"Creaminess": a question of flavor

Prepared Foods, July, 1992

Fat-reduced products are this decade's hot new-product success category. To have staying power, however, no-, low- and reduced-fat products must deliver flavor, the one quality attribute upon which consumers offer no compromise.

According to market data released by the Atlanta based Calorie Control Council at the IBC/Prepared Foods Conference on Fat- and Cholesterol Reduction (April 1-3, New Orleans), 67% of adult consumers (124 million) purchase lowfat products. Cheese and dairy, beverages, frozen desserts and snack foods represent the most popular reduced-fat products purchased. The results suggest that consumer satisfaction with reduced-fat savory products leaves room for improvement.

Reduced fat doesn't have to taste like fat reduced. Red Star Specialty Products (Milwaukee) tackled the issue of reduced-fat flavor profiles for savory products head-on by defining how its 5'-nucleotide, yeast-based flavor enhancers compensate for the altered flavor profiles of soups, gravies, cheeses, snacks, entrees and side dishes.

ALTERED FLAVOR

"Creaminess" is more than a question of texture. Fat contributes and carries its own flavors. It also modulates how flavors are perceived. Fats are insoluble, so they impede the passage of oil-soluble flavors over the palate, producing lingering flavor effects.

Consequently, the removal of fats from products removes the direct flavor contributions from fat-soluble ingredients and changes how the remaining flavors are perceived, says Tim Roebken, Red Star Specialty Products' product and marketing manager.

"For example, acidity is perceived more quickly and more harshly in reduced-fat salad dressings than in regular products," says Roebken.

"Or, products such as cheeses may lack a |richness' and taste |flat,'" adds Ed Schoenberg, manager of applications.

So, how do yeast extract-based flavor systems work?

"Flavormate, as an example, is a customized line of ingredients that contains 5'-nucleotides and other natural savory flavor components such as pyrazines, thiozoles and furanones," explains Schoenberg. The ingredients are retort, aseptic and microwave stable.

The 5'-nucleotides are natural derivatives of the genetic material of yeasts. The nucleotides contribute a significant salt-sparing and "umami"-like effect to flavor profiles, which also gives them a role as salt- and HVP extenders or replacers in foods. Their flavor modulation compensates for the flavor contributions of fatty ingredients.

"Their flavor-enhancement qualities also offer significant cost reductions in dairy or meat flavor systems," adds Roebken.

The company's product lines have been developed to meet the needs of specific product categories. For example, Amberflave 961 contributes a savory richness to lowfat processed cheese products, while Flavormate 945 can be used to restore creaminess to a fat-free buttermilk salad dressing, says Schoenberg. "We're also doing work with lowfat processed meats, where we have obtained considerable flavor profile improvement using our yeast extracts."