JP4486907B2 - Flavor imparting product, its production method and flavor imparting product-containing food and drink - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a flavor enhancer having the flavor of a dairy product. Specifically, the present invention imparts or enhances the flavor of fresh milk, particularly fresh milk feeling (milk feeling, milkiness, milk sweetness), and fresh milk richness (volume feeling, body taste). It is related with the flavor grant which can be.

Conventionally, flavors or flavor improvers obtained by treating milk and dairy products with proteases have been proposed.
For example, milk containing milk fat, sugar, an amino acid derived from a proteolytic enzyme processed product of milk protein, and water is aged under conditions of pH 3.5 to 4.5, and the food and drink have a natural feeling. There is described a method for producing a flavor imparting flavor and a flavor improving agent for improving a mellow flavor of food and drink. In this, it is described that a fragrance | flavor and a flavor improving agent can be manufactured, performing the enzymatic decomposition of milk protein (patent document 1). However, in this production method, the Maillard reaction with an amino acid and a sugar easily occurs, so that the obtained flavor and flavor improver have a flavor different from that of fresh milk. In addition, many commercially available proteases have an optimum pH in a neutral range. However, in Patent Document 1, the protease that can be used is limited to the use of an acidic protease because it is aged under conditions of pH 3.5 to 4.5. Therefore, a complex flavor cannot be expected. Furthermore, in the examples, there is a problem that the enzyme reaction time and aging require a long time of 42 hours or more.
A method for producing a natural taste flavor for dairy products consisting of an enzyme-treated product obtained by degrading whey with a proteolytic enzyme and bringing the resulting enzyme-degraded product into contact with an adsorbent and then eluting with an ethyl alcohol solution Has been reported (Patent Document 2). However, this method requires a large-scale apparatus for adsorption and elution with the adsorbent, which makes the operation complicated, and causes the loss of milky feeling and volume feeling of fresh milk due to the adsorbent. There is a point.

  In addition, there is a report on a method for producing a cheese flavor composition by adding a proteolytic enzyme and a pre-gastric esterase to concentrated milk of whole milk and performing enzyme treatment (Patent Document 3). In addition, as a method for producing a fermented milk flavor having a milky flavor and a rich taste instead of a general dairy flavor such as butter and cheese, a lipase is applied to a substrate containing fresh cream (cream) or butter and skim milk powder. It has been proposed to act proteases and lactic acid bacteria (Patent Document 4). A flavor improver for foods and drinks in which a whey protein protease-treated product is combined with a milk fat lipase-treated product has been reported (Patent Document 5). However, the conventional proposals as described above are compositions having a strong cheese flavor, fermented milk flavors with a milky flavor, flavors of foods and beverages, flavor improvers that mask off-flavors, etc., and a fresh milk flavor. Alternatively, it was not a flavor enhancer that enhances or imparts flavor.

JP 2003-153665 A JP 2004-267126 A Japanese Patent No. 2801376 Japanese Patent No. 2875825 Japanese Patent No. 3274792

Then, an object of this invention is to provide the flavor imparting substance which has the flavor of fresh milk. Specifically, we provide flavoring products that have a fresh milk flavor, in particular, a fresh milk feeling (milk feeling, milkiness, milk sweetness), and a fresh milk richness (volume feeling, body taste). The purpose is to do.
Furthermore, a method for producing the flavor enhancer, and by blending the flavor enhancer, the flavor of fresh milk, in particular, the fresh milk feeling (milk feeling, milkiness, sweetness of milk), It aims at providing the food / beverage products to which the rich feeling (volume feeling, kokumi) of fresh milk was provided or enhanced.

As a result of intensive studies to solve the above problems, the present inventors have conducted a protease treatment on a mixture of a specific dairy product and a mixture of dairy products having a specific mixing ratio. A flavoring product that can impart or enhance the flavor of fresh milk, especially the freshness of milk (milkiness, milkiness, sweetness of milk), and the richness of milk (volumeiness, richness). It was found that it can be obtained.
Specifically, by subjecting a mixture comprising at least two of the following A component, B component and C component to protease treatment, the flavor of fresh milk, in particular, the fresh milk feeling (milk feeling, milk It has been found that a flavor imparting product capable of imparting or enhancing the richness (volumeiness, rich taste) of fresh milk can be obtained. In addition, by using at least two or more of the following A component protease-treated product, B component protease-treated product, and C component protease-treated product, the flavor of fresh milk, particularly fresh It was found that a flavor imparting product capable of imparting or enhancing the milky feeling (milky feeling, milkiness, milk sweetness) and the fresh milk richness (volumeiness, richness) can be obtained.
A component; cream,
B component; buttermilk or buttermilk powder,
Component C: one or more selected from the group consisting of milk, concentrated milk, whole milk powder, skim milk powder, skim concentrated milk and total milk protein.

