DESCRIPTION
Title of การประดิษฐ์:
GLUTEN DISPERSIBILITY IMPROVER AND GLUTEN
DISPERSION
5 Technical Field
[0001] The การประดิษฐ์นี้ relates to a gluten dispersibility improver, a method for dispersing gluten in an aqueous medium, a gluten dispersion solution, and methods for producing a vital gluten and a gluten gel using the dispersion solution.
10 Background Art
[0002] A gluten is a protein derived from grains such as wheat and rye and forms a distinctive gel having water retention and viscoelasticity, and was used as a raw material for yaki-fu (baked gluten), nama-fu (wet
gluten), and fugashi (baked gluten confectionaries) in old times, and
15 recently has been commonly used as an agent for expanding a volume
of breads and for improving the quality of noodles and fish paste products such as kamaboko (boiled fish paste). The gluten is obtained by adding water to wheat flour, mixing and kneading to prepare a
dough, which is then washed with water to rinse off the starch. The
20 thus obtained gluten is called "wet gluten" and typically in the form of a
gummy lump having a water content of 60 to 70%. The wet gluten may be frozen without further treatment and distributed in frozen state but usually distributed in dried state, and a dried and powdered product thereof is called "vital gluten".
25 [0003] The wet gluten has poor dispersibility in water and forms a
gummy lump. For this reason, it is difficult to obtain a vital gluten by
simply drying the wet gluten in an industrial scale, and many pretreatment steps are required. For example, a method in which the wet gluten is dispersed in water in advance using e.g., an inorganic acid
such as hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid or an organic acid such as
5 acetic acid, alkali such as ammonia or sodium hydroxide, or a reducing
agent, and subsequently the dispersion solution is spray-dried (spray drying method) is employed. อย่างไรก็ตาม, the spray drying method uses acid, alkali or a reducing agent, thereby affecting the flavor and color of the gluten and also deteriorating the physical properties such as gel
10 strength.
[0004] Alternatively, there is a flash drying method in which the wet gluten is dried in an air stream while adjusting a water content by mixing a flour composed of the vital gluten as finely cutting the wet
gluten. In the case of the flash drying method, physical properties are
15 hardly affected since drying can be achieved in a short period of time,
อย่างไรก็ตาม, it is difficult to mix the flour and the lumpy wet gluten posing a workability problem and additionally the quality deterioration is inevitable because the flour is overheated. Alternatively, a freeze
drying method, in which the wet gluten is freeze-dried, is used. The
20 freeze drying method can suppress the denaturation of the vital gluten,
hardly causing changes in the color and physical properties, but has the major drawbacks of low processing ability and high drying cost. As described above, the conventional methods for producing the vital
gluten raise problems on the production techniques and the quality of
25 the vital gluten obtained, and thus the development of a method capable
of producing the vital gluten with good quality at a low cost and in a
simple manner has been desired.
[0005] On the other hand, the commercial vital gluten obtained via such a drying process returns to a gummy lump when hydrated and it is hence difficult to homogeneously add when processed to a food
5 product. Typically, the vital gluten is added to a food product in the
form as mixed with a flour such as wheat flour but, considering the cumbersome workability and cost, the improvement in dispersibility in water is certainly a challenge. A method of producing a powder vital gluten with improved water dispersibility obtained by adding lecithin to
10 a wet gluten and dry-powdering the resulting mixture after
emulsification, is disclosed in งานเขียนสิทธิบัตร 1, อย่างไรก็ตาม, the
procedure was complicated and dispersibility of the vital gluten obtained could not be said to be sufficient.
[0006] On the other hand, a modified gluten powder containing a
15 thickener is disclosed (งานเขียนสิทธิบัตร 2). The purpose thereof is to
enhance or modify the physical properties of the gluten by using a thickener and to impart texture such as firmness, stickiness or smoothness to food products containing such a powder, and the powder is obtained by kneading a thickener and a wet gluten having a water
20 content of 60 to 70%, drying and grinding, อย่างไรก็ตาม, is not water
dispersible. Further, the method for dispersing gluten in water by adding water to a wet gluten and adding specific polysaccharides thereto and mixing therewith, is not described.
[0007] Furthermore, a modified gluten powder is obtained by adding a
25 thickener to an acidic dispersion solution of gluten to obtain an
agglomerate, drying, and subsequently grinding the agglomerate (งานเขียนสิทธิบัตร 3). อย่างไรก็ตาม, the contact of gluten and a thickener in an acidic solution for obtaining an agglomerate is set forth as the essential requirement, and a method for dispersing gluten in water in a neutral region is not suggested.
5 [0008] Still furthermore, it is disclosed that water-soluble soybean
polysaccharides improve the water dispersibility of the gluten and further the vital gluten obtained by drying such a gluten is excellent in dispersibility in water (งานเขียนสิทธิบัตร 4). อย่างไรก็ตาม, water-soluble
soybean polysaccharides may be avoided because the soybean proteins
10 contained therein may be an allergen and additionally the flavor
distinctive to soybean may affect the final product, and for this reason, a gluten dispersibility improver, which has a good flavor and expresses functions in a smaller amount, has been demanded. As described
above, a method for improving the water dispersibility of a wet gluten
15 and vital gluten without involving the deterioration of the quality and
cumbersome steps is not found at present.
Citation List
งานเขียนสิทธิบัตร
[0009] งานเขียนสิทธิบัตร 1: Japanese Examined Patent Publication No.
20 Sho-62-14253
Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-204649
Patent Literature 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-46
25 งานเขียนสิทธิบัตร 4: W02009/011253
Summary of การประดิษฐ์