JP7573412B2 - Curry sauce and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to curry sauce and a method for producing the same.

Curry is a well-known dish. Spices are used in curry. The flavor of curry depends on the spices.

In relation to spices, Patent Document 1 (Patent No. 6365931) describes processed spices in which specific spices are treated with superheated steam at a specific steam pressure, specific oxygen concentration, and specific degree of superheat. Patent Document 1 also describes, as a specific example (Example 12), that when a retort curry sauce was made using cumin as the processed spice, the sauce had the pungent, savory aroma of cumin.

Patent No. 6365931

The present inventors have been studying dishes such as so-called curry rice, which is a combination of curry sauce and cooked rice. In such dishes, the balance between the flavor of the curry sauce and the flavor of the rice is important.
According to the technology described in Patent Document 1, a retort curry sauce having a savory, pungent aroma of cumin can be obtained, but there is room for further study from the standpoint of flavor balance when combined with rice.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of improving the balance of flavor between curry sauce and rice.

The present inventors have found that the balance of flavors can be improved by using a specific combination of spices.
[1] A curry sauce containing black pepper and steam-heat-treated white pepper, and having a piperine concentration of 3 ppm or more.
[2] The curry sauce according to [1], wherein the concentration of piperine derived from the steam-heat-treated white pepper is 1 to 80 ppm.
[3] The curry sauce according to [1] or [2], wherein the steam-treated white pepper is white pepper treated with saturated steam or superheated steam.
[4] The curry sauce according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the black pepper is steam-heat treated black pepper.
[5] The curry sauce according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the amount of piperine derived from white pepper is 20 to 50 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of piperine derived from black pepper.
[6] The curry sauce according to any one of [1] to [5], further comprising chili pepper.
[7] The curry sauce according to [6], having a capsaicin content of 0.5 to 5.0 ppm.
[8] The curry sauce according to [6] or [7], wherein the white pepper, the black pepper, and the chili pepper are in powder form.
[9] The curry sauce according to any one of [6] to [8], wherein the black pepper content is 0.02 to 0.7% by mass, the white pepper content is 0.01 to 0.2% by mass, and the chili pepper content is 0.01 to 0.1% by mass.
[10] The curry sauce according to any one of [1] to [9], further comprising curry powder.
[11] The curry sauce according to any one of [1] to [10], which is heat-treated in a sealed state.
[12] The curry sauce according to any one of [1] to [11], which is intended to be mixed with cooked rice and eaten.
[13] A method for producing curry sauce, comprising the steps of preparing black pepper, steaming white pepper, and mixing the black pepper and the steamed white pepper.

The present invention provides a curry sauce and a method for producing the same, which has a unique flavor with an emphasis on hotness and spiciness, and in particular, improves the balance of flavors when combined with rice, i.e., improves the unity of the flavor of the curry sauce with that of rice.

A curry sauce according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The curry sauce according to this embodiment contains black pepper and steam-heat-treated white pepper, and has a piperine concentration of 3 ppm or more.
Piperine is a pungent component of pepper. A curry sauce containing 3 ppm or more of piperine can be said to be a relatively spicy curry sauce. According to this embodiment, a relatively spicy curry sauce can be obtained by using black pepper and steam-heat-treated white pepper in combination, and a unique flavor with emphasized spiciness and stimulating taste can be obtained. When rice is combined with this curry sauce, the flavors of the curry sauce and rice can be easily felt as one, and the flavor balance can be improved.

(Steam-heat treated white pepper)
White pepper is a spice made from ripe peppercorns with the skin removed.
In this embodiment, steam-treated white pepper is used. Steaming refers to a so-called steaming operation in which an object is heated with steam. By performing the steaming, the spiciness of white pepper is mitigated, and a unique spiciness is obtained. As a result, by combining it with black pepper, a unique flavor with an emphasized spiciness and pungent taste is imparted to the curry sauce, which makes it easier to improve compatibility with rice.

The steam-treated white pepper is preferably in the form of powder. Specifically, it is preferable to use unground white pepper that has been steam-treated and then ground, or ground and then steam-treated.

