JP7558619B2 - Manufacturing method of oily food - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for producing an oil-based food product in which an oil-insoluble powder is dispersed in oil or fat.

Examples of oil-based foods in which fats and oils form a continuous phase include chocolate, sugar cream, and butter cream. For example, sugar cream has a structure in which powdered sugar is uniformly mixed into fats and oils. In order to uniformly mix powdered sugar into fats and oils, plastic fats and oils with spreadability, such as margarine or shortening produced by a rapid cooling and kneading process, are used as fats and oils. In addition, mixing plastic fats and oils with powdered sugar requires a strong stirring force, such as a whisk.

As a method for uniformly dispersing oil-insoluble powders in fats and oils, the examples of Patent Document 1 describe a method in which powdered sugar and melted fats (1/3 the amount of the powdered sugar) are mixed in a mixer to form a paste, and then melted fats and oils are mixed in. However, even with this method, a strong stirring force was required to make the powdered sugar and fats into a paste.

International Publication No. 2000/076328

Therefore, if it were possible to easily and uniformly disperse oil-insoluble powders in oils and fats, it would be easier to produce oil-based foods.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a method for easily producing oil-based foods in which oil-insoluble powder is uniformly dispersed in oil.

The present inventors conducted extensive research to achieve the above object. They discovered that it is possible to uniformly disperse a non-oil-soluble powder in a fat or oil by dispersing a fat or oil powder having a specific melting point and average particle size in the fat or oil in advance, or by dispersing the fat or oil powder simultaneously with the non-oil-soluble powder. This led to the completion of the present invention. That is, the present invention can include the following aspects.

[1] A method for producing an oil-based food in which an oil-insoluble powder is dispersed in an oil or fat, comprising the steps of:
The method for producing the oil-based food includes a step of dispersing an oil powder having a melting point of 40° C. or higher and an average particle size of 50 μm or less in a fluid oil maintained at a temperature lower than the melting point of the oil powder, and simultaneously or thereafter, a step of dispersing an oil-insoluble powder.
[2] The method for producing an oil-based food according to [1], wherein the fluid oil or fat has a melting point of 15°C or higher.
[3] The method for producing an oil-based food according to [1] or [2], wherein the content of the fluid oil in the oil-based food is 50 to 98% by mass, and the content of the oil-insoluble powder is 1 to 49% by mass.
[4] The method for producing an oil-based food according to any one of [1] to [3], further comprising a cooling step after the step of dispersing the oil-insoluble powder.
[5] The method for producing an oily food according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the oily food is solid or plastic.
[6] A dispersibility enhancer which improves the dispersibility of an oil-insoluble powder in oils and fats, comprising as an active ingredient an oil or fat powder having a melting point of 40°C or higher and an average particle size of 50 μm or less.
[7] A method for dispersing an oil-insoluble powder in an oil or fat, comprising the steps of:
The method according to claim 1, wherein an oil-insoluble powder is dispersed in a fluid oil or fat simultaneously with or after dispersing an oil or fat powder having a melting point higher than the temperature of the oil or fat and an average particle size of 50 μm or less.

The present invention provides a method for easily producing oil-based foods in which oil-insoluble powder is uniformly dispersed in oils and fats.

1 is a DSC chart showing the change in endothermic heat amount measured when oil/fat powder A is heated at a temperature increase rate of 2° C./min.

The method for producing oil-based foods of the present invention includes a step of dispersing oil powder having a melting point of 40°C or higher and an average particle size of 50 μm or less in a fluid oil maintained at a temperature lower than the melting point of the oil powder, and simultaneously or thereafter, a step of dispersing an oil-insoluble powder. The method for producing oil-based foods of the present invention will be described step by step below.

<Oil and fat powder>
The method for producing an oil-based food of the present invention uses a fat powder having a melting point of 40°C or higher and an average particle size of 50 μm or less. The fats and oils used as the raw material of the fat powder having a melting point of 40°C or higher and an average particle size of 50 μm or less are not particularly limited as long as they are edible fats and oils. For example, palm stearin, extremely hardened rapeseed oil, extremely hardened high erucic acid rapeseed oil, extremely hardened sunflower oil, extremely hardened safflower oil, extremely hardened palm oil, trilaurin, etc., in which 80% by mass or more of the fatty acids constituting the fats and oils are saturated fatty acids having 12 or more carbon atoms, may be mentioned. These fats and oils may be used alone or in combination of two or more. The melting point of the fat powder is preferably 50°C or higher, more preferably 56°C or higher, and even more preferably 61°C or higher. The upper limit of the melting point of the fat powder is not particularly limited. However, the melting point of the fat powder is preferably 90°C or lower, more preferably 80°C or lower, and even more preferably 75°C or lower. When the melting point of the oil powder is within the above range, the temperature of the fluid oil that disperses the oil-insoluble powder can be maintained high, making it easy to disperse the oil-insoluble powder.

