Natural food and beverage flavour enhancers - Natural Food Additives, Ingredients and Flavourings - page 74

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Natural food and beverage fl avour
enhancers
L. Methven, University of Reading, UK

Abstract: Flavour enhancers are of great importance to the food industry and the
consumer in terms of achieving strong, balanced and preferred product fl avour. The
understanding and use of fl avour enhancers can help to avoid excessive use of individual
ingredients such as salt or specifi c character impact fl avours. This chapter fi rst discusses
savoury fl avour enhancement through the use of ingredients rich in amino acids and
5′-nucleotides. It then includes the potential role of peptides and Maillard-derived
compounds. The role of volatile fl avour compounds in the enhancement of salt and sweet
taste is also discussed.

Key words: taste, fl avour, umami, odour-induced enhancement.

4.1 Introduction
A fl avour enhancer is typically defi ned to be a compound which, when added to
food, boosts or enhances the natural fl avour of the food. One could argue that it
may well enhance any fl avour in the food, natural or otherwise! The term is most
often applied to savoury fl avour enhancement, typically through the addition of
the amino acid L -glutmate and/or 5′-ribonucleotides. However, the term can
incorporate the enhancement of sweet fl avours, or the enhancement of basic tastes
such as salt or sweet enhancement. This chapter covers all these aspects of fl avour
enhancement, but in all cases it concentrates on the use of natural sources of
enhancement.
The mechanism for fl avour enhancement is still under debate and is likely
to depend upon the specifi c taste-fl avour combination in question. Some
enhancement has been shown to be at the cognitive level whilst other cases may
be at the receptor level. Synergy between non-volatile tastants, in addition to
leading to an increased overall taste, can also increase the volatile fl avour

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