LycoRed Reveal New formulation to Reduce Salt and Enhance Flavor in Soups

“SANTE's secret is that it is the concentration of all of the tastes and flavoring components that exist naturally in tomatoes, delivering true umami and kokumi taste characteristics,” explains Roee Nir, Color and Flavor Global Commercial Manager for LycoRed. “Using only a small amount of SANTE in canned and prepared soup formulations—typically high in sodium—will boost the overall soup flavor and allow salt reduction of up to 30%, without tomato flavor notes.”

19 Mar 2012 --- LycoRed, Israel, has adapted its natural enhancer, SANTE, for boosting flavor in powdered and canned soups. The adaptation follows extensive tests in lab applications. Soup makers can now eliminate the use of MSG and similar less-desirable ingredients with LycoRed’s SANTE, thereby include
reducing salt in their products.

“SANTE's secret is that it is the concentration of all of the tastes and flavoring components that exist naturally in tomatoes, delivering true umami and kokumi taste characteristics,” explains Roee Nir, Color and Flavor Global Commercial Manager for LycoRed. “Using only a small amount of SANTE in canned and prepared soup formulations—typically high in sodium—will boost the overall soup flavor and allow salt reduction of up to 30%, without tomato flavor notes.”

SANTE also allows replacement of a wide variety of artificial flavor enhancers, while retaining—and even improving—the overall taste balance. SANTE smoothes out rough, unbalanced and “peaky” tastes, creating a cohesive finish and boosting the taste profile. Due to the unique blend of components extracted from tomatoes, it extends the perceived flavor’s dwell time on the palate, improves mouthfeel and texture, yet achieves significant reduction in sodium and other ingredients used as enhancers. SANTE is suitable for use in liquid or powder formulations and is highly stable at high temperatures and variable pH.

In tests, replacing 0.2% MSG in a standard chicken soup mix with an equivalent quantity of SANTE liquid reduced sodium content by 25% and maintained high flavor quality. “We also ran several trials using the powder form of SANTE in a commercial dry pea soup mix,” remarks Ehud Zach, Food Applications Manager for LycoRed. “We found that it can perform as an excellent alternative for the partial or total replacement of standard flavor enhancers.”

Kokumi is another sensory phenomenon of SANTE. Ingredients with kokumi attributes, when combined with other molecules, have three distinct effects in foods: They enhance the initial flavor onset; they round off, or balance, the overall flavor profile; and they extend these perceptions for a more pleasant, longer-lasting experience, enhancing other aspects of the food.