Acetic Acid Food Composition for Sour Taste and Odor Suppression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for suppressing the sour taste and odor of acetic acid in foods and drinks either fail to reduce pungent sour taste, affect the flavor, or are not suitable for liquid or moist foods, leading to consumer avoidance.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating specific aromatic components such as unsaturated alcohols with 8 carbon atoms, monoterpenes or sesquiterpenes, furan compounds with 5 or 6 carbon atoms, and aliphatic aldehydes with 6 to 9 carbon atoms into acetic acid-containing foods and drinks to suppress sour taste and odor without affecting flavor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If acetic acid is added to foods to suppress harmful microorganisms and prolong shelf-life, then the bacteriostatic effect is improved, but the pungent sour taste and sour odor are perceived as unpleasant
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces aromatic components (specifically 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, 2-acetyl-1-pyrrolidine, and 2-acetyl-1-imidazoline) as intermediary substances that mediate between the acetic acid and the consumer's sensory perception. These aromatic components mask or counterbalance the unpleasant sour odor and taste while preserving the bacteriostatic function of acetic acid, thus resolving the contradiction between maintaining shelf-life and eliminating unpleasant sensory effects.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the sensory parameters of the food composition by adding specific aromatic compounds at controlled concentrations (0.001-10 ppm for 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, 0.01-100 ppm for 2-acetyl-1-pyrrolidine, and 0.01-100 ppm for 2-acetyl-1-imidazoline). This parameter change transforms the overall sensory profile from unpleasant (pungent sour) to acceptable or pleasant, while maintaining the functional parameter (bacteriostatic effect) unchanged.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional methods use 3-hydroxy-4,5-dimethyl-2(5H)-furanone to suppress sour taste, then the sour taste is reduced, but the compound imparts unpleasant fenugreek or curry smells at high concentrations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts or removes the problematic compound 3-hydroxy-4,5-dimethyl-2(5H)-furanone from the formulation and replaces it with alternative aromatic components (2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, 2-acetyl-1-pyrrolidine, and 2-acetyl-1-imidazoline) that achieve the same sour taste suppression function without generating the unpleasant fenugreek or curry smells. This substitution eliminates the harmful side effect while preserving the beneficial effect.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs aromatic components that are used at extremely low concentrations (parts per million or parts per billion levels) to achieve the desired effect. These trace aromatic substances provide temporary sensory modification without leaving persistent unpleasant flavors, effectively acting as disposable sensory modifiers that are present only in sufficient quantities to mask the sourness during the consumption period.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If powdered vinegar mixed with baked calcium is used to suppress acetic acid odor, then the acid odor is suppressed, but the method is not suitable for liquid or moist foods due to poor solubility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state and solubility parameters by using aromatic components that are highly soluble in water and liquid matrices. Unlike baked calcium which has poor solubility, the selected aromatic compounds (2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, 2-acetyl-1-pyrrolidine, and 2-acetyl-1-imidazoline) can be uniformly distributed in liquid and moist foods at the required low concentrations, enabling broad applicability across different food types while maintaining odor suppression effectiveness.
Data Source
AI summary
An object of the present invention is to provide an acetic acid-containing food or drink that exhibits suppressed sour taste and sour odor without adverse effects on the flavor. The acetic acid-containing food or drink according to the present invention comprises at least one aromatic component selected from the group consisting of (A) and (B) below: (A) unsaturated alcohols having 8 carbon atoms, and (B) monoterpenes or sesquiterpenes.