Flavor composition

A flavor composition comprising a complex of a pyrolyzed fat/oil flavor with a gelantinized amylose or a blend of the complex with a protein hydrolyzate as well as foodstuffs containig these flavor compositions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a flavor composition, more particularly to 
a process for preparing a flavour composition with good stability. 
U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,672 describes pyrolyzed fat/oil flavors with 
characteristic roasted and grilled flavors which are obtained by 
subjecting a fat or oil in the form of a liquid pool to a temperature of 
from 300.degree. to 475.degree. C. in the presence of oxygen or air and 
collecting the volatiles distilled. The pyrolyzed fat/oil flavors are 
composed of high threshold fatty aldehydes and ketones, i.e. the intensity 
of flavor/aroma compounds can be detected at very low levels of 
concentration by sensory response. When the pyrolyzed fat/oil flavors are 
blended with protein hydrolysates, the aldehydes and ketones in the 
pyrolyzed fat/oil flavors tend to react with amine compounds including 
amino acids, ammonium salts, and peptides in protein hydrolysates and the 
resulting products on storage lose their characteristic roasted and 
grilled flavors. Attempts to encapsulate the pyrolyzed fat/oil flavors 
with common carriers such as maltodextrin or gum arabic have not produced 
stable products with desired storage requirements. 
Retrogradation has long been considered to play an important role in the 
staling (firming) of bread (Y.Pomeranz, Wheat Chemistry and Technology, 
Amer. Assoc. of Cereal Chem., 1988, St. Paul, Minn). The role of 
monoglycerides for retarding starch retrogradation in bread staling is 
closely associated with their interaction with the starch molecules. An 
X-ray diffraction pattern characteristic of a surfactant-amylose indicates 
that surfactant molecules may enter the starch granule and complex with 
amylose. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
I have found that the fatty aldehydes and ketones in the pyrolyzed fat/oil 
flavors interact with a gelatinised amylose and form a stable encapsulated 
complex. Although not wishing to be bound by theory, it appears that the 
linear carbon chain of the fatty aldehydes and ketones enters the starch 
granule and may complex with the gelatinised amylose to form a stable, 
encapsulated, helical, inclusion compound: this theory is based on the 
indication of an X-ray diffraction pattern characteristic of a 
surfactant-amylose similar to a fatty acid (pyrolyzed fat/oil)-amylose. 
The complex could minimize the mobility of the fatty aldehydes and ketones 
in the pyrolyzed fat/oil flavors and reduce their contact and reaction 
with the amine compounds in protein hydrolysates when the pyrolyzed 
fat/oil flavors are blended with protein hydrolysates on storage. The 
length of glucose units in the amylose may play a critical role in 
obtaining proper lipophilic-hydrophilic balance for a stable helical, 
inclusion encapsulated complex. 
According to the present invention there is provided a complex of a 
pyrolyzed fat/oil flavour and a gelatinised amylose. 
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF TITLE INVENTION 
The gelatinised amylose used is preferably completely or substantially 
completely gelatinised and can be obtained from high-amylose starches, 
e.g. starches containing up to about 70% by weight of amylose, or via the 
action of debranched enzymes with isoamylase or pullulanase on starches. 
The gelatinised amylose obtained via the action of debranched enzymes on 
starches could have better encapsulation efficiency than that obtained 
from native high-amylose starches which have only limited varieties and 
amounts of amylose. Some high amylose starches require very high cooking 
temperatures, e.g. from 154.degree.-171.degree. C. depending on the solid 
levels being used in order to obtain adequate gelatinisation. If high 
amylose starches are cooked below such temperatures, e.g. from 
90.degree.-100.degree. C., they are only partly gelatinised and, 
therefore, may have a low encapsulation efficiency. The isoamylase 
(.alpha.-1,6-glucosidase), a debranching enzyme, specifically hydrolyzes 
the .alpha.-1,6-glucoside bonds of branch-chain amylopectin to form 
amylose without formation of reducing sugars and/or oligosaccharides. 
