PROCESS FOR PREPARING A FLAVOURING COMPOSITION

Abstract

Disclosed is a process for preparing a flavoring composition, including the steps consisting of: (i) preparing a fermentation substrate including:a source of plant origin chosen from the group consisting of oleaginous plants, oleaginous-proteaginous plants, proteaginous plants, cereals, leguminous plants, seeds, tubers and rhizomes and/or leaves of ligneous and non-ligneous forest products and mixtures thereof, anda liquid of non-animal origin which is immiscible with a fatty phase; (ii) adding a source of fatty acid essentially of plant origin to the fermentation substrate; (iii) fermenting the mixture obtained in step (ii), wherein the mixture obtained in step (ii) is pre-inoculated with microorganisms; and (iv) recovering the flavoring composition obtained.

Claims

1. Process for preparing a flavouring composition, comprising the steps consisting of: (i) preparing a fermentation support comprising: a source of plant origin chosen from the group consisting of oleaginous plants, oleaginous-proteaginous plants, proteaginous plants, cereals, leguminous plants, seeds, tubers, rhizomes and/or leaves of ligneous and non-ligneous forest products and mixtures thereof; and a liquid of non-animal origin which is immiscible with a fatty phase, less than 2% by mass of dextrose and less than 0.4% by mass of lactose with respect to the total mass of the fermentation support; (ii) adding a source of fatty acid essentially of plant origin to the fermentation support; (iii) fermenting the mixture obtained in step (ii), the mixture obtained in step (ii) being pre-inoculated with microorganisms; and (iv) recovering the flavouring composition obtained.

2. Preparation process according to claim 1, wherein the fermentation support in preparation step (i) essentially comprises: a source of plant origin chosen from the group consisting of oleaginous plants, oleaginous-proteaginous plants, proteaginous plants, cereals, leguminous plants, seeds, tubers, rhizomes and/or leaves of ligneous and non-ligneous forest products and mixtures thereof; and a liquid of non-animal origin which is immiscible with a fatty phase.

3. Preparation process according to claim 1, wherein the source of fatty acid is chosen from the group consisting of coconut oil, palm kernel oil, babassu oil, and extracts of plant oils rich in short- and medium-chain fatty acids such as purified capric acid and caprylic acid, and mixtures thereof.

4. Preparation process according to claim 3, wherein when the source of fatty acid is triglycerides, the process comprises a triglycerides hydrolysis step prior to the fermentation step.

5. Preparation process according to claim 1, wherein the source of plant origin is at least one oleaginous plant chosen from the group consisting of peanut, soya, sunflower, coconut, flax, cotton and mixtures thereof.

6. Preparation process according to claim 1, wherein the microorganisms introduced into the fermentation support are chosen from the group consisting ofPenicillium roqueforti, Penicillium album, Geotrichum candidum, Staphylococcus carnosus and Staphylococcus xylosus spores.

7. Fermentation support comprising: less than 2% by mass of dextrose and less than 0.4% by mass of lactose; a source of plant origin chosen from the group consisting of oleaginous plants, oleaginous-proteaginous plants, proteaginous plants, cereals, leguminous plants, seeds and/or leaves of ligneous and non-ligneous forest products, tubers and rhizomes and mixtures thereof, a source of fatty acid essentially of plant origin; and a liquid of non-animal origin which is immiscible with a fatty phase, said fermentation support being intended to be inoculated with microorganisms.

8. Fermentation support according to claim 7, wherein the fermentation support essentially comprises: a source of plant origin chosen from the group consisting of oleaginous plants, oleaginous-proteaginous plants, proteaginous plants, cereals, leguminous plants, seeds and/or leaves of ligneous and non-ligneous forest products, tubers and rhizomes and mixtures thereof, a source of fatty acid essentially of plant origin; and a liquid of non-animal origin which is immiscible with a fatty phase.

9. Fermentation support according to claim 7, wherein the oleaginous plants are chosen from the group consisting of peanut, soya, sunflower, coconut, flax, cotton and mixtures thereof.

10. Fermentation support according to claim 7, wherein the mass ratio between the liquid of non-animal origin which is immiscible with the fatty phase and the source of plant origin is between 5 and 20.