The steaming process can be carried out using a steaming device for food processing, for example, a device used as a steam sterilizer. Such steam sterilizers are not particularly limited, but examples include rotary valve type devices and air flow type devices. Devices that use superheated steam as a heat medium are preferred.

The rotary valve type device is a device that sterilizes by directly injecting steam into individual cells containing the target spices, and the cells are made of rotary valves or the like. Since the processing space (cell volume) is small compared to the volume of the spices to be processed, the air in the cells is not easily diluted by steam. In addition, since air is not easily pushed out of the processing space, it is easy to set the oxygen concentration by setting the steam pressure. An example of a rotary valve type device is described in Japanese Patent No. 3724612.
The airflow type steam sterilizer is a device in which the object to be sterilized is put into a pipe through which steam flows, and sterilized during transportation, and is the most basic sterilization device. An example of the airflow type steam sterilizer is that described in JP-B-63-050984.
In this embodiment, it is preferable to use a rotary valve type device in order to obtain the desired pungency of white pepper.

The steam used in the steam treatment may be superheated steam or saturated steam. Preferably, superheated steam is used.

The degree of superheat of the superheated steam is, for example, 70°C to 120°C, preferably 80°C to 110°C, and more preferably 90°C to 110°C.

The treatment time with superheated steam is, for example, 3 to 60 seconds, preferably 5 to 30 seconds, and more preferably 7 to 15 seconds.

The treatment with superheated steam is preferably carried out under pressure. The steam pressure (gauge pressure) is, for example, less than 0.30 MPa·G, preferably 0.25 MPa·G or less, and more preferably 0.05 MPa·G to 0.20 MPa·G.

The treatment with superheated steam is preferably carried out in the presence of oxygen. In this case, the oxygen concentration is, for example, 4.0% to 8.0%, preferably 5.0% to 8.0%, and more preferably 5.0 to 7.0%. By treating white pepper under such an oxygen concentration, the desired pungency can be imparted to the white pepper. The oxygen may be supplied from the oxygen contained in the gaps between the spices, or by mixing air or oxygen with the superheated steam in advance.

The content of the steam-heat-treated white pepper in the curry sauce is, for example, 0.01 to 0.2 mass %, preferably 0.01 to 0.1 mass %, and more preferably 0.025 to 0.06 mass %.
Alternatively, the content of steam-heat-treated white pepper may be set based on the concentration of piperine, which is a pungent component of pepper. That is, the concentration of piperine derived from steam-heat-treated white pepper in curry sauce is, for example, 1 to 80 ppm, preferably 1 to 50 ppm, more preferably 10 to 20 ppm. The above-mentioned range of the content of white pepper is for obtaining a curry sauce with a generally easy-to-eat spiciness, and when obtaining a curry sauce with a weaker or stronger spiciness, white pepper can be used at a content outside the above-mentioned range.

(Black pepper)
Next, I will explain about black pepper. Black pepper is made by harvesting green peppercorns before they ripen, drying them, and turning them black.
As black pepper, powdered granular pepper is preferably used, and in the case of steam-heat treatment, the pepper is preferably crushed before and after the steam-heat treatment.

Black pepper does not have to be steam-treated like white pepper. However, it is preferable that black pepper is also steam-treated, particularly with superheated steam. The same process as described for white pepper can be applied to the steam treatment of black pepper.

The content of black pepper in the curry sauce is, for example, 0.02 to 0.7% by mass, preferably 0.07 to 0.6% by mass, and more preferably 0.2 to 0.5% by mass.

In the curry sauce, the amount of piperine derived from white pepper per 100 parts by mass of piperine derived from black pepper is, for example, 20 to 50 parts by mass, preferably 33 to 50 parts by mass. Within this range, the desired spiciness and stimulating taste can be obtained from black pepper and steam-heat-treated white pepper, and the flavor balance can be further improved. As with white pepper, black pepper can be used at a content outside the above range.

(Piperine concentration)
As described above, the piperine concentration (total piperine concentration) in the curry sauce is 3 ppm or more. The piperine concentration is preferably 10 ppm or more, more preferably 10 to 240 ppm, even more preferably 20 to 180 ppm, and most preferably 50 to 100 ppm. The piperine concentration in the curry sauce can be measured, for example, by high performance liquid chromatography.

