Savory flavors heat up stews

Prepared Foods, Feb, 2002 by Laura A. Brandt

"With autolyzed yeast, you've broken the cell wall, but all the components are still there, nothing is removed, including the cell wall," says Hildabrand. "This makes for a turbid product that is useful where clarity is not important, as in stews and certain soups. With the cell wall removed, yeast extracts are clear so they can be used in applications such as clear bouillon."

More concentrated yeast extracts usually are used at 0.1 to 0.25% on a finished product basis. Autolyzed yeasts and yeast-based flavors typically are used at 0.5 to 1.0%

The key to deciding which flavors and flavor enhancers to use lies in first defining the flavor performance objective, then determining what flavors are present or absent in the system. Labeling decisions play a role in selecting enhancers. Some yeast-based ingredients contribute naturally-occurring free glutamic acid and 5'-nucleotides that do not require additional labeling.

A word of advice from Hildabrand: "Sometimes people will set up yeast-based ingredients from various suppliers in water as an initial screening process," she says. "Torula yeast in water alone tastes like the water from boiled potatoes. You'd be much better off tasting yeast-based ingredients in the appropriate broth, such as beef, chicken, or vegetable, to assess performance."

Stocking Up an Flavor

Soup, broth or stew contains chicken or beef broth for body and flavor. Some companies use stocks in their reaction vessels in the production of finished flavors. "Beef or chicken stock is a key element in stews, for flavor enhancement and for labeling purposes-consumers want to see this on the label," says Kim Peterson, senior food applications scientist, Proliant Inc., Ames, Iowa. Stocks can be used from 05 to 2.0%.

Fat is another key ingredient for tasty stews. Fat from a flavoring component and from meat itself helps contribute homemade taste--in addition to rounding out the flavor profile and providing mouthfeel.

"We recommend using around 0.5% beef, chicken, or turkey fat in a stew," says Peterson. Usually sold frozen, chicken fat, turkey fat or beef tallow can be liquefied by the customer before use.

Such ingredients give a "mother's touch" to stews and other savory foods at a time when mothers are stretched for time.

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