includes a substance defatted to a fat content of less than 8%. In the following, particularly when defatted by the supercritical carbon dioxide extraction method is referred to as defatted cocoa powder.

In the present invention, the fat content of the defatted cocoa powder is preferably 5% by weight or less, whereby the content of polyphenols and dietary fiber in the defatted cocoa powder can be effectively increased.

The content of the defatted cocoa powder is preferably 1 to 50% by weight based on the solid content, so that the cocoa composition can sufficiently contain polyphenols and dietary fiber.

Further, the content of the trehalose is preferably 1 to 50% by weight based on the solid content, so that the flavor improving effect can be sufficiently obtained.

Further, in addition to the above-mentioned raw materials, it is preferable to further contain dairy raw materials and / or sugars other than the above-mentioned trehalose, whereby a delicious cocoa beverage can be obtained only by dissolving in hot water.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the polyphenol is contained in an amount of 800 mg by weight or more, whereby the physiologically active effect of the polyphenol can be enhanced.

Further, it is preferable to contain 4 g by weight or more of dietary fiber, whereby the bioactive effect of the dietary fiber can be enhanced.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The cocoa composition of the present invention is a cocoa beverage or a chocolate-based food such as chocolate spread, chocolate syrup, chocolate flower paste, and chocolate coating,
Alternatively, it means a raw material for giving a cocoa flavor to baked confectionery such as cakes and cookies, candy, ice cream, pudding and the like.

The defatted cocoa powder used in the present invention has been defatted by a supercritical carbon dioxide extraction method so that the fat content is preferably 5% by weight or less, more preferably 1% by weight or less. . Since this defatted cocoa powder has a very low oil and fat content, the content of polyphenol, a natural component derived from cocoa raw materials, and functional components of dietary fiber (including iron, magnesium, etc.) is relatively high. In addition, the above-mentioned functional components are contained more abundantly than conventional cocoa powder. Therefore, by including this defatted cocoa powder, a cocoa composition rich in the above functional components can be obtained. In addition,
When the fat content of the defatted cocoa powder by the supercritical carbon dioxide extraction method exceeds 5% by weight, the effect of increasing the content of the functional component becomes insufficient, and the content is not so different from the conventional cocoa powder. .

The content of the defatted cocoa powder in the cocoa composition is preferably 1 to 50% by weight. If the content of the defatted cocoa powder is less than 1% by weight, the contents of polyphenols and dietary fiber are not so different from conventional cocoa compositions, which is not preferable.
If it exceeds 50% by weight, the flavor is too rich, which is not preferable.

The supercritical carbon dioxide extraction method is an extraction method using carbon dioxide in a supercritical state as an extraction solvent, and can be carried out using, for example, a supercritical carbon dioxide extraction apparatus as shown in FIG. it can.

That is, the ordinary cocoa powder is filled in the autoclave 1, and the carbon dioxide fed into the autoclave 1 is subjected to an extraction process in a supercritical state. The carbon dioxide from which the cocoa butter, which is the oil and fat, is extracted, is conveyed to the extract separator 3 through the pressure reducing valve 2 and is precipitated in a liquefied state. Here, carbon dioxide is evaporated to separate fats and oils. The evaporated carbon dioxide is sent to the liquefier 4 where it is liquefied again, returned to the autoclave 1 through the high-pressure pump 5 and the heat exchanger 6, and reused. The cocoa powder in the autoclave 1 can be collected after returning the inside of the autoclave 1 to the atmospheric pressure.

Here, supercritical is the midpoint between a substance's liquid and gas, and a substance in this state has the ability to dissolve the substance like a liquid and the ability to diffuse the substance like a gas. It has a unique property to combine.

The fat content of the defatted cocoa powder obtained by such a supercritical carbon dioxide extraction method can be easily reduced to less than 1% by weight, and cocoa mass is squeezed like a conventional cocoa powder. Cocoa butter is reduced to about 1/10 or less of that obtained by simply separating cocoa butter, and cocoa powder which has been dramatically defatted can be prepared.

The content of polyphenol and dietary fiber in the cocoa composition using cocoa powder, which has been dramatically defatted by a method such as the supercritical carbon dioxide extraction method, is such that the content of polyphenol is 800 mg% by weight or more, and the content of dietary fiber is It is preferably at least 4 g% by weight.

The trehalose used in the present invention is not particularly limited. For example, trehalose comprising α-1,1 bonds of two molecules of glucose;
neotrehalose consisting of β-1,1 bond;
Isotrehalose consisting of one bond can be used, and these can be used alone or in combination of two or more. In addition, it is preferable that content of such a trehalose in a cocoa composition is 1 to 50 weight%. If the content is less than 1% by weight, the effect of suppressing the powderiness and roughness due to the improvement in the content of polyphenols and dietary fibers is not preferable. Further, even if the content exceeds 50% by weight, no further improvement in the flavor improving effect is observed.

