Contribution of the retronasal odor of soy sauce to salt reduction

Abstract

The characteristic odor of soy sauce has been reported to enhance saltiness. However, soy sauce is used not only as a sauce that is added directly to food, but also as a seasoning. In addition, some of the aromatic compounds that contribute to the soy sauce odor change during cooking or heating. In the present study, the effects of the retronasal odor of uncooked and cooked soy sauce on the enhancement of saltiness and palatability of a low‐salt solution were sensory evaluated. A probit analysis indicated that the saltiness‐enhancing effect of the odor of 15% uncooked soy sauce was lost by heating. The odors of soy sauce boiled for 10 min (cooked SS) and the residue of soy sauce heated at 200 °C for 1 min improved the palatability of the low‐salt solution. Gas chromatography (GC) analyses, namely, GC–olfactometry and GC–mass spectrometry, showed that one active candidate aromatic component of soy sauce contributing to saltiness enhancement was 3‐methyl‐1‐butanol (3‐Me‐BuOH). The saltiness‐enhancing effects of cooked SS could be restored by adding 3‐Me‐BuOH, as assessed by the sensory evaluation. These data demonstrated that 3‐Me‐BuOH contributes to saltiness enhancement. Practical Application We found that the odor of cooked soy sauce could improve the palatability of low‐salt food. Although the saltiness‐enhancing effect provided by the odor of uncooked soy sauce was lost, the saltiness‐enhancing effect of the odor of cooked soy sauce can be partially restored by adding 3‐methyl butanol. Thus, not only the odor of unheated soy sauce but also the odor of heated soy sauce following addition of 3‐methyl butanol may be useful for developing palatable salt‐reduced food.

Human Oral Sensitivity to and Taste Modulation by 3-Mercapto-2-Methylpentan-1-ol

“…The "savory" aroma of dried bonito flakes failed to enhance the saltiness of NaCl solutions when added in vapor-phase via olfactometry, but did enhance the saltiness of weak NaCl solutions and a reduced-sodium soup when added as a steam distillate (Manabe et al 2014;Ogasawara et al 2016). In other work, soy sauce aroma or aroma components significantly enhanced rated saltiness of NaCl solutions (Manabe et al 2020;Zhou et al 2021). Our modest sample size may have obscured more subtle effects on saltiness or other tastes, but under current conditions 3 M showed the most promise as potential savory enhancer.…”

Sodium reduction in foods: Challenges and strategies for technical solutions

“…Enhancement of perceived saltiness by various aroma characteristics has been reported, particularly by congruent combinations of the salt taste and aromas of savory foods (Seo et al, 2013). This has been demonstrated with food flavors/aromas (for a review, See Thomas-Danguin et al ( 2019)), single volatile compounds (Manabe et al, 2020;Zhou et al, 2021), or a model aroma with mixtures of volatile compounds (Lopez et al, 2019), and can even extend to the enhancement of perceived salty after-taste (Ogasawara et al, 2016). Enhancements of flavor perception and saltiness can occur in complex taste mixtures together with aroma (Nasri et al, 2013;Niimi et al, 2014a).…”

Sodium Reduction in Bouillon: Targeting a Food Staple to Reduce Hypertension in Sub-saharan Africa

“…Enzyme protein hydrolysates (soy and other protein) and dried mushroom and tomato powders are naturally rich in umami free amino acids and small peptides which can boost savory and overall flavor of a food (114,121,122). Yeast extracts are rich in 5 ′ -nucleotides and are also widely used to boost saltiness perception and umami.…”