Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Flavor or flavor adjunct – acidulant or condiment
Reexamination Certificate
1997-03-13
2004-03-09
Tran, Lien (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Flavor or flavor adjunct, acidulant or condiment
C426S237000, C426S534000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06703066
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field:
The present invention relates to flavor enhancing agents and flavor potentiators for use with foods, and to methods of preparing such enhancers.
2. State of the Art:
Various flavor potentiators and flavor enhancers are known and in common use with food products. Flavor potentiators are believed to increase the sensitivity of taste buds, thus increasing the natural flavors in foods. Flavor enhancers, when added to foods, are believed to act as solvents or detergents to free more flavor from foods, to make more flavor available for tasting, and to assist such flavors in penetrating the taste buds more readily. Disodium inosine-5′-monophosphate [IMP], disodium guanosine-5′-monophosphate [GMP], maltol, and ethyl maltol are known as weak flavor enhancers.
It is well known that the combination of monosodium L-glutamate [MSG] and a flavor inducing 5′-nucleotide, such as disodium inosine-5′-monophosphate [IMP], disodium guanosine-5′-monophosphate [GMP], or mixtures thereof, exhibit a synergistic flavoring activity. Thus, with the use of MSG, lower amounts of total flavor enhancers can be used at a reduced cost to the user. MSG itself is a powerful flavor enhancer and, with or without other flavor enhancers, is widely used as a flavor enhancer in the food industry. It is added to many processed foods and is available as a powder to be added to foods during home preparation. However, MSG can act as a vasodilator. As such, it is a common cause of headache in migraine prone individuals. It also frequently causes a sensation of fatigue, bloating, and gastric distress in sensitive individuals. Recent studies have also linked other health problems to overuse of MSG. There is a need for a non-toxic flavor inducing agent, especially one that will exhibit a synergistic effect with other flavor inducing substances, so that it may be used in very small quantities to enhance the flavor of foodstuffs.
It is known that silica in small amounts is present in some drinking waters. The silica is considered a natural mineral in such waters with no known adverse health effects. However, such waters do not demonstrate any flavor potentiating or enhancing properties.
It is also known that water can be treated magnetically to modify the properties of such water, see for example, my U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,113. However, while such magnetic treatment in some instances can improve the taste of water having high iron, sulfur, chlorine, organic tannin, or acid content, such treated water is not known as a flavor potentiator or enhancer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
I have discovered that an aqueous composition containing small quantities of an inorganic colloidal silica, particularly if the colloidal silica particles are highly charged, acts as a flavor potentiator and flavor enhancer and also exhibits a synergistic enhancement of the flavor inducing activity of other flavor inducing agents such as 5′-nucleotides, maltol, ethyl maltol, and monosodium glutamate. Thus, the invention comprises an aqueous taste enhancing composition of matter including an inorganic colloidal silica or a unique blend of an inorganic colloidal silica in combination with another flavor inducing agent such as a 5′-nucleotide or ethyl maltol, and methods of enhancing the flavor of food by adding such compositions to a food whose natural flavor it is desired to enhance.
Depending upon the particular application, other flavor enhancing substances, such as amber soy sauce and garlic juice, can be added to the composition. The compositions according to the invention have been found to enhance flavor, tenderize meats, aid in the formation of a stable crust on breaded fried foods, and impart improved body and consistency in soups, dressings, and beverages.
The composition preferably contains colloidal silica particles of from 10 to 100 angstroms in size and in concentration from 30 parts per billion (PPB) to 500 parts per million (PPM) with a preferred range when the composition is to be added directly to foods of between 5 PPM and 20 PPM. The more concentrated composition (up to 500 PPM) will generally be diluted by other ingredients before use, and the lesser concentration (down to 30 PPB) results when the composition is mixed with other ingredients to form products such as marinates in which meat, fish, or poultry may be marinated.
Also, one aspect of the invention is a novel method for generating a colloidal silica solution of the invention employing silicon dioxide, and a mixing device with means for circulating the solution through a magnetic field during mixing. The magnetic field increases the charge or zeta potential on the colloidal silica. This is believed to further activate the colloidal silica as a flavor potentiator and to help prevent gelling of the silica in the solution or precipitation of the silica from the solution.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4311720 (1982-01-01), Marmo et al.
patent: 5011690 (1991-04-01), Garvey et al.
patent: 1188642 (1970-04-01), None
patent: 53-104772 (1977-02-01), None
patent: 54020979 (1979-02-01), None
Mallinckrodt Robert R.
Mallinckrodt & Mallinckrodt
Tran Lien
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