Celery Volatiles Enhance Chicken Soup

Researchers from Ochanomizu University (Tokyo) and the Technical Research Center at T. Hasegawa Co. have found that volatile extracts from celery can enhance the umami and sweet properties of chicken broth. The researchers hypothesized that certain odor compounds could enhance the intensity of flavor in a complex food matrix. To test this, chicken broth was formulated to include celery extracts containing both volatile and non-volatile compounds. The broth was evaluated in terms of “mild,” “impactful,” “lasting,” “thick,” “satisfied,” “complex,” “refined,” and “clarified.” The researchers considered these elements in terms of “sweet,” “salty” and “umami” taste. Six to 10 female volunteers were recruited to evaluate the formulated broth, and found that celery’s volatile compounds 3-n-butylphthalide (0.2 PPM), sedanenolide (0.7 PPM) and sedanolide (0.2 PPM) enhanced the flavor more than non-volatile compounds. This research report—“Flavour Enhancement of Chicken Broth from Boiled Celery Constituents”—has been published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (December 29, 2007).
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