The melting point of the above-mentioned oil powder is the temperature at which endothermic heat disappears when the oil powder is heated at a temperature increase rate of 1 to 5°C (preferably 2°C) per minute in DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) measurement. More specifically, as shown in Figure 1, it can be determined as the temperature at the intersection of the baseline where endothermic heat has completely disappeared due to heating and the rising line that returns from the last endothermic heat to the baseline.

The fat powder has an average particle size of 50 μm or less. The average particle size of the fat powder is preferably 1 to 30 μm, more preferably 1 to 20 μm, and even more preferably 1 to 15 μm. The average particle size (also called average particle size, effective diameter) is a value (d50) measured by wet measurement based on the laser diffraction scattering method (ISO133201, ISO9276-1) using a particle size distribution measuring device (for example, Microtrac MT3300ExII manufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd.). The effective diameter means the particle size of the sphere when the measured diffraction pattern of the fat powder (fat crystal) to be measured matches the theoretical diffraction pattern obtained assuming a spherical shape. In this way, in the case of the laser diffraction scattering method, the effective diameter is calculated by matching the theoretical diffraction pattern obtained assuming a spherical shape with the measured diffraction pattern, so that the measurement can be performed using the same principle whether the measurement target is a plate-like shape or a spherical shape. When the average particle size of the oil powder with a melting point of 40°C or higher is within the above range, the oil-based food has good meltability in the mouth.

The oil powder may be formulated with other ingredients such as antioxidants, emulsifiers, flavorings, skim milk powder, whole milk powder, cocoa powder, sugar, dextrin, and sodium caseinate. The amount of these other ingredients can be any amount as long as it does not impair the effects of the present invention. For example, when the total mass of the oil powder is 100 parts by mass, the other ingredients are preferably 0 to 60 parts by mass, more preferably 0 to 35 parts by mass, even more preferably 0 to 10 parts by mass, particularly preferably 0 to 5 parts by mass, and most preferably 0 to 2 parts by mass. The net content of the oil powder in the oil-based food is preferably 0.5 to 11% by mass, more preferably 1 to 10% by mass, and even more preferably 2 to 9% by mass.

In one preferred embodiment of the oil powder, the oil powder particles have a plate-like shape. Here, whether the oil powder particles have a plate-like shape can be determined by the aspect ratio B. The aspect ratio B here is the value obtained by dividing the major axis of the particle by the thickness, and is defined as major axis/thickness. That is, when the particle is spherical, the aspect ratio B is 1, and the aspect ratio B increases as the degree of flatness increases. The major axis and thickness of the particle can be measured, for example, as follows. The size of the major axis can be determined mainly based on the above-mentioned laser diffraction scattering method. In this case, the average particle size is usually used for the size of the major axis. The thickness of the particle can be measured, for example, from a scanning electron microscope (SEM) photograph. First, a plurality of particles are photographed using a scanning electron microscope. From the observation image, 50 particles are arbitrarily selected, and the dimensions in the thickness direction are measured for each. The average thickness is determined by accumulating all the thicknesses and dividing them by the number of particles. The average particle diameter relative to the average thickness is taken as the average aspect ratio of the powder aggregate (oil and fat powder), which is taken as the aspect ratio B. Here, the particle shape of the oil and fat powder having a melting point of 40° C. or higher and an average particle diameter of 50 μm or less in the present invention preferably has an aspect ratio B of 2.5 or higher, more preferably 2.5 to 100, even more preferably 3 to 50, particularly preferably 3 to 20, and most preferably 3 to 15. When the aspect ratio B of the oil and fat powder is within the above range, an oil-based food with a good structure can be obtained, even if the cooling optionally performed after dispersing the oil-insoluble powder is slow cooling.

