Describe：

Food compositions comprising cellulose ethers

Technical field：

The present invention relates to food compositions containing cellulose ethers.

Background technique：

It has long been known to incorporate cellulose ethers into food compositions, especially processed food compositions, to improve various properties such as freeze-thaw stability and/or texture, or to improve firmness during manufacturing, mechanically processed or fried. British patent application GB 2 444 020 discloses such food compositions comprising a nonionic cellulose ether such as methylcellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, or hydroxypropyl methylcellulose. Methylcellulose and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose have “thermos reversible gelling properties”. It is specifically described that when an aqueous solution of methylcellulose or hydroxypropyl methylcellulose is heated, the hydrophobic methoxy group located in the molecule undergoes dehydration, and it becomes an aqueous gel. On the other hand, when the resulting gel is cooled, the hydrophobic methoxy groups are rehydrated, whereby the gel returns to the original aqueous solution.

European Patent EP I 171 471 discloses methylcellulose which is very useful in solid food compositions such as solid vegetable, meat, and soybean patties because of its increased gel strength. The methylcellulose provides improved firmness and cohesion to the solid food composition, thereby providing a good bite feel to consumers eating the processed food composition. When dissolved in cold water (e.g., 5°C or lower) before or after blending with the other ingredients of the food composition, the methylcellulose soy reaches its full potential to provide solid food compositions with good firmness and cohesion. ability.

However, in some cases, the use of cold water is inconvenient for the producer of the food composition. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide cellulose ethers that provide solid food compositions with good hardness and cohesion even when the cellulose ethers are dissolved in water having about room temperature.

Hydroxyalkyl methylcellulose such as hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (which is also known to be useful in food compositions) is known to have a low storage modulus compared to methylcellulose. Hydroxyalkyl methylcelluloses exhibiting low storage modulus do not form strong gels. High concentrations are required for even weak gels (Haque, A; Richardson; Morris, E.R., Gidley, M.J and Caswell, D.C in Carbohydrate Polymers22 (1993) p.175; and Haque, A and Morris, E.R.1nCarbohydrate Polymers22 (1993) p.161).

When hydroxyalkyl methylcelluloses such as hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (which exhibit low storage modulus) are included in solid food compositions, their hardness and cohesion are not high enough for some applications.

It is an object of the present invention to provide hydroxyalkyl methylcellulose, especially hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, which is comparable to known hydroxyalkyl methylcelluloses, such as hydroxypropyl methylcellulose In contrast, solid food compositions are provided with improved firmness and/or cohesion.

A preferred object of the present invention is to provide hydroxyalkyl methylcellulose, especially hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, which provides solid food compositions with good hardness and/or cohesion even when the hydroxyalkyl methylcellulose The same is true when dissolved in water having about room temperature.

Surprisingly, it has been found that hydroxyalkyl methylcellulose, especially hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, can be used in the preparation of Compared with solid food compositions, known solid food compositions have higher hardness and/or cohesion.

Also surprisingly, it has been found that certain hydroxyalkyl methylcelluloses, especially hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, do not need to be dissolved in cold water to provide solid food compositions with good firmness and/or cohesion.