  According to the present invention, the flavor imparted by the flavor of fresh milk, in particular, the fresh milk feeling (milk feeling, milkiness, milk sweetness), and the fresh milk richness (volume feeling, rich taste). Can be obtained. By blending the flavor-imparting product of the present invention into a food or drink, the flavor of fresh milk in the food or drink, particularly the milky feeling (milkiness, milkiness, milk sweetness) of fresh milk, A rich feeling (volume feeling, kokumi) can be imparted or enhanced, and a food or drink excellent in palatability can be provided.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
A component is a cream (it is also called fresh cream). In the present invention, it is preferable to use a cream containing about 45 to 47% by mass of milk fat.
Component B is buttermilk or buttermilk powder. Buttermilk includes buttermilk, which is a water-soluble part separated from butter at the time of producing butter, and concentrated buttermilk that has been sterilized and concentrated to 65% by weight of water. The buttermilk powder refers to a product obtained by removing moisture from buttermilk and drying it into a powder.

  Component C is at least one selected from the group consisting of milk, concentrated milk, whole milk powder, skim milk powder, skim milk concentrate and total milk protein. Among the components C, dairy products excluding milk are those in which water or fat is removed from milk by concentration or defatting to a certain amount or less, and the protein composition (protein composition ratio, and The total protein content is unchanged. In addition, from the viewpoint of suppressing the “burning” taste caused by carbohydrates, it is further possible to use at least one selected from the group consisting of milk, concentrated milk, whole milk powder, and total milk protein as the C component. preferable. Moreover, from a viewpoint of the flavor intensity | strength and water activity of the obtained flavor imparting substance, as C component, 1 or more types selected from the group which consists of concentrated milk, whole milk powder, and total milk protein are preferable.

As used herein, “milk” refers to cow's milk including raw milk. “Concentrated milk” refers to concentrated milk. “Concentrated milk” is also called full-fat concentrated milk. “Whole milk powder” refers to a milk powder obtained by removing almost all the water from milk. “Whole milk powder” is also called whole milk powder. “Skim milk powder” refers to a product obtained by removing almost all the water from the milk from which milk fat has been removed, and making it into a powder form. “Degreased concentrated milk” refers to a concentrated product obtained by removing the milk fat content of milk. “Total milk protein” is a protein obtained by concentrating and spray-drying a protein contained in milk by an ultrafiltration technique, and contains both casein protein and whey protein, and is distinguished from whey protein. Total milk protein is also called milk protein concentrate or total milk protein. C component can be used 1 type or in mixture of 2 or more types from the said dairy products and milk.
A commercial item can be used for said AC component. In addition, raw milk prepared by a known technique can be used.

A mixture comprising two or more of the components A to C is treated with a protease to prepare a protease-treated product that is an active ingredient of a flavor imparting product.
In the case of a mixture composed of the A component and the B component, it is preferable to mix so that the protein derived from the B component is 60 to 2000 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the protein derived from the A component.
In the case of a mixture composed of the A component and the C component, it is preferable to mix so that the protein derived from the C component is 60 to 2000 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the protein derived from the A component.
In the case of a mixture composed of the B component and the C component, it is preferable to mix so that the protein derived from the C component is 10 to 1000 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the protein derived from the B component.
In the case of a mixture comprising the A component, the B component, and the C component, 60 to 2000 parts by mass of the protein derived from the B component and 60 to 2000 parts by mass of the protein derived from the C component with respect to 100 parts by mass of the protein derived from the A component. It is preferable to mix so that it may become a part.

  In the present invention, as the protease, a protease originating from a microorganism belonging to the genus Aspergillus can be used alone. Alternatively, one or more proteases selected from the following protease group can be used in combination with a protease originating from a microorganism belonging to the genus Aspergillus. The protease group includes proteases derived from microorganisms such as Rhizopus, Bacillus, and Aspergillus, which are different from the above; proteases obtained from plants such as papain and promeline; and proteases such as trypsin obtained from animal organs It is. In the present invention, any protease having an optimum pH of an acidic range, neutral range, or alkaline range can be used.

Protease varies depending on the type / concentration of the mixture consisting of two or more components A to C as a substrate, the type / titer of the enzyme, and the reaction temperature. It is preferable to use it so that it may become 0.0001-0.07g.
The temperature of the protease reaction in the protease treatment of the present invention is not particularly limited and is selected from a range including the optimum temperature at which the enzyme action is manifested. The temperature is usually selected from the range of 30 ° C to 70 ° C, but is preferably set to a temperature lower than the high temperature of 60 ° C to 70 ° C so as not to impair the freshness of milk.
Although reaction time is not specifically limited, In order to prevent decay during an enzyme reaction, it is made to obtain the target flavor in 30 minutes-8 hours. For example, it is preferable to stir at 40-50 degreeC for 3 hours.

