U.S. patent application number 09/749769 was filed with the patent office on 2001-08-16 for high-protein food of plate form and process for producing the same.
This patent application is currently assigned to Kikkoman Corporation and WE-POP CO., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Ariga, Toshiaki, Fujii, Norikazu, Kikuchi, Mamoru, Manaka, Tatuo, Obata, Akio, Tsuruta, Keizo, Watanabe, Michiko, Yamaji, Nobuyuki, Yamazaki, Emiko.
Application Number | 20010014368 09/749769 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26582427 |
Filed Date | 2001-08-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010014368 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ariga, Toshiaki ; et
al. |
August 16, 2001 |
High-protein food of plate form and process for producing the
same
Abstract
A high-protein food of plate form having a protein content of
40% by weight or more and a bulk density of 0.02 to 0.40
g/cm.sup.3, which is obtained by puffing-molding a compound protein
raw material having a protein content of 40% by weight or more.
Inventors: |
Ariga, Toshiaki; (Chiba
Pref., JP) ; Manaka, Tatuo; (Chiba Pref., JP)
; Yamazaki, Emiko; (Chiba Pref., JP) ; Obata,
Akio; (Chiba Pref., JP) ; Fujii, Norikazu;
(Chiba Pref., JP) ; Yamaji, Nobuyuki; (Chiba
Pref., JP) ; Kikuchi, Mamoru; (Chiba Pref., JP)
; Tsuruta, Keizo; (Aichi Pref., JP) ; Watanabe,
Michiko; (Tokyo, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
YOUNG & THOMPSON
745 SOUTH 23RD STREET 2ND FLOOR
ARLINGTON
VA
22202
|
Assignee: |
Kikkoman Corporation and WE-POP
CO., Ltd.
|
Family ID: |
26582427 |
Appl. No.: |
09/749769 |
Filed: |
December 28, 2000 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
426/656 ;
426/445; 426/46; 426/502 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A23J 3/225 20130101;
A23J 3/16 20130101; A21D 13/48 20170101; A23P 30/10 20160801; A23P
30/32 20160801 |
Class at
Publication: |
426/656 ;
426/445; 426/46; 426/502 |
International
Class: |
A23J 003/16; A21D
013/06 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 28, 1999 |
JP |
11-372766 |
Dec 28, 1999 |
JP |
11-372767 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A high-protein food of plate form which has a protein content of
40% by weight or more and a bulk density of 0.02 to 0.40
g/cm.sup.3.
2. The high-protein food of plate form according to claim 1, which
has a lipid content of 10% by weight or less.
3. The high-protein food of plate form according to claim 1, which
contains at least one nutrient supplementary foodstuffs selected
from herb extracts, vitamins, and minerals.
4. The high-protein food of plate form according to claim 1, which
contains 0.005 to 0.80% by weight of a proanthocyanidin.
5. A process for producing a high-protein food of plate form which
comprises puffing-molding a raw material composition having a
protein content of 40% by weight or more.
6. The process according to claim 5, wherein said puffing-molding
is carried out in a batch type puffing molding machine at a
temperature of 140 to 270.degree. C. and a pressure of 200 to 3000
kpa (gauge) for a heating time of 0.5 to 20 seconds.
7. The process according to claim 5, wherein said raw material
composition is granules, particles, spheres or plates having a
water content of 5 to 30% by weight.
8. The process according to claim 5, wherein said puffing molding
conditions are controlled so that the resulting product has a bulk
density of 0.02 to 0.40 g/cm.
9. The process according to claim 5, wherein said raw material
composition has a lipid content of 10% by weight or less.
10. The process according to claim 5, wherein said raw material
composition contains at least one nutrient supplementary foodstuffs
selected from herb extracts, vitamins, and minerals.
11. The process according to claim 5, wherein said raw material
composition contains 0.005 to 0.80% by weight of a
proanthocyanidin.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a novel high-protein food
of plate form which has a protein content of 40% by weight or more
and to a process for producing the same. More particularly, it
relates to a high-protein food of plate form which belongs to the
category called "proteins" or "compound proteins" used in the food
field as a health food, a nutrient supplementary food and which is
portable, easy to take, and crisp.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] High-protein foods called "protein supplements", "compound
proteins" or simply "proteins" have been spreading, with the
primary selling point put on high protein and low fat. They have
incorporated therein various vitamins, minerals, flavors, and the
like in appropriate amounts and have now been utilized in the food
field including health foods and nutrient supplementary foods. For
example, they find use as an aid for strengthening the muscles for
athletes, weight reduction for obese persons, supplying nutrition
to postoperative patients, improving nutritional balance of diets,
and the like.
