A method of processing a fruit or vegetable is described. The method includes contacting a fruit or vegetable in an optimizer with a first deacidified juice, the first deacidified juice including at least one bulking agent and a sugar concentration that is at least about equal to the sugar concentration in the fruit or vegetable, under conditions sufficient to transfer acids from the fruit or vegetable to the first deacidified juice and bulking agent from the first deacidified juice to the fruit or vegetable, thereby producing an acidified juice and an infused fruit or vegetable product. The method also includes removing acids from the acidified juice to produce a second deacidified juice, mixing the second deacidified juice with at least one bulking agent, and, optionally, recycling the second deacidified juice comprising at least one bulking agent to the optimizer.

The present invention is concerned with providing refined plant isolates that can be used as starting materials for the production of functional food ingredients, such as taste enhancers, through an isolation process that employs ion exclusion chromatography. More particularly, the present invention provides a refined plant isolate comprising at least 30% by weight of dry matter of water soluble plant components selected from fructose, glucose, proteinaceous matter of plant origin, acids and potassium, said isolate further being characterized in that at a concentration of 40 Brix the isolate: contains at least 0.3 wt % of glutamate; contains at least 500 ppm of K.sup.+; contains less than 300 ppm of Ca.sup.2+; contains less than 700 ppm of Mg.sup.2+; contains less than 1 wt. % of components capable of passing an ultra filtration membrane having a molecular weight cut off of 250 kDa; wherein the concentration ratio ([Ca.sup.2+]+[Mg.sup.2+])/[K.sup.+] does not exceed 5:100, each of said cation concentrations being expressed in ppm.

Methods for producing fruit juice compositions and/or beverage products where the content of an aroma component is reduced but the content of a nutritional functional component and the content of a saccharide are not substantially reduced.

The invention provides a fermented onion composition having a dry matter content of at least 8 wt. %, said composition comprising, per gram of dry matter: 75-800 mg acid equivalent of organic acid selected from propionic acid, lactic acid, acetic acid and combinations thereof; 2-200 mg acid equivalent of onion acid selected from selected from citric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, oxalic acid, pyruvic acid, succinic acid and combinations thereof; 0-150 mg of saccharides selected from fructose, glucose, sucrose and combinations thereof; 0-40 mg of onion protein; wherein the combination of components a) to d) constitutes 50-95 wt. % of the dry matter that is contained in the composition.

The fermented onion composition of the present invention may suitably be applied as a food ingredient in edible products as it has useful functional properties.

The fermented onion composition of the present invention can be prepared, for instance, by subjecting onion juice and/or onion pulp to membrane filtration to remove e.g. protein, followed by a fermentation step using propionic acid producing bacteria, lactic acid producing bacteria and/or acetic acid producing bacteria.

Solid, free-flowing, and substantially completely dissolvable preparations with high betalain content are presented. Most typically, the betalain profile of the preparations is near natural and includes betalains in an amount of between 10-40 wt %. As the preparations of the inventive subject matter maintain chemical stability and flowability over extended periods of time, it should be noted that the betalain preparations are now amenable to compounding in small and measured quantities. Furthermore, new biological activities of betalains are shown, and especially include significant induction of SIRT and reduction of serum triglyceride.

Solid, free-flowing, and substantially completely dissolvable preparations with high betalain content are presented. Most typically, the betalain profile of the preparations is near natural and includes betalains in an amount of between 10-40 wt %. As the preparations of the inventive subject matter maintain chemical stability and flowability over extended periods of time, it should be noted that the betalain preparations are now amenable to compounding in small and measured quantities. Furthermore, new biological activities of betalains are shown, and especially include significant induction of SIRT and reduction of serum triglyceride.

A method for preparing a plant derived product or a process intermediate or a process input, the method comprising the steps of providing a plant derived starting material, subjecting the starting material to a forward osmosis step against a draw solution so as to produce a plant material concentrate, and subjecting the draw solution to a water removal step. The water removal step may include further forward osmosis in combination with an evaporator system.

A method for preparing a plant derived product or a process intermediate or a process input, the method comprising the steps of providing a plant derived starting material, subjecting the starting material to a forward osmosis step against a draw solution so as to produce a plant material concentrate, and subjecting the draw solution to a water removal step. The water removal step may include further forward osmosis in combination with an evaporator system.

Disclosed herein is a method for producing prune juice concentrate. By the such method of the invention, a production of prune juice concentrate with low acidity and low cost is achieved by using sweet plum varieties such as President, Stanley, Sugar, and Uryani with high purity.

The invention relates to concentrated fruit juice for a marinade for tumbling a meat product, the weight percentage of sorbitol in the concentrated fruit juice being more than 10 wt.-%. The concentrated fruit juice contains at least concentrated pear juice, concentrated mirabelle juice and/or concentrated quince juice.