Beefing up the flavor arsenal.Beefing up the flavor arsenal Flavor chemists have been stymied in their search for the compounds that give beef its characteristic taste. "Most flavors are in the volatile or aromatic components of foods,' notes Chi-Tang Ho at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. His work has shown that 130 volatiles--readily vaporizable va·por·ize tr. & intr.v. va·por·ized, va·por·iz·ing, va·por·iz·es To convert or be converted into vapor. va chemicals--contribute to the "fried chicken' flavor. However, he could not find a combination of volatiles that generates a beefy beefy, beefyness 1. in dog conformation, used to describe overdevelopment of musculature in the hindquarters. 2. in cattle, used to designate the desirable physical conformation of a beef animal, but an undesirable character in dairy cattle. taste. Now, together with Stephen Chang and Tzou-Chi Huang, Ho has identified a single pair of nonvolatile peptides (compounds derived from two or more amino acids) that imparts a beef flavor. These compounds may make possible the meatless creation of beef-flavored gravy or soups. They also hold promise as an alternative to monosodium glutamate monosodium glutamate: see glutamic acid. monosodium glutamate (MSG) White crystalline substance, a sodium salt of the amino acid glutamic acid. MSG is used to intensify the natural flavour of meats and vegetables. (MSG MSG: see glutamic acid. ) as a new "flavor enhancer.' Says Ho, "Our hope is that the compounds we have discovered, since they are routinely eaten in beef, will prove to have the good effects of MSG without its bad effects'--those "Chinese-restaurant-syndrome' headaches and aftertaste aftertaste /af·ter·taste/ (-tast?) a taste continuing after the substance producing it has been removed. af·ter·taste n. . |
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