[0005] The protein content, the main ingredient, of these
high-protein foods is usually at least 70% by weight for athletes
and at least 40% by weight, desirably 50% by weight or more, for
other uses. From the standpoint of appeal to consumers and
preservability, it is preferred for the high-protein foods to have
a low lipid content, desirably 10% by weight or lower. For labeling
as a low-fat food, the lipid content must be 3% by weight or
lower.
[0006] It has been difficult to shape a high-protein food into a
plate form because of its high protein content and a low lipid
content. It is very difficult to make a high-protein food in plate
form with, for example, a conventional process customarily used for
making cookies or crackers. Therefore, most of the high-protein
foods available are powders or granules. There are no lumpy or
plate-shaped ones that have both a protein content of 40% by weight
or more and a lipid content of 10% by weight or less.
[0007] The term "plate form" or "plate-shaped" as used herein is
intended to mean a shape with a substantially constant thickness
(acceptable variation: mean thickness.+-.about 50%) with any cross
section, which typically includes a sheet and a disc. Blocks,
cylinders, and the like are also included.
[0008] High-protein products in powder form are usually sold on the
market in cans or bags holding several hundred grams to one
kilogram, which are inconvenient to carry. Some powdered products
are packaged in bags holding several tens grams but still have the
problem of inconvenience because liquid such as water or milk and a
cup are always needed to dissolve the powder. In addition powdered
high-protein foods hardly dissolve in water, milk, etc. and are not
easy to take and also give no substance to get one's teeth
into.
[0009] Ordinary plate-shaped foods containing protein, such as
cookies, crackers and Japanese rice crackers, have a protein
content usually of 10% by weight or less. It is rare for these
foods to have a protein content exceeding 20% by weight. The lipid
content of these foods, on the other hand, is usually 10% by weight
or more and not infrequently exceeds 20% by weight.
[0010] Thus, having a small protein content and a high lipid
content, ordinary protein-containing foods of plate form cannot
serve for the intended applications of the above-mentioned
high-protein foods.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] An object of the present invention is to provide a
high-protein food having a protein content of 40% by weight or more
which is portable, ready to eat with no need to dissolve in water,
milk, etc. and crisp.
[0012] As a result of extensive study, the present inventors have
found that a raw material composition having a protein content of
40% by weight or more can be shaped into a plate by processing in a
batch type puffing molding machine.
[0013] Based on the above finding, the present invention provides a
high-protein food of plate form which has a protein content of 40%
by weight or more and a bulk density of 0.02 to 0.40
g/cm.sup.3.
[0014] The present invention also provides a process for producing
a high-protein food of plate form which comprises puffing-molding a
raw material composition having a protein content of 40% by weight
or more.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0015] The high-protein food of plate form according to the
invention has a bulk density of 0.02 to 0.40 g/cm.sup.3, preferably
0.04 to 0.20 g/cm.sup.3. As long as it has a plate form with a bulk
density falling within this range, it is not particularly limited
in size. Taking portability, ease of eating, and ease of molding
into consideration, the high-protein food is preferably 0.2 to 10 g
in weight and about 0.03 to 3 cm in thickness per plate.
[0016] The protein content of the high-protein food of the
invention can be selected appropriately from a range of 40% by
weight and higher according to the type of consumers or the purpose
of eating the food. Taking moldability, crispness, and flavor into
consideration, a preferred protein content is 50 to 90% by weight,
particularly 60 to 85% by weight.
[0017] The source of protein used in the high-protein food of the
present invention is not limited and includes protein-rich raw
materials conventionally used in protein foods, such as a soy
protein isolate, concentrated soy protein, milk protein, wheat
protein (gluten), fish meat protein, and Spirulina. From the
viewpoint of moldability, a soy protein isolate, concentrated soy
protein, and milk protein are preferred. If desired, enzymatic
decomposition products of these proteins are also useful.
[0018] The lipid content of the high-protein foods of the invention
is preferably not more than 10% by weight, still preferably 3% by
weight or lower.
[0019] It is preferred to incorporate into the high-protein food of
the present invention 0.005 to 0.80% by weight, particularly 0.02
to 0.20% by weight, of a proanthocyanidin to make the food
crisp.
[0020] The proanthocyanidin which can be added preferably includes
extracts of grape seeds, which are commercially available from
Kikkoman Corp. under trade names Gravinol, Gravinol Super and
KPA-F.
[0021] The high-protein foods of the present invention can further
contain various subsidiary materials customarily used in this type
of foods. Useful subsidiary materials include sweeteners, such as
sucrose, glucose, and stevioside; dietary fiber, such as cellulose
and pectin; amino acids; peptide; vitamins, such as vitamins A,
B.sub.1, B.sub.2, B.sub.6, B.sub.12, C, D, and E, and folic acid;
minerals, such as calcium salts, magnesium salts, and iron salts;
lecithin, herb extract, vegetable juice, fruit juice, and flavors.
