WCA Life Science Umami boosts savoury profiles

Mediterranean Umami Bold is a clean-label and all-natural ingredient, rich in umami flavour compounds. It is proprietary blend of vegetable concentrates and extracts as well as natural sea-salt that is used to reduce sodium and enhance flavours in recipes.

Salt is widely used in vegan as well as plant-based “meat” recipes as a flavour enhancer and as a functional ingredient. Applications will contain between 1 and 3% salt, as well as other ingredients which have negative consumer associations.

In addition to sodium reduction, Mediterranean Umami Bold can eliminate the use of MSG and/or yeast extracts, while keeping the desired texture. Independent tasting panels have confirmed that recipes using Mediterranean Umami Bold were preferred by consumers.

Ultimately the double effect of sodium reduction combined with the elimination of artificial ingredients is a winning solution.

Formulating vegan applications can be complex. To achieve the desired tasted and texture, many technologies are needed. To overcome plant protein offflavours, it is common to add a significant amount of salt (usually 1.2 to 2.5%), spices, flavours and masking flavours. Mediterranean Umami has the unique ability to enhance the desired flavours and salty (and sweet) tastes, allowing the replacement of common flavour enhancers and reduce sodium without affecting the finished product texture.

Development work in the company’s R+D department and close collaboration with customers has shown 25 to 35% sodium reduction across a wide variety of applications. These applications vary from vegan “meat” analogues to sauces, dips, soups, snacks and more.

Mediterranean Umami – alakai@icon.co.za