Flavor improver

Abstract

To provide a novel flavor improver that improves the flavor of a green onion flavor-imparting composition to achieve a natural, high-grade green onion flavor with a fibrous texture, freshness, and / or a stimulating sensation.SOLUTION: A flavor improver for a green onion flavor-imparting composition contains at least one selected from the following group A or group B as an active ingredient. (Group A) 2-methoxypyrazine, 2-methoxy-3-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-5-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-6-methylpyrazine, 5-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 6-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-6-methoxypyrazine, 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine. (Group B) 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one and 3-sulfanylbutan-2-one.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a flavor improving agent, a flavor imparting composition, a food or drink, and a flavor improving method. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, vegetable flavor imparting compositions (e.g., vegetable flavors) have been used to impart or enhance the flavor of vegetables to foods and beverages, or to improve the flavor of foods and beverages. Known vegetable flavor imparting compositions include flavors of onion, garlic, green onion, wasabi, tomato, carrot, cabbage, burdock, shiitake mushroom, matsutake mushroom, celery, shiso, and mitsuba.

[0003] The vegetable flavor imparting composition has a very wide range of applications, and is used to impart, enhance or improve the flavor of all foods and beverages, such as soups, curries, sauces, sauces, meat products, snacks, confectioneries, prepared dishes, frozen foods, health foods, etc. The vegetable flavor imparting composition is added directly to foods and beverages, or added to various seasonings (extract-based seasonings such as meat extract, seafood extract, seaweed extract, etc.; protein hydrolysate-based seasonings such as yeast extract, vegetable protein hydrolysate, animal protein hydrolysate, etc.; brewed seasonings and composite seasonings such as soy sauce, mirin, vinegar, etc.).

[0004] The main materials of these vegetable flavor imparting compositions include, for example, (1) vegetable extracts, (2) essential oils, (3) oleoresins, (4) seasoning oils, (5) fractionated flavors, and (6) synthetic flavors. At least one or more of these are mixed in any ratio depending on the application to prepare the vegetable flavor imparting composition. A vegetable flavor imparting composition is required to have more natural flavor characteristics that are reminiscent of the vegetable itself. In order to prepare a natural vegetable flavor imparting composition, it has often been composed of materials mainly composed of (1) to (5), but in that case, there is a problem that the potency is not high. On the other hand, when the vegetable flavor imparting composition is composed only of (6) synthetic flavor, it is easy to provide a composition with high potency and stable quality, but there is a problem that it is difficult to obtain a flavor that is reminiscent of the natural vegetable itself.

[0005] For this reason, it is extremely difficult to efficiently obtain a highly potent, natural vegetable flavor imparting composition with stable quality, and there is a demand for a stable supply of the aroma quality of the vegetable flavor imparting composition by adding a compound (flavor improver) that improves the flavor of the vegetable flavor imparting composition to the vegetable flavor imparting composition.

[0006] Examples of compounds (flavor improvers) that improve the flavor of a vegetable flavor imparting composition, or vegetable flavor imparting compositions containing such compounds (flavor improvers), include, for example, a chive flavor consisting of dimethyl disulfide, an onion flavor mixture, and a garlic flavor mixture (Patent Document 1), and the use of various thiazoles in green vegetable flavors (Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 49-6669 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 47-11977 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] Recently, the present inventors have focused on a green onion flavor imparting composition among vegetable flavor imparting compositions, and have intensively studied compounds (flavor improvers) that improve the flavor of the green onion flavor imparting composition. However, the compounds described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 were not sufficient to improve the flavor of the green onion flavor imparting composition to a natural, high-quality green onion-like flavor that has the fibrous feel, freshness, and / or stimulating feel of green onion.

[0009] The object of the present invention is to solve the problems in the prior art described above and to provide a novel green onion flavor improver that improves the flavor of a green onion flavor-imparting composition to a natural, high-quality green onion-like flavor having the fibrous texture, freshness and / or pungent feeling of green onion; a flavor-imparting composition for green onion-flavored food or beverage having a natural, high-quality green onion-like flavor having the fibrous texture, freshness and / or pungent feeling of green onion; and a green onion-flavored food or beverage containing the flavor-imparting composition. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] As a result of intensive research by the inventors to solve the above-mentioned problems, they have found that a specific methoxypyrazine and / or sulfanyl ketone imparts or enhances a natural, good flavor reminiscent of green onion, having a fibrous texture (examples of which include, but are not limited to, a crunchy sensation like biting into a green onion leaf (pseudostem)), a freshness (examples of which include, but are not limited to, a sensation of sensing a fresh fragrance or a sensation as if the food is rich in water), and / or a spiciness (examples of which include, but are not limited to, the pungent, spicy taste of green onion), to a green onion flavor-imparting composition, thereby improving the flavor of the green onion flavor-imparting composition, and have thus completed the invention of the present application. The inventors also discovered that a flavor-imparting composition containing a specific methoxypyrazine and / or sulfanyl ketone as an active ingredient imparts or enhances a natural, good, green onion-like flavor with the fibrous texture, freshness and / or pungent feel of green onion to green onion-flavored food and beverages, thereby improving the flavor of green onion-flavored food and beverages, and thus completed the invention of the present application.

[0011] Thus, a brief outline of representative inventions among those disclosed in this application is as follows.

[0012] [1] A flavor improving agent for use in a green onion flavor-imparting composition, comprising one or more compounds selected from the following Group A or Group B as an active ingredient: (Group A) 2-methoxypyrazine, 2-methoxy-3-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-5-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-6-methylpyrazine, 5-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 6-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-6-methoxypyrazine, 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (Group B) 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one, 3-sulfanylbutan-2-one [2] A green onion flavor-imparting composition comprising the flavor improving agent for a green onion flavor-imparting composition described in [1]. [3] The green onion flavor-imparting composition according to [2], further comprising one or more compounds selected from Group A, the total concentration of the one or more compounds selected from Group A being in the range of 1 ppt or more and 100 ppm or less, based on the total mass of the green onion flavor-imparting composition. [4] The green onion flavor-imparting composition according to [2], further comprising one or more compounds selected from Group B, the total concentration of the one or more compounds selected from Group B being in the range of 100 ppt or more and 1% or less, based on the total mass of the green onion flavor-imparting composition. [5] The green onion flavor-imparting composition according to [2], comprising one or more compounds selected from group A and one or more compounds selected from group B. [6] A flavoring composition for green onion-flavored food or beverage, comprising as an active ingredient one or more compounds selected from Group A or Group B below. (Group A) 2-methoxypyrazine, 2-methoxy-3-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-5-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-6-methylpyrazine, 5-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 6-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-6-methoxypyrazine, 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (Group B) 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one, 3-sulfanylbutan-2-one [7] A flavor-imparting composition for green onion-flavored foods and beverages, comprising the green onion flavor-imparting composition described in [6] above, and one or more compounds selected from group A and one or more compounds selected from group B. [8] A green onion-flavored food or beverage containing the flavor-imparting composition for green onion-flavored food or beverage described in [6] or [7]. [9] The green onion-flavored food or beverage described in [8] above, which contains one or more compounds selected from Group A, and the concentration of the one or more compounds selected from Group A is in the range of 0.001 ppt or more and 100 ppb or less, based on the total mass of the green onion-flavored food or beverage.

[10] The green onion-flavored food or beverage described in [8] above, which contains one or more compounds selected from group B, and the concentration of the one or more compounds selected from group B is in the range of 0.1 ppt or more and 10 ppm or less, based on the total mass of the green onion-flavored food or beverage.

[11] A method for improving the flavor of a green onion flavor-imparting composition, comprising the step of adding one or more compounds selected from the following Group A or Group B to the green onion flavor-imparting composition: (Group A) 2-methoxypyrazine, 2-methoxy-3-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-5-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-6-methylpyrazine, 5-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 6-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-6-methoxypyrazine, 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (Group B) 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one, 3-sulfanylbutan-2-one

[12] The method for improving the flavor of a green onion flavor-imparting composition described in

[11] , wherein in the step, one or more compounds selected from Group A are added to the green onion flavor-imparting composition so that the total concentration of the compounds is in the range of 1 ppt or more and 100 ppm or less, based on the total mass of the green onion flavor-imparting composition.

[13] The method for improving the flavor of a green onion flavor-imparting composition described in

[11] , wherein in the step, one or more compounds selected from Group B are added to the green onion flavor-imparting composition so that the total concentration of the compounds is in the range of 100 ppt or more and 1% or less, based on the total mass of the green onion flavor-imparting composition.

[14] A method for improving the flavor of a food or beverage, comprising the step of adding a flavor-imparting composition containing, as an active ingredient, one or more compounds selected from the following group A or the following group B to the food or beverage, wherein the flavor-imparting composition is a green onion flavor-imparting composition and / or the food or beverage is a green onion-flavored food or beverage. (Group A) 2-methoxypyrazine, 2-methoxy-3-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-5-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-6-methylpyrazine, 5-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 6-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-6-methoxypyrazine, 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (Group B) 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one, 3-sulfanylbutan-2-one

[15] The method for improving the flavor of food or beverage described in

[14] , wherein the flavor-imparting composition contains one or more compounds selected from Group A, and in the step, the flavor-imparting composition is added to the food or beverage so that the total concentration of the one or more compounds selected from Group A is in the range of 0.001 ppt or more and 100 ppb or less, based on the total mass of the food or beverage.

[16] The method for improving the flavor of food or beverage described in

[14] , wherein the flavor-imparting composition contains one or more compounds selected from Group B, and in the step, the flavor-imparting composition is added to the food or beverage so that the total concentration of the one or more compounds selected from Group B is in the range of 0.1 ppt or more and 10 ppm or less, based on the total mass of the food or beverage. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a novel green onion flavor improver that improves the flavor of a green onion flavor-imparting composition to a natural, green onion-like, high-quality flavor having a fibrous feel, freshness and / or spiciness; a flavor-imparting composition for green onion-flavored foods and beverages that has a natural, green onion-like, high-quality flavor having a fibrous feel, freshness and / or spiciness; and green onion-flavored foods and beverages that contain the flavor-imparting composition. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below. In this specification, "to" means a range including a lower limit and an upper limit, and "concentration (ppm, ppb, ppt, %)" means "mass concentration" unless otherwise specified. In addition, in this specification, "flavor" means one or more senses that can be changed by aroma (aroma), typically including smell and / or taste. In this specification, the term "flavoring (imparting flavor)" includes adding a new flavor and / or enhancing a flavor, and also includes those that improve the flavor as a result of imparting or enhancing a flavor. Furthermore, the term "flavoring (imparting flavor)" also includes those that enhance, suppress, or improve sensations other than smell and / or taste as a result of imparting flavor, such as coolness, warmth, texture (ease of throat, hardness, viscosity, etc., also called texture), and stimulating sensations such as carbonation and spiciness. In this specification, the flavor of food and drink is sometimes called flavor. In addition, in this specification, the term "adding" is almost synonymous with "blending," and includes at least one of simply adding to a certain object by spraying, dropping, or the like, and mixing with a certain object.

