Umami enhancer

Abstract

To provide an umami enhancer that can enhance umami while utilizing the characteristic of good flavors that foods originally have.SOLUTION: An umami enhancer contains at least one compound selected from the group consisting of 4-ethylguaiacol, 4-propylguaiacol, 2-ethoxy-4-vinylphenol, γ-nonalactone, vanillin and acetovanillon as an active ingredient. The umami enhancer can enhance the umami of foods and drinks without adverse effect on their flavors while utilizing the characteristic of good flavors that the foods and drinks originally have.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a umami enhancer.

Background Art

[0002] Umami is one of the tastes called basic tastes together with sweetness, sourness, saltiness, and bitterness. It enhances the inherent flavor of food ingredients and adds depth to the taste of dishes, so it is an important element that constitutes the deliciousness of food. In Japan, dried bonito flakes and kelp have been used as ingredients that bring umami since ancient times. The umami of dried bonito flakes is known to include inosinic acid, an amino acid, as well as the umami of nucleic acids, and it is also known that the aroma of dried bonito flakes themselves enhances umami (Non-Patent Document 1).

[0003] On the other hand, smoked dishes such as smoked cheese, ham, and bacon suppress water activity by smoking and have a bactericidal aroma, which improves their shelf life. It is also known that their unique aroma makes them more delicious than before smoking.

[0004] However, since dried bonito flakes and smoked products have the above-mentioned unique strong aroma, they may damage the original aroma of food, and there have been many findings that it is impossible to achieve both umami enhancement and maintenance of the original aroma of food.

[0005] On the one hand, 4-ethylguaiacol is known to be contained in trace amounts during the production of dried bonito (Non-Patent Document 2), but it is not regarded as an important component in constituting the aroma of dried bonito (Non-Patent Document 3). In addition, regarding this substance, there are reports on technologies for obtaining a natural seafood flavor by combining 4-ethylguaiacol with a plurality of components (Patent Document 1), a technology for obtaining a dried bonito flavor by blending 4-ethylguaiacol with a plurality of components in a dried bonito extract (Patent Document 2), a soy sauce that can enhance the dashi flavor of a dish by using 4-ethylguaiacol and 4-ethylphenol in combination (Patent Document 3), and a dashi-like aroma-imparting flavor composition obtained by combining 4-ethylguaiacol with 3 to 5 specific aroma components (Patent Document 4). However, no finding has been made on enhancing umami with 4-ethylguaiacol alone.

[0006] 4-Propylguaiacol is known as a raw material for seafood flavors, and methods for producing seafood flavors (Patent Document 5), methods for producing seafood flavors (Patent Document 6), etc. are known, but no finding has been made on enhancing umami.

[0007] γ-Nonalactone, vanillin, and acetovanillone are substances known as flavoring materials. Regarding vanillin, a dashi-like aroma-imparting flavor composition obtained by combining vanillin with 4 to 5 specific aroma components (Patent Document 4) is known, but no finding on enhancing umami has been reported.

[0008] Also, regarding 2-ethoxy-4-vinylphenol, no finding as a flavoring material has been reported, and of course, no finding on enhancing umami has been reported either.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0009]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Patent Document 4

Patent Document 5

Patent Document 6

Non-Patent Document

[0010]

Non-Patent Document 1

Non-Patent Document 2

Non-Patent Document 3

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0011] An object of the present invention is to provide a umami enhancer that can enhance umami while making use of the characteristics of the good aroma inherent in food.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0012] The inventors screened for flavor components that amplify umami from the hundreds of types of bonito flavors and, as a result of intensive research, found that 4-ethylguaiacol, 4-propylguaiacol, 2-ethoxy-4-vinylphenol, γ-nonalactone, vanillin, and acetovanillone have an umami-enhancing effect on food and beverages, leading to the completion of the present invention. Since these compounds do not have a strong smoked odor, by adding an appropriate amount, they can enhance the umami of various food and beverages without imparting a smoked odor.

[0013] That is, the present invention is as follows. [1] Comprising 4-ethylguaiacol, 4-propylguaiacol, and vanillin One or more compounds selected from the group are used as active ingredients Added , umami enhancer. [2] The umami enhancer according to claim 1, which contains 10 ppb or more of the compound as the active ingredient. [3] A method for enhancing the umami of food and beverages by adding the umami enhancer according to claim 1 or 2. [4] By adding the umami enhancer according to claim 1 or 2, the compound as the active ingredient In the case of 4-ethylguaiacol, 0.1 ppb to 100 ppb; in the case of 4-propylguaiacol, 0.1 ppb to 1000 ppb; in the case of vanillin, 0.1 ppb to 100 ppb is added, a method for enhancing the umami of food and beverages.

