If you don't eat yer meat, you can't have any pudding...
As Stuart mentioned in his last post, I’ve been in the London office all week. I always have a great time when I’m in London (where else can you see Patrick Swayze in ‘Guys and Dolls’?) and wish I could travel here more frequently…
There’s a large selection of flavored potato chips/crisps here – my sister is a vegetarian, so I always try to bring her back the meatiest or fishiest flavor I can find (I’ve given her ‘Roast Minted Lamb’ and ‘Prawn Cocktail’ in the past). But this time I think I’ve outdone myself: I noticed a bag of ‘Roast Ox’ flavored crisps in the building's vending machine…
A few minutes and 50 pence later, I went over to Stuart’s desk to show him my prize - but a closer look at the packaging revealed that the crisps were vegetarian-friendly. How could this happen? What vegetable products could be used to re-create the complex flavors (or flavours) that one would normally associate with a roasted ox?
Stuart and I scanned the ingredients for more information:
So which chemical (or combination of chemicals) tastes/taste like ox? Are there any food and flavor chemists out there who can tell us more?
Joshua
Joshua Finkelstein (Senior Editor, Nature)
Comments
Hydrolysed Soya Protein, Sugar Cook up degraded protein (lysine residues; any free amino groups) plus reducing sugars and the Maillard reaction plus Amadori rearrangement eventually generate volatile alkyl pyrazines - organoleptic meat. Lightly massage any meat with Kitchen Bouquet. As the surface sears... yum! It is the way to start a legendary pot roast.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/meat/INT-what-makes-flavor.html
Posted by: Uncle Al | November 17, 2006 01:58 PM
Well, we don't know what's in the Flavour Enhancer and the Flavourings. That may be the key, the '12x' of Coca Cola.
Posted by: Ashutosh | November 17, 2006 06:32 PM
As mentioned above: sugars and proteins/amino acids (from soy protein, flour and yeast) give Maillard products. Further more onions and garlic provide sulfourus compounds also found in meat. The flavour is enhanced by added monosodium glutamate (typically associated with the taste of umami).
One should also consider the fact that meat is seldom prepared or eaten on it's own, so some of the aromas we associate with meat come from the spices/herbs/marinades/oils that we add.
Posted by: Martin Lersch | November 20, 2006 04:35 AM
Think you could also find out the magic ingredients in Walker's Thai Sweet Chili crisps and McCoy's Cheddar and Mango Chutney crisps?
Americans would riot in front of Pepsico if we truly realized the bounty of potato chip flavors we've been denied.
Posted by: Bethany Halford | November 20, 2006 11:00 PM