[0015] (Leek) In the narrow sense, green onion refers to a plant (Allium fistulosum) classified in the Amaryllidaceae family, Alliaceae subfamily, Allium genus in the APG botanical classification system, but in this specification, "green onion" includes this green onion (Allium fistulosum) as well as plants that are not green onion (Allium fistulosum) but are classified in the same Amaryllidaceae family, Alliaceae subfamily, Allium genus, as green onion (Allium fistulosum).

[0016] There are two types of green onions (Allium fistulosum): deep-rooted onions (white onions), whose white parts are mainly edible, and leaf onions, whose green parts are mainly edible. Deep-rooted onions are also called long onions or thick onions, and specific examples include Fukaya onions, Shimonita onions, Joshu onions, Senju onions, Koshigaya onions, Yagiri onions, Kabu onions, Nishiya onions, red onions, Tokuda onions, Etsutsu onions, Yamato thick onions, and curved onions. Leaf onions are also called green onions, and specific examples include Namba onions, Kujo onions (Kujo thin onions, Kujo thick onions), Iwatsu onions, Yuzaki nebuka, Kannon onions, Yatabe onions, Jine onions, Yagura onions, Ko onions (all-purpose onions), Misaki onions, and Hime onions.

[0017] On the other hand, examples of plants that are not green onions (Allium fistulosum) but are classified in the same family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Alliaceae, and genus Allium as green onions (Allium fistulosum) include leeks (Allium ampeloprasum; also called leeks or leeks), chives (Allium schoenoprasum var. schoenoprasum; also called chives or Chinese chives), scallions (Allium × proliferum), chives (Allium schoenoprasum var. foliosum), onions (Allium cepa), shallots (Allium chinense), shallots (Allium thunbergii), garlic (Allium sativum), Chinese chives (Allium tuberosum), Chinese chives (Allium monanthum), wild garlic (Allium victorialis subsp. platyphyllum), and wild onions (Allium macrostemon).

[0018] (Flavor improver) A flavor improving agent for a leek flavor-imparting composition according to one embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter may be referred to as the present flavor improving agent) contains, as an active ingredient, one or more compounds selected from the following Group A or the following Group B (hereinafter may be referred to as "the present compound").

[0019] (Group A) 2-methoxypyrazine, 2-methoxy-3-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-5-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-6-methylpyrazine, 5-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 6-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-6-methoxypyrazine, 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine

[0020] (Group B) 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one, 3-sulfanylbutan-2-one

[0021] The present flavor improving agent can improve the flavor of various green onion flavor imparting compositions by adding it to the green onion flavor imparting compositions, as shown in the examples below. More specifically, the present flavor improving agent can impart or enhance a fibrous feel, freshness and / or a stimulating feel to the various green onion flavor imparting compositions to which it is added, and can improve the flavor of the green onion flavor imparting composition to a good, natural green onion-like flavor. As shown in the examples below, it was found that, among the present compounds, 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, and 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one have particularly excellent flavor improving effects.

[0022] Here, the "green onion flavor-imparting composition" refers to a flavor-imparting composition having the flavor of green onion, and examples thereof include green onion extract (essential oil, extract, oleoresin, etc.), which is a natural flavoring material, and dipropyl disulfide, dipropyl trisulfide, methyl 1-propenyl disulfide, 1-propenylpropyl disulfide, allylmethyl disulfide, 3,5-dimethyl-1,2,4-trithiolane, etc., which are synthetic flavoring materials, as well as green onion flavor compositions (flavors), green onion taste-imparting compositions, etc., containing either one or both of these. In addition, since the green onion flavor-imparting composition only needs to have the flavor of green onion, it may be configured as a flavoring composition, taste-imparting composition, etc., having the flavor of a green onion-flavored food or drink described below, such as sukiyaki flavor or consomme flavor.

[0023] The compounds constituting the group A are so-called methoxypyrazines, and so far, for example, methoxypyrazines are known for causing the off-flavor of coffee known as "potato odor," 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine and 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine are known as aroma components (fragrance compounds) constituting the aroma of green peppers, and 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine is known as an aroma component (fragrance compound) constituting the aroma of bean sprouts. However, it was not known at all that the compounds constituting the group A are useful as flavor improvers for green onion flavor-imparting compositions that improve the flavor of various green onion flavor-imparting compositions by adding them thereto.

[0024] In addition, the compounds constituting the group B are so-called sulfanyl ketones (mercaptoketones), and conventionally, for example, 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one has been described as a chicken flavor enhancer for foods using chicken (JP Patent Publication No. 2021-153418). However, it was not known at all that the compounds constituting the group B are useful as flavor improvers for green onion flavor imparting compositions that improve the flavor of the green onion flavor imparting compositions by adding them to the green onion flavor imparting compositions.

[0025] The compounds constituting the group A are all methoxypyrazines, specifically, 2-methoxypyrazine represented by the following formula (1), 2-methoxy-3-methylpyrazine represented by the formula (2), 2-methoxy-5-methylpyrazine represented by the formula (3), 2-methoxy-6-methylpyrazine represented by the formula (4), 5-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine represented by the formula (5), 6-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine represented by the formula (6), 2-ethyl-3-methoxypyrazine represented by the formula (7), 2-ethyl-5-methoxypyrazine represented by the formula (8), 2-ethyl-6-methoxypyrazine represented by the formula (9), 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine represented by the formula (10), 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine represented by the formula (11), and 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine represented by the formula (12).

[0026] [ka]

[0027] [ka]

[0028] [ka]

[0029] [ka]

[0030] [ka]

[0031] [ka]

[0032] [ka]

[0033] [ka]

[0034] [ka]

[0035] [ka]

[0036] [ka]

[0037] [ka]

[0038] The compounds constituting the group B are all sulfanyl ketones, specifically, 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one represented by the following formula (13) and 3-sulfanylbutan-2-one represented by the following formula (14).

[0039] [ka]

[0040] [ka]

[0041] The compounds constituting the above-mentioned group A or group B can be obtained by any method that can be performed by a person skilled in the art, for example, by purchasing them as food flavoring compounds or reagents, extracting them from natural products, or synthesizing them according to a standard method. The obtained compounds may be further purified, if necessary, using means such as column chromatography or reduced pressure distillation.

[0042] The flavor improving agent of the present invention may be composed of only the compound of the present invention, or may contain other ingredients as long as it contains a predetermined amount of the compound of the present invention as an active ingredient. That is, the compound of the present invention (which may contain other ingredients) obtained by any method that can be performed by a person skilled in the art as described above, for example, by purchasing it as a flavor compound or reagent for food, by extracting it from a natural product, or by synthesizing it according to a standard method, can be used as the flavor improving agent of the present invention as it is, or by adding it to a solvent or another flavor improving agent to be used as the flavor improving agent of the present invention.

[0043] The flavor improving agent of the present invention may be composed of only one compound selected from Group A or Group B as an active ingredient, or may be composed of two or more compounds selected from Group A or Group B in combination as active ingredients, and will achieve the above-mentioned effects.

[0044] The concentration of the present compound in the green onion flavor-imparting composition to which the present flavor improving agent is added (when one type of compound is used, the concentration of that compound is indicated, and when two or more types of compounds belonging to the same group are used in combination, the total concentration is indicated; the same applies below) can be determined arbitrarily depending on the flavor characteristics of the green onion flavor-imparting composition and / or the target to which the green onion flavor-imparting composition is added.

[0045] However, when the present flavor improving agent contains one or more compounds selected from Group A (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "Group A compounds") as an active ingredient, the concentration of the Group A compounds in the green onion flavor imparting composition to which the present flavor improving agent is added is preferably 1 ppt (0.000001 ppm) or more and less than 1000 ppm, more preferably within the range of 10 ppt (0.00001 ppm) to 100 ppm, relative to the total mass of the green onion flavor imparting composition. More specifically, the lower limit can be any one of 1 ppt, 10 ppt, 100 ppt, 1 ppb, 10 ppb, 100 ppb, 1 ppm, 10 ppm, and 100 ppm, and the upper limit can be any one of 1000 ppm (or less), 100 ppm, 10 ppm, 1 ppm, 100 ppb, 10 ppb, 1 ppb, 100 ppt, and 10 ppt, and the range can be any combination of these lower and upper limits, but is not limited to these.

[0046] Furthermore, when the present flavor improving agent contains one or more compounds selected from Group B (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "Group B compounds") as an active ingredient, the concentration of the Group B compounds in the green onion flavor imparting composition to which the present flavor improving agent is added is preferably 100 ppt (0.0001 ppm) or more and less than 10% (100,000 ppm), more preferably within the range of 1 ppb (0.001 ppm) to 1% (10,000 ppm), relative to the total mass of the green onion flavor imparting composition. More specifically, the lower limit can be any of 100 ppt, 1 ppb, 10 ppb, 100 ppb, 1 ppm, 10 ppm, 100 ppm, 0.1%, or 1%, and the upper limit can be any of 10% (or less), 1%, 0.1%, 100 ppm, 10 ppm, 1 ppm, 100 ppb, 10 ppb, or 1 ppb, and the range can be any combination of these lower and upper limits, but is not limited to these.

[0047] When the flavor improving agent of the present invention contains both a group A compound and a group B compound as active ingredients, the group A compound and the group B compound may be independently adjusted to fall within the above concentration ranges.

[0048] There are no particular limitations on the articles to which the leek flavor imparting composition containing the present flavor improving agent can be added, and examples include consumer goods such as foods and beverages, cosmetics, medicines, and health and hygiene products.

[0049] The flavors of foods and beverages to which the onion flavor-imparting composition containing the present flavor improving agent can be added are not particularly limited, and examples include various citrus flavors such as lemon, orange, grapefruit, lime, mandarin, mandarin orange, kabosu, sudachi, hassaku, iyokan, yuzu, shikuwasa, and kumquat; dairy flavors such as milk, yogurt, and butter; various spice or herb flavors such as cinnamon, chamomile, cardamom, caraway, cumin, cloves, pepper, coriander, Japanese pepper, shiso, ginger, star anise, thyme, chili pepper, nutmeg, basil, marjoram, rosemary, laurel, garlic, and wasabi; various nut flavors such as almond, cashew nut, and walnut; wine, brandy, and whiskey. , rum, gin, liqueur, sake, shochu, beer, and other alcoholic beverage flavors; green onion, onion, garlic, chive, tomato, celery, melon, carrot, potato, cucumber, asparagus, bracken, fern flavors; various livestock meat flavors, such as chicken, duck, pork, beef, lamb, and horse meat; various seafood and seaweed flavors, such as red fish such as tuna, white fish such as mackerel, sea bream, salmon, and horse mackerel, freshwater fish such as sweetfish, trout, and carp, shellfish such as turban shells, clams, clams, and mussels, various crustaceans such as shrimp and crab, and various seaweeds such as wakame seaweed and kelp; various grain flavors, such as rice, barley, wheat, and malt; and various oil and fat flavors, such as beef tallow, chicken oil, and lard, and various fish oils. In other words, the food or beverage may be one that gives the impression of only one of the above flavors, or two or more flavors, and the multiple flavors may be the same or different. For example, an example of the former is a plurality of aromatic vegetable flavors such as green onion and chive flavor, and an example of the latter is a citrus-green onion flavor that gives the impression of both a citrus flavor such as lemon and a green onion flavor.

