Effects of Secondary Ingredients on the Physical Properties and Palatability of Wasanbon Uchimono: Nekimizu

Abstract

Uchimono is a type of dry Japanese confectionery. The uchimono known as wasanbon is prepared and moulded from wasanbonto (sugar cane-derived refined sugar made in Japan) and nekimizu (starch syrup-containing water). Malt syrup exhibits a rich flavour and amber colour and has long been traditionally manufactured in Japan, by grain saccharification using malt. This study examined the starch syrups used as secondary ingredients in uchimono. Moreover, we investigated how different malt syrup types could potentially affect the physical properties and palatability of only-sugar-derived wasanbon.

The colour composition of the syrup varied depending on the type of syrup and also affected the colour composition of uchimono, when it was used as an ingredient in nekimizu. Differences in the malt syrup ingredients had little effect on uchimono hardness, while palatability was strongly influenced by the flavour and specific qualities of the starch syrup used in nekimizu. The palatability of the wasanbon prepared with malt syrup was higher than that of the wasanbon prepared with enzymatically saccharified starch syrup.