In one preferred embodiment of the above-mentioned oil powder, the crystal form of the oil powder (oil crystals) is β-type. β-type is one of the crystal polymorphs of oils and fats. Some oil crystals have different sublattice structures (crystal structures) despite the same composition, and are called crystal polymorphs. Representative types include hexagonal, orthorhombic perpendicular, and triclinic parallel, which are called α-type, β'-type, and β-type, respectively. Here, the crystal form of the oil crystals is β-type, preferably when the oil crystals have a diffraction peak in the vicinity of 4.5 to 4.7 Å, preferably in the vicinity of 4.6 Å, in X-ray diffraction measurement, and in particular when they do not have a diffraction peak in the vicinity of 4.2 Å. More specifically, in X-ray diffraction measurement, the ratio of the peak intensity (G) at 2θ = 19 ° (4.6 Å) which is a characteristic peak of β type to the peak intensity (G') at 2θ = 21 ° (4.2 Å) which is a characteristic peak of α type can be calculated as an index representing the amount of β type crystals present: G / (G + G'). In the present invention, the peak intensity ratio is preferably 1. However, the lower limit of the peak intensity ratio may be, for example, 0.4 or more, preferably 0.5 or more, more preferably 0.6 or more, even more preferably 0.7 or more, particularly preferably 0.75 or more, and most preferably 0.8 or more. If the peak intensity ratio is 0.4 or more, more than 50% by mass of the fat and oil crystals can be considered to be β type. The upper limit of the peak intensity ratio is preferably 1, but may be 0.99 or less, 0.98 or less, 0.95 or less, 0.93 or less, 0.90 or less, 0.85 or less, 0.80 or less, etc. The peak intensity ratio can be either the lower limit or the upper limit, or any combination thereof. When the crystal form of the oil powder having a melting point of 40°C or higher and an average particle size of 50 μm or less is β type (peak intensity ratio is within the above range), an oil-based food with good structure can be obtained even if the cooling optionally performed after dispersing the oil-insoluble powder is slow cooling.

In one preferred embodiment of the oil powder, the loose bulk density is preferably 0.1 to 0.4 g/cm ³ , more preferably 0.15 to 0.4 g/cm ³ , and even more preferably 0.2 to 0.3 g/cm ³ . The loose bulk density in the present invention is the packing density of the powder in a state where it is allowed to fall naturally. The loose bulk density (g/cm ³ ) can be measured, for example, with a Powder Tester (model PT-X) from Hosokawa Micron Corporation. Specifically, a sample is placed in the Powder Tester, the upper chute containing the sample is vibrated, and the sample falls naturally into the measuring cup at the bottom. The sample that rises from the measuring cup is scraped off, and the mass (Ag) of the sample corresponding to the internal volume (100 cm ³ ) of the receiver is weighed, and the loose bulk density is calculated from the following formula.
Loose bulk density (g/cm ³ )=A (g)/100 (cm ³ )
The loose bulk density can also be measured using a measuring cylinder. For example, a suitable amount of oil powder is dropped from about 2 cm above the upper opening end of a measuring cylinder with an inner diameter of 15 mm and a capacity of 25 mL to loosely fill the cylinder. The mass (g) of the oil powder is then measured and the volume (mL) is read, and the mass (g) of the oil powder per mL is calculated to obtain the loose bulk density.

<Method of producing oil and fat powder>
The method for preparing the above-mentioned oil and fat powder is not particularly limited. Conventionally known methods such as freeze grinding, extrusion granulation, and spray cooling granulation may be applied to obtain an oil and fat powder having a melting point of 40° C. or higher and an average particle size of 50 μm or less. However, one of the preferred embodiments for obtaining an oil and fat powder having a melting point of 40° C. or higher and an average particle size of 50 μm or less is to use an oil and fat as the raw material oil and fat of the oil and fat powder, which contains one or more XXX-type triacylglycerols having a fatty acid residue X with a carbon number x at the 1st to 3rd positions of glycerol, and the carbon number x is an integer selected from 12 to 22.