(Other spices)
The curry sauce according to this embodiment may contain other spices in addition to the above-mentioned white pepper and black pepper.
Other spices include, but are not limited to, cumin, turmeric, coriander, fenugreek, chili pepper, allspice, cardamom, caraway, cloves, ginger, celery seed, nutmeg, basil, paprika, bay leaf, Sichuan pepper, cinnamon, white pepper (not steam-heat treated), poppy seeds, cinnamon, star anise, Japanese pepper, green laver, dried tangerine peel, black sesame seeds, white sesame seeds, hemp seeds, fennel, and mustard.
The curry sauce according to the present embodiment may contain curry powder, which is a mixture of two or more spices. In this case, all or a part of the steamed white pepper and/or black pepper may be contained in the curry powder. It is preferable that the white pepper and black pepper are contained separately from the curry powder, and in this case, a part of the white pepper and/or black pepper may be contained in the curry powder.

Among spices, cumin, turmeric, coriander, fenugreek, and chili peppers, including those contained in curry powder, are preferred, and chili peppers are more preferred.
The use of chili peppers helps to achieve a moderate spiciness.
The content of chili pepper in the curry sauce is, for example, 0.01 to 0.1 mass %, preferably 0.03 to 0.05 mass %.
Alternatively, since the main pungent component of chili peppers is capsaicin, the content of chili peppers may be set with a focus on the amount of capsaicin. The content of capsaicin in curry sauce is, for example, 0.5 to 5.0 ppm, preferably 0.7 to 4.0 ppm, and more preferably 0.7 to 3.0 ppm. The concentration of capsaicin in curry sauce can be measured, for example, by high performance liquid chromatography.
The red pepper used is preferably in powder form.

(Other ingredients)
The curry sauce according to this embodiment may contain, in addition to the above-mentioned components, other ingredients that are generally used in curry sauces.
Other ingredients include roux, seasonings, ingredients, and water.
As the roux, for example, one obtained by heat treating raw materials containing wheat flour and/or starch and edible fats and oils in a conventional manner can be used.
The seasoning is not particularly limited, and any seasoning known in the art can be used, for example, extracts (meat extract, seafood extract, vegetable extract, yeast extract), inorganic salts such as salt, sugars, acids such as ascorbic acid, malic acid, citric acid, and carboxylic acids such as fatty acids, amino acid-based seasonings such as sodium glutamate, glycine, and alanine, and nucleic acid-based seasonings such as sodium inosinate and sodium guanylate.

The ingredients may be of animal or vegetable origin. Examples of animal ingredients include chicken, pork, beef, seafood, etc. Examples of vegetable ingredients include onions; root vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, burdock, and radishes; beans such as chechi and edamame; stem vegetables such as lotus root and asparagus; leafy vegetables such as spinach, Chinese cabbage, and cabbage; fruit vegetables such as eggplant, tomato, and okra; flower vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower; algae such as wakame, hijiki, and kombu; mushrooms such as shimeji, mushrooms, and maitake mushrooms; fruits such as pineapple and apple; and seeds such as almonds and sesame.

The curry sauce according to this embodiment is preferably a curry sauce that has been heat-treated in a sealed state, and is particularly preferably a curry sauce that has been heat-pressurized (including retort processing). Heat treatment in a sealed state or heat-pressurization treatment refers to putting the curry sauce into a container (such as a retort pouch) and sealing it, and then heat-treating it (pressurizing it as necessary). The curry sauce may also be provided as a chilled food product, a food product for cooking in a microwave oven, etc.

The curry sauce according to this embodiment can be produced by a normal method. For example, first, black pepper and steam-heat-treated white pepper are prepared. These are mixed with other ingredients as necessary. At this time, a heat treatment may be performed as necessary. The mixture is then sealed and packed in a container such as a pouch, and heat-treated. In this way, a heat-treated curry sauce can be obtained for the purpose of sterilization, etc.

The curry sauce according to this embodiment has a moderately emphasized spiciness, and when combined with rice (more preferably cooked white rice), a well-balanced flavor is obtained. Therefore, it is preferable to consume it in combination with rice.

In order to explain the present invention in more detail, examples carried out by the inventors are described below. However, the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited to the following examples.

