Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Fermentation processes – Of isolated seed – bean or nut – or material derived therefrom
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-20
2001-02-20
Wong, Leslie (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Fermentation processes
Of isolated seed, bean or nut, or material derived therefrom
C426S044000, C426S533000, C426S634000, C426S650000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06190709
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a flavour enhancer, methods for preparing the flavour enhancer, to food and feed compositions comprising the flavour enhancer and to the use of the flavour enhancer.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Flavour enhancers enhance the existing flavour of a food product. Two classes of well-known flavour enhancing compounds are monosodium glutamate and 5′-ribonucleotides. These flavour enhancing compounds are used as such, but are also, separately or in combination, part of flavour enhancing compositions.
Yeast extracts, for instance, which are prepared by enzymatic degradation of yeast, contain the flavour enhancing 5′-ribonucleotides guanosine-5′-monophosphate (5′-GMP) and inosine-5′-monophosphate (5′-IMP).
Hydrolysed vegetable proteins (HVPs), which are prepared by acid or enzymatic hydrolysis of vegetable protein, typically contain monosodium glutamate as their flavour enhancing compound. This monosodium glutamate is derived from the amino acids glutamic acid and glutamine released from the protein during hydrolysis.
Flavour enhancers which do not contain substantial amounts of at least either of the two classes of flavour enhancing compounds are very scarce. As far as the inventors know, the only disclosure of a flavour enhancer of this type is in U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,062.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,062 describes a soy hydrolysate which is prepared by hydrolysing at pH 6.6-7.2, 30-38° C. for about two hours. The resulting hydrolysate contains no free amino acids, is low in glutamate, and can be used as a flavour enhancer. However, the described flavour enhancer enhances fish flavours only.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a flavour enhancer that is low in monosodium glutamate, methods for preparing the flavour enhancer, compositions comprising the flavour enhancer, and uses of the flavour enhancer. A preferred method for preparing the flavour enhancer as a soy protein hydrolysate comprises: (i) forming an aqueous suspension of a soy protein containing starting material (e.g. soy flour, soy protein isolate, soy beans, or soy bean flakes, meal or grits, which preferably are defatted); (ii) heating the aqueous suspension for at least from about 1 minute to about 15 minutes at a temperature of from about 60° C. to about 82° C.; (iii) incubating the suspension with a protease mixture comprising endoprotease and exoprotease activity, to obtain an amino acid level in the suspension of from about 20% to about 55%; (iv) adjusting the pH and temperature of the suspension to inactivate the endoprotease and exoprotease; and (v) recovering the soy protein hydrolysate (e.g. by concentrating and/or drying, or other appropriate means).
The present invention thus provides a flavour enhancer which is low in monosodium glutamate, has no yeast-like after taste, and enhances both meat, vegetable and dairy flavours. This offers the advantage of a wide applicability. The flavour enhancer can be used as such or, in a flavouring composition, e.g. in combination with a flavouring agent.
Since the flavour enhancer according to the invention is low in monosodium glutamate, it can also be used by individuals who prefer to minimise their monosodium glutamate intake, e.g. due to a sensitivity to monosodium glutamate.
Although the present flavour enhancer is a soy hydrolysate with its own characteristic taste, the taste of a food product comprising the soy hydrolysate as flavour enhancer is not reminiscent of the soy used to prepare the flavour enhancer. These and other objects and advantages of the present invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention set forth herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides, among other things, a soy hydrolysate which is obtainable by:
(i) heating a suspension of defatted soy flour in water for at least about 10 min at from about 65° C. to about 82° C.;
(ii) incubating the suspension with a mixture of endo- and exo-proteases obtained from
Aspergillus
species at from about 40° C. to about 60° C. at a pH of about 4 to about 6 for a sufficient time to obtain an amino acid level of 20% to 55%;
(iii) lowering the pH to between about 3.5 and about 4.5 and increasing the temperature to from about 80° C. to about 100° C. for a period of time ranging from about 10 minutes to about 4 hours; and
(iv) lowering the temperature to from about 25° C. to about 40° C. and, optionally, recovering the hydrolysate.
The starting material used for hydrolysis may contain from about 50% to about 100% (w/w) soy protein, preferably from about 50% to about 75%. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, defatted non-toasted soy flour (Cargill B. V., the Netherlands) containing about 52% (w/w) soy protein, maximally about 1.5% (w/w) fat, and from about 2 to about 4% (w/w) fibres is used. However, the person skilled in the art will understand that also other defatted soy protein containing material, such as soy protein isolate or toasted soy flour, may be used as starting material. Although soy beans may be used as well, the result can be less satisfactory, due to the oil present in these beans.
Advantageously the viscosity may be reduced, e.g. to facilitate further manipulation of the suspension; such reduction in viscosity preferably may be obtained by enzyme addition. Suitable enzyme preparations include Pescalase® (Gist-brocades, the Netherlands), B500® (Gist-brocades, the Netherlands) and Viscozyme® (NOVO Nordisk, Denmark), or enzyme preparations having similar activity.
Preferably Pescalase® protease is used to reduce the viscosity. Although other enzymes, like cellulase e.g. present in Viscozyme®, are known to reduce viscosity, surprisingly we found that a short incubation with a protease, such as Pescalase® protease, sufficiently reduced the viscosity. For example, about 1 hour incubation at about 60° C. with about 0.5 w/w % Pescalase® protease sufficiently reduces viscosity of the suspension comprising soy flour.
Hydrolysis is desirably preceded by a heat step in order to inactivate disturbing native soy proteins, such as glycosidases, that may interfere with the reaction or quality of the end product. Heating the mixture for at least about 5 to 15 minutes, preferably at least about 7 minutes, at a temperature of from about 65° C. to about 82° C. substantially reduced the amount of off-flavours (or undesirable flavours) produced by the degradation of isoflavones. In a preferred embodiment, the mixture is heated for about 10 minutes at about 75° C. Notably while incubations at increased temperature according to the invention desirably is carried out for at least about 5 to about 15 minutes, incubation times longer than 15 minutes can be employed as long as this step does not product (other) undesirable flavours.
The soy protein optimally is enzymatically hydrolysed by mixtures of endoproteases and exoproteases. The ratio between the activities for the endo- and exo- proteases may vary from about 1 to 10, to about 10 to 1. To one skilled in the art it will be clear that this ratio (as one of the options) can be varied in order to provide for the desired amino acid level. Commercially available mixtures of endo- and exo-protease that can be used in the present invention are, for instance, Sumizyme® FP, Sumizyme® LP—proteases (both from Shin Nihon, Japan), Flavourzyme® protease (Novo Nordisk A/S, Denmark) and Protease M® Amano (Amano, Japan). Other comparable enzymes having similar properties can be used as well. These endo- and exo-protease mixtures preferably are obtained from an
Aspergillus
species, especially a species such as
A. oryzae
or
A. sojae
, although enzymes from other
Aspergillus
species, or indeed, other fungal species, similarly can be employed. Mixtures of these proteases, e.g., with other proteases such as for example Pescalase® protease which is a bacterial endoprotease, may also be used. Furthermore it may be advantageous to incubate several proteases either concu
Edens Luppo
Plijter-Schuddemat Johanna
Schoenmaker Arie Cornelis
Gist-Brocades B.V.
McDonnell & Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff
Wong Leslie
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