The XXX-type triacylglycerol contained in the raw oil of the oil powder is a triacylglycerol having a fatty acid residue X with a carbon number of x at the 1st to 3rd positions of glycerol, and each fatty acid residue X is the same as each other. Here, the carbon number x is an integer selected from 12 to 22, preferably an integer selected from 16 to 22, more preferably an integer selected from 16 to 20, and even more preferably an integer selected from 16 to 18. The fatty acid residue X may be a saturated or unsaturated fatty acid residue. Specific fatty acid residues X include, for example, residues of lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, arachidic acid, and behenic acid. However, the fatty acid residues X are not limited to these. More preferably, the fatty acid residues X are palmitic acid, stearic acid, arachidic acid, and behenic acid, more preferably palmitic acid, stearic acid, and arachidic acid, and even more preferably palmitic acid and stearic acid. The content of the XXX triacylglycerol contained in the raw oil and fat of the oil and fat powder having a melting point of 40° C. or higher and an average particle size of 50 μm or less is, for example, in a range with a lower limit of 50% by mass or more, preferably 60% by mass or more, more preferably 70% by mass or more, and even more preferably 80% by mass or more, and an upper limit of, for example, 100% by mass or less, preferably 99% by mass or less, and more preferably 95% by mass or less, when the total mass of the oil and fat is taken as 100% by mass. One or two or more types of XXX triacylglycerol can be used, preferably one or two types, and more preferably one type is used. When there are two or more types of XXX triacylglycerol, the total value is the content of the XXX triacylglycerol.

The raw oil and fat of the oil and fat powder may contain other triacylglycerols other than the above XXX triacylglycerols. The other triacylglycerols may be multiple types of triacylglycerols, and may be synthetic or natural oils and fats. Examples of natural oils and fats include palm oil, cocoa butter, sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, soybean oil, and cottonseed oil. When the raw oil and fat of the oil and fat powder is taken as 100% by mass, there is no problem if the other triacylglycerols other than the above XXX triacylglycerols are contained in an amount of 1% by mass or more, for example, about 5 to 50% by mass. The content of the other triacylglycerols is, for example, preferably 0 to 30% by mass, more preferably 0 to 18% by mass, even more preferably 0 to 15% by mass, and even more preferably 0 to 8% by mass.

The above-mentioned raw fats and oils for the fat powder containing XXX triacylglycerols are melted, kept at a specific cooling temperature, and cooled and solidified, thereby making it possible to obtain powdered fat crystals (fat powder) without using special processing means such as spraying or mechanical crushing with a crusher such as a mill. More specifically, (a) a raw fat and oil containing XXX triacylglycerols is prepared, and optionally, in step (b), the raw fat and oil from step (a) is heated to melt the triacylglycerol contained in the raw fat and oil to obtain the raw fat and oil in a molten state, and further (d) the raw fat and oil in the molten state is cooled and solidified to obtain powdered fat crystals (fat powder) containing β-type fat crystals and having a plate-like particle shape.

The cooling in the step (d) may be carried out, for example, by cooling the raw material oil or fat in a molten state at a temperature lower than the melting point of the β-type crystals of the raw material oil or fat and satisfying the following formula:
Cooling temperature (℃) = number of carbon x × 6.6 - 68
By cooling within this temperature range, fine β-type fat crystals are formed, so that a powder of fat crystals (fat powder) can be easily obtained.

In addition, between the above steps (b) and (d), an optional step for promoting the powder formation of fat crystals may be included as step (c), for example, a seeding step (c1), a tempering step (c2), and/or a preliminary cooling step (c3). Furthermore, the fat crystal powder obtained in the above step (d) may be obtained by a step (e) of pulverizing the solid obtained after the cooling in step (d) to obtain powdered fat crystals. In step (e), the solid obtained after cooling can be subjected to a known pulverizing process such as a hammer mill or a cutter mill to produce powdered fat crystals (fat powder) having an average particle size of 50 μm or less. In the above steps, the raw fat of the fat powder having XXX triacylglycerol may be subjected to steps (a) to (e) in the form of a fat composition containing 0 to 15% by mass (preferably 0 to 2% by mass) of other components other than the fats and oils already described, or may be mixed with other components other than the fats and oils already described after being made into a β-type fat crystal powder.

The fat powder thus obtained, which has a melting point of 40°C or higher and an average particle size of 50 µm or less, and which contains XXX triacylglycerol, preferably has a plate shape with an aspect ratio B of 2.5 or higher, the crystal form of the fat crystals is β-type, and the loose bulk density is 0.05 to 0.4 g/ ^cm3 .