11. A fermentation support inoculated with microorganisms and comprising a source of essentially plant-based fatty acid, the fermentation support comprising a source of plant origin chosen from the group consisting of oleaginous plants, oleaginous-proteaginous plants, proteaginous plants, cereals, leguminous plants, seeds, tubers and rhizomes and/or leaves of ligneous and non-ligneous forest products, and mixtures thereof, the fermentation support being suitable for developing cheese flavour.

12. Food and/or condiment comprising the flavouring composition obtained according to the process as defined in claim 1.

13. Preparation process according to claim 2, wherein the source of fatty acid is chosen from the group consisting of coconut oil, palm kernel oil, babassu oil, and extracts of plant oils rich in short- and medium-chain fatty acids such as purified capric acid and caprylic acid, and mixtures thereof.

14. Preparation process according to claim 2, wherein the source of plant origin is at least one oleaginous plant chosen from the group consisting of peanut, soya, sunflower, coconut, flax, cotton and mixtures thereof.

15. Preparation process according to claim 3, wherein the source of plant origin is at least one oleaginous plant chosen from the group consisting of peanut, soya, sunflower, coconut, flax, cotton and mixtures thereof.

16. Preparation process according to claim 4, wherein the source of plant origin is at least one oleaginous plant chosen from the group consisting of peanut, soya, sunflower, coconut, flax, cotton and mixtures thereof.

17. Preparation process according to claim 2, wherein the microorganisms introduced into the fermentation support are chosen from the group consisting of Penicillium roqueforti, Penicillium album, Geotrichum candidum, Staphylococcus carnosus and Staphylococcus xylosus spores.

18. Preparation process according to claim 3, wherein the microorganisms introduced into the fermentation support are chosen from the group consisting of Penicillium roqueforti, Penicillium album, Geotrichum candidum, Staphylococcus carnosus and Staphylococcus xylosus spores.

19. Preparation process according to claim 4, wherein the microorganisms introduced into the fermentation support are chosen from the group consisting of Penicillium roqueforti, Penicillium album, Geotrichum candidum, Staphylococcus carnosus and Staphylococcus xylosus spores.

20. Preparation process according to claim 5, wherein the microorganisms introduced into the fermentation support are chosen from the group consisting of Penicillium roqueforti, Penicillium album, Geotrichum candidum, Staphylococcus carnosus and Staphylococcus xylosus spores.

Description

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE: PREPARATION OF A BLUE CHEESE FLAVOUR

[0143] In the examples hereinafter, the percentages are expressed as a mass percentage.

Example A: Process According to the InventionFermentation Support Comprising Oleaginous Plants and Water

[0144] In this example, the process comprises the following steps:

[0145] a) preparation of the fermentation support [0146] 12 kg of peanut seeds are ground in liquid phase with 108 kg of water and then homogenised at 550 bars. The insoluble fractions of the seed as well as the peanut oil fat globules (approximately 50% of the mass of the seeds) are thus kept in suspension

[0147] b) Adding the source of fatty acid of plant origin [0148] 14.6 kg of liquid coconut oil (70 C.) (fatty acid) with 1% m/m of Lactem P22 emulsifier (Dupont-Danisco) are added gradually while providing a high shear with a rotating propeller at 9000 rpm to 25.2 kg of fermentation support pre-heated to a temperature of 70 C.; [0149] The 40 kg of emulsion is placed in a 150-litre fermenter; [0150] A 15-minute heat treatment at 90 C. is carried out to kill the bacteria in vegetative form

[0151] c) Hydrolysis [0152] a lipase mixture: 8 g of Palatase and 8 g of Lipopan are added to the preceding mixture so as to hydrolyse the fatty acids; [0153] The mixture thereby obtained is kept at a temperature of 40 C. for 20h; [0154] Then, the mixture is heated at a temperature of 90 C. for 15 minutes so as to deactivate the enzymes;

[0155] d) Fermentation [0156] 5.2 g (or 4.8.10.sup.8 CFU) of P. roqueforti spores are added to the 40kg of emulsion; [0157] Sterile air is injected at 40 L/min so as to measure 3.9 mg/L of 02 [0158] After 84 hours, the dissolved oxygen is reduced to 0.7 mg/L and a strong odour of Roquefort escapes from the fermenter.

[0159] e) Recovering the flavour

[0160] In order to stabilise and recover the aromatic fraction, 20% of salt m/m is added and the whole is sterilised for 30 minutes at 120 C.

