Culinary taste enhancer

Abstract

The present invention relates to a vegetable powder, a process for preparing the powder and its use in food products. The vegetable powder may be used to improve a food product, in particular to improve its taste, flavour or texture. An improved food product according to the invention shows one or more of the following improvements in comparison to the food product to which no powder has been added: a rounder flavour profile, less off-notes, a sweeter taste, more umami taste, more kokumi taste or more creaminess. The powder according to the invention allows for clean and clear-labelled food products.

1 - 16 . (canceled) 
     
     
         17 . A vegetable powder, comprising:
 at least 90% w/w dry vegetable material; and   less than 0.01% w/w maltodextrin,   wherein the vegetable powder has a savoury or pan-fried smell or taste.   
     
     
         18 . The vegetable powder of  claim 17 , wherein the at least 90% w/w dry vegetable material is prepared by oven drying a vegetable paste. 
     
     
         19 . The vegetable powder of  claim 17 , wherein the at least 90% w/w dry vegetable material is prepared by drying a vegetable paste in a vacuum oven. 
     
     
         20 . The vegetable powder of  claim 18 , wherein the vegetable paste is treated with an enzyme before the vegetable paste is dried. 
     
     
         21 . The vegetable powder of  claim 20 , wherein the enzyme is selected from the group consisting of a cellulose-degrading enzyme, a xylanase-degrading enzyme, and a beta-glucan-degrading enzyme. 
     
     
         22 . The vegetable powder of  claim 20 , wherein the vegetable paste is treated with 0.1 w/w to 1% w/w cellulose degrading enzyme, 0.1 w/w to 1% w/w xylanase degrading enzyme, or 0.1 w/w to 1% w/w beta-glucan degrading enzyme, based on the total weight of the vegetable paste. 
     
     
         23 . The vegetable powder of  claim 20 , wherein the vegetable paste is treated with the enzyme for maximally two hours. 
     
     
         24 . The vegetable powder of  claim 17 , wherein the vegetable material comprises a plant in a genus selected from the group consisting of  Allium, Capsicum , and  Solanum.    
     
     
         25 . The vegetable powder of  claim 17 , wherein the vegetable material comprises a fungi in a genus selected from the group consisting of Tuberaceae,  Agaricus , Marasmiaceae, and Pleurotaceae. 
     
     
         26 . The vegetable powder of  claim 17 , wherein the vegetable material comprises a vegetable selected from the group consisting of chives, garlic, leek, onion, sweet pepper, pepper, tomato, mushrooms, truffles, onions, and tomatoes. 
     
     
         27 . The vegetable powder of  claim 17 , wherein the vegetable material is selected from the group consisting of example  Agaricus bosporis, Agaricus campestris, Allium ampeloprasum, Allium ascalonicum, Allium cepa, Allium schoenoprasum, Allium sativum, Capsicum annuum, Lentinula edodes, Pleurotes ostreatus  or  Solanum lycopersum.    
     
     
         28 . A process for preparing a vegetable powder, comprising the steps of:
 (i) providing a paste from a vegetable material;   (ii) heating the vegetable paste in a vacuum oven for 30 to 90 minutes at an oven temperature of 90 to 120 degrees C. with a vacuum of 80 to 150 mbar;   (iii) decreasing the vacuum to 10-50 mbar and continue drying to obtain a cake with a cake temperature of 85 to 95 degrees C.;   (iv) removing the cake from the oven;   (v) grinding the cake to obtain a powder.   
     
     
         29 . The process of  claim 28 , wherein the paste is prepared from a vegetable side stream or products from vegetable processing that would otherwise be discarded. 
     
     
         30 . The process of  claim 28 , wherein the paste is subjected to hydrolysis with cell wall degrading enzymes for maximally two hours at a temperature in the range of 40-55 degrees C. at a pH in the range from pH 4.5 to pH 5.5 before heating in step (ii). 
     
     
         31 . The process of  claim 28 , further comprising the step of treating the paste with an enzyme before heating in step (ii). 
     
     
         32 . The process of  claim 31 , wherein the enzyme is selected from the group consisting of a cellulose-degrading enzyme, a xylanase-degrading enzyme, and a beta-glucan-degrading enzyme. 
     
     
         33 . The process of  claim 28 , wherein the vegetable material comprises a plant in a genus selected from the group consisting of  Allium, Capsicum , and  Solanum.    
     
     
         34 . The process of  claim 28 , wherein the vegetable material comprises a fungi in a genus selected from the group consisting of Tuberaceae,  Agaricus , Marasmiaceae, and Pleurotaceae. 
     
     
         35 . The process of  claim 28 , wherein the vegetable material comprises a vegetable selected from the group consisting of chives, garlic, leek, onion, sweet pepper, pepper, tomato, mushrooms, truffles, onions, and tomatoes. 
     
     
         36 . The process of  claim 28 , wherein the vegetable material is selected from the group consisting of example  Agaricus bosporis, Agaricus campestris, Allium ampeloprasum, Allium ascalonicum, Allium cepa, Allium schoenoprasum, Allium sativum, Capsicum annuum, Lentinula edodes, Pleurotes ostreatus  or  Solanum lycopersum.