US-12622449-B2 - Method for producing sweetener

Abstract

Provided is a manufacturing method for a sweetener, the manufacturing method including: a saccharification step of injecting steam at a temperature of 90° C. or higher and 150° C. or lower into a mixture of water, rice flour, and an enzyme agent to cause the mixture to react and obtaining a saccharified liquid; a decomposition step of adding rice koji to the saccharified liquid and causing the mixture of the rice koji and the saccharified liquid to react at a temperature of 50° C. or higher and 80° C. or lower to obtain a fermenting mash; a heat treatment step of heating the fermenting mash at a temperature of 100° C. or higher; and a solid-liquid separation step of subjecting the heat-treated fermenting mash to solid-liquid separation.

Inventors

• Yusuke Ito
• Izumi Kobayashi
• Hikari Mori
• Takeharu Nakahara
• Yoko Iijima

Assignees

• KIKKOMAN CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20220225

Priority Date

20210302

Claims (10)

1. 1 . A manufacturing method for a sweetener, the manufacturing method comprising: a saccharification step of injecting steam at a temperature of 90° C. or higher and 150° C. or lower into a mixture of water, rice flour, and an enzyme agent to cause the mixture to react and obtaining a saccharified liquid; a decomposition step of adding rice koji to the saccharified liquid and causing the mixture of the rice koji and the saccharified liquid to react at a temperature of 50° C. or higher and 80° C. or lower to obtain a fermenting mash; a heat treatment step of heating the fermenting mash at a temperature of 100° C. or higher; and a solid-liquid separation step of subjecting the heat-treated fermenting mash to solid-liquid separation.
2. 2 . The manufacturing method according to claim 1 , wherein the sweetener has a Brix of 40% or more and a glucose concentration of 10% (w/v) or more.
3. 3 . The manufacturing method according to claim 1 , wherein the sweetener has a pH of 5.5 or lower and a turbidity of 50 degrees or less.
4. 4 . The manufacturing method according to claim 1 , wherein the sweetener has a citric acid concentration of 0.1% (w/v) or more.
5. 5 . A sweetener manufactured by the manufacturing method according to claim 1 , wherein the sweetener has a Brix of 45% or more, a glucose concentration of 15% (w/v) or more, an amino acid concentration of 0.05% (w/v) or more, and a citric acid concentration of 0.1% (w/v) or more.
6. 6 . The manufacturing method according to claim 1 , further comprising a concentration step of concentrating a liquid obtained in the solid-liquid separation step, under reduced pressure.
7. 7 . The manufacturing method according to claim 6 , wherein the sweetener has a Brix of 55% or more and a glucose concentration of 20% (w/v) or more.
8. 8 . The manufacturing method according to claim 6 , wherein the sweetener has a turbidity of 50 degrees or less.
9. 9 . The manufacturing method according to claim 6 , wherein the sweetener has a glutamic acid concentration of 0.03% (w/v) or more, an alanine concentration of 0.025% (w/v) or more, and an arginine concentration of 0.085% (w/v) or more.
10. 10 . The sweetener according to claim 5 , wherein the sweetener has a pH of 5.0 or lower.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a manufacturing method for a sweetener. BACKGROUND ART Mirin is a type of sweetener produced from rice as an ingredient material and is widely used in food cooking. However, since mirin contains approximately 14% of alcohol, it is difficult for people who are sensitive to alcohol, minors, and people who are religiously prohibited from drinking alcohol to use it, and utilization of mirin as a sweetener may be restricted. On the other hand, mirin-style sweet cooking seasonings in which microbial contamination can be suppressed while the alcohol content is reduced, are manufactured and sold as mirin substitutes, and these seasonings are produced by adding brewed vinegar and acidulants to sugars (liquid sugar and starch syrup). However, the mirin-style sweet cooking seasonings have a problem that they have a strong acid taste and lack the umami taste and richness inherent in mirin. Apart from the mirin-style sweet cooking seasonings, amazake with a high sugar content produced from liquefied rice flour and rice koji as raw materials is described in Patent Literature 1 as an example of a non-alcoholic sweetener produced from rice as an ingredient material. CITATION LIST Patent Literature Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2019-176825 SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem However, the amazake described in Patent Literature 1 has a cloudy appearance as well as a unique unpleasant taste and rough deposits originating from rice koji, and in addition, the amazake is easily contaminated with microorganisms and does not keep for long, so it is difficult to use the amazake as a sweetener. An object of the present invention is to provide a novel sweetener that is non-alcoholic yet with suppressed microbial contamination, has a mild acid taste, has strong umami taste and richness inherent in mirin, and has a clear appearance. Solution to Problem The present invention provides a manufacturing method for a sweetener, the manufacturing method including: a saccharification step of injecting steam at a temperature of 90° C. or higher and 150° C. or lower into a mixture of water, rice flour, and an enzyme agent to cause the mixture to react and obtaining a saccharified liquid; a decomposition step of adding rice koji to the saccharified liquid and causing the mixture of the rice koji and the saccharified liquid to react at a temperature of 50° C. or higher and 80° C. or lower to obtain a fermenting mash; a heat treatment step of heating the fermenting mash at a temperature of 100° C. or higher; and a solid-liquid separation step of subjecting the heat-treated fermenting mash to solid-liquid separation. According to the manufacturing method of the present invention, a sweetener that is non-alcoholic yet with suppressed microbial contamination and has a transparent appearance and the original taste of mirin, can be obtained. Furthermore, the sweetener obtained by the above-described manufacturing method has a rich sweet taste and a rich umami taste and has a mellow aroma. Incidentally, the sweetener obtained by the manufacturing method may have a Brix of 40% or more and may have a glucose concentration of 10% (w/v) or more. Furthermore, the sweetener obtained by the manufacturing method may have a pH of 5.5 or lower and may have a turbidity of 50 degrees or less. In addition, the sweetener obtained by the manufacturing method may have a citric acid concentration of 0.1% (w/v) or more. The above-described manufacturing method may further include a concentration step of concentrating a liquid obtained in the solid-liquid separation step, under reduced pressure. As a result, the obtained sweetener has a richer sweet taste and a richer umami taste and has a more mellow aroma. Incidentally, the sweetener obtained through the concentration step may have a Brix of 55% or more and may have a glucose concentration of 20% (w/v) or more. Furthermore, the sweetener obtained through the concentration step may have a turbidity of 50 degrees or less. In addition, the sweetener obtained through the concentration step may have a glutamic acid concentration of 0.03% (w/v) or more, may have an alanine concentration of 0.025% (w/v) or more, and an arginine concentration of 0.085% (w/v) or more. The present invention also provides a sweetener having a Brix of 55% or more, a turbidity of 50 degrees or less, a glucose concentration of 20% (w/v) or more, a glutamic acid concentration of 0.03% (w/v) or more, an alanine concentration of 0.025% (w/v) or more, and an arginine concentration of 0.085% (w/v) or more. Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, there is provided a novel sweetener that is non-alcoholic yet with suppressed microbial contamination, has a mild acid taste, has strong umami taste and richness inherent in mirin, and has a clear appearance. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be describe