[0161] Centrifugation of the emulsion pre-heated to 70 C. is then carried out, making it possible to recover 65% of fat content in aromatic oil form.

Example B: Process Comprising a Fermentation Support Comprising Sodium Citrate, Dextrose and Water

[0162] In this example, the experimental conditions described in example 1 of the patent EP 0312 746 are used [loose translation into French of Example 1 of EP0312746]:

[0163] A) Hydrolysed Coconut Oil Production

[0164] Seventeen parts coconut oil were heated to a temperature of 35-40 C. Then, 79 parts water were added to the coconut oil. This mixture was heated to 37 C. A suspension of 4 parts water and 0.1 parts lipase (from Rhizopus oryzae) were added to the oil-in-water mixture. This mixture was stirred in an open vessel using a Polytron, from Tekmar at 37 C. for 1 hour. The pH was monitored and kept at a pH of 7.0 with 5-10 parts of a 25% NaOH solution throughout the reaction. The temperature was increased to 100 C. and maintained at 100 C. for 7 to 15 minutes according to the size of the sample in order to deactivate the lipase. The hydrolysed oil-in-water mixture is then used in the blue (cheese) flavour production process.

[0165] B) Inoculum Preparation

[0166] A mixture of 0.5 parts dextrose, 0.5 parts sodium citrate and 20 parts water was prepared in a vacuum and filtered through a sterile filter (0.45 m). Four parts Penicillium roqueforti spores (dried on breadcrumbsMidwest Blue MoldDairyland Food Labs) were added to the sterile filtrate mixture, which was mixed to disperse the spores in the water to prepare a suspension.

[0167] C) Blue (Cheese) Flavour Production

[0168] Seventeen parts hydrolysed coconut oil/water from section A of this example containing 14 parts water, 1.5 parts free fatty acids or salts thereof, and 1.5 parts non-hydrolysed oil were mixed with 57.60 parts water and placed either in a sterilisable fermenter or in an asepticised closed lined vessel (if placed in an asepticised closed lined vessel, the water must be sterilised i.e. boiled). The mixture, the temperature whereof was 30 C., was stirred while the Penicillium roqueforti spore suspension as prepared in section B of this example was slowly added to the vessel. The pH of the reaction mixture was measured and if it was not equal to pH 6.0, the pH was then adjusted to 6.0 using 50% NaOH if the solution was acidic, or 33% HC1 if the solution was alkaline.

[0169] The vessel was subjected to aeration by bubbling at a flow rate of 800 cm.sup.3/min/L of substrate. The vessel contained a further opening so that the pressure could not build up, but a positive air flow was maintained. The reaction was carried out for 8 hours while keeping the temperature of the product at 30 C. with aeration and continuous stirring throughout the 8-hour period. Once the 8-hour period had elapsed, the product was centrifuged or settled (to remove the breadcrumbs whereon the spores were inoculated), and then dried. The liquid product was then HTST pasteurised to deactivate the Penicillium roqueforti spores. The product was separated into oil and water fractions. The oil phase as such contains most of the aromatic compounds (methyl ketones) and may be used as seasoning as such.

[0170] The culture medium described in this document (EP0312746) differs from the culture medium of the present invention particularly in that it replaces the fermentation support by dextrose and sodium citrate.

[0171] The aromatic concentrates produced in example A and in example B were formulated in neutral dairy preparations at a dose of 1.5% with respect to the total weight of the mixture and resulted in the perception of notes of blue-veined cheese.

[0172] The perception was more intense and characteristic for the tasting based on example A compared to that based on example B.

[0173] The chromatographic analysis data hereinafter show the methyl ketone concentrations.

[0174] In these examples, 4 methyl ketones were quantified, the two mainly responsible for the flavouring of blue cheeses are 2-heptanone and 2-nonanone.

TABLE-US-00001 Compounds LoQ (mg .Math. kg1) Oil example A Oil example B 2-pentanone 0.5 79.0 8.2 2-heptanone 0.5 96.7 76.7 2-nonanone 0.5 44.7 37.9 2-undecanone 0.5 29.2 18.8 LoQ = limit of quantification

[0175] As such, the use of a fermentation support comprising oleaginous plants makes it possible to obtain a flavouring composition having a greater aromatic concentration than that obtained with a medium devoid of oleaginous plants.