PREPARATION OF A SOLID FLAVOUR COMPOSITION, A COMPOSITION, FOOD COMPRISING THE COMPOSITION AND A FLAVOUR IMPARTING METHOD
A process of forming a reaction flavour solid composition, the process comprises the step of heating an aqueous slurry containing reaction flavour precursor compounds to form a reaction flavour, and concomitantly drying the slurry using microwave radiation to form a reaction flavour solid composition.
1 . A process of preparing a reaction flavour solid composition comprising the step of heating an aqueous slurry containing reaction flavour precursor compounds using microwave radiation to form a reaction flavour and concomitantly drying the slurry to form a reaction flavour solid composition.
2 . The process of preparing a reaction flavour solid composition according to claim 1 , wherein the water content of the aqueous slurry is 15-50 wt % of the total weight of the slurry.
3 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the water content of the reaction flavour solid composition is 0.5 to 5 wt % based on the total weight of the reaction flavour solid composition.
4 . The process according to claim 1 wherein the slurry is heated for a period of time ranging from 1 to 15 minutes.
5 . The process according to claim 4 , wherein the slurry may be heated to a temperature up to 180° C.
6 . The process according to claim 4 , wherein the slurry is heated to about 100° C. for a period of time to evaporate off most of the water, before heating the slurry to a temperature selected from the group consisting of a temperature of up to 125° C., 130° C., 140° C., 150° C., 160° C. or 180 C.
7 . The process according to claim 6 , wherein the slurry is heated to a temperature of about 100° C. for a period of 1 to 5 minutes.
8 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the slurry is heated at ambient pressure or under a vacuum.
9 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the slurry is in the form of a film having a thickness between 0.3 and 5.0 cm.
10 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the slurry has a viscosity of 1′000 to 50′000 centipoise at room temperature.
11 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the slurry is free of carrier materials.
12 . A reaction flavour solid composition prepared by the process of claim 1 .
13 . A food or beverage comprising the reaction flavour solid composition of claim 12 .
14 . A method of imparting flavour to a food or beverage, or of modifying or improving the flavour of a food or beverage, said method comprising the step of adding to said food or beverage the reaction flavour solid composition of claim 12 .
15 . The process according to claim 2 , wherein the water content of the reaction flavour solid composition is 0.5 to 5 wt % based on the total weight of the reaction flavour solid composition.
16 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the slurry is heated for a period of time ranging from 1 to 10 minutes.
17 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the slurry is heated for a period of time ranging from 1 to 5 minutes.
18 . The process according to claim 5 , wherein the slurry is heated to about 100° C. for a period of time to evaporate off most of the water, before heating the slurry to a temperature selected from the group consisting of a temperature of up to 125° C., 130° C., 140° C., 150° C., 160° C. or 180 C.