Flavonoid Fortification Leads to Better-Tasting Food? 27480

Flavonoid Fortification Leads to Better-Tasting Food?

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.Addingflavonoids during food processing can produce better tasting products, accordingto research out of Pennsylvania State University, University Park. In a paperpresented at the 226th American Chemical Society (www.chemistry.org) nationalmeeting in New York, researchers noted the presence of flavonoids atheart-healthy levels do not automatically lead to a bitter taste.

Our research has shown that in food and beverage productsthat are heated for safety or preservation, flavonoids can limit the generationof off-flavors, such as the scalded or cooked taste of ultrapasteurizedmilk, said Devin Peterson, Ph.D., lead researcher. Weve also found thatit may be possible to enhance some good flavor pathways while limiting others,including less desirable smells, by the addition of flavonoids.

In the study, varying amounts of epicatechina flavonoidtypically found in fresh fruits, vegetables, tea and chocolatewere added towhole milk, which was then ultrapasteurized. During a taste test with trainedtasters, all samples containing the flavonoid were found to have asignificantly lower cooked flavor, and one was indistinguishable from regularpasteurized milk, which has no cooked flavor.

And, in experiments with a granola bar mix and epicatechin,the studys authors found the flavonoid inhibited the formation of some flavorconstituents produced in browning, including a powerful flavor/off-flavorregulator. The taste testers did not detect an increased level of bitterness inthe epicatechin-enriched granola bar mix versus the control. And, when added tounroasted cocoa that was then heat processed, the flavonoid reduced theproduction of the two major flavor constituents by half.

Adding flavonoids to food products at efficacious levelsdoes not have to result in increased bitterness and consumer rejection,Peterson said. By understanding how health-promoting flavonoids alter flavorgeneration, we can learn how to produce healthier foods that taste good, too.

Penn State filed a provisional patent application on Petersonsprocess for flavor improvement.