Isoamylase may be obtained from broad beans (R-enzyme) or from the 
fermentation of yeast and bacterial species such as Pseudomonas and 
Cytophaga. The isoamylase, Amano DB-250 (Amano Enzyme USA Co., Ltd.) is 
obtained by a fermentation process from a selected strain of Bacillus 
sectorranmus. Another suitable debranching enzyme is a heat-stable 
pullulanase, pullulan 6-glucano-hydrolase, which hydrolyzes the 
.alpha.-1,6-glucosidic linkages of amylopectin as well as pullulan. The 
pullulanse, Amano pullulanase #3 (Amano Enzyme USA Co., Ltd.), is obtained 
by a fermentation process from a selected strain of Aerobacter sp. The 
pullulanase, Novo Promozyme (Novo Nordisk A/S), is obtained from a 
selected strain of Bacillus acidopullulyticus by submerged fermentation. 
The amount of amylose in hydrolysed starch depends on the hydrolysis 
conditions as well as the type of starches. One of ordinary skill in the 
art can readily determine by routine testing the appropriate amount of 
enzyme to use with any specific hydrolysed starch. 
The pyrolyzed fat/oil flavor may be obtained by passing oxygen to and 
through at least one fatty acid while heating the fatty acid at a 
temperature of from 150.degree. C. to 475.degree. C. and collecting 
different volatile fractions evolved over differing periods of time from 
the heated fatty acid. 
More detailed information on the production of the pyrolyzed fat/oil flavor 
is given in U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,672 the description of which is expressly 
incorporated herein by reference. 
The complex of the pyrolyzed fat/oil flavor and the gelatinised amylose is 
prepared by intimately mixing the two components, e.g. by homogenisation, 
followed by drying, e.g. spray drying. The amount of pyrolyzed fat/oil 
flavor may be from about 1 to 20% and preferably from about 5 to 15% by 
weight based on the weight of the high amylose starch or the hydrolysed 
starch containing the amylose. 
The complex of the pyrolyzed fat/oil flavor and the gelatinised amylose may 
be blended with a protein hydrolysate and the present invention also 
provides a mixture of such a complex of the pyrolyzed fat/oil flavor and a 
gelatinised amylose with a protein hydrolysate. 
The amount of complex may be from about 5 to 150% and preferably from about 
20 to 100% by weight based on the weight of the protein hydrolysate. 
The flavors can be added to any foodstuffs, particularly culinary products, 
that are desired to have a savory flavor (from protein hydrolysates) with 
characteristic grilled and roasted notes (from pyrolyzed fat/oil flavor) 
e.g. meats, sauces, soups, dips/spreads, gravies, main meals, marinades, 
seasonings, side dishes, etc. The complex of pyrolyzed fat/oil flavor can 
be used alone. However, the blend of a protein hydrolysate with the 
complex of pyrolyzed fat/oil flavor give added value to a protein 
hydrolysate as an industrial ingredients since both protein hydrolysate 
and pyrolyzed fat/oil flavor are commonly used in culinary products.

EXAMPLES 
The following Examples further illustrate the present invention. 
400 g waxy maize starch (20% by weight in an aqueous starch slurry) (Staley 
Waxy #1) was dispersed in an aqueous solution (2,000 g), cooked to 
95.degree. C. for 30 minutes, and then cooled to 50.degree. C. in a 
Brabender amylograph. Novo Promozyme 200 L (6.0 ml) (Novo Nordisk A/S), 
containing 200 Pullulanase Unit Novo (PUN)per gram, was added at the use 
level of 1.5% based on starch (v/w). The hydrolysis reaction was carried 
out with agitation at the optimum temperature of 50.degree. C. and 
viscosity was monitored during reaction for 1 hour. 
The pyrolyzed oleic acid flavor with intense characteristic roasted and 
grilled flavor notes was obtained by subjecting oleic acid in the form of 
a liquid pool to a temperature of 350.degree. C. with stirring in the 
presence of air and collecting the volatiles distilled. The pyrolyzed 
oleic acid flavor (100 g) was added into the hydrolyzed waxy maize starch 
solution (2,000 g). The mixture was homogenized and then spray-dried. 