[0050] Among the foods and beverages to which the green onion flavor imparting composition containing the present flavor improving agent can be added, the most suitable examples include green onion-flavored foods and beverages. Green onion-flavored foods and beverages refer to foods and beverages to which the green onion flavor is imparted by green onions contained as raw materials, or foods and beverages to which the green onion flavor is imparted by the green onion flavor imparting composition, and examples thereof include green onion-flavored spices, green onion-flavored oil, green onion-flavored sauce, green onion-flavored soup, green onion-flavored butter, green onion-flavored sprinkles, green onion-flavored bouillon, green onion-flavored pasta sauce, and green onion-flavored sauce, and specific examples thereof include sukiyaki, beef bowl, Nanban soba noodles, Nanban udon noodles, duck nanban soba noodles, duck nanban udon noodles, curry nanban soba noodles, curry nanban udon noodles, green onion ramen, bang bang chicken, yodaro chicken, negima nabe, leek oil rice cake, okonomiyaki, takoyaki, chijimi, green onion salt-flavored yakiniku sauce, and green onion miso. In addition, whether (a) a green onion flavor-imparting composition not containing the present compound is added to a food or drink that does not originally have a green onion flavor to prepare a green onion-flavored food or drink and then the present flavor-imparting composition is added, (b) the present flavor-imparting composition is added and then the green onion flavor-imparting composition not containing the present compound is added, or (c) the green onion flavor-imparting composition not containing the present compound and the present flavor-imparting composition are added simultaneously, the purpose of the green onion-flavored food or drink remains unchanged. Therefore, when the present flavor-imparting composition is a green onion flavor-imparting composition, the green onion-flavored food or drink also includes food or drink that does not originally have a green onion flavor and is made into a green onion-flavored food or drink by adding the present flavor-imparting composition (the same applies hereinafter in this specification).

[0051] Furthermore, among the foods and beverages to which the green onion flavor-imparting composition containing the present flavor improving agent can be added, in addition to green onion-flavored foods and beverages, suitable examples include Chinese-style soup, bouillon, broad, broth, stock, consomme, chicken stock, ramen, soba noodles with green onions, udon noodles with green onions, somen noodles, hiyayakko (cold tofu), fried rice, dumplings, mapo tofu, dressings, chowders, and stews, which contain green onions as an ingredient but cannot be said to have a green onion flavor, or which do not contain green onions as an ingredient and do not have a green onion flavor, to which the green onion flavor-imparting composition is added as a so-called secret ingredient.

[0052] More specific examples of food and drink include: confectioneries such as rice crackers, arare, mochi, crackers, potato chips, pies, peanut paste or other pastes; breads, noodles, rice dishes and other grains such as bread, udon, ramen, Chinese noodles, sushi, gomoku-han, fried rice, pilaf, gyoza wrappers, shumai wrappers, okonomiyaki and takoyaki; pickles such as bran-pickled vegetables, pickled plums, fukujin-zuke, bettara-zuke, senma-zuke, rakkyo, miso-zuke, takuan-zuke and the bases for these pickles; mackerel, sardines, pacific saury, salmon, tuna, bonito, whale, flounder and squid. Seafood such as fish such as nago (loach) and ayu (sweetfish); squids such as pacific flying squid, spear squid, crested squid, and firefly squid; octopus such as common octopus and Japanese octopus; shrimps such as kuruma shrimp, button shrimp, spiny lobster, and black tiger prawn; crabs such as king crab, snow crab, blue crab, and hairy crab; shellfish such as clams, mussels, scallops, oysters, and mussels; processed seafood foods and beverages such as canned goods, boiled fish, tsukudani (fish cake), surimi (surimi), fish paste products (chikuwa (fish paste), kamaboko (fish cake), fried kamaboko (fish cake), crab leg kamaboko (fish cake), etc.), fries, and tempura; livestock meats such as chicken, pork, beef, lamb, and horse meat; curry, stew, beef stew, etc. processed foods and beverages using meat, such as stew, hayashi rice sauce, meat sauce, mapo tofu, hamburger steak, dumplings, kamameshi seasonings, soups (corn soup, tomato soup, consommé soup, etc.), meatballs, braised pork, canned meat, etc.; table salt, seasoning salt, soy sauce, powdered soy sauce, miso, powdered miso, moromi, hishio, furikake, ochazuke seasonings, margarine, mayonnaise, dressings, vinegar, sanbaizu, powdered sushi vinegar, Chinese seasonings, tempura sauce, noodle sauce (kelp stock or bonito stock, etc.), sauces (medium-thick sauce, tomato sauce, etc.), ketchup, yakiniku sauce, curry roux, stew seasonings such as stocks, soup stocks, stocks (such as kelp stock or bonito stock), compound seasonings, new mirin, mixed powders such as fried chicken powder and takoyaki powder, and animal or vegetable stock-flavored foods and beverages to which these seasonings have been added; dairy products such as cheese, yogurt, and butter; various yeasts such as brewer's yeast and baker's yeast, and various microbial fermentation products such as lactic acid bacteria; simmered vegetables, Chikuzenni, oden, hot pots, and other simmered dishes; take-out bento ingredients and side dishes; citrus fruit juice drinks (grapefruit, orange, lemon, etc.) and other fruit juice-containing soft drinks, fruit pulp drinks and fruit juice drinks containing fruit pieces;Examples of such foods and beverages include vegetables such as green onions, onions, garlic, chives, tomatoes, bell peppers, celery, melons, carrots, potatoes, cucumbers, asparagus, bracken, and osmanthus, as well as vegetable-based beverages and vegetable soups that contain these vegetables; non-alcoholic beverages such as alcoholic beverages with a variety of alcoholic flavors (beer flavor, plum wine flavor, chuhai flavor, etc.); wine, shochu, awamori, sake, beer, chuhai, cocktail drinks, sparkling wine, fruit wine, condiment wine, and other brewed alcoholic beverages (sparkling) or liqueurs (sparkling), such as the so-called "third beer," or alcoholic beverages that contain these;

[0053] Furthermore, the green onion flavor imparting composition containing the present flavor improving agent can be added to various flavor compositions to impart a flavor to the flavor composition and improve the flavor of the flavor composition. Specific examples of various flavor compositions include flavor compositions for food and beverages (also called flavor compositions) and flavor compositions for cosmetics (also called fragrance compositions). Examples of products to which the flavor improving agent can be added include consumer goods such as food and beverages, cosmetics, medicines, and health and hygiene products, as described above. The form of the various flavor compositions is not particularly limited, and examples include water-soluble flavor compositions, oil-soluble flavor compositions, emulsified flavor compositions, and powdered flavor compositions.

[0054] (Flavoring composition) A flavor-imparting composition for green onion-flavored foods and beverages according to one embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "the flavor-imparting composition") contains one or more compounds (the compounds) selected from Group A or Group B below as an active ingredient.

[0055] (Group A) 2-methoxypyrazine, 2-methoxy-3-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-5-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-6-methylpyrazine, 5-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 6-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-6-methoxypyrazine, 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine

[0056] (Group B) 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one, 3-sulfanylbutan-2-one

[0057] The present flavor-imparting composition can impart a good flavor to various green onion-flavored foods and beverages by adding it to the green onion-flavored foods and beverages, as shown in the examples below. More specifically, the present flavor-imparting composition can impart or enhance a fibrous feel, a fresh feeling, and / or a stimulating feeling to the green onion-flavored foods and beverages to which it is added, thereby improving the flavor of the green onion-flavored foods and beverages. As shown in the examples below, it has been found that, among the present compounds, 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, and 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one have particularly excellent flavor-improving effects.

[0058] The flavor-imparting composition of the present invention may be composed of only one compound selected from Group A or Group B as an active ingredient, or may be composed of two or more compounds selected from Group A or Group B in combination as active ingredients, and will achieve the above-mentioned effects.

[0059] The flavoring composition of the present invention may be composed of only the compound of the present invention, or may contain other ingredients as long as it contains a predetermined amount of the compound of the present invention as an active ingredient. That is, the compound of the present invention (which may contain other ingredients) obtained by any method that can be performed by a person skilled in the art, such as purchasing it as a flavoring compound or reagent for food, extracting it from a natural product, or synthesizing it according to a standard method, can be used as the flavoring composition of the present invention as it is, or can be added to a solvent or another flavoring composition to be used as the flavoring composition of the present invention. In addition, when the flavoring composition of the present invention contains a solvent and / or other aroma ingredients as ingredients other than the compound of the present invention, the flavoring composition of the present invention itself can be used as a flavoring composition.

[0060] The concentration of the present compound in the green onion-flavored food or beverage to which the present flavor-imparting composition is added (when one type of compound is used, the concentration of that compound is indicated, and when two or more types of compounds belonging to the same group are used in combination, the total concentration is indicated; the same applies below) can be determined arbitrarily depending on the flavor characteristics of the green onion-flavored food or beverage.

[0061] However, when the present flavor-imparting composition contains one or more compounds selected from Group A (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "Group A compounds") as an active ingredient, the concentration of the Group A compounds in the green onion-flavored food or beverage to which the present flavor-imparting composition is added is preferably 0.001 ppt (0.000000001 ppm) or more and less than 1 ppm, more preferably within the range of 0.01 ppt (0.00000001 ppm) to 100 ppb (0.1 ppm), relative to the total mass of the green onion-flavored food or beverage. More specifically, the lower limit can be any of 0.001 ppt, 0.01 ppt, 1 ppt, 10 ppt, 100 ppt, 1 ppb, 10 ppb, and 100 ppb, and the upper limit can be any of 1 ppm (or less), 100 ppb, 10 ppb, 1 ppb, 100 ppt, 10 ppt, 1 ppt, 0.1 ppt, and 0.01 ppt, and the range can be any combination of these lower and upper limits, but is not limited to these.

[0062] Furthermore, when the present flavor-imparting composition contains one or more compounds selected from Group B (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "Group B compounds") as an active ingredient, the concentration of the Group B compounds in the green onion-flavored food or beverage to which the present flavor-imparting composition is added is preferably 0.1 ppt (0.0000001 ppm) or more and less than 100 ppm, more preferably within the range of 1 ppt (0.000001 ppm) to 10 ppm, relative to the total mass of the green onion-flavored food or beverage. More specifically, the lower limit can be any of 0.1 ppt, 1 ppt, 10 ppt, 100 ppt, 1 ppb, 10 ppb, 100 ppb, 1 ppm, and the upper limit can be any of 100 ppm (or less), 10 ppm, 1 ppm, 100 ppb, 10 ppb, 1 ppb, 100 ppt, 10 ppt, and 1 ppt, and the range can be any combination of these lower and upper limits, but is not limited to these.