The cocoa composition of the present invention preferably further contains, in addition to the above-mentioned raw materials, dairy raw materials and / or saccharides other than trehalose. Examples of milk raw materials include, for example, ordinary milk materials such as milk, whole milk powder, skim milk powder, creaming powder, and powdered cream, and examples of sugars other than trehalose include sugars, disaccharides such as lactose, and glucose. In addition to monosaccharides such as fructose, starch hydrolysates such as starch syrup, dextrin, and the like, reduced products thereof, for example, reduced starch hydrolysates, reduced sugars such as sorbit, and maltite. By using at least one selected from these milk raw materials and sugars, various cocoa compositions can be obtained according to the purpose.

Further, in order to impart characteristics as a product, other raw materials other than those described above can be used without any particular limitation. For example, starches, fats and oils, emulsifiers, stabilizers, salt,
Spices, spices, nut paste, coffee, other flavoring ingredients, and the like can be used. In addition, as the emulsifier, sucrose fatty acid ester, glycerin fatty acid ester,
Lecithin and the like, and as a stabilizer, xanthan gum, carrageenan and the like can be preferably used.

Further, in the present invention, conventional cocoa powder can be used in combination with defatted cocoa powder.

As an example of a preferred composition comprising the above-mentioned raw materials, for example, 1 to 50 parts by weight of defatted cocoa powder, 1 to 50 parts by weight of trehalose, 0 to 35 parts by weight of powdered milk such as whole milk powder, skim milk powder, creaming powder, etc. Department,
0 to 55 parts by weight of sugar, 0 to 25 parts by weight of other sugars such as lactose, 0 to 0.5 parts by weight of salt, and 0 to 2 parts by weight of an emulsifier.

[0032] The cocoa composition of the present invention is prepared by first reducing the cocoa powder obtained by a conventional method to a fat content of 5% by weight or less by a method such as the above-mentioned supercritical carbon dioxide extraction method. Degreasing. Thereafter, trehalose and, if necessary, dairy ingredients, saccharides other than trehalose, and other ingredients are added to the obtained defatted cocoa powder, and the mixture is stirred and mixed using a stirrer such as a mixer. It can be manufactured by pulverizing using a machine. The manufactured cocoa composition may be granulated by a general granulation method such as fluidized bed granulation or stirring granulation.

As another production method, for example, heated milk, skim milk or powdered milk dissolved in warm water, defatted cocoa powder, trehalose, and, if necessary, milk ingredients, saccharides other than trehalose and other And dissolve. Thereafter, the solution can be homogenized by a pulverizer such as a homogenizer, and further heated to 60 to 95 ° C. and spray-dried to produce the solution. Or,
A method such as freeze-drying can also be employed.

The cocoa composition of the present invention thus obtained is dissolved in, for example, hot water or heated milk, and the solution is sterilized by heating and filled in a container or sealed, or filled in a container. It can be used as a raw material for many cocoa foods, such as being used after being sealed and then heat sterilized to make it into a cocoa beverage in a container, and added to various confections.

[0035]

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail by way of examples. In the following examples, “parts” means “parts by weight”. The defatted cocoa powder used in the examples was prepared by extracting a conventional cocoa powder (oil content: 10 to 12% by weight) by a supercritical carbon dioxide extraction method at a critical pressure of 72.8 atm and a critical temperature of 31.1 ° C. Is a cocoa powder having a fat content of less than 1% by weight.

Example 1 20 parts of defatted cocoa powder, 40 parts of sugar, 11.5 lactose
Parts, trehalose 15 parts, whole milk powder 10 parts, skim milk powder 10
, 0.1 part of salt, 0.2 part of emulsifier, and 0.2 part of flavor, and stirred and mixed with a mixer for 10 minutes. This was pulverized with a pulverizer to obtain a cocoa composition of the present invention.

When 20 g of this cocoa composition was dissolved in 100 ml of hot water, a cocoa drink having no after-taste and good aftertaste was obtained.

Example 2 20 parts of defatted cocoa powder, 10 parts of conventional cocoa powder (oil content: 10 to 12% by weight), 40 parts of sugar, 9.4 parts of lactose, 20 parts of trehalose, 0.2 parts of salt, emulsifier After adding 0.2 part and 0.2 part of perfume, stirring and mixing with a mixer for 10 minutes, the mixture was pulverized with a pulverizer. This powder is granulated while spraying water in a fluidized bed. After confirming that the granules had sufficiently grown, spraying of the binder was stopped. Thereafter, drying was carried out at a temperature of 60 ° C. or more, and drying was sufficiently performed until the final moisture content became 3% by weight or less, to obtain a cocoa composition of the present invention.