In particular, it is preferred to incorporate one or more nutrient
supplementary foodstuffs selected from herb extracts, vitamins and
minerals that have been used as an active ingredient of health
foods.
[0022] An illustrative example of preferred formulations of the
high-protein foods according to the present invention is shown
below.
1 FORMULATION EXAMPLE Protein 50 to 90 wt % Lipid 10 wt % or less
Carbohydrate 0 to 45 wt % Proanthocyanidin 0.005 to 0.80 wt %
Vitamins 0.00001 to 0.5 wt % Minerals 0.01 to 0.2 wt %
[0023] The process for producing the high-protein food of plate
form according to the present invention will be described with
reference to its preferred embodiments.
[0024] The process of the invention starts with preparation of a
raw material composition comprising raw materials of the
high-protein food of the invention. That is, a raw protein, a
carbohydrate, a proanthocyanidin, subsidiary materials, etc. are
compounded into a raw material composition having a protein content
of 40% by weight or more, preferably according to the
above-described preferred formulation.
[0025] The raw material composition may be in powder form but is
preferably granules, particles, spheres or plates having a water
content of 5 to 30% by weight, particularly 10 to 20% by weight.
The raw material composition can be prepared in a known manner. For
example, a granular or plate-shaped raw material composition can be
prepared as follows.
[0026] A mixed powder of the raw materials is kneaded with water
and molded into a lumpy or plate-shaped intermediate raw material
composition. The form of the intermediate raw material composition
depends on the kind of the protein source. The amount of water to
be added, while dependent on the kind of the protein source, is
usually 1 to 2 times the weight of the raw material mixture.
Kneading is carried out in a mixing machine for about 5 to 10
minutes.
[0027] The plate-shaped intermediate raw material composition can
be dried as such in a known manner to provide a raw material
composition of plate form having a water content of 5 to 30% by
weight, preferably 10 to 20% by weight.
[0028] A granular raw material composition can be obtained by
rolling the plate-shaped intermediate raw material composition into
a sheet, cutting the sheet into about 3 to 8-mm square pellets and
drying the pellets in a known manner to a water content of 5 to 30%
by weight, preferably 10 to 20% by weight, grinding the resulting
dried pellets, and sieving the grinds. A granular raw material
composition can also be obtained by drying the lumpy intermediate
raw material composition to the same water content as described
above, and treating the dried lumps in the same manner as for the
dried pellets.
[0029] The thus prepared granular raw material composition is
subjected to puffing molding to prepare a high-protein food of
plate form according to the present invention.
[0030] The puffing molding is carried out by hot pressing a mold
packed with the granular composition and then releasing pressure.
Such puffing molding is preferably achieved with a batch type
puffing molding apparatus, such as Rice Cake Machine (trade name)
supplied by WE.multidot.POP Co., Ltd., at a heating temperature of
140 to 270.degree. C., preferably 180 to 230.degree. C., under a
pressure of 200 to 3000 kPa (gauge), preferably 400 to 1500 kPa
(gauge), for a heating time of 0.5 to 20 seconds, preferably 2 to 5
seconds.
[0031] The puffing molding conditions such as the heating
temperature, the heating time, the pressure applied, the rate of
pressure release, and the like are controlled so that the resulting
product may have a bulk density of 0.02 to 0.40 g/cm.sup.3,
preferably 0.04 to 0.20 g/cm.sup.3.
[0032] Test Example is shown below, in which the effect of
proanthocyanidin addition in improving crispness is demonstrated.
Unless otherwise noted, all the percents are by weight.
TEST EXAMPLE 1
[0033] Ten kinds of raw material mixtures were prepared from
ARDEX-F-Dispersible available from Archer Daniels Midland Co.
(protein content: 90%) as a soy protein isolate and Gravinol Super
available from Kikkoman Corp. (proanthocyanidin content: 90%) as a
proanthocyanidin according to the mixing ratio shown in Table 1
below.
[0034] A 100 g portion of each mixture was kneaded with 150 g of
water and shaped into a block (intermediate raw material
composition). The block was rolled into a sheet and cut into about
5-mm square pellets. The pellets were dried in a drier to a water
content of 16%, ground, and sieved to obtain 9 mesh or smaller
granules.
[0035] The granules were put in a batch type puffing molding
apparatus (Rice Cake Machine supplied by WE.multidot.POP Co., Ltd.)
in an amount of 2.5 cm.sup.3 per batch and puffing-molded under
conditions of a heating temperature of 210.degree. C., a heating
time of 3 seconds and a pressure of 1000 kpa (gauge) to obtain a
high-protein food of plate form having a weight of 0.95 to 1.18 g,
a width of 2.9 to 3.0 cm, a length of 6.6 to 6.8 cm, a thickness of
0.50 to 0.75 cm, and a bulk density of 0.090 to 0.215 g/cm.sup.3
per piece.
