Maximising umami taste in meat using natural ingredients: effects on chemistry, sensory perception and hedonic liking in young and old consumers.

BACKGROUND: Umami taste in foods is elicited predominantly by the presence of glutamic acid and 5'-ribonucleotides, which act synergistically. This study aimed to use natural ingredients to maximise umami taste of a meat formulation and determine effects on liking of older consumers. Cooked meat products with added natural ingredients (yeast extract, mycoscent, shiitake extract, tomato puree, soy sauce and soybean paste) or monosodium glutamate (MSG) were prepared and compared with a control sample analytically (umami compounds), sensorially (sensory profile) and hedonically (liking by younger and older volunteers). Taste detection thresholds of sodium chloride and MSG of volunteers were collected. RESULTS: Four of the seven cooked meat products developed had a significantly higher content of umami-contributing compounds compared with the control. All products, except those containing MSG or tomato puree, were scored (by trained sensory panel) perceptually significantly higher in umami and/or salty taste compared with the control. Consumer tests showed a correlation of liking by the older cohort with perceived saltiness (ρ = 0.76). CONCLUSION: The addition of natural umami-containing ingredients during the cooking of meat can provide enhanced umami and salty taste characteristics. This can lead to increased liking by some consumers, particularly those with raised taste detection thresholds.

Differences in glutamic acid and 5'-ribonucleotide contents between flesh and pulp of tomatoes and the relationship with umami taste.

A difference in taste characteristics between the outer flesh and the inner pulp of tomatoes has been observed; in particular the pulp, which contains the seeds, had more umami taste. Analysis of the free amino acids and 5'-ribonucleotides in the different parts of 13 varieties of tomatoes showed that in all cases the pulp contained higher levels of glutamic acid, 5'-adenosine monophosphate (AMP), 5'-guanosine monophosphate, 5'-uridine monophosphate, and 5'-cytidine monophosphate. The mean concentration of glutamic acid in the flesh was 1.26 g/kg and that in the pulp 4.56 g/kg but in some varieties the difference between pulp and flesh was more than 6-fold. For AMP, the mean concentration in the flesh was 80 mg/kg and that in the pulp was 295 mg/kg with one variety showing an 11-fold difference between pulp and flesh. These differences in concentration of these compounds, which are known to possess umami characteristics, provide an explanation for the perceived difference in umami taste between the flesh and pulp of tomatoes.