Retort curry sauces according to the comparative examples and examples were prepared with and without white pepper, black pepper, chili pepper, and cumin, and with different amounts of these. Tables 1 and 2 show the contents of white pepper, black pepper, chili pepper, and cumin in each of the examples and comparative examples. In Tables 1 and 2, the composition of each component means the number of grams (i.e., mass%) in 100 g of retort curry sauce. The piperine concentration is shown as the concentration derived from white pepper, the concentration derived from black pepper, and the total amount. In the tables, "white/black" stands for "piperine concentration derived from white pepper/piperine concentration derived from black pepper."

Specifically, the retort curry sauce was prepared according to the following procedure.

(Comparative Example 1)
5 parts by mass of lard and 4.5 parts by mass of wheat flour were fried until the temperature reached 120°C. 2.2 parts by mass of curry powder containing turmeric, coriander, fenugreek, chili pepper, and cumin were added thereto and fried for 3 minutes. Next, 13 parts by mass of seasoning and the remaining amount of water (total of 100 parts by mass) were added and stirred to prepare curry sauce. The obtained curry sauce was placed in a retort pouch and sterilized to obtain the retort curry sauce according to Comparative Example 1.

The curry powder used contained cumin that had been treated with superheated steam for about 2 to 20 seconds using a rotary valve type superheated steam sterilizer, and contained about 6.5 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of curry powder. Specifically, the cumin used was treated with superheated steam under conditions of a steam pressure of 0.15 MPa·G, a degree of superheat of 100°C, and an oxygen concentration of 5.7%.
The curry powder used contained about 2.7 parts by mass of chili peppers containing about 4000 ppm of capsaicin per 100 parts by mass of curry powder.

Example 1
A retort curry sauce according to Example 1 was obtained in the same manner as in Comparative Example 1, except that 0.2 parts by mass of black pepper and 0.06 parts by mass of steam-heat-treated white pepper were added as spices in addition to the curry powder.
The black pepper used was made by drying black pepper fruits in the sun and crushing them.
The white pepper used was ground after being treated with superheated steam under the same conditions as those for cumin in Comparative Example 1. The black pepper and white pepper used each contained about 40,000 ppm of piperine.

Example 2
The black pepper used was ground black pepper that had been treated with superheated steam under the same conditions as in the case of cumin in Comparative Example 1. In other respects, a retort curry sauce was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1.

Example 3
The white pepper used was made by steaming the fruit (using saturated steam) at a steam pressure of 0.245 MPa·G for about 5 to 30 seconds, and then crushing it. An airflow device was used for the steaming treatment. The rest of the procedure was the same as in Example 1, and a retort curry sauce was obtained.

Example 4
A retort curry sauce was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the curry powder did not contain red pepper.
Example 5
A retort curry sauce was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the curry powder did not contain cumin that had been treated with superheated steam.

(Comparative Example 2)
The white pepper used was made by drying the fruit in the sun and then crushing it. In other words, no steaming treatment was performed. The rest of the procedure was the same as in Example 1, and a retort curry sauce according to Comparative Example 2 was obtained.

(evaluation)
Each of the obtained curry sauces was heated and poured over rice, and a sensory evaluation was carried out by 10 panelists. The evaluation items were "stimulating taste" and "integrity of the flavor of the curry sauce with the flavor of the rice," and the evaluation was carried out based on the following criteria.
(Evaluation Criteria)
[Evaluation criteria for stimulating taste]
4: The characteristic pungent taste (a spicy, tingly taste on the tongue, hereinafter referred to as the pungent taste) based on piperine and capsaicin is strong and has a good flavor.
3: Strong stimulating taste, but slightly inferior in flavor to 5.
2a: It is considered extremely spicy, with a slightly too strong stimulant taste and poor flavor.
2b: Weakly pungent taste.
1a: It is what is known as extremely spicy, and is even more pungent than 2a.
1b: Even less pungent than 2b.
[Evaluation criteria for unity of curry sauce flavor with rice flavor]
4: The pungent taste of the curry sauce and the flavor of cooked white rice were well balanced, resulting in a refreshing overall flavor. The curry sauce and rice go extremely well together.
Although it's not as well balanced as 3:4, the curry sauce and rice go well together.
2: The pungent taste of the curry sauce and the flavor of the rice were perceived as separate, and only the pungent taste was emphasized, resulting in a poor overall flavor. Curry sauce and rice do not go well together.
1: The spicy flavor is either too strong or too weak, and the overall flavor is no different from existing super spicy or normal spicy curry sauces.

