Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Basic ingredient is starch based batter – dough product – etc.
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-18
2003-11-04
Tran, Lien (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Basic ingredient is starch based batter, dough product, etc.
C426S451000, C426S634000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06641855
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to noodles containing tofu puree, and particularly, the present invention relates to noodles with excellent texture and good taste containing tofu puree having physicochemical properties of a) viscosity being 20 to 3,000 mPa·s, b) dynamic storage modulus being is 0.2 to 600 Pa, c) dynamic loss modulus being 0.2 to 250 Pa, and d) average particle diameter of particles contained in the tofu puree being 2 to 15 &mgr;m and 90% particle diameter thereof being 35&mgr;m or smaller (hereafter the above a) through d) are sometimes referred to as specific physicochemical properties).
Note that with the exception of particle size distribution, the percentages (%) in the present Description are values by weight unless otherwise specified,.
Average particle diameter in the present Description means particle diameter corresponding to 50% of the particle size cumulative distribution and 90% particle diameter means particle diameter corresponding to 90% of the particle size cumulative distribution.
BACKGROUND ART
Conventionally, as technologies for producing tofu paste, a technology to process tofu with a water content of 87% into paste with a silent cutter, etc., is known (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. H6-46784/1994; hereafter referred to as Prior Art 1). A technology is also disclosed in which coagulant is added to soy milk, which is set aside for approximately 30 minutes at 80° C., and soy milk coagulation product thus obtained is dehydrated to a water content of 70 to 80% using a pressing device and processed into paste with a high speed cutter or the like (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. H2-86747/1990; hereafter referred to as Prior Art 2).
A technology is further disclosed in which coagulant is added to soy milk at 80° C. and the product is processed into in paste by a homogenizer (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. S59-71641/1984; hereafter referred to as Prior Art 3).
As known technologies that employ soybean products to improve the quality of noodles, there are noodles to which soy flour is added at a ratio of 5 to 10% so that the noodles become difficult to lose the shape when boiled (Atsuji Watanabe et al, “Soybean Food Products,” pages 232 to 233, Korin Shoin, 1971; hereafter referred to as Prior Art 4), noodles to which tofu or soy milk is added (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. S58-146249/1983; hereafter referred to as Prior Art 5), food products having strands of coagulated raw materials containing soy milk and coagulant for coagulating soy milk (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. H4-349866/1992; hereafter referred to as Prior Art 6), and so on.
However, the technologies disclosed in these prior arts have disadvantages as described below.
Conventional tofu paste is obtained by pasting tofu as is or after dehydration treatment thereof (that is, after the soy milk has completely coagulated) and, therefore, the paste that is obtained has the following properties of (1) through (5):
(1) viscosity being over 3,000 mPa·s;
(2) dynamic storage modulus being over 600 Pa;
(3) dynamic loss modulus being over 250 Pa;
(4) average particle diameter being over 15 &mgr;m; and
(5) 90% particle diameter being over 35 &mgr;m.
Therefore, the tofu paste that is obtained feels rough to the tongue and has a poor texture. Noodles to which this tofu paste is added based on the disclosure of Prior Art 5 or the like, also pose problems in terms of texture thereof, as is clear from the test examples discussed later.
Paste is also known, as previously mentioned, which is obtained by adding coagulant to soy milk at 80° C. and homogenizing the same with a homogenizer. Since this paste is made with a homogenizer only, average particle diameter thereof exceeds 15 &mgr;m and further 90% particle diameter thereof also exceeds 35 &mgr;m. Therefore, the paste feels rough to the tongue and has a poor texture. Noodles to which this tofu paste is added based on the disclosure of Prior Art 5 or the like, also have a problem that texture thereof is poor, as is clear from the test examples discussed later.
Further, the use of soybean flour or soy milk to improve the quality of noodles is known, as previously mentioned, but there are problems with both of these in that taste thereof is poor, as is clear from the test examples discussed later.
Food products having strands of coagulated raw materials containing soy milk and a coagulant for coagulating soy milk are known, as previously mentioned, but since the soy milk coagulation product is formed directly without being made into a paste, they pose problems that a uniform composition can not be obtained and texture thereof is poor.
Although as described above, tofu paste similar to tofu puree and the use of soy bean products, such as this tofu paste, etc., to improve the quality of noodles have been known in the past, noodles with excellent texture and good taste containing tofu puree having physicochemical properties of
a) viscosity being 20 to 3,000 mPa·s,
b) dynamic storage modulus being 0.2to 600 Pa,
c) dynamic loss modulus being 0.2 to 250 Pa, and
d) average particle diameter of particles contained in the tofu puree being 2 to 15 &mgr;m and 90% particle diameter thereof being 35 &mgr;m or smaller, are not known and there is no reference disclosing such noodles.
In view of the above-mentioned Prior Arts, the inventors have completed the present invention as a result of discovering that noodles with excellent texture and good taste can be produced by using tofu puree having the specific physicochemical properties.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides noodles with excellent texture and good taste containing tofu puree having specific physicochemical properties.
The present invention relates to noodles containing tofu puree having physicochemical properties of a) viscosity being 20 to 3,000 mPa·s, b) dynamic storage modulus being 0.2 to 600 Pa, c) dynamic loss modulus being 0.2 to 250 Pa, and d) average particle diameter of particles contained in the tofu puree being 2 to 15 &mgr;m and 90% particle diameter thereof being 35 &mgr;m or smaller.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide noodles with excellent texture and good taste containing tofu puree having specific physicochemical properties.
The present invention that accomplishes the above-mentioned object is noodles containing tofu puree having the following physicochemical properties of a) through d):
a) viscosity being 20 to 3,000 mPa·s,
b) dynamic storage modulus being 0.2 to 600 Pa,
c) dynamic loss modulus being 0.2 to 250 Pa, and
d) average particle diameter of particles contained in the tofu puree being 2 to 15 &mgr;m and 90% particle diameter thereof being 35 &mgr;m or smaller, and wherein
the tofu puree content of 20 to 50% (hereafter referred to as aspect 1), and pasta noodles (hereafter referred to as aspect 2) are adopted as preferred aspects.
The present invention will now be described in further detail.
Any tofu puree can be used in the present invention as long as it is tofu puree having physicochemical properties that:
a) viscosity is 20 to 3,000 mPa·s,
b) dynamic storage modulus is 0.2 to 600 Pa,
c) dynamic loss modulus is 0.2 to 250 Pa, and
d) average particle diameter of particles contained in the tofu puree is 2 to 15 &mgr;m and 90% particle diameter thereof is 35 &mgr;m or smaller.
Specifically, such tofu puree can be produced by the method described in detail with examples given later in accordance with the method in the Description of International Application of PCT/JP98/03183 filed by the applicant of the present application.
Specifically, tofu puree is produced using the device shown in FIG.
1
.
FIG. 1
is a schematic diagram showing one example of the device used for producing the tofu puree of the present invention. The device in
FIG. 1
has raw materials tank
1
(stainless steel, Morinaga Engineering Co., Ltd.), heating means
3
(plate heater; Morinaga Engineering Co., Ltd.), holding pipe
6
(Morinaga Engineering Co., Ltd.), first emulsifica
Hattori Masanori
Miyazaki Yusuke
Sotoyama Kazuyoshi
Tomita Mamoru
Wakao Shoji
Morinaga Milk Industry Co. Ltd.
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
Tran Lien
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