When 20 g of the cocoa composition was dissolved in 100 ml of cooled milk, a milk cocoa beverage having no after-taste and having a good aftertaste was obtained.

Comparative Example 1 A cocoa composition was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1, except that sugar was used instead of trehalose.

When 20 g of this cocoa composition was dissolved in 100 ml of hot water, a cocoa drink with a powdery, rough texture and a poor aftertaste was obtained.

Comparative Example 2 A cocoa composition was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1, except that a conventional cocoa powder (oil content: 10 to 12% by weight) was added instead of the defatted cocoa powder.

When 20 g of the cocoa composition was dissolved in 100 ml of hot water, a cocoa drink having a good aftertaste without much powderiness or roughness was obtained. However,
As described below, the polyphenol and dietary fiber contents were not very high.

Test Example 1 Each of the cocoa drinks obtained in Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 was subjected to a sensory test by 20 panelists.

The evaluation of the flavor was very delicious ... 5 points, delicious ... 4 points, ordinary ... 3 points, not very delicious ... 2
Points, not delicious at all ... 1 point, indicated by the average score of 20 panelists.

Regarding the evaluation of the powderiness and the roughness, it is assumed that the feeling is not felt at all --2, hardly felt ...- 1, neither can be said ... 0, slightly felt ... + 1, and extremely felt ... The average value was given by the panelists of the name.
Table 1 shows the results. Table 1 also shows the results of measuring the contents of polyphenol and dietary fiber in the cocoa drink.

[0047]

[Table 1]

As shown in Table 1 above, the cocoa beverages of Examples 1 and 2 prepared from cocoa compositions containing defatted cocoa powder and trehalose as raw materials contained defatted cocoa powder and contained trehalose. Compared to the cocoa drink of Comparative Example 1 containing no, the flavor was clearly good, and the powderiness and the roughness were clearly low.

Further, the cocoa beverages of Examples 1 and 2 containing defatted cocoa powder as a raw material were 1% less than those of Comparative Example 2 containing no defatted cocoa powder.
It can be seen that the contents of polyphenol and dietary fiber per 00 ml are high.

[0050]

As described above, according to the cocoa composition of the present invention, although it has various effects and effects, since it is an insoluble component, it can cause polyphenols and dietary fiber which cause powderiness and roughness. In spite of containing extremely high content compared to conventional cocoa powder,
A cocoa composition that does not feel powdery or rough and has a good aftertaste can be obtained.

It should be noted that, if the cocoa food is made from such a cocoa composition, a large amount of functional components such as polyphenols and dietary fiber can be consumed without increasing the amount of food and drink unlike conventional cocoa foods. can do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view showing an example of a supercritical carbon dioxide extraction device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 autoclave 2 pressure reducing valve 3 extractor separator 4 liquefier 5 high-pressure pump 6 heat exchanger

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] June 19, 1998

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0032

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

The cocoa composition of the present invention is prepared by first reducing the cocoa powder obtained by a conventional method so that the fat content becomes 5% by weight or less by a method such as the above-mentioned supercritical carbon dioxide extraction method. Degreasing. Thereafter, trehalose and, if necessary, dairy ingredients, saccharides other than trehalose, and other ingredients are added to the obtained defatted cocoa powder, and the mixture is stirred and mixed using a stirrer such as a mixer. It can be manufactured by pulverizing using a machine. In addition, the produced cocoa composition may be granulated by a general granulation method such as fluidized bed granulation or stirring granulation.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A cocoa composition comprising defatted cocoa powder defatted by supercritical carbon dioxide extraction and trehalose. 2. The oil content of the defatted cocoa powder is 5%.
The cocoa composition according to claim 1, which is less than or equal to% by weight. 3. The cocoa composition according to claim 1, wherein the content of the defatted cocoa powder is 1 to 50% by weight based on the solid content. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the trehalose content is 1% in the solid content.
The cocoa composition according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is from about 50% by weight to about 50% by weight. 5. A milk material and / or a saccharide other than the trehalose in addition to the raw material.
A cocoa composition according to any one of the preceding claims. 6. The cocoa composition according to claim 1, wherein the cocoa composition contains at least 800 mg by weight of a polyphenol. 7. The cocoa composition according to claim 1, wherein the cocoa composition contains 4 g by weight or more of dietary fiber.