The number of panelists who selected each of the above evaluations is shown in Table 1 as evaluation results.

(Examples 6, 7, and 8, and Comparative Examples 3, 4, and 5)
The retort curry sauces of Examples 6, 7, and 8 and Comparative Examples 3, 4, and 5 were obtained in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the amounts of black pepper and white pepper used were changed as shown in Table 2. The retort curry sauces obtained were subjected to a sensory evaluation in the same manner as described above. The results are shown in Table 2.

(Test Results)
The evaluation results revealed the following:
(1) Examples 1 to 7 were superior to Comparative Example 1 in terms of "stimulating taste" and "unity of flavor between curry sauce and rice." This shows that by using black pepper and steam-heat-treated white pepper and setting the piperine concentration at 3 ppm or more, the stimulating taste is appropriately emphasized and the balance of flavor when combined with rice can be improved. The above-mentioned improvement effect is also achieved when the curry powder does not contain steam-heat-treated cumin (Example 5).
(2) On the other hand, when white pepper that had not been subjected to steam heat treatment was used, the pungent taste was too strong, and the "unity of the flavor of the curry sauce and the flavor of the rice" was not improved (Comparative Example 2).
(3) When black pepper and steam-heat-treated white pepper were included but the piperine concentration was less than 3 ppm, the curry sauce lacked a “stimulating taste” and the “unity of the flavor of the curry sauce and the flavor of the rice” was not improved (Comparative Example 3).
(4) When black pepper was omitted, the pungent taste was too strong, and the "unity of the curry sauce flavor and the rice flavor" was not improved (Comparative Example 4). Similarly, when steam-heat-treated white pepper was omitted, the pungent taste and flavor were not improved (Comparative Example 5).
(5) Among Examples 1 to 8, Examples 1 to 7, in which the piperine concentration derived from white pepper was 1 to 50 ppm and the total piperine concentration was 3 to 150 ppm, had a more improved flavor.
(6) Furthermore, in Examples 1 to 3 and 5 to 8, in which chili peppers were contained so that the capsaicin concentration was 0.7 to 3.0 ppm, the curry sauce had a more distinctive taste due to the addition of a peculiar spiciness based on capsaicin.

Claims (12)

Black pepper and
Steamed white pepper,
Including,
The piperine concentration is 3 ppm or more,
The piperine concentration derived from the steam-heat-treated white pepper is 1 to 80 ppm;
The content of the white pepper is 0.01 to 0.2% by mass.
Curry sauce. The curry sauce according to claim 1, wherein the steam-treated white pepper is white pepper treated with saturated steam or superheated steam. The curry sauce according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the black pepper is steam-treated black pepper. The curry sauce according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the amount of piperine derived from white pepper is 20 to 50 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of piperine derived from black pepper. The curry sauce according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , further comprising chili pepper. The curry sauce according to claim 5 , having a capsaicin content of 0.5 to 5.0 ppm. The curry sauce according to claim 5 or 6 , wherein the white pepper, the black pepper and the chili pepper are in powder form. The content of the black pepper is 0.02 to 0.7% by mass ,
The content of the chili pepper is 0.01 to 0.1% by mass.
The curry sauce according to any one of claims 5 to 7. The curry sauce according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , further comprising curry powder. The curry sauce according to any one of claims 1 to 9 , which is heat-treated in a sealed state. The curry sauce according to any one of claims 1 to 10 , which is intended to be mixed with cooked rice and eaten. preparing black pepper;
steam-treating white pepper;
Mixing the black pepper with the steam-heat -treated white pepper;
A method for producing a curry sauce, comprising:
The method for producing curry sauce, wherein the piperine concentration in the curry sauce is 3 ppm or more, the piperine concentration derived from the steam-heat-treated white pepper is 1 to 80 ppm, and the content of the white pepper is 0.01 to 0.2 mass% .