Abstract: What are meat flavor enhancers? Flavor enhancers, also known as flavor enhancers, are substances that can significantly enhance or improve the original flavor of food. The right use of flavor enhancers in the kitchen can improve the quality of meat. Let’s take a look at the characteristics of meat flavor enhancers. What are meat flavor enhancers? Characteristics of meat flavor enhancers

What are meat flavor enhancers

Flavor enhancers, also known as flavor enhancers , refers to substances that can significantly enhance or improve the original flavor of food. In the flavor and fragrance industry, for the purpose of flavoring, flavoring agents are often added to enhance the intensity of the flavor aroma, reduce costs, and make the aroma more coordinated, rich, soft, and realistic. Food flavors are usually divided into sweet flavors (such as strawberries, apples, peaches, etc.) and salty flavors (such as spice flavors, meat flavors).

Meat flavor is an important part of the food flavor and fragrance industry. Meat flavoring agents can be divided into the following 6 categories:

(1) Flavor monomers: maltol, ethylmaltol, furanone, furfurylmercaptan, 2-mercapto-3- Furanthiol, bis(2-methyl-3-furyl) disulfide, methylcyclopentenolone (MCP), etc.;

(2) Flavor agent: sodium glutamate (MSG), sodium inosinate (IMP), sodium guanylate (GMP), sodium inosinate sodium guanylate (I G), monosodium succinate (MSS), disodium succinate (DSS), etc.;

(3) Natural essential oils and their blended flavors: such as sesame oil, sesame essence and certain spice essential oils, resins or blended flavors;

(4) Generated in the Maillard reaction Flavoring agent: such as a very small amount of hydrogen sulfide generated in the reaction between aldehyde or ketone and cysteine;

(5) Other natural flavors and fragrances: such as adding a small amount of pork, chicken to beef flavor flavor, and add a small amount of chicken, beef flavor, etc. to the pork flavor;

(6) New seasonings.

Characteristics of meat flavor and flavor enhancers

The dosage is small and the flavoring effect is significant; the flavoring agent itself does not necessarily present aroma, nor does it change the structure and structure of other aroma substances. composition, but it can change human physiological functions, that is, strengthen the stimulation of human olfactory nerves, increase and improve the sensitivity of olfactory cells, and strengthen the transmission of aroma information; through significant aroma enhancement, it can reduce the dosage of other aroma substances , or reduce the final amount of flavor added, thereby reducing costs; some flavoring agents not only have a flavoring effect, but also have a good flavoring effect. This kind of flavoring agent can make the flavor coordinated, soft, rich, and have a long lasting fragrance. ; Some flavoring agents have special molecular structures and can react with other substances during the processing process to produce other aroma substances, such as furanone, MCP, etc.; the amount of flavoring agent used has an impact on the aroma, and some flavoring agents When used in large quantities, it will not affect the overall aroma of flavors, such as maltol, ethyl maltol, etc. However, some spices will present unpleasant smells when used in excess, such as furfuryl mercaptan, MCP, etc.; due to the differences between flavoring agents, It has a synergistic effect, so it is often used together.

Food flavoring monomer flavoring agents

Maltol and ethyl maltol

Both are broad-spectrum flavoring agents that are useful in some meats. The GC/MS analysis of similar flavors found that a considerable part of meat flavors were added with malt or ethyl maltol in an amount of 1-20 (here refers to the mass ratio of the spices in the flavor, excluding solvents).

Maltol, with the trade names of maltol, barrazone, and cobalin, and its chemical name 2-methylpyrosconic acid, has a special aroma similar to burnt butterscotch, and is also described as Caramel aroma, easily volatile, sublimated at 93°C, natural product found in roasted malt, pine needles, and chicory.

Ethyl maltol, chemically named 2-ethylpyrosconic acid, has a long-lasting caramel and fruit aroma, and is very sweet. The dilute solution has a sweet fruity aroma.

Both are soluble in water, ethanol and propylene glycol (PG). Pay attention to the following four points when using them:

(1) Both contain phenolic hydroxyl groups and are not compatible with iron containers. It will appear red on contact, so avoid using iron containers.

(2) The aroma enhancement effect is good under acidic conditions, but the effect is reduced due to the dissociation of phenolic hydroxyl groups under alkaline conditions.

(3) The aroma-enhancing effect of ethyl maltol is about 3-8 times that of maltol. When using the former, the dosage can be reduced.

(4) If used in conjunction with flavoring agents such as IG, MSG, MCP, etc., the effect can be enhanced.

MCP

MCP, chemical name is 3-methyl-1,2-cyclopentenedione or 3-methyl-2-hydroxy-2-cyclopentene- 1-Ketone is a white or light yellow crystalline powder with an aroma similar to maple and lovage. It is also described as a caramel aroma. Its presence has been detected in some meat flavors. MCP has similar flavoring properties to maltol and ethyl maltol, but the dosage should not be excessive. Under high-temperature heating conditions, MCP will also open rings and react with other aroma substances to produce a unique meat aroma.

Furfuryl mercaptan

Furfuryl mercaptan is also known as coffee mercaptan and 2-furyl methyl mercaptan. It has a very unpleasant sulfur smell at high concentrations, and smells like coffee and meat when diluted. The 1-furfuryl mercaptan products produced by some large companies have a strong aroma of meat and barbecue (also like beef aroma), but do not have a coffee aroma. GC/MS analysis of some meat flavors has detected the presence of furfuryl mercaptan in trace amounts. Many papers have affirmed the role of furfuryl mercaptan and recommended trace addition. In actual use, furfuryl mercaptan is first diluted to a mass fraction of 1, and then added to the meat flavor in trace amounts.