<Fluid oils and fats>
In the method for producing an oil-based food of the present invention, the oil powder having a melting point of 40° C. or higher and an average particle size of 50 μm or less is dispersed in a fluid oil (oil having fluidity at that temperature) maintained at a temperature lower than the melting point of the oil powder. Here, the fluid state means a state in which the oil flows at an inclination angle of about 30°. The fluid oil is not particularly limited as long as it is an oil suitable for cooking (edible oil) having fluidity at a temperature lower than the melting point of the oil powder. Specific examples of edible fats and oils include soybean oil, rapeseed oil, cottonseed oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, rice oil, corn oil, sesame oil, olive oil, palm oil, palm fractionated oil (palm olein, palm superolein, palm mid-melting point, palm stearin, etc.), shea fat, shea fractionated oil, monkey fat, monkey fractionated oil, illipe fat, cocoa butter, coconut oil, palm kernel oil, lard, beef tallow, milk fat, etc., and processed fats and oils thereof (fat and oils subjected to one or more types of processing such as blending, hydrogenation, interesterification, and fractionation). These edible fats and oils may be used alone or in combination of two or more. However, the fluid fats and oils preferably include palm-based fats and oils. The palm-based fats and oils may be any of palm oil, palm oil fractionated oils, and processed fats and oils thereof (fat and oils subjected to one or more types of processing such as hardening, interesterification, and fractionation). Specific examples of palm-based oils and fats include palm olein and palm stearin, which are first-stage fractionated oils of palm oil, palm olein (palm super olein) and palm mid fraction, which are second-stage fractionated oils of palm olein, and palm olein (soft palm) and palm stearin (hard stearin), which are second-stage fractionated oils of palm stearin. In addition, for processed oils and fats containing palm-based oils and fats, the amount of palm-based oils and fats is calculated based on the proportion of palm-based oils and fats contained in the raw oils and fats of the processed oils and fats. The content of palm-based oils and fats contained in the fluid oils and fats is preferably 30 to 100% by mass, more preferably 40 to 100% by mass, and even more preferably 70 to 100% by mass.

In the method for producing an oil-based food of the present invention, the fluid oil has fluidity at a temperature lower than the melting point of the oil powder. However, the fluid oil is preferably transparent (i.e., completely melted) at that temperature. In addition, when the oil-based food has a solid or plastic shape, the melting point of the fluid oil is preferably 15°C or higher, more preferably 15 to 50°C, even more preferably 20°C to 45°C, and even more preferably 25 to 40°C. In addition, the melting point of the fluid oil is preferably 10°C or lower than the melting point of the oil powder (i.e., (the melting point of the oil powder - 10°C) or lower), more preferably 15°C or lower, and even more preferably 20°C or lower. The melting point of the fluid oil can be measured, for example, by solidifying the oil from a molten state on ice and measuring it by DSC in the same manner as for the oil powder. Furthermore, the content of liquid oils and fats in oil-based foods is preferably 50 to 98% by mass, more preferably 54 to 94% by mass, and even more preferably 58 to 90% by mass.

<Oil-insoluble powder>
The method for producing oily food of the present invention includes a step of dispersing a non-oil-soluble powder in a fluid oil in which an oil powder is dispersed. Here, the non-oil-soluble powder is not particularly limited as long as it is a powder suitable for edible use that is not soluble in oil. Here, the powder that is not soluble in oil refers to a powder in which, for example, 2 parts by mass of the powder is dispersed in 100 parts by mass of transparent oil (e.g., salad oil) at room temperature (e.g., 25°C) and the oil is not made transparent even if heated (e.g., up to 100°C) as necessary. The non-oil-soluble powder may contain oil as a part of the powder components (may contain oil). For convenience, the oil contained in the powder is treated as a non-oil-soluble powder (included in the non-oil-soluble powder). Examples of oil-insoluble powders include various sugar powders such as powdered sugar, dextrin, caramel powder, etc., various seasoning powders such as salt powder, powdered soy sauce, etc., various dairy product powders such as whole milk powder, skim milk powder, whey powder, cheese powder, etc., various processed fruit powders such as lemon powder, strawberry powder, etc., various processed vegetable powders, various spice powders such as chili pepper powder, ginger powder, etc., various herb powders, egg yolk powder, cocoa powder, soybean powder, soybean protein powder, matcha powder, coffee powder, etc. Two or more types of oil-insoluble powders may be used in combination.

The particle size of the oil-insoluble powder is not particularly limited as long as it is in powder form. However, the particle size of the oil-insoluble powder is preferably a particle size under a sieve with an opening of 4.76 mm (ASTM 4 mesh, Tyler 4 mesh), more preferably a particle size under a sieve with an opening of 2 mm (ASTM 10 mesh, Tyler 9 mesh), even more preferably a particle size under a sieve with an opening of 1 mm (ASTM 18 mesh, Tyler 16 mesh), and even more preferably a particle size under a sieve with an opening of 0.59 mm (ASTM 45 mesh, Tyler 42). The opening of the sieve may be in accordance with JIS Z8801-1, but the corresponding ASTM or Tyler sieve may also be used. The difference in sieve size due to the standard is extremely small and does not affect the present invention. Here, "undersize with X mm mesh size" means that when an oil-insoluble powder is sieved using a sieve with X mm mesh size, 80% or more of the powder passes through the sieve.

