Enzyme preparations and process for producing noodles

Details Enzyme preparations and process for producing noodles Enzyme preparations and process for producing noodles

1999-04-05

2002-08-13

Wong, Leslie (Department: 1761)

Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products

Fermentation processes

Of farinaceous cereal or cereal material

C426S052000, C426S618000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06432458

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for producing noodles which process improves qualities thereof such as a feeling upon eating, by using (1) a transglutaminase, (2) a carbonate and/or a reducing agent and, optionally, a protein partial hydrolyzate, together with a starting cereal flour, in the production of noodles, and an enzyme preparation containing (1) a transglutaminase, (2) a carbonate and/or a reducing agent and, optionally, a protein partial hydrolyzate as the active ingredient, the enzyme preparation being to improve qualities of noodles and other protein-containing foods.
As the noodles targeted by the present invention, there may be mentioned Japanese noodles such as Japanese udon made from wheat flour as the main starting material, Japanese soba (buckwheat noodle) made from buckwheat flour as the main starting material, and the like, Chinese noodles (including sheets of wonton, shao-mai or siew mai and Japanese gyoza or filled dim sum) obtained by using an alkali agent such as Japanese kansui (a mixture of alkaline salts) or the like, together with wheat flour as the main starting material, pasta made from durum semolina flour, such as spaghetti and the like, and so forth.
2. Background Prior Art
As is well known, there are among noodles, Chinese noodles, Japanese noodles such as soba, udon and the like, pasta (western noodles), and so forth. With respect to these noodles, products produced by various treatments such as boiling, drying, semi-drying, steaming, frying and the like, of raw noodles for improving the instant property or instantaneousness in serving at table thereof, have been put on the market.
These products are expected to provide glutinousness and elasticity simultaneously, namely, viscoelasticity (Japanese koshi, or firmness or chewiness) when eaten, and having a good texture which is provided by raw noodles immediately after boiled. Especially, instant noodles obtained by frying are further expected to have such a quick restoration in hot water that they can be eaten in a short period of time. However, when such instant noodles get quickly restored in hot water, they tend to be less firm. Further, when they are stored for a long period of time, it gives rise to such problems that their appearance is impaired owing to a phenomenon such as browning or the like, and so forth.
Accordingly, these instant noodles are required to have such a good texture that with respect to the feeling upon eating of noodles when restored in hot water, the glutinousness and the elasticity are provided over a long period of time and especially the glutinousness is maintained. Various improvements therefore have been proposed. For example, there is disclosed in JP-B-9-2642859, a method where pregelatinization of starch is conducted using trehalose, followed by drying and then frying treatment and the like. Further, there is disclosed in JP-B-6-9475 another method where raw noodles are boiled, and then steamed with superheated steam to secure a good texture after restoration. Still further, there is disclosed in JP-A-9-86572 a method slit lines by which to form holes for draining hot water are applied to improve restoration in hot water. Furthermore, there is disclosed in JP-B-7-32681 a method where a firm and elastic texture is provided by using a combination of corn starch, green gram starch and alum. Moreover, there is disclosed in JP-B-7-32682 a method where instant noodles are produced by boiling treatment and hot-air drying treatment. There is disclosed in JP-A-6-225744, an instant property or instantaneousness and a shape retention are obtained by incorporating a water-soluble protein powder and a water-swellable protein powder into the raw food material. There is disclosed in JP-A-5-176698 a method where instantaneousness and restorability are provided with a mixing ratio of starting wheat flour and starch.
However, in accordance with the above-described methods where the treatments with the different mixing ratios of the starting flour and other starting materials, and the different conditions of heating, boiling and the like are employed, the resulting noodles are not said to be satisfactory instant noodles having improved noodle qualities. Nor have been the problems such as browning and the like solved. For these reasons, further improvements have been in demand. In other words, it is required to provide to instant noodles a texture closer to that of raw noodles immediately after boiled by improving an elasticity and a glutinousness, i.e., a texture peculiar to instant noodles.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Under the above-mentioned background of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide noodles of which the texture is improved by imparting a good balance between elasticity and glutinousness to ordinary noodles of which functions such as convenience, restorability, shelf stability and the like are required.
The present inventors have assiduously conducted investigations to achieve the above-mentioned and other objects, and have consequently found that noodles having a firmness with a good balance between glutinousness and elasticity inherent in noodles upon eating, can be produced by conducting an enzyme reaction that improves noodles in their qualities using the enzymatic activity of transglutaminase, in the presence of a carbonate and/or a reducing agent and, optionally, a protein partial hydrolyzate, further that it is possible thereby to prevent the softening of noodle strands in the drying and to improve glutinousness, and still further that it is, in turn, possible to produce various noodles having an excellent texture closer to that provided by raw noodles immediately after boiled. These findings have led to the completion of the present invention.
Accordingly, the present invention relates to an enzyme preparation for noodles and other protein-containing foods, characterized by containing, as the active ingredients, (1) a transglutaminase and (2) a carbonate and/or a reducing agent and further, optionally, a protein partial hydrolyzate, and to a process for producing noodles characterized in that in addition to starting materials such as cereal flour as the main starting material and the like, (1) a transglutaminase and (2) a carbonate and/or a reducing agent and further, optionally, a protein partial hydrolyzate are used.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The invention will be successively described in detail below.
First of all, a process for preparing the enzyme preparation of the present invention which can effectively be used in producing noodles and other protein-containing foods, namely, a process for preparing an enzyme preparation characterized by containing, as the active ingredients, (1) a transglutaminase and (2) a carbonate and/or a reducing agent and, optionally, a protein partial hydrolyzate and/or further a pH modifier, will be described first, on the assumption that it is used mainly in the production of noodles.
The transglutaminase is, as is well known, an enzyme that catalyzes the acyl transfer reaction of a &ggr;-carboxyamide group of a glutamine residue in the peptide chain of protein such as wheat gluten. This transglutaminase acts on an &egr;-amino group of a lysine residue in protein as an acyl receptor to form an &egr;-(&ggr;-Glu)Lys crosslink intermolecularly between the protein molecules or intramolecularly in the protein molecule, whereby the network structure of wheat gluten is further enhanced.
This transglutaminase includes a calcium-independent one and a calcium-dependent one. Either can be used according to the present invention. As the former one, those derived from microorganisms such as Actinomycetes, Oomycetes,
Bacillus subtilis
or the like can be mentioned (refer to, for example, J-A-64-27471). As the latter one, there may be mentioned those derived from guinea pig liver (refer to, for example, JP-B-1-50382), those derived from animals such as bovine blood, swine blood and the like, those derived from fishes such as salmon, red

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