Effects of the Invention

[0014] The umami enhancer of the present invention can enhance the umami of food and beverages while making use of the good fragrance characteristics inherent in the food and beverages.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] In the present invention, umami refers to the umami among the five basic tastes, and umami enhancement refers to enhancing the umami of food and beverages while making use of the good fragrance characteristics inherent in the food and beverages.

[0016] The umami enhancer of the present invention uses, as an active ingredient, one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of 4-ethylguaiacol, 4-propylguaiacol, 2-ethoxy-4-vinylphenol, γ-nonalactone, vanillin, and acetovanillone.

[0017] The above compounds used in the umami enhancer of the present invention can be procured by purchasing commercially available products or synthesizing them by known methods.

[0018] Since the umami enhancer of the present invention exhibits an umami enhancing effect below the aroma threshold of the compound used as an active ingredient, by adding it to food and drink products, while making use of the good aroma characteristics inherent in the food and drink products, the umami of the food and drink products can be enhanced, and also, food and drink products with enhanced umami can be obtained.

[0019] As food and drink products to which the umami enhancer of the present invention is applied, any product that has umami by itself is acceptable. For example, Japanese-style dashi stock, consommé soup stock, Chinese soup stock, instant miso soup, curry roux, stew roux, hayashi rice roux, hash brown beef roux, sauce, seasoning sauce, powder seasoning, liquid seasoning, dressing, frying powder, pasta sauce, gratin sauce, seasoning for cooked rice (paella, biryani, pilaf, etc.), seasoning for fried rice, seasoning for mapo tofu, seasoning for hot pot, etc. Seasoning products, instant noodles such as cup ramen, cup yakisoba, bag noodles, instant rice products such as cup rice, retort foods, frozen foods (fried rice, pilaf, dumplings, shumai, karaage, hamburger, fry, croquette, gratin, pizza, etc.), cooked foods and processed foods such as canned foods, snack foods, confectionery such as rice confectionery, etc. can be mentioned, but are not limited to these.

[0020] The compounds used in the umami enhancer of the present invention may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

[0021] The suitable addition amount of the umami enhancer of the present invention to food and drink products varies depending on the food and drink products to which it is added, and thus it is adjusted according to the purpose. As an example, in order to obtain an umami enhancing effect and ensure that the aroma of the compound itself, which is the active ingredient, does not adversely affect the original aroma of the food and drink product, for the compound as the active ingredient in the food and drink product, in the case of 4-ethylguaiacol, it is preferably contained in an amount of 0.1 ppb to 100 ppb, more preferably 1 ppb to 10 ppb. In the present invention, ppt, ppb, ppm and % indicate mass ratios unless otherwise specified.

[0022] In the case of 4-propylguaiacol, it is preferably contained in an amount of 0.1 ppb to 1000 ppb, more preferably 1 ppb to 100 ppb, and even more preferably 10 ppb to 100 ppb.

[0023] In the case of 2-ethoxy-4-vinylphenol, it is preferably contained in an amount of 0.1 ppb to 1000 ppb, more preferably 0.1 ppb to 10 ppb, and even more preferably 1 ppb to 10 ppb.

[0024] In the case of γ-nonalactone, it is preferably contained in an amount of 0.1 ppb to 10 ppb.

[0025] In the case of vanillin, it is preferably contained in an amount of 0.1 ppb to 100 ppb, more preferably 1 ppb to 100 ppb, and even more preferably 1 ppb to 10 ppb.

[0026] In the case of acetovanillone, it is preferably contained in an amount of 0.1 ppb to 1000 ppb, more preferably 10 ppb to 1000 ppb, and even more preferably 10 ppb to 100 ppb.

