Methods of Dispersing Protein in Water

Abstract

An easily dispersible granule of soybean protein comprises powdery soybean protein whose surface is coated with a carbohydrate, which is not readily digestible, wherein the carbohydrate is present in an amount of at least 5 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the powdery soybean protein. A method for preparing such an easily dispersible granule of soybean protein in which powdery soybean protein is granulated while the powder is sprayed with an aqueous solution containing a carbohydrate which is not readily digestible and which is characterized by using at least 5 parts by weight of the hardly digestible carbohydrate per 100 parts by weight of the powdery soybean protein is also disclosed. An Alternative method involves spraying a dry mix of soybean protein and not readily digestible carbohydrate with lecithin in water, and removing the water from the resultant lecithin-coated mix.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation of prior, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 347,628 filed on Jan. 22, 2003, which itself claims priority as a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 860,283 filed May 18, 2001, which itself claims priority as a continuation-in-part to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 773,656, filed Jan. 31, 2001 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,517,876), each of the contents of the entirety which are incorporated by this reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to an easily dispersible granule of soybean protein and methods for the preparing thereof. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Protein is a nutrient component essential for, among other things, the formation and maintenance of muscle. It has generally been said that athletes should ingest protein in an amount ranging from 1.5 to 2.0 g / kg body weight per day in order to reinforce the muscles and to enhance their stamin...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0018] It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide easily dispersible soybean protein, which can uniformly be dispersed in a liquid within a short period of time and which gives a liquid dispersion free of any rough feeling to the tongue, having good ability of passing through the throat, and also free of any unpleasant taste and texture such as the smell of soybean, harsh taste, bitter taste and astringency, upon drinking the same, as well as a method for preparing the easily dispersible soybean protein.

[0019] The inventors of this invention have conducted various studies to solve the foregoing problems associated with the conventional techniques, have found that the foregoing problems can efficiently be eliminated by coating powdery soybean proteins with an aqueous solution of carbohydrate, and in particular saccharides, which are not readily digestible, and then granulating the coated proteins.

[0020] Accordingly, the present invention relates to easily dispersible soybean protein granules, which comprise powdery soybean protein whose surface is coated with such a carbohydrate, wherein the carbohydrate is present in an amount of at least 5 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the powdery soybean protein. The present invention also provides an easily dispersible soybean protein granule wherein the coating of the not readily digestible carbohydrate further comprises lecithin.

Problems solved by technology

As a result, it would be painful for players to take a meal and he should be in excess training for preventing any accumulation of excess calorie as fats in the body.

This may in turn become a cause of damage or shorten the life of the player.

However, the smell peculiar to the soybean milk sometimes becomes a problem, and these liquid foods also suffer from a problem of storability and portability.

The powdery soybean protein may directly be ingested, but this is not common since it does not easily pass through the throat.

The phenomenon of this “DAMA” cannot easily be eliminated by simply stirring with, for instance, a spoon.

In other words, it is impossible to make the powdery soybean protein drinkable simply by introducing it into a liquid and then subjecting the mixture to simple stirring.

Moreover, it is possible to convert the powdery soybean protein into a condition approximately similar to a drinkable liquid by intensively stirring such a mixture using a high speed-stirring machine such as a homogenizer, but this method is not generally performed.

Even if the powdery soybean protein is forced to disperse in a liquid using such a method, the resulting dispersion is improved in the palatability and the ability to pass through the throat, but such problems as the smell peculiar to the soybean, a bitter taste thereof, a harsh taste and astringency are not solved.

Therefore, people are often reluctant to drink such dispersions.

However, the soybean protein products prepared according to these methods still suffer from the foregoing problems.

Other various methods for preparing powdery soybean protein products have been reported, but none of them solve all of the foregoing problems.

This method would permit the improvement of the dispersibility, but does not address taste and / or palatability issues.

However, this procedure cannot solve all of the problems concerning the smell, bitter taste, harsh taste and astringency peculiar to the soybean.

However, if the added amount of the starch hydrolyzate is insufficient, it takes a long period of time to completely disperse the soybean protein components in a liquid.

Moreover, this method shows an effect of masking, for instance, the smell of soybean in the liquid to some extent, but it is insufficient in the effect of improving astringency and rough feeling of the product.

However, if fats and oils are added in such an amount that the smell, bitterness, harsh taste and astringency are replaced with the taste and texture of the fats and oils, the content of protein is reduced and therefore, the product is unfavorable as a protein-supply food.

This method permits the improvement of the dispersibility of the resulting soybean protein powder, but does not solve the problems concerning the smell of soybean and taste.

In addition, if the added amount of such a surfactant increases, the surfactant may adversely affect the taste of the resulting product.

The product prepared by this method has a high content of components other than proteins and the method is not particularly developed for the granulation of soybean proteins.

As has been discussed above, the soybean protein products prepared according to the foregoing methods are insufficient for use as protein-supply foods and there is still room for improvement.

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