Maltodextrin DE.10 (400 g, 40%) (Maltrin 100, Grain Processing Corp.), and 
gum arabic (400 g, 30%) (Colony Import Inc.) were solubilised directly in 
water; Capsul modified starch (400 g, 40%) (National Starch Corp.) was 
cooked at 95.degree. C. in an aqueous solution until completely 
gelatinised, .beta.-cyclodextrin (400 g, 40%) (American Maize Corp.) was 
heated to approximately 60.degree. C. to solubilize in an aqueous 
solution; Amylomaize corn starch (70% amylose) (American Maize Corp.) was 
cooked at 95.degree. C. for 30 minutes and solubilized in an aqueous 
solution. The pyrolyzed oleic acid flavor (100 g) was added into each 
solution, homogenized, and then spray-dried. The encapsulation of 
pyrolyzed oleic acid flavor with .beta.-cyclodextrin via precipitation 
(ppt) was done by agitating and heating-.beta.-cyclodextrin (400 g, 20%) 
in an aqueous solution (2,000 g) to solubilize at 60.degree. C., adding 
and homogenizing the pyrolyzed oleic acid flavor (100 g), and then cooling 
down to ambient temperature. The precipitate formed was filtered and dried 
in a vacuum-oven at 60.degree. C. for 4 hours. 
The total oil, and surface oil of the above encapsulated samples are 
analyzed and given as follows: 
______________________________________ 
Oil/ Encapsu- Encapsu- 
Encapsu- Agent Total Surface 
lated lation 
lating Starting, 
oil oil, oil, Efficiency, 
Agent % % % % % 
______________________________________ 
1) Debranched 
20/80 18.09 7.42 10.67 53.35 
Waxy 
Maize Starch 
2) Maltrin 100 
20/80 17.39 11.50 5.89 33.87 
3) Gum Arabic 
20/80 18.74 0.13 18.61 93.05 
4) Capsul starch 
20/80 20.04 0.26 19.78 98.90 
5) .beta.-Cyclodextrin 
20/80 19.66 12.10 7.56 37.80 
(spray-dried) 
6) .beta.-Cyclodextrin 
20/80 18.20 13.00 5.20 26.00 
(ppt) 
7) Amylomaize 
20/80 19.27 17.30 1.97 10.22 
VII 
(70% amylose) 
______________________________________ 
The results showed that the enzyme-debranched waxy maize starch gave higher 
inclusion encapsulation capacity than .beta.-cyclodextrin and native 
high-amylose Amylomaize VII corn starch (70% amylose). This is because 
Amylomaize VII was not cooked to a high enough temperature to have 
adequate gelatinisation (typically 154.degree.-171.degree. C.) and 
therefore its encapsulation efficiency was very low due to inactive 
non-gelatinised crystalline amylose. In contrast, waxy maize starch was 
completely gelatinised at 95.degree. C. (typically the gelatinisation 
temperature is approximately 70.degree. C.) and enzyme-debranched to have 
high active amylose to form a complex with a pyrolysed fat/oil flavor. It 
is ideal that the load of pyrolyzed oleic acid flavor shall be within 
their inclusion encapsulation capacity. 
60 parts of the above encapsulated samples were blended with 800 parts of 
protein hydrolysate (Maggi HPP 4BE), and stored in a sealed container at 
30.degree. C. for 4 months. The stored samples were organoleptically 
evaluated against their samples in frozen storage as controls in hot water 
at the usage of 1%. The enzyme-debranched waxy maize starch sample gave 
the least off-flavor deterioration among the samples on storage whereas 
the .beta.-cyclodextrin samples gave weak flavor profile due to its 
insolubility problem. Gum arabic and capsul lipophilic starch had very 
high encapsulation efficiency, but their samples gave off-flavor after 
storage. The encapsulated pyrolyzed oleic acid flavor in gum arabic and 
capsul starch could mobilize and react with the amine compounds in protein 
hydrolysates on storage at hot room temperatures. The resulting products 
on storage lost characteristic roasted and grilled flavors with off-flavor 
notes. 
EXAMPLE 2 
Waxy maize starch (20%) (Staley Waxy #1)and Amano DB-250 isoamylase 
(.alpha..1,6-D-glucosidase) (Amano Enzyme USA Co., Ltd.) (300 units/ml) at 
the use level of 2% based on starch (v/w) were used instead of the Novo 
Promozyme 200 L pullulanase as described in the Example 1. The hydrolysis 
reaction was carried out with agitation at the temperature of 25.degree. 
C. for 1 hour. The hydrolyzed waxy maize starch solution was used to 
encapsulate the pyrolyzed oleic acid flavor and the encapsulated sample 
was blended with Maggi protein hydrolysate HPP 4BE as described in the 
Example 1. The storage study showed that both of the hydrolyzed waxy maize 
starch samples with Novo Promozyme 200 L pullulanase and Amano DB-250 
isoamylase gave similar good flavor stability.