[0063] The concentration of the present compound in the present flavor-imparting composition (when one type of compound is used, it refers to the concentration of that compound, and when two or more types of compounds belonging to the same group are used in combination, it refers to the total concentration; the same applies below) can be determined arbitrarily depending on the flavor characteristics of the green onion-flavored food or drink. However, when the present flavor-imparting composition is added to a green onion-flavored food or drink, it is normal to add the present flavor-imparting composition at 0.1% of the total mass of the green onion-flavored food or drink. Therefore, when the present flavor-imparting composition contains a Group A compound as an active ingredient, it is sufficient to configure the concentration of the Group A compound in the present flavor-imparting composition to be 1000 times the concentration of the Group A compound in the green onion-flavored food or drink.

[0064] Specifically, the concentration of the Group A compound in the flavor imparting composition of the present invention is preferably 1 ppt (0.000001 ppm) or more and less than 1000 ppm, more preferably 10 ppt (0.00001 ppm) to 100 ppm, based on the total mass of the flavor imparting composition of the present invention. More specifically, the lower limit can be any of 1 ppt, 10 ppt, 100 ppt, 1 ppb, 10 ppb, 100 ppb, 1 ppm, 10 ppm, and 100 ppm, and the upper limit can be any of 1000 ppm (or less), 100 ppm, 10 ppm, 1 ppm, 100 ppb, 10 ppb, 1 ppb, 100 ppt, and 10 ppt, and the range can be any combination of these lower and upper limits, but is not limited thereto.

[0065] Similarly, when the present flavor-imparting composition contains a group B compound as an active ingredient, the concentration of the group B compound in the present flavor-imparting composition may be configured to be 1,000 times the concentration of the group B compound in the green onion-flavored food or beverage.

[0066] Specifically, the concentration of the B group compound in the flavor imparting composition of the present invention is preferably 100 ppt (0.0001 ppm) or more and less than 10% (100000 ppm), more preferably 1 ppb (0.001 ppm) to 1% (10000 ppm) based on the total mass of the flavor imparting composition of the present invention. More specifically, the lower limit can be any of 100 ppt, 1 ppb, 10 ppb, 100 ppb, 1 ppm, 10 ppm, 100 ppm, 0.1%, and 1%, and the upper limit can be any of 10% (or less), 1%, 0.1%, 100 ppm, 10 ppm, 1 ppm, 100 ppb, 10 ppb, and 1 ppb, and the range can be any combination of these lower and upper limits, but is not limited thereto.

[0067] The concentration of the present compound in the present flavor-imparting composition described above can be appropriately changed depending on the addition rate of the present flavor-imparting composition to the green onion-flavored food or beverage so that the concentration of the present compound in the green onion-flavored food or beverage falls within the above-mentioned preferred concentration range.

[0068] When the flavoring composition of the present invention contains both a group A compound and a group B compound as active ingredients, the group A compound and the group B compound may be independently adjusted to the above concentration range.

[0069] There is no limitation on the aroma tone for which the present flavor-imparting composition can be used, and any aroma tone may be used that can impart, enhance, or improve a good aroma to a green onion-flavored food or drink by the present flavor-imparting composition. However, since the present flavor-imparting composition suitably imparts the fibrous feel, freshness, and / or stimulating feel of green onion to a green onion-flavored food or drink, it is preferable to configure the composition as a green onion flavor-imparting composition.

[0070] The green onion-flavored food or drink to which the present flavor-imparting composition is to be added may be any food or drink as defined in the above section "flavor improving agent," and is not particularly limited, but suitable examples include green onion-flavored food or drink such as green onion-flavored spices, green onion-flavored oil, green onion-flavored sauce, green onion-flavored soup, green onion-flavored butter, green onion-flavored sprinkles, green onion-flavored bouillon, green onion-flavored pasta sauce, and green onion-flavored sauce. Note that the purpose of the green onion-flavored food or drink remains the same whether (a) a green onion flavor-imparting composition not containing the present compound is added to a food or drink that does not originally have a green onion flavor to prepare a green onion-flavored food or drink, and then the present flavor-imparting composition is added, (b) the present flavor-imparting composition is added after the present flavor-imparting composition is added, or (c) the green onion flavor-imparting composition not containing the present compound and the present flavor-imparting composition are added simultaneously. Therefore, when the present flavor-imparting composition is a green onion flavor-imparting composition, green onion-flavored food or beverages also include those that become green onion-flavored food or beverages by adding the present flavor-imparting composition to foods or beverages that do not originally have a green onion flavor (the same applies hereinafter in this specification).

[0071] (Fragrance composition) The flavor composition according to one embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as the flavor composition) is one aspect of the flavor-imparting composition, contains the compound as an active ingredient, and can be added to various green onion-flavored foods and beverages for the purpose of imparting flavor. The flavor composition imparts or enhances a fibrous feel, a fresh feeling, and / or a stimulating feeling to the green onion-flavored foods and beverages to which it is added, and can improve the flavor of the green onion-flavored foods and beverages.

[0072] The concentration of the present compound in the present flavor composition can be determined arbitrarily depending on the aroma characteristics of the present flavor composition and / or the object to which the present flavor composition is added. However, when the present flavor composition is added to a green onion-flavored food or drink, the present flavor composition is usually added at 0.1% of the total mass of the green onion-flavored food or drink. Therefore, when the present flavor composition contains a group A compound as an active ingredient, the present flavor composition may be constituted so that the concentration of the group A compound in the present flavor composition is 1000 times the concentration of the group A compound in the green onion-flavored food or drink, and when the present flavor composition contains a group B compound as an active ingredient, the present flavor composition may be constituted so that the concentration of the group B compound in the present flavor composition is 1000 times the concentration of the group B compound in the green onion-flavored food or drink.

[0073] The flavor composition of the present invention may be added to green onion-flavored food or beverage by itself, or may be added to green onion-flavored food or beverage in combination with one or more selected from one or more water-soluble flavors, emulsified flavor compositions, arbitrary flavor compounds, and natural essential oils (for example, the flavor compounds described in "Japan Patent Office Official Gazette, Collection of Well-Known and Commonly Used Technology (Flavors) Part II Food Flavors (published January 14, 2000)", "Survey on the Actual Use of Food Flavor Compounds in Japan", and "Synthetic Flavors: Chemistry and Product Knowledge (revised and expanded edition published December 20, 2016, edited by the Synthetic Flavors Editorial Committee, Chemical Daily Co., Ltd.)").

[0074] Since the present fragrance composition is one embodiment of the present flavor-imparting composition, matters other than those described in the "Fragrance composition" section are as explained in the "Flavor-imparting composition" section above.

[0075] (Method for improving the flavor of green onion flavor-imparting composition) A method for improving the flavor of a green onion flavor-imparting composition according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises the step of adding a flavor improver (the present flavor improver) containing, as an active ingredient, one or more compounds (the present compounds) selected from the following Group A or Group B, to the green onion flavor-imparting composition.

[0076] (Group A) 2-methoxypyrazine, 2-methoxy-3-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-5-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-6-methylpyrazine, 5-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 6-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-6-methoxypyrazine, 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine

[0077] (Group B) 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one, 3-sulfanylbutan-2-one

[0078] As will be described later in the Examples, the flavor of a green onion flavor imparting composition can be improved by adding the present flavor improving agent to the green onion flavor imparting composition. More specifically, the flavor improving agent can impart or enhance a fibrous feel, a fresh feeling, and / or a stimulating feeling to various green onion flavor imparting compositions, thereby improving the flavor of the green onion flavor imparting composition.

[0079] In the method for improving the flavor of a green onion flavor imparting composition according to this embodiment, the concentration of the present compound in the green onion flavor imparting composition when the present flavor improving agent is added to the green onion flavor imparting composition can be determined as desired depending on the aroma characteristics of the green onion flavor imparting composition and / or the target to which the green onion flavor imparting composition is added.

[0080] However, as described above in the section "Flavor improving agent", when the present flavor improving agent contains one or more compounds selected from Group A (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "Group A compounds") as an active ingredient, the concentration of the Group A compounds in the green onion flavor imparting composition to which the present flavor improving agent is added is preferably 1 ppt (0.000001 ppm) or more and less than 1000 ppm, more preferably within the range of 10 ppt (0.0001 ppm) to 100 ppm, relative to the total mass of the green onion flavor imparting composition. More specifically, the lower limit can be any one of 1 ppt, 10 ppt, 100 ppt, 1 ppb, 10 ppb, 100 ppb, 1 ppm, 10 ppm, and 100 ppm, and the upper limit can be any one of 1000 ppm (or less), 100 ppm, 10 ppm, 1 ppm, 100 ppb, 10 ppb, 1 ppb, 100 ppt, and 10 ppt, and the range can be any combination of these lower and upper limits, but is not limited to these.

[0081] Furthermore, when the present flavor improving agent contains one or more compounds selected from Group B (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "Group B compounds") as an active ingredient, the concentration of the Group B compounds in the green onion flavor imparting composition to which the present flavor improving agent is added is preferably 100 ppt (0.0001 ppm) or more and less than 10% (100,000 ppm), more preferably within the range of 1 ppb (0.001 ppm) to 1% (10,000 ppm), relative to the total mass of the green onion flavor imparting composition. More specifically, the lower limit can be any of 100 ppt, 1 ppb, 10 ppb, 100 ppb, 1 ppm, 10 ppm, 100 ppm, 0.1%, or 1%, and the upper limit can be any of 10% (or less), 1%, 0.1%, 100 ppm, 10 ppm, 1 ppm, 100 ppb, 10 ppb, or 1 ppb, and the range can be any combination of these lower and upper limits, but is not limited to these.

[0082] When the flavor improving agent of the present invention contains both a group A compound and a group B compound as active ingredients, the group A compound and the group B compound may be independently adjusted to fall within the above concentration ranges.

[0083] In the method for improving the flavor of a green onion flavor imparting composition according to the present embodiment, the method for adding a flavor improving agent containing the present compound as an active ingredient to the green onion flavor imparting composition is not particularly limited, and the time (timing) for adding the flavor improving agent containing the present compound as an active ingredient to the green onion flavor imparting composition is also not particularly limited.

[0084] (Green onion flavored food and drink) A green onion-flavored food or drink according to one embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the green onion-flavored food or drink) contains a predetermined amount of the flavor-imparting composition. As an example will be shown in the Examples below, the green onion-flavored food or drink has an improved flavor due to the addition of an effective amount of the flavor-imparting composition containing the compound as an active ingredient. More specifically, the green onion-flavored food or drink has an improved flavor due to the addition of the flavor-imparting composition, which imparts or enhances a fibrous feel, freshness, and / or a stimulating feel.

[0085] The amount of the present flavor-imparting composition to be added to the present leek-flavored food or beverage can be determined arbitrarily depending on the degree of flavor improving effect of the present compound contained as an active ingredient, the degree of flavor imparted by the present flavor-imparting composition, and / or the flavor of the leek-flavored food or beverage itself.

