Maillard reactions processed flavors

Mauron J (1981) In Eriksson C (ed) Maillard Reactions in Food. Pergamon, Oxford, p 3 Mottram DS (1994) In Parliment TH, Morello M), McGorrin R) (eds) Thermally Generated Flavors Maillard, Microwave, and Extrusion Processes. ACS Symposium Series 543. American Chemical Society Washington, p 104 Nursten HE (1980) Food Chem. 6 263... 

Maillard reactions can be involved in the manufacture of foods in at least three quite different ways. First, there is the unconscious role played in the development of flavor in such traditional processes as the roasting of coffee and cacao beans, the baking of breads and cakes, and the cooking of meats. Second, there is the deliberate use of Maillard technology in the production of artificial (or engineered) foods and flavors. Third, there are the efforts to inhibit undesirable results of Maillard reactions in food processing today. 

A common thread that can link the ammonium and peptone catalyst poisoning results just described could be the Maillard reactions of amino acids with sugars (5). Recent studies have shown that the ammonium ion is highly reactive, more so than substituted versions (6). Its use as ammonium bicarbonate in developing flavoring compounds by Maillard reactions in extrusion cookers has been reported (7). It is likely that such reactions could occur at our processing conditions. We can speculate that such products could have acted as catalyst surface poisons, which might have been subsequently washed from the catalyst, before it was reused in its active form. 

What is the current use of the research results Needless to say, the food industry has found use for a great deal of the information. The industry has used the knowledge to control processes and hence to develop better tasting food products. However, one of the most intriguing uses of the information has been in the development of flavorings. The first patent for the use of the Maillard Reaction to create processed flavor, as the Flavor Industry refers to it, was... 

Process Meat Flavor Development and the Maillard Reaction... 

The flavor industry has introduced, over the years, methods of developing meat flavors by processing appropriate precursors under carefully controlled reaction conditions. As a result, meat flavors having a remarkably genuine meat character in the beef, chicken and pork tonalities are available for the food industry. It has repeatedly been stated that the Maillard reaction is particularly important for the formation of meat flavors. However, of the 600 volatile compounds isolated from natural beef aroma, only 12% of them find their origin in sugar/amino acid interactions and of these 70% are pyrazine derivatives. 

The purpose of this book is to review aromas that are developed by thermal processes. Because the flavor of heated foods is affected principally by aroma, we focus attention exclusively on the volatile flavor constituents of foods. Moreover, we intend this book to complement the 1986 book. Biogeneration of Aromas, ACS Symposium Series 317, edited by Thomas H. Parliment and Rodney Croteau. A broader overview of the Maillard reaction was discussed in the 1983 book, The Maillard Reaction in Foods and Nutrition, ACS Symposium Series 215, edited by George R. Waller and Milton S. Feather, which addressed the volatile, nonvolatile, and nutritional aspects of the Maillard reaction. 

D. S. Mottram, Flavor compounds formed during the Maillard reaction, in Thermally Generated Flavors Maillard, Microwave, and Extrusion Processes, T. H. Parliment, M. J. Morello, and R. J. McGorrin (eds), American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 1994, 104-126. 

Special flavor formation for crumb chocolate takes place in the plant shown schematically in Fig. 14.28, left. In this system, so-called Maillard reactions between amino acids and reducing sugars occur in 1 to 2 minutes at 130°C, producing the classic flavors usually found in Great Britain, Scandinavia, and Japan. The process requires a few percent of moisture, which is added separately and removed in the vacuum after the reaction. The ZSK process saves on expensive vacuum dryers requiring several hours residence time. 

The flavors of foods such as wheat, peanuts, and sesame, after being cooked, are quite different from those of the raw materials. Flavor formation from flavor precursors in the processed foods is primarily via the Maillard reaction, caramelization, thermal degradation, and lipid-Maillard interactions. 

Ouweland, G.A.M., Demole, E.P., and Enggist, P, Process meat flavor development and the Maillard reaction, in Thermal Generation of Aromas, Parliment, H., McGorrin, J.M., and Ho, C.T., Eds., American Chemical Society, Los Angeles, 1988, p. 433. 

---