As a class of proteins with biocatalytic properties, an enzyme is a biocatalyst with a high degree of specificity and extremely high catalytic efficiency. The metabolism of all living things is carried out under the influence of various enzymes. Each organism produces multiple enzymes as well as preserves them. Preparations having an enzyme-derived property extracted from an organism are called enzyme preparations. Enzyme preparations dedicated to food processing are called food enzyme preparations.
Enzymes have had a natural connection with food since ancient times. People used enzymes in the production of various foods, such as the production process of bread and the brewing process of wine. In recent years, with the continuous improvement of fermentation technology, enzyme preparations have been widely used in food industry. Enzyme as a food additive, compared with the traditional chemical methods, the enzyme technology has obvious superiority. First, it does not have any harmful residual substances; secondly, the enzyme catalytic reaction is highly specific and efficient. The amount of enzyme preparation is small, which can effectively improve food processing conditions and reduce production costs. Therefore, enzymes have been widely used in various food.
1. Application of enzyme preparation in baking industry
When making bread, the addition of α-amylase can increase the volume of the bread, because when the bread is baked, the hydrolyzed portion of the α-amylase produces dextrin and sugar, which lowers the viscosity of the dough, resulting in an increase in bread after baking. The addition of protease to the flour causes the protein in the dough to degrade to a certain extent into peptides and amino acids, resulting in a decrease in the protein content of the dough, satisfying the need for biscuit groats for weak gluten.
2. Application of enzyme preparation in processing of fruits and vegetables
Fruit and vegetable juices and other beverage products have developed rapidly in the past decades, and enzymes play a non-negligible role. Adding pectinase to juices such as apple juice, grape juice, and citrus juice is beneficial to increase the juice yield. Enzyme preparations, such as proteases and pectinase, are widely used in wine production to improve product quality.
3. Application of enzyme preparation in animal food processing
Enzyme preparations are mainly used for meat tenderization. Because the tenderness of meat depends mainly on the amount of protein that constitutes muscle, some vegetable proteases can greatly reduce the insoluble residue of meat, release amino acids and increase freshness, which can initially digest the connective tissue and greatly increase the tenderness of the meat.
4. Application in dairy processing
Cheese is a kind of dairy food with nutrition and is easily digested and absorbed by the casein in milk. The main ingredients of cheese are protein and milk fat, and also contain a small amount of inorganic salts and rich vitamins. In addition to fermentation using lactic acid bacteria, the production of cheese can also be carried out by a method of chymosin.
A biologist and writer.