[0086] However, as described above in the section "Flavor-imparting composition," when the flavor-imparting composition contains one or more compounds selected from Group A (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "Group A compounds") as an active ingredient, the concentration of the Group A compounds in the green onion-flavored food or beverage to which the flavor-imparting composition is added is preferably 0.001 ppt (0.000000001 ppm) or more and less than 1 ppm, more preferably 0.01 ppt (0.00000001 ppm) to 100 ppb (0.1 ppm), relative to the total mass of the green onion-flavored food or beverage. More specifically, the lower limit can be any of 0.001 ppt, 0.01 ppt, 1 ppt, 10 ppt, 100 ppt, 1 ppb, 10 ppb, and 100 ppb, and the upper limit can be any of 1 ppm (or less), 100 ppb, 10 ppb, 1 ppb, 100 ppt, 10 ppt, 1 ppt, 0.1 ppt, and 0.01 ppt, and the range can be any combination of these lower and upper limits, but is not limited to these.

[0087] Furthermore, when the present flavor-imparting composition contains one or more compounds selected from Group B (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "Group B compounds") as an active ingredient, the concentration of the Group B compounds in the green onion-flavored food or beverage to which the present flavor-imparting composition is added is preferably 0.1 ppt (0.0000001 ppm) or more and less than 100 ppm, more preferably within the range of 1 ppt (0.000001 ppm) to 10 ppm, relative to the total mass of the green onion-flavored food or beverage. More specifically, the lower limit can be any of 0.1 ppt, 1 ppt, 10 ppt, 100 ppt, 1 ppb, 10 ppb, 100 ppb, 1 ppm, and the upper limit can be any of 100 ppm (or less), 10 ppm, 1 ppm, 100 ppb, 10 ppb, 1 ppb, 100 ppt, 10 ppt, and 1 ppt, and the range can be any combination of these lower and upper limits, but is not limited to these.

[0088] (Method of imparting flavor to green onion-flavored food and drink) A method for imparting a flavor to a green onion-flavored food or beverage in one embodiment of the present invention includes the step of adding a flavor-imparting composition (the present flavor-imparting composition) containing, as an active ingredient, one or more compounds (the present compounds) selected from Group A below, to a green onion-flavored food or beverage.

[0089] (Group A) 2-methoxypyrazine, 2-methoxy-3-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-5-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-6-methylpyrazine, 5-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 6-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-6-methoxypyrazine, 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine

[0090] (Group B) 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one, 3-sulfanylbutan-2-one

[0091] As will be shown in the Examples below, the flavor of a green onion-flavored food or drink can be improved by adding the flavor-imparting composition to the green onion-flavored food or drink. More specifically, the flavor-imparting composition imparts or enhances a fibrous feel, a fresh feeling, and / or a stimulating feeling to the green onion-flavored food or drink to which it is added, thereby improving the flavor of the green onion-flavored food or drink.

[0092] When the present flavoring composition is added to a green onion flavored food or drink, the concentration of the present flavoring composition can be determined as desired depending on the flavor characteristics of the present flavoring composition and / or the green onion flavored food or drink.

[0093] However, as described above in the section "Flavor-imparting composition," when the flavor-imparting composition contains one or more compounds selected from Group A (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "Group A compounds") as an active ingredient, the concentration of the Group A compounds in the green onion-flavored food or beverage to which the flavor-imparting composition is added is preferably 0.001 ppt (0.000000001 ppm) or more and less than 1 ppm, more preferably within the range of 0.01 ppt (0.00000001 ppm) to 100 ppb (0.1 ppm), relative to the total mass of the green onion-flavored food or beverage. More specifically, the lower limit can be any of 0.001 ppt, 0.01 ppt, 1 ppt, 10 ppt, 100 ppt, 1 ppb, 10 ppb, and 100 ppb, and the upper limit can be any of 1 ppm (or less), 100 ppb, 10 ppb, 1 ppb, 100 ppt, 10 ppt, 1 ppt, 0.1 ppt, and 0.01 ppt, and the range can be any combination of these lower and upper limits, but is not limited to these.

[0094] Furthermore, when the present flavor-imparting composition contains one or more compounds selected from Group B (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "Group B compounds") as an active ingredient, the concentration of the Group B compounds in the green onion-flavored food or beverage to which the present flavor-imparting composition is added is preferably 0.1 ppt (0.0000001 ppm) or more and less than 100 ppm, more preferably within the range of 1 ppt (0.000001 ppm) to 10 ppm, relative to the total mass of the green onion-flavored food or beverage. More specifically, the lower limit can be any of 0.1 ppt, 1 ppt, 10 ppt, 100 ppt, 1 ppb, 10 ppb, 100 ppb, 1 ppm, and the upper limit can be any of 100 ppm (or less), 10 ppm, 1 ppm, 100 ppb, 10 ppb, 1 ppb, 100 ppt, 10 ppt, and 1 ppt, and the range can be any combination of these lower and upper limits, but is not limited to these.

[0095] In the method for improving the flavor of a green onion flavored food or drink according to the present embodiment, the method for adding the present flavor-imparting composition to the green onion flavored food or drink is not particularly limited, and the time (timing) for adding the present flavor-imparting composition to the green onion flavored food or drink is also not particularly limited.

[0096] As described above, the green onion-flavored food and drink includes the case where a green onion flavor-imparting composition is added to a food and drink that does not originally have a green onion flavor to produce a green onion-flavored food and drink. Therefore, the method for imparting flavor to a green onion-flavored food and drink according to the second embodiment of the present invention can include (a1) a step of adding a green onion flavor-imparting composition to a food and drink that does not have a green onion flavor, and (b1) a step of adding a flavor-imparting composition containing the present compound as an active ingredient either before the step (a1), simultaneously with the step (a1), or after the step (a1). Also, the method for imparting flavor to a green onion-flavored food and drink according to the third embodiment of the present invention can include a step of adding a green onion flavor-imparting composition containing the present compound as an active ingredient to a food and drink that does not have a green onion flavor, thereby making the food and drink into a green onion-flavored food and drink, and improving the green onion flavor. EXAMPLES

[0097] The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to examples, although the present invention is not limited to these.

[0098] [Example 1] Effect of adding the present flavor improving agent to green onion flavor oil (fresh type; green onion flavor imparting composition) An example in which the flavor improving agent of the present invention is added to green onion flavor oil (fresh type), which is an example of a green onion flavor imparting composition, will be described.

[0099] <Example 1-1> Preparation of flavor improver Commercially available (Group A) 2-methoxypyrazine, 2-methoxy-3-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-5-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-6-methylpyrazine, 5-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 6-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-6-methoxypyrazine, 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, (Group B) 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one, 3-sulfanylbutan-2-one (hereinafter collectively referred to as "various compounds") were each prepared into MCT (meaning neutral fat (medium chain fatty acid triglyceride) consisting of fatty acids having 8 to 12 carbon atoms. The same applies below.) solutions (concentrations of 1%, 0.1%, and other necessary concentrations were prepared as appropriate) (corresponding to the flavor improving agent according to the present embodiment).

[0100] On the other hand, as compounds having structures similar to the above-mentioned compounds, 1% MCT solutions of 2-ethyl-3-methylpyrazine represented by the following formula (91), 2-acetyl-3-methylpyrazine represented by the formula (92), and 3-sulfanyl-1-hexanol represented by the formula (93) (hereinafter collectively referred to as "comparative compounds") were prepared.

[0101] [ka]

[0102] [ka]

[0103] [ka]

[0104] <Example 1-2> Production of green onion flavored oil (fresh type) The roots of commercially available green onions (white onions) were cut and removed, washed with water to remove dirt and bacteria, and chopped into small pieces (270 g) and mixed with 250 g of rice salad oil and stirred at room temperature for 24 hours. After stirring, the oil phase was separated, dehydrated with anhydrous sodium sulfate, and filtered to obtain 200 g of green onion flavor oil (fresh type).

[0105] <Example 1-3> Addition example to green onion flavor oil (fresh type) (1) To the green onion flavor oil (fresh type) prepared in Example 1-2, the MCT solution of the above-mentioned various compounds prepared in Example 1-1 was added so that the above-mentioned various compounds had respective concentrations shown in Table 1 below, to prepare green onion flavor imparting compositions of the present invention Products 1-1 to 1-98. Similarly, to the green onion flavor oil (fresh type) prepared in Example 1-2, the MCT solution of the above-mentioned comparative compound prepared in Example 1-1 was added so that the above-mentioned comparative compound had respective concentrations shown in Table 1 below, to prepare green onion flavor imparting compositions of comparative products 1-1 to 1-3. In addition, the green onion flavor imparting composition of Comparative Product 1 was prepared as the green onion flavor imparting composition of Comparative Product 1, which was prepared in Example 1-2 (fresh type) to which neither the above-mentioned various compounds nor the above-mentioned comparative compound was added. Then, the obtained green onion flavor imparting compositions of the present invention Products 1-1 to 1-98 and the comparative products 1-1 to 1-3 were subjected to a sensory evaluation by 15 well-trained panelists (with 10 years of experience or more). For the sensory evaluation, the present invention products 1-1 to 1-98 and the comparison products 1-1 to 1-3 were each added to hot water at 0.1% (a concentration equivalent to that used for food and beverages; the same applies below). Panelists were asked to comment on the flavor of these products compared to hot water containing 0.1% control product 1, and the panelists were also asked to average the scores they gave to the fibrous texture, freshness, and spiciness of the green onions compared to hot water containing 0.1% control product 1 according to the evaluation criteria below.

[0106] <Evaluation criteria for leek fiber texture, freshness, and pungent feeling> Significantly increased compared to control 1: 5 points Significant increase compared to control 1: 4 points Somewhat increased compared to control 1: 3 points Slightly increased compared to control 1: 2 points Equivalent to control 1: 1 point

[0107] The results of the sensory evaluation of the green onion flavor-imparting compositions of the present inventions 1-1 to 1-98 and the comparative products 1-1 to 1-3 are shown in Table 1.

[0108] [Table 1]

[0109] As shown in Table 1, it was confirmed that the above-mentioned various compounds impart the fibrous feel, freshness and / or stimulating feel of green onion to the green onion flavor imparting composition and improve the fibrous feel, freshness and / or stimulating feel of green onion in the green onion flavor imparting composition, and it was found that the above-mentioned various compounds are useful as active ingredients of flavor improvers for green onion flavor imparting compositions. Among them, it was confirmed that 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine and 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one have a higher effect of improving the flavor of the green onion flavor imparting composition than the other above-mentioned various compounds.

[0110] On the other hand, comparative compounds having structures similar to those of the above-mentioned compounds did not provide the same flavor improving effect as the above-mentioned compounds, confirming the usefulness of the above-mentioned compounds.

[0111] <Example 1-4> Example of addition to green onion flavored oil (fresh type) (2) The above-mentioned various compounds, which are the active ingredients of the present flavor improving agent, are classified into the following Group A and Group B. Hereinafter, an example will be described in which a compound selected from the following Group A is used in combination with a compound selected from the following Group B.