<Method of manufacturing oily food and oily food>
The method for producing an oil-based food of the present invention includes a step of dispersing a fat powder having a melting point of 40° C. or more and an average particle size of 50 μm or less in a fluid fat maintained at a temperature lower than the melting point of the fat powder. The temperature of the fluid fat is not particularly limited as long as it is lower than the melting point of the fat powder having a melting point of 40° C. or more and an average particle size of 50 μm or less. However, based on the melting point (° C.) of the fat powder, the temperature is preferably −35 to −5° C., more preferably −30 to −10° C., and even more preferably −25 to −15° C. For example, when the melting point of the fat powder is 65° C., the temperature of the fluid fat is preferably maintained at 30° C. to 60° C. The fat powder is added and dispersed in a net amount of preferably 1 to 15 parts by mass, more preferably 2 to 13 parts by mass, and even more preferably 3 to 11 parts by mass, relative to 100 parts by mass of the fluid fat. When the amount of the oil powder dispersed in the fluid oil is within the above range, the oil-insoluble powder dispersed simultaneously with the oil powder or in a subsequent step can be easily dispersed uniformly.

The method for producing an oil-based food of the present invention includes a step of dispersing an oil-insoluble powder simultaneously with or after dispersing an oil powder in a fluid oil. The content of the oil-insoluble powder in the oil-based food is preferably 1 to 49% by mass, more preferably 2 to 44% by mass, and even more preferably 3 to 40% by mass. When the content of the oil-insoluble powder in the oil-based food is within the above range, the oil-insoluble powder is more easily dispersed uniformly in the fluid oil. In this manner, the oil-based food of the present invention is prepared so that the oil forms a continuous phase.

As described above, the present invention also provides a method for dispersing an oil-insoluble powder in an oil or fat, which comprises dispersing an oil or fat powder having a melting point of 40°C or higher, which is higher than the temperature of the oil or fat, and an average particle size of 50 μm or less, into a fluid oil or fat, and dispersing the oil-insoluble powder at the same time as or after dispersing the oil or fat powder.

The dispersion mixture that has undergone the step of dispersing the oil-insoluble powder may be cooled to a temperature below the melting point of the fluid oil and fat, if necessary. The cooling conditions are not particularly limited. However, if the oil-based food is a solid, it may be cooled by leaving it to stand in a refrigerator set to the desired temperature (for example, 5 to 25°C, more preferably 15 to 25°C). In addition, if the oil-based food has plasticity, it may be cooled slowly. As a specific example, the dispersion mixture that has undergone the step of dispersing the oil-insoluble powder may be cooled with a refrigerant (for example, cooling water) preferably at about 5 to 30°C, more preferably at about 10 to 25°C, with or without stirring, or may be left to cool (air-cooled) at a temperature preferably at about 5 to 30°C, more preferably at about 10 to 25°C, and even more preferably at about 15 to 20°C, to plasticize (crystallize). The cooling time may be preferably 0.5 hours or more, more preferably 3 hours or more, even more preferably 12 hours or more, and even more preferably 24 hours or more. The upper limit of the cooling time is not particularly limited. However, the cooling time may be 300 hours or less, 100 hours or less, or 50 hours or less. The lower and upper limits of the cooling time can be selected as desired. The cooling rate may be a slow cooling rate of preferably about -0.01°C/min to -5°C/min, more preferably about -0.01°C/min to -3°C/min, and even more preferably about -0.01°C/min to -1°C/min. The fact that an oily food with good structure and plasticity can be obtained even with slow cooling is a secondary effect of the manufacturing method of the present invention.

The oil-based food of the present invention may contain auxiliary materials generally used in oil-based foods, in addition to the oil powder having a melting point of 40°C or higher and an average particle size of 50 μm or less, the fluid oil, and the oil-insoluble powder. Examples of such auxiliary materials include various emulsifiers such as lecithin, glycerin fatty acid esters, and sucrose fatty acid esters, various coloring agents such as β-carotene, caramel, and red koji pigments, various antioxidants such as tocopherol, tea extracts (catechin, etc.), and rutin, and water. Two or more of these auxiliary materials may be used in combination. The content of the auxiliary materials in the oil-based food is preferably 0 to 10% by mass, more preferably 0 to 5% by mass, and even more preferably 0 to 2% by mass.