[0027] The umami enhancer of the present invention may be used as it is by adding it to foods and drinks, or it may be appropriately diluted with a solvent or the like for convenience during use. The solvent or the like used for dilution is not particularly limited as long as it is commonly used in flavor compositions. Further, it can be made into a flavor composition in advance, and within a range that does not adversely affect the flavor, it may be a composition added with other additives and agents commonly used as components other than flavors. Furthermore, in the present invention, it is also possible to apply the formulation technologies generally applied to flavors, and it can also be prepared in a desired form depending on the situation, such as powdering or encapsulation. Incidentally, since the addition amount of the flavor composition or the like prepared as described above to foods and drinks is generally at most about 1%, it is preferable to prepare it so as to contain 10 ppb or more of the compound as an active ingredient in any form so as to obtain an umami enhancing effect.

[0028] The umami enhancer of the present invention may be added at any point in the manufacturing process as long as it can be evenly mixed in foods and drinks.

Examples

[0029] (Example 1) 4-Ethylguaiacol was added to commercially available bonito stock, consommé soup, Chinese soup, curry, and stew so as to have the concentrations shown in Table 1, and a sensory evaluation was conducted on the umami enhancing effect. The sensory evaluation was carried out by 4 trained in-house panelists according to the criteria (3 levels) shown in Table 2, and the results are shown together with Table 1. As a result of the sensory evaluation, an umami enhancing effect was recognized for all of the above foods and drinks.

[0030]

Table 1

[0031]

Table 2

[0032] (Example 2) 4-Propylguaiacol was added to commercially available bonito stock, consommé soup, Chinese soup, curry, and stew, respectively, at the concentrations shown in Table 3, and a sensory evaluation was conducted on the effect of enhancing umami taste. The sensory evaluation was performed by 4 trained in-house panelists according to the criteria (3 levels) shown in Table 2, and the results are shown together with Table 3. As a result of the sensory evaluation, an umami-enhancing effect was recognized for all of the above food and drink products.

[0033]

Table 3

[0034] (Example 3) 2-Ethoxy-4-vinylphenol was added to commercially available bonito stock, consommé soup, Chinese soup, curry, and stew, respectively, at the concentrations shown in Table 4, and a sensory evaluation was conducted on the effect of enhancing umami taste. The sensory evaluation was performed by 4 trained in-house panelists according to the criteria (3 levels) shown in Table 2, and the results are shown together with Table 4. As a result of the sensory evaluation, an umami-enhancing effect was recognized for all of the above food and drink products.

[0035]

Table 4

[0036] (Example 4) γ-Nonalactone was added to commercially available bonito stock, consommé soup, Chinese soup, curry, and stew, respectively, at the concentrations shown in Table 5, and a sensory evaluation was conducted on the effect of enhancing umami taste. The sensory evaluation was performed by 4 trained in-house panelists according to the criteria (3 levels) shown in Table 2, and the results are shown together with Table 5. As a result of the sensory evaluation, an umami-enhancing effect was recognized for all of the above food and drink products.

[0037]

Table 5

[0038] (Example 5) Vanillin was added to commercially available bonito stock, consommé soup, Chinese soup, curry, and stew, respectively, at the concentrations shown in Table 6, and a sensory evaluation was conducted on the effect of enhancing umami taste. The sensory evaluation was performed by four trained in-house panelists according to the criteria (three levels) shown in Table 2, and the results are shown together with Table 6. As a result of the sensory evaluation, an umami-enhancing effect was recognized for all of the above food and drink products.

[0039]

Table 6

[0040] (Example 6) Acetovanillone was added to commercially available bonito stock, consommé soup, Chinese soup, curry, and stew, respectively, at the concentrations shown in Table 7, and a sensory evaluation was conducted on the effect of enhancing umami taste. The sensory evaluation was performed by four trained in-house panelists according to the criteria (three levels) shown in Table 2, and the results are shown together with Table 7. As a result of the sensory evaluation, an umami-enhancing effect was recognized for all of the above food and drink products.

[0041]

Table 7

Claims

1. A umami enhancer comprising, as an active ingredient, one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of 4-ethylguaiacol, 4-propylguaiacol, and vanillin.

2. The umami enhancer according to claim 1, containing 10 ppb or more of the compound as the active ingredient.

3. A method for enhancing the umami of food and drink by adding the umami enhancer according to claim 1 or 2.

4. A method for enhancing the umami of food and drink, wherein the compound as the active ingredient is added in an amount of 0.1 ppb to 100 ppb in the case of 4-ethylguaiacol, 0.1 ppb to 1000 ppb in the case of 4-propylguaiacol, and 0.1 ppb to 100 ppb in the case of vanillin, by adding the umami enhancer according to claim 1 or 2.

Images