[0112] (Group A) 2-methoxypyrazine, 2-methoxy-3-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-5-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-6-methylpyrazine, 5-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 6-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-6-methoxypyrazine, 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine

[0113] (Group B) 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one, 3-sulfanylbutan-2-one

[0114] To the green onion flavor oil (fresh type) prepared in Example 1-2, the MCT solution of the various compounds prepared in Example 1-1 was added so that the various compounds as the active ingredients of the flavor improver of the present invention were at the respective concentrations shown in Tables 2 or 3 below, to prepare green onion flavor imparting compositions of the present invention 1-99 to 1-140. Then, the green onion flavor imparting compositions of the present invention 1-99 to 1-140 obtained were subjected to a sensory evaluation by 15 well-trained panelists (with 10 years or more of experience). The sensory evaluation was performed by preparing the green onion flavor imparting compositions of the present invention 1-99 to 1-140 at 0.1% in hot water, and by having the panelists comment on the flavor when compared to the green onion flavor when the control product 1 was added at 0.1% in hot water, as in Example 1-3, and by averaging the scores given by the panelists according to the same evaluation criteria as in Example 1-3 for the green onion fiber feel, freshness, and stimulating feel when compared to the control product 1 added at 0.1% in hot water.

[0115] The results of the sensory evaluation of the green onion flavor imparting compositions of the present invention, Nos. 1-99 to 1-140, are shown in Tables 2 and 3.

[0116] [Table 2]

[0117] [Table 3]

[0118] As shown in Tables 2 and 3, it was confirmed that the use of the various compounds in Group A and Group B in combination imparts the fibrous texture, freshness and / or pungent texture of green onion to the green onion flavor-imparting composition more effectively than when the compounds are not used in combination, thereby improving the fibrous texture, freshness and / or pungent texture of green onion of the green onion flavor-imparting composition.

[0119] [Example 2] Effect of adding the present flavor improving agent to green onion flavor oil (roasted type; green onion flavor imparting composition) An example in which the flavor improving agent of the present invention is added to a green onion flavor oil (roasted type), which is an example of a green onion flavor imparting composition, will be described.

[0120] <Example 2-1> Production of green onion flavored oil (roasted type) 270g of commercially available green onions (white onions) were cut and removed from the roots, washed with water to remove dirt and bacteria, and chopped into small pieces. These were then placed in a sealed heating kettle (autoclave) and heated and stirred at 180°C for 3 hours in a sealed state. The reacted mixture was cooled to 40°C, and the oil phase was separated, dehydrated with anhydrous sodium sulfate, and filtered to obtain 200g of green onion flavored oil (roasted type).

[0121] <Example 2-2> Addition example to green onion flavor oil (roasted type) (1) To the green onion flavor oil (roasted type) prepared in Example 2-1, the MCT solutions of the above-mentioned various compounds prepared in Example 1-1 were added so that the above-mentioned various compounds as active ingredients of the present flavor improving agent reached the respective concentrations shown in Table 4 below, to prepare green onion flavor-imparting compositions of the present invention Products 2-1 to 2-14. In addition, the green onion flavor oil (roasted type) prepared in Example 2-1 to which none of the above-mentioned various compounds was added was used as the green onion flavor-imparting composition of Control Product 2. Then, the obtained green onion flavor-imparting compositions of the present invention Products 2-1 to 2-14 were subjected to a sensory evaluation by 15 well-trained panelists (with 10 years or more of experience). For the sensory evaluation, the panelists were asked to comment on the flavor of each of the present invention products 2-1 to 2-14 added to hot water at a concentration of 0.1%, compared to hot water containing 0.1% control product 2, and also to average the scores they gave to the fibrous texture, freshness, and spiciness of the green onions compared to hot water containing 0.1% control product 2 according to the following evaluation criteria.

[0122] <Evaluation criteria for leek fiber texture, freshness, and pungent feeling> Significantly increased compared to control 2: 5 points Significant increase compared to control 2: 4 points Somewhat increased compared to control 2: 3 points Slightly increased compared to control 2: 2 points Equivalent to control 2: 1 point

[0123] The results of the sensory evaluation of the green onion flavor-imparting compositions of the present invention, Products 2-1 to 2-14, are shown in Table 4.

[0124] [Table 4]

[0125] As shown in Table 4, it was confirmed that the above-mentioned various compounds impart the fibrous feel, freshness and / or stimulating feel of green onion to the green onion flavor-imparting composition and improve the fibrous feel, freshness and / or stimulating feel of green onion in the green onion flavor-imparting composition, and thus the above-mentioned various compounds were found to be useful as flavor improvers. Among them, it was confirmed that 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine and 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one have a higher effect of improving the flavor of the green onion flavor-imparting composition than the other above-mentioned various compounds.

[0126] <Example 2-3> Example of addition to green onion flavored oil (roasted type) (2) When the above-mentioned various compounds, which are the active ingredients of the flavor improving agent of the present invention, are classified into Group A and Group B in the same manner as in Examples 1-4, an example will be described in which a compound selected from Group A is used in combination with a compound selected from Group B.

[0127] To the green onion flavor oil (roasted type) prepared in Example 2-1, the MCT solution of the above-mentioned various compounds prepared in Example 1-1 was added so that the above-mentioned various compounds as the active ingredients of the flavor improver of the present invention were each at the concentration shown in Table 5 below, to prepare green onion flavor imparting compositions of the present invention 2-15 to 2-38. Then, the green onion flavor imparting compositions of the present invention 2-15 to 2-38 obtained were subjected to a sensory evaluation by 15 well-trained panelists (with 10 years or more of experience). The sensory evaluation was performed by preparing the green onion flavor imparting compositions of the present invention 2-15 to 2-38 at 0.1% in hot water, and by having the panelists comment on the flavor when compared to the green onion flavor when the control product 2 was added at 0.1% in hot water, as in Example 2-2, and by averaging the scores given by the panelists according to the same evaluation criteria as in Example 2-2 for the green onion fiber feel, freshness, and stimulating feel when compared to the control product 2 added at 0.1% in hot water.

[0128] Table 5 shows the results of the sensory evaluation of the green onion flavor-imparting compositions of the present invention, Nos. 2-15 to 2-38.

[0129] [Table 5]

[0130] As shown in Table 5, it was confirmed that the use of the various compounds in combination with the compounds in group A and group B imparts the fibrous texture, freshness and / or pungent texture of green onion to the green onion flavor-imparting composition more effectively than when the compounds in group A and group B are not used in combination, thereby improving the fibrous texture, freshness and / or pungent texture of green onion of the green onion flavor-imparting composition.

[0131] [Example 3] Effect of adding the present flavor improving agent to green onion flavor (green onion flavor imparting composition) An example in which the flavor improving agent of the present invention is added to a green onion flavor, which is an example of a green onion flavor imparting composition, will be described.

[0132] <Example 3-1> Preparation of green onion flavor A green onion flavor was prepared according to Recipe 1 in Table 6 below (this green onion flavor will hereinafter be referred to as "Reference Product 1").

[0133] [Table 6]

[0134] <Example 3-2> Addition example to green onion flavor (1) To the green onion flavor of Reference Product 1 prepared in Example 3-1, the MCT solutions of the above-mentioned various compounds prepared in Example 1-1 were added so that the above-mentioned various compounds as active ingredients of the present flavor improving agent were at the respective concentrations shown in Table 7 below, to prepare green onion flavor-imparting compositions of the present invention Products 3-1 to 3-14. The green onion flavor-imparting composition prepared in Example 3-1 to which none of the above-mentioned various compounds was added was used as the green onion flavor-imparting composition of Control Product 3. Then, a sensory evaluation was carried out on the obtained green onion flavor-imparting compositions of the present invention Products 3-1 to 3-14 by 15 well-trained panelists (with 10 years or more of experience). For the sensory evaluation, the panelists were asked to comment on the flavor of the products 3-1 to 3-14 of the present invention added at 0.1% to commercially available ramen soup (soy sauce flavor) in comparison with the control product 3 added at 0.1% to the above-mentioned commercially available ramen soup (soy sauce flavor), and to average the scores given by the panelists according to the following evaluation criteria for the fiber texture, freshness, and spiciness of the green onions in comparison with the control product 3 added at 0.1% to the above-mentioned commercially available ramen soup (soy sauce flavor).

[0135] <Evaluation criteria for leek fiber texture, freshness, and pungent feeling> Significantly increased compared to control 3: 5 points Significant increase compared to control 3: 4 points Somewhat increased compared to control 3: 3 points Slightly increased compared to control 3: 2 points Equivalent to control 3: 1 point

[0136] The results of the sensory evaluation of the green onion flavor-imparting compositions of the present invention, Products 3-1 to 3-14, are shown in Table 7.

[0137] [Table 7]

[0138] As shown in Table 7, it was confirmed that the above-mentioned various compounds impart the fibrous feel, freshness and / or stimulating feel of green onion to the green onion flavor-imparting composition and improve the fibrous feel, freshness and / or stimulating feel of green onion in the green onion flavor-imparting composition, and thus the above-mentioned various compounds were found to be useful as flavor improvers. Among them, it was confirmed that 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine and 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one have a higher effect of improving the flavor of the green onion flavor-imparting composition than the other above-mentioned various compounds.

[0139] Furthermore, as shown in Table 7, it was confirmed that when added to ramen soup (food or beverage), the green onion flavor-imparting composition containing the various compounds described above effectively imparts the fibrous texture, freshness and / or spiciness of green onion to the ramen soup (food or beverage).

[0140] <Example 3-3> Example of addition to green onion flavor (2) When the above-mentioned various compounds, which are the active ingredients of the flavor improving agent of the present invention, are classified into Group A and Group B in the same manner as in Examples 1-4 and 2-3, an example will be described in which a compound selected from Group A is used in combination with a compound selected from Group B.

[0141] To the green onion flavor prepared in Example 3-1, the MCT solutions of the various compounds prepared in Example 1-1 were added so that the various compounds as the active ingredients of the present flavor improving agent reached the respective concentrations shown in Table 8 below, to prepare green onion flavor-imparting compositions of the present invention, Products 3-15 to 3-38. Then, the green onion flavor-imparting compositions of the present invention, Products 3-15 to 3-38, obtained were subjected to a sensory evaluation by 15 well-trained panelists (with 10 years or more of experience). For the sensory evaluation, the products of the present invention 3-15 to 3-38 were each added at 0.1% to commercially available ramen soup (soy sauce flavor, the same as in Example 3-2), and the panelists were asked to comment on the flavor when compared to the commercially available ramen soup (soy sauce flavor) to which Control Product 3 was added at 0.1%, as in Example 3-2, and the panelists were also asked to average the scores given by the panelists according to the same evaluation criteria as in Example 3-2 for the fiber texture, freshness, and spiciness of the green onions when compared to the commercially available ramen soup (soy sauce flavor) to which Control Product 3 was added at 0.1%.

[0142] Table 8 shows the results of the sensory evaluation of the green onion flavor-imparting compositions of the present invention, Nos. 3-15 to 3-38.