In the method for producing an oil-based food of the present invention, the above-mentioned auxiliary materials may be mixed at any timing as necessary. However, the auxiliary materials are preferably dissolved in the fluid oil beforehand, or mixed into the fluid oil before or after dispersing the oil-insoluble powder.

The oil-based food of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is produced by the production method of the present invention and is a food in which the oil forms a continuous phase. However, preferred embodiments of the oil-based food include, for example, various chocolate-like solid oil-based foods such as chocolate-flavored, cheese-flavored, and matcha-flavored foods, and various spreads such as lemon-flavored, garlic-flavored, and basil-flavored foods.

Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples. However, the present invention is not limited to these in any way. In the following, "%" indicates mass % unless otherwise specified.

<Analysis method>
- Triacylglycerol composition gas chromatography analysis conditions
DB1-ht (0.32mm x 0.1μm x 5m) Agilent Technologies (123-1131)
Injection volume: 1.0 μL
Inlet: 370℃
Detector: 370℃
Split ratio: 50/1 35.1kPa Constant pressure column CT: 200℃ (0min hold) ~ (15℃/min) ~ 370℃ (4min hold)
X-ray diffraction measurement: Using an X-ray diffractometer (Ultima IV manufactured by Rigaku Corporation), measurements were taken using CuKα (λ = 1.542 Å) as a radiation source, a Cu filter, an output of 1.6 kW, an operating angle of 0.96 to 30.0°, and a measurement speed of 2°/min. If the measurement showed only a peak near 4.6 Å and no peak near 4.1 to 4.2 Å, it was determined that all of the fat and oil components were β-type fats and oils.
From the results of the above X-ray diffraction measurement, the ratio of the peak intensity (G) at 2θ = 19° (4.6 Å), which is a characteristic peak of the β type, to the peak intensity (G') at 2θ = 21° (4.2 Å), which is a characteristic peak of the α type, G/(G + G') is used as an index representing the amount of β type crystals present.

Melting point: Using a DSC (DSC1 manufactured by Mettler Toledo), the oil powder was heated at a temperature increase rate of 2° C./min to measure the endothermic curve. The melting point was determined as the temperature at the intersection of the baseline where endothermic heat completely disappeared due to heating and the rising line returning from the last endothermic heat to the baseline.
Loose bulk density The loose bulk density (g/ ^cm3 ) of the powdered oil composition obtained in the examples was determined by loosely filling a 25 mL measuring cylinder with an inner diameter of 15 mm by dropping the powdered oil composition from about 2 cm above the upper opening end of the measuring cylinder, measuring the filled mass (g) and reading the volume (mL), and calculating the mass (g) of the powdered oil composition per mL.
Average particle size: Measured based on the laser diffraction scattering method (ISO133201, ISO9276-1) using a particle size distribution measuring device (Microtrac MT3300ExII manufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd.). That is, a very small capacity circulator (manufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd., device name: USVR) was attached to the above device, and water was circulated as a dispersion solvent. Then, 0.06 g of sample and 0.6 g of neutral detergent were placed in a 100 ml beaker, mixed with a spatula, 30 ml of water was added after mixing, and the mixture was subjected to an ultrasonic cleaner (manufactured by Aiwa Medical Industry Co., Ltd., device name: AU-16C) for 1 minute, dropped, circulated, and measured. The measured value (d50) of the particle size at 50% of the cumulative value in the obtained particle size distribution was taken as the average particle size.
Aspect ratio B
The average particle size was measured based on the laser diffraction scattering method (ISO133201, ISO9276-1) using a particle size distribution measuring device (Microtrac MT3300ExII manufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd.) and used as the average major axis. In addition, the particles were directly observed using a 3D real surface view microscope (VE-8800 manufactured by Keyence Corporation) and the dimensions in the thickness direction were measured for each of the arbitrarily selected particles. The average thickness was determined by integrating all the thicknesses and dividing them by the number of particles. The average aspect ratio of the powder aggregate was calculated by dividing the average particle size by the average thickness, and the aspect ratio B was measured.