[0036] The resulting high-protein foods of plate form were
organoleptically evaluated by 20 panel members in terms of
crispness and palatability inclusive of taste, flavor and texture
on the following -3 to +3 scale. The results obtained are shown in
Table 1. It is seen from Table 1 that addition of 0.005 to 0.80% of
a proanthocyanidin brings about a noticeable improvement on
crispness and palatability.
2 Scale of Evaluation: +3: Much better than the control +2: Better
than the control +1: Slightly better than the control 0: No
difference from the control -1: Slightly worse than the control -2:
Worse than the control -3: Much worse than the control
[0037]
3 TABLE 1 Mixing Ratio % Run Soy Protein Proantho- Bulk Density
Pal- No. Isolate* cyanidin** (g/cm.sup.3) Crispness atability Con-
100.000 0 0.094 0 0 troll 1 99.999 0.001 0.101 +0.072 +0.010 2
99.995 0.005 0.122 +0.301 +0.102 3 99.990 0.010 0.135 +0.650 +0.251
4 99.980 0.020 0.143 +0.857 +0.429 5 99.960 0.040 0.155 +1.095
+0.857 6 99.800 0.200 0.162 +0.714 +0.619 7 99.600 0.400 0.174
+0.429 +0.381 8 99.200 0.800 0.185 +0.376 +0.150 9 98.000 2.000
0.215 +0.333 -1.143 *Purity: 90% **Purity: 90%
[0038] The present invention will now be illustrated in greater
detail by way of Examples, but it should be understood that the
invention is not construed as being limited thereto.
EXAMPLE 1
[0039] A soy protein isolate (Fujipro AL, available from Fuji
Protein Technology; protein content: 91%) weighing 10 kg was mixed
by stirring with 15 kg of water in a mixing machine to prepare an
intermediate raw material composition of block form. The block was
rolled into a sheet, and the sheet was cut into about 5-mm square
pellets. The pellets were dried in a drier to a water content of
13%, ground, and sieved to obtain granules of 9 mesh or
smaller.
[0040] The resulting granules were puffing-molded under the same
conditions as in Test Example 1 to obtain a high-protein food of
plate form having a weight of 1.12.+-.0.1 g, a width of 2.9.+-.0.2
cm, a length of 6.7.+-.0.3 cm, a thickness of 0.70.+-.0.10 cm, and
a bulk density of 0.112.+-.0.016 g/cm.sup.3 per piece.
EXAMPLE 2
[0041] A mixture consisting of 60 kg of a soy protein isolate
(Fujipro AL, available from Fuji Protein Technology; protein
content: 91%), 20 kg of calcium citrate, and 20 kg of fructose
(total weight: 100 kg) was mixed by stirring with 150 kg of water
to prepare an intermediate raw material composition of block form.
The block was rolled into a sheet, and the sheet was cut into about
5-mm square pellets. The pellets were dried in a drier to a water
content of 14%, ground, and sieved to obtain granules of 9 mesh or
smaller.
[0042] The resulting granules were puffing-molded in the same
manner as in Test Example 1, except that the pressure was changed
to 1470 kPa (gauge), to obtain a high-protein food of plate form
having a weight of 1.10.+-.0.1 g, a width of 2.8.+-.0.2 cm, a
length of 6.6.+-.0.3 cm, a thickness of 0.65.+-.0.1 cm, and a bulk
density of 0.105.+-.0.015 g/cm.sup.3 per piece.
EXAMPLE 3
[0043] A mixture consisting of 75 kg of a soy protein isolate
(Fujipro AL, available from Fuji Protein Technology; protein
content: 91%), 5 kg of an isoflavone aglicon (Soyact, available
from Kikkoman Corp.; isoflavone aglicon content: 30%), and 20 kg of
fructose (total weight: 100 kg) was processed in the same manner as
in Example 2 to obtain 82142 plate-shaped pieces of an isoflavone
aglicon-containing high-protein food each having a weight of
1.12.+-.0.1 g, a width of 2.8.+-.0.2 cm, a length of 6.1.+-.0.3 cm,
a thickness of 0.66.+-.0.1 cm, and a bulk density of
0.112.+-.0.016g/cm.sup.3.
[0044] The high-protein food of plate form according to the present
invention has a protein content of 40% by weight or more and a bulk
density of 0.02 to 0.40 g/cm.sup.3. It is a ready-to-eat food that
can be taken as such without being dissolved in water, milk or a
like liquid and is therefore excellent in portability, convenience
to eat, and crispness.
* * * * *