[0143] [Table 8]

[0144] As shown in Table 8, it was confirmed that the use of the various compounds in combination with the compounds in group A and group B imparts the fibrous texture, freshness and / or pungent texture of green onion to the green onion flavor-imparting composition more effectively than when the compounds in group A and group B are not used in combination, and improves the fibrous texture, freshness and / or pungent texture of green onion of the green onion flavor-imparting composition.

[0145] It has also been confirmed that the green onion flavor-imparting composition containing the above-mentioned various compounds, when used in combination with the compound in group A and the compound in group B, imparts the fibrous texture, freshness and / or spiciness of green onion to ramen soup (food or beverage) more effectively than when the compound in group A and the compound in group B are not used in combination.

[0146] [Example 4] Effect of adding the present flavor improving agent to green onion flavor oil (leek essential oil; green onion flavor imparting composition) An example in which the flavor improving agent of the present invention is added to leek flavor oil (leek essential oil), which is an example of a leek flavor-imparting composition, will be described.

[0147] Ethanol solutions (concentrations of 1%, 0.1%, and other necessary solutions were prepared as appropriate) of commercially available (Group A) 2-methoxypyrazine, 2-methoxy-3-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-5-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-6-methylpyrazine, 5-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 6-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-6-methoxypyrazine, 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, and 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, and (Group B) 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one and 3-sulfanylbutan-2-one (hereinafter collectively referred to as "various compounds") were prepared (corresponding to the flavor improver according to the present embodiment).

[0148] In addition, a commercially available leek essential oil was diluted with 95% ethanol to prepare a 0.1% ethanol solution of leek essential oil. To this 0.1% ethanol solution of leek essential oil, ethanol solutions of the above-mentioned various compounds were added so that the above-mentioned various compounds as the active ingredients of the present flavor improving agent had the respective concentrations shown in Table 9 below, to prepare green onion flavor-imparting compositions of the present invention Products 4-1 to 4-14. In addition, the above-mentioned 0.1% ethanol solution of leek essential oil to which none of the above-mentioned various compounds was added was used as a green onion flavor-imparting composition of control Product 4. Then, sensory evaluation was performed on the obtained green onion flavor-imparting compositions of the present invention Products 4-1 to 4-14 by 15 well-trained panelists (with 10 years of experience or more). For the sensory evaluation, the panelists were asked to comment on the flavor of each of the products 4-1 to 4-14 of the present invention added to hot water at a concentration of 0.1%, compared to the control product 4 added to hot water at a concentration of 0.1%. The panelists were also asked to average the scores they gave to the fibrous texture, freshness, and spiciness of the green onions compared to the control product 4 added to hot water at a concentration of 0.1% according to the following evaluation criteria.

[0149] <Evaluation criteria for leek fiber texture, freshness, and pungent feeling> Significantly increased compared to control 4: 5 points Significant increase compared to control 4: 4 points Somewhat increased compared to control 4: 3 points Slightly increased compared to control 4: 2 points Equivalent to control 4: 1 point

[0150] Table 9 shows the results of the sensory evaluation of the green onion flavor-imparting compositions of the present invention Nos. 4-1 to 4-14.

[0151] [Table 9]

[0152] As shown in Table 9, it was confirmed that the above-mentioned various compounds impart the fibrous feel, freshness and / or stimulating feel of green onion to the green onion flavor-imparting composition and improve the fibrous feel, freshness and / or stimulating feel of green onion in the green onion flavor-imparting composition, and the above-mentioned various compounds are useful as flavor improvers. Among them, it was confirmed that 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine and 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one have a higher effect of improving the flavor of the green onion flavor-imparting composition than the other above-mentioned various compounds.

[0153] [Example 5] Effect of adding the present flavor imparting composition to a dressing (green onion-salty flavor) (green onion-flavored food and drink) An example of the addition of the flavor-imparting composition of the present invention to a dressing (salty green onion flavor), which is an example of a green onion flavored food or drink, will be described.

[0154] <Example 5-1> Preparation of flavoring composition Commercially available (Group A) 2-methoxypyrazine, 2-methoxy-3-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-5-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-6-methylpyrazine, 5-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 6-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-6-methoxypyrazine, 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, (Group B) 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one, 3-sulfanylbutan-2-one (hereinafter collectively referred to as "various compounds") were each prepared in MCT solution (concentration 1%, 0.1%, and other necessary solutions were prepared as appropriate) (corresponding to the flavoring composition according to the present embodiment).

[0155] Meanwhile, 1% MCT solutions of 2-ethyl-3-methylpyrazine, 2-acetyl-3-methylpyrazine, and 3-sulfanyl-1-hexanol (hereinafter collectively referred to as "comparative compounds"), which are compounds structurally similar to the above compounds, were prepared.

[0156] <Example 5-2> Addition to dressing (salty green onion flavor) (1) To a commercially available dressing (green onion salt flavor), the MCT solution of the above-mentioned various compounds prepared in Example 5-1, which is an example of the flavor-imparting composition of the present invention, was added so that the above-mentioned various compounds as active ingredients of the flavor-imparting composition of the present invention were each in the concentration shown in Table 10 below, and green onion-flavored foods and beverages of the present invention products 5-1 to 5-98 were prepared. Similarly, to a commercially available dressing (green onion salt flavor), the MCT solution of the above-mentioned comparative compound prepared in Example 5-1 was added so that the above-mentioned concentrations were each in the concentration shown in Table 10 below, and green onion-flavored foods and beverages of the comparative products 5-1 to 5-3 were prepared. In addition, the above-mentioned commercially available dressing (green onion salt flavor) to which none of the above-mentioned compounds was added was used as the green onion-flavored foods and beverages of the control product 5. Then, the obtained green onion-flavored foods and beverages of the present invention products 5-1 to 5-98 and the comparative products 5-1 to 5-3 were subjected to a sensory evaluation by 15 well-trained panelists (with 10 years of experience or more). The sensory evaluation was performed by having the panelists comment on the differences in flavor between the products of the present invention 5-1 to 5-98 and the comparative products 5-1 to 5-3 and the control product 5, and by averaging the scores given by the panelists for the fibrous feel, freshness, and spiciness of the green onions compared to the control product 5 according to the following evaluation criteria.

[0157] <Evaluation criteria for leek fiber texture, freshness, and pungent feeling> Significantly increased compared to control 5: 5 points Significant increase compared to control 5: 4 points Somewhat increased compared to control 5: 3 points Slightly increased compared to control 5: 2 points Equivalent to control 5: 1 point

[0158] Table 10 shows the results of the sensory evaluation of the green onion flavored foods and beverages of the present invention products 5-1 to 5-98 and the comparative products 5-1 to 5-3.

[0159] [Table 10]

[0160] As shown in Table 10, it was confirmed that the above-mentioned various compounds impart the fibrous texture, freshness and / or stimulating sensation of green onion to green onion-flavored foods and beverages, and improve the fibrous texture, freshness and / or stimulating sensation of green onion in green onion-flavored foods and beverages, and it was found that the above-mentioned various compounds are useful as active ingredients of flavor-imparting compositions for green onion-flavored foods and beverages. Among them, it was confirmed that 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine and 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one have a higher effect of improving the flavor of green onion-flavored foods and beverages than the other various compounds mentioned above.

[0161] On the other hand, comparative compounds having structures similar to those of the above-mentioned compounds did not provide the same flavor improving effect as the above-mentioned compounds, confirming the usefulness of the above-mentioned compounds.

[0162] <Example 5-3> Addition to dressing (salty green onion flavor) (2) The above-mentioned various compounds, which are the active ingredients of the flavor-imparting composition of the present invention, are classified into Group A and Group B below. Hereinafter, an example will be described in which a compound selected from Group A below is used in combination with a compound selected from Group B below.

[0163] (Group A) 2-methoxypyrazine, 2-methoxy-3-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-5-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-6-methylpyrazine, 5-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 6-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-6-methoxypyrazine, 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine

[0164] (Group B) 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one, 3-sulfanylbutan-2-one

[0165] The MCT solution of the above-mentioned various compounds prepared in Example 5-1 was added to a commercially available dressing (green onion salt flavor) so that the above-mentioned various compounds as active ingredients of the flavor-imparting composition were at the respective concentrations shown in Tables 11 or 12 below, and green onion flavored foods and beverages of the present invention 5-99 to 5-140 were prepared. Then, the green onion flavored foods and beverages of the present invention 5-99 to 5-140 obtained were subjected to a sensory evaluation by 15 well-trained panelists (with 10 years or more of experience). The sensory evaluation was performed by having the panelists comment on the difference in flavor when comparing the present invention products 5-99 to 5-140 with the control product 5 prepared in Example 5-2, and averaging the scores given by the panelists for the fiber texture, freshness, and stimulating sensation of green onion compared with the control product 5 according to the same evaluation criteria as in Example 5-2.

[0166] The results of the sensory evaluation of the green onion-flavored foods and beverages of the present invention products 5-99 to 5-140 are shown in Tables 11 and 12.

[0167] [Table 11]

[0168] [Table 12]

[0169] As shown in Tables 11 and 12, it was confirmed that by using the above-mentioned various compounds in combination with the compounds in Group A and Group B, the fibrous texture, freshness and / or spiciness of green onion is imparted to the leek-flavored food or beverage more effectively than when the compounds in Group A and Group B are not used in combination, thereby improving the fibrous texture, freshness and / or spiciness of green onion in the leek-flavored food or beverage.

[0170] [Example 6] Effect of adding the flavoring composition of the present invention to tube-packed chopped green onions (green onion-flavored food and drink) An example of the addition of the flavor-imparting composition of the present invention to chopped green onions in a tube, which is an example of a green onion-flavored food or drink, will be described.

[0171] <Example 6-1> Example of addition to tubed chopped green onions (1) The onion flavor imparting compositions of the present invention 1-5, 1-12, 1-19, 1-26, 1-33, 1-40, 1-47, 1-54, 1-61, 1-68, 1-75, and 1-82 (each containing 1 ppm of various compounds (group A)) and the onion flavor imparting compositions of the present invention 1-89 and 1-96 (each containing 100 ppm of various compounds (group B)) were added to commercially available tubed chopped green onions (green onion salt tubes) at a flavoring rate (ratio of the onion flavor imparting composition to the onion-flavored food and drink; the same applies below) of 0.1% to prepare onion-flavored food and drink products 6-1 to 6-12 of the present invention (each containing 1 ppb of various compounds) and onion-flavored food and drink products 6-13 to 6-14 of the present invention (each containing 100 ppb of various compounds). In addition, the green onion flavoring composition prepared in Example 1-3 (Control Product 1; without the addition of the above-mentioned various compounds) was added at a flavoring rate of 0.1% to the above-mentioned commercially available tubed chopped green onions to prepare a green onion-flavored food and beverage product (Control Product 6).