Furanone

The chemical name of furanone is 2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3(2H)-furanone. It is a food flavoring and flavoring agent. As an agent and synergist, it was discovered in fresh pineapple and beef soup as early as the 1960s, so it is also called pineapple ketone. Furanone has a natural pineapple and strawberry-like aroma, which is also described as a burnt sweet aroma. It has obvious aroma and sweetening effects, making the aroma more rounded and plump, and has the function of shielding and covering up unpleasant tastes. In terms of flavoring and shielding unpleasant odors, one part of furanone is equivalent to 5.5-6 parts of ethyl maltol and 16-20 parts of maltol. In GC/MS analysis of some meat flavors, the presence of furanones has been detected, and its proportion can be as high as 5% of the spice ratio in the flavor. On the other hand, furanone is also a flavor precursor compound of meat flavor, which can react with cysteine, cystine, ammonium sulfide and other substances to produce meat flavor substances, and produce a very small amount of hydrogen sulfide. Studies have shown that adding furanone to chicken flavor can significantly increase the fullness and balance of the taste, enhance barbecue flavor, etc.; adding furanone to beef flavor has significant aroma and flavor enhancement effects, smoothness and palatability of the flavor. Significantly increased, giving the meat a fuller flavor, more juiciness and juiciness.

Others

Fragrance monomers with significant flavoring and flavoring effects include: 2-methyl-3-furanthiol, bis(2-methyl-3-furanyl) ) disulfide, 2-methyl-3-methylthiofuran, 2-methyl-3-tetrahydrofuranthiol, etc. These flavoring agents have the flavor of meat, barbecue, etc., but due to their high cost, they can only be used in very small amounts.

Umami flavor enhancer

MSG

MSG is monosodium glutamate, also known as sodium L-glutamate and sodium glutamate. MSG is essentially odorless, with umami, sweet and salty flavors, and a taste threshold of 0.014. MSG acts on the front end of the tongue and both jaws, and has a strong direct and first sensation of umami. The umami taste is relatively monotonous, and the umami effect is reflected before the middle sensation. The umami taste comes and goes quickly. MSG has a synergistic effect with IMP, GMP and IG. MSG IMP has a mass concentration of 0.05 g/L, and when MSG:IMP=1:1, the umami flavor reaches its maximum intensity; in a mixture of MSG and IMP, the IMP mass fraction increases from zero to 50, and the umami flavor intensity is convex. The mass fraction of IMP increases from 50 to 100, and the umami intensity decreases in a convex parabolic shape. MSG is often mixed with IG to produce powerful MSG. The IG of 99 MSG 1 can increase the freshness by 2 times, the IG of 98 MSG 2 can increase the freshness by 3.5 times, and the IG of 96 MSG 4 can increase the freshness by 5 times. In the flavoring application of meat flavor, MSG is often used in conjunction with IG.

IMP, GMP and I G

IMP and GMP are abundant in livestock and poultry products such as beef, pork, and chicken, as well as seafood such as sardines, eels, white pike, and ayu. IMP and GMP have a strong umami taste, and the umami taste intensity of GMP is about three times more than that of IMP. A mixture of the two is usually used commercially (i.e. IG, IMP and GMP each account for 50%). MSG, IMP, GMP, and IG can make the meaty flavor of meat flavoring essence more intense and perfect, and enhance and improve the meaty flavor, persistence and richness.

MSS and DSS

Both MSS and DSS have umami and special shellfish taste, so they are also called scallops in commerce. They are shellfish (such as clam meat, Oysters, snail meat, scallops, abalone, clams, etc.) are the main components of umami flavor and can be used as a flavor enhancer for seafood flavor. The two have a synergistic effect when used in conjunction with MSG.

Natural essential oils or their blended flavors and aromatics

The most commonly used essential oil is sesame oil. Unroasted sesame has very few aroma components and only contains more than 10 aldehydes ( Such as valeraldehyde, hexanal, heptanal, furfural, 5-methylfurfural, etc.), several phenols (phenol, guaiacol, etc.) and more than 10 other aroma substances. However, after roasting sesame seeds, their aroma components and the quantity has greatly increased, including hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, acids, furans, phenols, lactones, pyrazines, pyrroles, pyridines, oxazoles, nitriles, thiazoles There are 208 kinds of aroma substances in 17 categories including thiophenes, thiophenes, thiols and sulfides. Sesame oil extracted from roasted sesame seeds has a strong aroma and good flavoring properties. If you want to add sesame oil to water essence, you need to emulsify the sesame oil first, otherwise fat will float after adding it, which will affect the appearance and quality of the essence. In some commercially available blended oils or salad oils, sesame oil is often added for flavoring, which increases the added value of the product. In addition to using natural sesame oil, sesame oil essence can also be used. When the aroma of natural sesame oil is not strong enough or the quality is unstable, it can be solved through flavoring.

In order to reduce the cost of meat flavor and improve its intensity, fullness, coordination, etc., it is necessary to add meat flavor enhancer. But not every flavor enhancer can be used in meat flavor. Generally speaking, MSG, IG, furanone, maltol and ethyl maltol are suitable for various meat flavors, and MSS and DSS are suitable for seafood flavor. , sesame oil is suitable for flavoring pork, beef, ham, barbecue and other types of flavors.