Methods and compositions for affecting the flavor and aroma profile of consumables

Abstract

This document relates to food products containing highly conjugated heterocyclic rings complexed to an iron ion and one or more flavor precursors, and using such food products to modulate the flavor and/or aroma profile of other foods. The food products described herein can be prepared in various ways and can be formulated to be free of animal products.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A food additive composition comprising:
 a) a heme-containing protein, wherein the heme-containing protein is a plant heme-containing protein, an algal heme-containing protein, a fungal heme-containing protein, a ciliate heme-containing protein, or a bacterial heme-containing protein, or a combination thereof; and   b) a stabilizer.   
     
     
         3 . The food additive composition of  claim 2 , wherein the stabilizer is a lipoxygenase inhibitor, an antioxidant, a shelf life extender, or a mixture thereof. 
     
     
         4 . The food additive composition of  claim 3 , wherein the antioxidant comprises one or more of vitamin C, beta-carotene, alpha-tocopherol, caffeic acid, propyl gallate, and epigallocatechin gallate. 
     
     
         5 . The food additive composition of  claim 3 , wherein the shelf life extender comprises one or more of carbon monoxide, a nitrite, sodium metabisulfite, BOMBAL®, vitamin E, rosemary extract, green tea extract, and a catechin. 
     
     
         6 . The food additive composition of  claim 2 , wherein the plant heme-containing protein is from a plant selected from the group consisting of  Nicotiana tabacum, Nicotiana sylvestris, Zea mays, Arabidopsis thaliana, Glycine max, Cicer arietinum, Pisum sativum, Phaseolus vulgaris, Vigna unguiculata, Vigna radiata, Lupinus albus, Medicago sativa, Brassica napus, Triticum  sps.,  Gossypium hirsutum, Oryza sativa, Zizania  sps.,  Helianthus annuus, Beta vulgaris, Pennisetum glaucum, Chenopodium  sp.,  Sesamum  sp.,  Linum usitatissimum, Hordeum vulgare , and a combination thereof. 
     
     
         7 . The food additive composition of  claim 2 , wherein the fungal heme-containing protein is from a fungus selected from the group consisting of  Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Pichia pastoris, Magnaporthe oryzae, Fusarium graminearum, Aspergillus oryzae, Trichoderma reesei, Myceliopthera thermophile, Kluyvera lactis, Fusarium oxysporum , and a combination thereof. 
     
     
         8 . The food additive composition of  claim 2 , wherein the bacterial heme-containing protein is from a bacteria selected from the group consisting of  Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus megaterium, Synechocistis  sp.,  Aquifex aeolicus, Methylacidiphilum infernorum, Thermophilus  spp, and a combination thereof. 
     
     
         9 . The food additive composition of  claim 2 , comprising an emulsifier, a gelling agent, a fiber, an extract, a protein hydrolysate or a mixture of two or more thereof. 
     
     
         10 . The food additive composition of  claim 9 , wherein the protein hydrolysate comprises an algal protein hydrolysate. 
     
     
         11 . The food additive composition of  claim 9 , wherein the protein hydrolysate comprises a vegetable protein hydrolysate. 
     
     
         12 . The food additive composition of  claim 9 , wherein the protein hydrolysate comprises a soy protein hydrolysate. 
     
     
         13 . The food additive composition of  claim 9 , wherein the extract or protein hydrolysate comprises a yeast extract or yeast protein hydrolysate. 
     
     
         14 . The food additive composition of  claim 2 , wherein the food additive composition is a powder or a liquid composition. 
     
     
         15 . The food additive composition of  claim 2 , wherein the food additive composition contains no animal products that contain heme. 
     
     
         16 . The food additive composition of  claim 2 , wherein the food additive composition contains no animal products. 
     
     
         17 . The food additive composition of  claim 2 , wherein an effective amount of the food additive composition imparts a substantially pink or red color to a plant-based meat analog product before cooking and transitions to a substantially brown color during cooking. 
     
     
         18 . The food additive composition of  claim 17 , wherein the food additive composition imparts a substantially pink or red color to the plant-based meat analog product before cooking and transitions to a substantially brown color during cooking when the food additive composition is present in an amount such that the heme-containing protein is present in an amount of about 0.01% to about 5% (by weight) in the plant-based meat analog product. 
     
     
         19 . The food additive composition of  claim 2 , wherein when a plant-based meat analog product comprising an effective amount of the food additive composition is cooked, at least two volatile compounds that have a meat-associated aroma are produced in an increased amount as compared to a plant-based meat analog product lacking the food flavor additive composition. 
     
     
         20 . The food additive composition of  claim 2 , wherein the lipoxygenase inhibitor, antioxidant, shelf life extender, or mixture thereof is present in an amount sufficient to minimize off-flavor or off-odor generation. 
     
     
         21 . The food additive composition of  claim 2 , wherein the heme-containing protein is spray dried or lyophilized.