[0172] Then, the obtained green onion flavored foods and beverages, Products 6-1 to 6-14 of the present invention, were subjected to a sensory evaluation by 15 well-trained panelists (with 10 years or more of experience). The sensory evaluation was performed by having the panelists comment on the difference in flavor between Products 6-1 to 6-14 of the present invention and Control Product 6, and by averaging the scores given by the panelists on the fiber texture, freshness, and stimulating sensation of the green onion compared to Control Product 6 according to the following evaluation criteria.

[0173] <Evaluation criteria for leek fiber texture, freshness, and pungent feeling> Significantly increased compared to control 6: 5 points Significant increase compared to control 6: 4 points Somewhat increased compared to control 6: 3 points Slightly increased compared to control 6: 2 points Equivalent to control 6: 1 point

[0174] The results of the sensory evaluation of the green onion flavored foods and beverages of the present inventions 6-1 to 6-14 are shown in Table 13.

[0175] [Table 13]

[0176] As shown in Table 13, it was confirmed that the flavor-imparting compositions containing the above-mentioned various compounds, when added to green onion-flavored foods and beverages, effectively impart the fibrous texture, freshness, and / or stimulating sensation of green onion to the green onion-flavored foods and beverages. Among them, it was confirmed that 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, and 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one have a higher effect of improving the flavor of green onion-flavored foods and beverages than the other various compounds mentioned above.

[0177] <Example 6-2> Example of addition to tubed chopped green onions (2) When the various compounds that are the active ingredients of the flavor-imparting composition of the present invention are classified into Group A and Group B in the same manner as in Example 5-3, an example will be described in which a compound selected from Group A is used in combination with a compound selected from Group B.

[0178] A green onion flavor imparting composition of the present invention, Products 1-4, 1-11, 1-18, 1-25, 1-32, 1-39, 1-46, 1-53, 1-60, 1-67, 1-74, and 1-81 (each containing 10 ppb of various compounds (group A)) prepared in Example 1-3, which is an example of the flavor imparting composition of the present invention, and a green onion flavor imparting composition of the present invention, Products 1-5, 1-12, 1-19, 1-26, 1-33, 1-40, 1-47, 1-54, 1-61, 1-68, 1-75, and 1-82 (each containing 1 ppm of various compounds (group A)) were added to a commercially available tube-packed chopped green onion (green onion salt tube). The onion flavor imparting compositions of the present invention 1-88 and 1-95 (containing 1 ppm of each of the various compounds (group B)), and the onion flavor imparting compositions of the present invention 1-89 and 1-96 (containing 100 ppm of each of the various compounds (group B)) were added in appropriate combinations at a flavoring rate (ratio of the onion flavor imparting composition to the onion flavored food or drink; the same applies below) of 0.1%, and the above-mentioned various compounds as active ingredients of the flavor imparting compositions were added to the concentrations shown in Tables 14 and 15 below to prepare onion flavored food or drink products 6-15 to 6-62 of the present invention. Then, the obtained onion flavored food or drink products 6-15 to 6-62 of the present invention were subjected to a sensory evaluation by 15 well-trained panelists (with 10 years of experience or more). The sensory evaluation was performed by having the panelists comment on the difference in flavor between the products of the present invention 6-15 to 6-62 and the control product 6 prepared in Example 6-1, and by averaging the scores given by the panelists for the fibrous texture, freshness, and spiciness of the green onion compared to the control product 6 according to the same evaluation criteria as in Example 6-1.

[0179] The results of the sensory evaluation of the green onion-flavored foods and beverages of the present inventions 6-15 to 6-62 are shown in Tables 14 and 15.

[0180] [Table 14]

[0181] [Table 15]

[0182] As shown in Tables 14 and 15, it was confirmed that by using the above-mentioned various compounds in combination with the compounds in Group A and Group B, the fibrous texture, freshness and / or spiciness of green onion is imparted to the leek-flavored food or beverage more effectively than when the compounds in Group A and Group B are not used in combination, thereby improving the fibrous texture, freshness and / or spiciness of green onion in the leek-flavored food or beverage.

[0183] [Example 7] Effect of adding the present flavoring composition to yakiniku sauce (green onion salt flavor) (green onion flavored food and drink) An example of the green onion flavor imparting composition, which is an example of the present flavor imparting composition, will be described below.

[0184] The onion flavor-imparting compositions of the present invention, Products 3-1 to 3-12 (containing 1 ppm each of various compounds (group A)) and the onion flavor-imparting compositions of the present invention, Products 3-13 to 3-14 (containing 100 ppm each of various compounds (group B)) prepared in Example 3-2, which are examples of the flavor-imparting composition of the present invention, were added to commercially available yakiniku sauce (salty onion flavor) at a flavoring rate (ratio of onion flavor to various onion-flavored food and beverages) of 0.1%, to prepare onion-flavored food and beverages of the present invention, Products 7-1 to 7-12 (containing 1 ppb each of various compounds (group A)) and onion-flavored food and beverages of the present invention, Products 7-13 to 7-14 (containing 100 ppb each of various compounds (group B)). In addition, the green onion flavor-imparting composition prepared in Example 3-1 (containing none of the above-mentioned compounds) as control product 3 was added at a flavoring rate of 0.1% to the above-mentioned commercially available yakiniku sauce (green onion salt flavor) to prepare a green onion-flavored food and beverage as control product 7.

[0185] Then, the obtained green onion flavored foods and beverages, Products 7-1 to 7-14 of the present invention, were subjected to a sensory evaluation by 15 well-trained panelists (with 10 years or more of experience). The sensory evaluation was performed by having the panelists comment on the difference in flavor between Products 7-1 to 7-14 of the present invention and Control Product 7, and by averaging the scores given by the panelists on the fiber texture, freshness, and stimulating sensation of the green onion compared to Control Product 7 according to the following evaluation criteria.

[0186] <Evaluation criteria for leek fiber texture, freshness, and pungent feeling> Significantly increased compared to control 7: 5 points Significant increase compared to control 7: 4 points Somewhat increased compared to control 7: 3 points Slightly increased compared to control 7: 2 points Equivalent to control 7: 1 point

[0187] The results of the sensory evaluation of the green onion flavored foods and beverages of the present inventions 7-1 to 7-14 are shown in Table 16.

[0188] [Table 16]

[0189] As shown in Table 16, it was confirmed that the flavor-imparting compositions containing the above-mentioned various compounds, when added to green onion-flavored foods and beverages, effectively impart the fibrous texture, freshness, and / or stimulating sensation of green onion to the green onion-flavored foods and beverages. Among them, it was confirmed that 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, and 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one have a higher effect of improving the flavor of green onion-flavored foods and beverages than the other various compounds mentioned above.

Claims

1. A flavor improving agent for a green onion flavor-imparting composition, comprising one or more compounds selected from the following Group A or Group B as an active ingredient: (Group A) 2-methoxypyrazine, 2-methoxy-3-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-5-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-6-methylpyrazine, 5-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 6-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-6-methoxypyrazine, 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (Group B) 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one, 3-sulfanylbutan-2-one

2. A green onion flavor imparting composition comprising the flavor improving agent for a green onion flavor imparting composition according to claim 1.

3. The green onion flavor imparting composition according to claim 2, Contains one or more compounds selected from Group A, The green onion flavor-imparting composition has a total concentration of one or more compounds selected from Group A in the range of 1 ppt to 100 ppm based on the total mass of the green onion flavor-imparting composition.

4. The green onion flavor imparting composition according to claim 2, Contains one or more compounds selected from group B, The green onion flavor-imparting composition has a total concentration of one or more compounds selected from Group B in the range of 100 ppt or more and 1% or less, based on the total mass of the green onion flavor-imparting composition.

5. The green onion flavor imparting composition according to claim 2, A green onion flavor-imparting composition comprising one or more compounds selected from Group A and one or more compounds selected from Group B.

6. A flavoring composition for green onion-flavored food or beverage, comprising one or more compounds selected from Group A or Group B below as an active ingredient. (Group A) 2-methoxypyrazine, 2-methoxy-3-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-5-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-6-methylpyrazine, 5-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 6-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-6-methoxypyrazine, 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (Group B) 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one, 3-sulfanylbutan-2-one

7. The green onion flavor imparting composition according to claim 6, A flavoring composition for green onion-flavored food or beverage, comprising one or more compounds selected from group A and one or more compounds selected from group B.

8. A green onion-flavored food or drink comprising the flavor-imparting composition for green onion-flavored food or drink according to claim 6 or 7.

9. The green onion-flavored food or drink according to claim 8, Contains one or more compounds selected from Group A, The green onion-flavored food or drink has a concentration of one or more compounds selected from Group A in the range of 0.001 ppt or more and 100 ppb or less, based on the total mass of the green onion-flavored food or drink.

10. The green onion-flavored food or drink according to claim 8, Contains one or more compounds selected from group B, The green onion-flavored food or drink has a concentration of one or more compounds selected from group B in the range of 0.1 ppt or more and 10 ppm or less, based on the total mass of the green onion-flavored food or drink.

11. A method for improving the flavor of a green onion flavor-imparting composition, comprising the step of adding one or more compounds selected from the following Group A or Group B to the green onion flavor-imparting composition: (Group A) 2-methoxypyrazine, 2-methoxy-3-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-5-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-6-methylpyrazine, 5-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 6-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-6-methoxypyrazine, 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (Group B) 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one, 3-sulfanylbutan-2-one

12. The method for improving the flavor of a green onion flavor-imparting composition according to claim 11, In the step, the one or more compounds selected from Group A are added to the green onion flavor-imparting composition so that the total concentration of the one or more compounds selected from Group A is in the range of 1 ppt or more and 100 ppm or less, based on the total mass of the green onion flavor-imparting composition.

13. The method for improving the flavor of a green onion flavor-imparting composition according to claim 11, In the step, the one or more compounds selected from Group B are added to the green onion flavor-imparting composition so that the total concentration of the one or more compounds selected from Group B is in the range of 100 ppt or more and 1% or less, based on the total mass of the green onion flavor-imparting composition.

14. The method includes adding a flavoring composition containing one or more compounds selected from the following group A or the following group B as an active ingredient to a food or drink, The method for improving the flavor of a food or beverage, wherein the flavor-imparting composition is a green onion flavor-imparting composition and / or the food or beverage is a green onion-flavored food or beverage. (Group A) 2-methoxypyrazine, 2-methoxy-3-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-5-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-6-methylpyrazine, 5-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 6-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-6-methoxypyrazine, 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (Group B) 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one, 3-sulfanylbutan-2-one

15. The method for improving the flavor of a food or beverage according to claim 14, The flavoring composition contains one or more compounds selected from Group A, In the above step, the flavor-imparting composition is added to the food or beverage so that the total concentration of one or more compounds selected from Group A is in the range of 0.001 ppt or more and 100 ppb or less, based on the total mass of the food or beverage.

16. The method for improving the flavor of a food or beverage according to claim 14, The flavoring composition contains one or more compounds selected from Group B, In the above step, the flavor-imparting composition is added to the food or beverage so that the total concentration of one or more compounds selected from group B is in the range of 0.1 ppt or more and 10 ppm or less, based on the total mass of the food or beverage.

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