Food seasoning, protein hydrolysate

In traditional cooking of proteinaceous foods, the fundamental difference between Western and Oriental cultures is that the former cooks proteins with unseasoned fats and the latter cooks with many kinds of traditional seasonings that have tastes of amino acids. Western cultures have some traditional foods with amino acid taste such as cheese. Protein hydrolysates are popular as seasonings (225). 

Keratins have limited uses in the food industry. In combination with vegetable protein-rich materials, keratin is sometimes used for the production of acid protein hydrolysates (hydrolysed vegetable proteins used as food seasonings). Outside the food industry, alkaline hydrolysis of keratin is used for the production of glues. 

Free amino acids are only found in small amounts in most foods. Therefore, they only influence the flavour of foods when production is based on proteolysis (some cheeses, but also meat and fish). Enzymatic hydrolysates of proteins (such as soy sauces) or hydrolysed vegetable proteins (add hydrolysates), which contain only amino acids, are used extensively as seasonings. 

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