<Preparation of oil and fat powder>
The following oil and fat powders A and a were prepared.
(1) Oil and fat powder A
25 g of triacylglycerol (XXX type: 79.1% by mass, rapeseed hardened oil, manufactured by Yokozeki Oil & Fat Co., Ltd.) having stearic acid residues (18 carbon atoms) at positions 1 to 3 was maintained at 80°C for 0.5 hours to completely melt, and cooled in a 60°C thermostatic bath for 12 hours to form a solid having voids with an increased volume, and after completing crystallization, it was cooled to room temperature (25°C). The obtained solid was mechanically pulverized to obtain powdered fat and oil crystals (melting point: 69.9°C, loose bulk density: 0.2 g/cm ³ , aspect ratio B: 4.7, average particle size 9.0 μm, X-ray diffraction measurement diffraction peak: 2 chain lengths, characteristic peak 4.6 Å, peak intensity ratio (G/(G+G')): 0.89). This was designated fat and oil powder A.
(2) Oil and fat powder a
Using extremely hardened palm oil as a raw material, powdered fat crystals (melting point 58.2°C, loose bulk density: 0.5 g/ ^cm3 , aspect ratio B: 1.1, average particle size 121 μm, X-ray diffraction measurement diffraction peaks: 2 chain lengths, characteristic peak 4.2 Å, peak intensity ratio (G/(G+G'): 0.03) were obtained by spray cooling using a spray cooler. This was named fat powder a.

<Production of cheese-flavored solid fat food>
Cheese-flavored solid fat and oil foods were produced according to the formulations in Table 1. That is, fats and oils were heated and melted, and lecithin, β-carotene, and flavors were dissolved and maintained at 50°C. For Examples 2 and 3, fat and oil powder A or a was added, and the mixture was stirred and dispersed at 550 rpm using a propeller stirrer. While stirring, whole milk powder and cheese powder were added in sequence and stirred and mixed. After stirring and mixing all the raw materials, the mixture was poured into molds and cooled at room temperature of 20°C to obtain cheese-flavored solid fat and oil foods of Examples 1 to 3. The results of observation of the state during production (suitability for production) and evaluation of the appearance and taste of the produced cheese-flavored solid fat and oil foods are shown in Table 1.

<Production of lemon and herb flavored olive oil spread>
Lemon and herb flavored olive oil spreads were produced according to the formulations in Table 2. That is, the oil was heated and melted, and olive oil was added and maintained at 50°C. For Examples 5 and 6, oil and fat powder A or a was added simultaneously with other powders (salt, powdered sugar, seasoning powder, lemon powder, herb powder) and stirred and dispersed with a hand blender. After stirring and dispersion, the mixture was left to stand at 20°C for 24 hours to obtain lemon and herb flavored olive oil spreads of Examples 4 to 6. The appearance of each spread, the texture when spread, and the taste were evaluated. The results are shown in Table 2.

<Production of spicy garlic flavored sesame oil spread>
According to the formulation in Table 3, spicy garlic flavored sesame oil spreads were produced. That is, the oil was heated and melted, sesame oil was added, and the temperature was maintained at 50°C. For Examples 8 and 9, oil powder A or a was added simultaneously with other powders (salt, powdered sugar, red pepper powder, ginger powder, garlic powder, fried onion powder), and the mixture was stirred and dispersed with a hand blender. After stirring and dispersion, the mixture was left to stand at 20°C for 24 hours to obtain spicy garlic flavored sesame oil spreads of Examples 7 to 9. The appearance of each spread, the texture when spread, and the taste were evaluated. The results are shown in Table 3.

Claims (5)

A method for producing an oil-based food in which an oil-insoluble powder is dispersed in an oil, the method comprising the steps of: dispersing an oil-insoluble powder having a melting point of 40° C. or higher and an average particle size of 50 μm or less in a fluid oil or fat maintained at a temperature lower than the melting point of the oil-insoluble powder; and simultaneously with or after the dispersing step, dispersing an oil-insoluble powder in the fluid oil or fat,
The method for producing the oil-based food, wherein the content of the fluid oil and fat in the oil-based food is 50 to 98% by mass, and the content of the oil-insoluble powder in the oil-based food is 1 to 49% by mass. The method for producing an oil-based food according to claim 1, wherein the fluid oil has a melting point of 15°C or higher. The method for producing an oil-based food according to claim 1 or 2 further comprises a cooling step after the step of dispersing the oil-insoluble powder. The method for producing an oily food according to claim 3, wherein the cooling rate in the cooling step is -0.01°C/min to -5°C/min. The method for producing an oily food according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the oily food is solid or plastic.