The pH during the reaction is not particularly limited, but in general, the reaction can be carried out at the optimum pH of the protease to be used, and the protease treatment can be carried out without particularly adjusting the pH.
To stop the enzyme reaction, the enzyme is deactivated by heating at a temperature (for example, 90 ° C. for 10 minutes) suitable for the enzyme deactivation conditions. It is preferable not to heat more than necessary so as not to impair the freshness of the milk.
Thus, a protease-treated product of a mixture comprising two or more components from the A component to the C component can be prepared.

Moreover, in this invention, after protease-treating said A component-C component separately, the mixture of the protease processed material which mixed at least 2 or more types can be prepared, and it can also be used as an active ingredient of a flavor imparting substance.
The kind of protease, protease treatment method, conditions, and the like that can be used when separately treating the A component to the C component with protease can be carried out in the same manner as described above.
When the protease-treated products of components A to C are mixed, it is preferable to mix them in the following weight ratio.
When mixing the A component protease-treated product and the B component protease-treated product, the B component protease treated product is mixed so that the B component protease treated product is 10 to 100 parts by mass. It is preferable.
When mixing A component protease treatment product and C component protease treatment product, mix so that C component protease treatment product is 10 to 125 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of A component protease treatment product. It is preferable.
When mixing the B component protease treatment product and the C component protease treatment product, the C component protease treatment product is mixed such that the C component protease treatment product is 25 to 500 parts by mass. It is preferable.
When mixing A component protease treatment product, B component protease treatment product, and C component protease treatment product, the B component protease treatment product is 10 to 100 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the A component protease treatment product. It is preferable to mix so that the protease treatment product of a part and C component may be 10-125 mass parts.

The protease-treated product obtained in the present invention can be used as a flavor imparting agent as it is.
Moreover, arbitrary other components can be mix | blended with a protease processed material, and it can also be set as a flavor imparting substance. Optional other ingredients include, for example, milk-based natural fragrance materials such as milk, fresh cream (cream), and lipase-treated milk fat contained in butter, etc. Gazette of the Patent Office, Collection of Known and Conventional Techniques (Fragrance) Part II Food Fragrance, pages 258 to 347).
In this invention, it is preferable to contain 70-100 mass% of prosthesis processed materials obtained above in the flavor imparting substance.

  The usage form of the flavor imparting substance of the present invention is not particularly limited. That is, the protease-treated product can be added to the food or drink as it is, or may be in the form of powder, granule, liquid, emulsified liquid, paste or the like. For example, gum arabic, dextrin, skimmed milk powder, etc. are added to a protease-treated product to form powder or granules, dissolved in ethanol, propylene glycol or glycerin to form liquid, sugar such as sugar or palm oil Fats and oils can be added to make a paste, or an emulsifier can be added to emulsify.

The flavor imparting substance containing the protease-treated product of the present invention can be blended in food and drink. Examples of foods and drinks that can be blended include beverages such as coffee, cafe au lait, milk tea, and lactic acid bacteria beverages; frozen desserts such as ice cream, ice milk, lacto ice, and sherbet; dairy products such as margarine, cheese, and yogurt; pudding, mousse, Examples include desserts such as jelly and cake; confectionery such as cookies, snacks, candy and gum; seasonings such as dressing and mayonnaise; cooked foods such as stew and curry; and creams.
When mix | blending with food-drinks, the flavor imparting substance of this invention is 0.01-10 mass% with respect to the total weight of food-drinks, Preferably 0.05-1 mass% can be mix | blended.

  According to the present invention, the flavor imparted by the flavor of fresh milk, in particular, the fresh milk feeling (milk feeling, milkiness, milk sweetness), and the fresh milk richness (volume feeling, rich taste). Can be obtained. By blending the flavor-imparting product of the present invention into a food or drink, the flavor of fresh milk in the food or drink, particularly the milky feeling (milkiness, milkiness, milk sweetness) of fresh milk, A rich feeling (volume feeling, rich taste) can be imparted or enhanced.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples. However, the present invention is not limited to these examples.
Example 1
800g of fresh cream (cream) (milk fat 45.0%, protein 1.6%, carbohydrate 2.3%, moisture 50.7%) and concentrated buttermilk (milk fat 2.6%, protein 11.3%, sugar 200g (18.3% by mass, moisture 65.0% by mass) was mixed (100 parts by mass of protein derived from component A, 177 parts by mass of protein from component B), sterilized at 90 ° C. for 10 minutes, and cooled to 50 ° C. Then, 0.5 g of protease A2G (manufactured by Amano Enzyme) derived from Aspergillus oryzae was added, and an enzyme reaction (protease treatment) was performed with stirring at 50 ° C. for 3 hours. Thereafter, the enzyme was inactivated by heating at 90 ° C. for 10 minutes, and emulsified with a homogenizer at around 70 ° C. to obtain a protease-treated product.

(Example 2)
Commercial cream (cream) (milk fat 45.0% by weight, protein 1.6% by weight, sugar 2.3% by weight, moisture 50.7% by weight) 900g, and total milk protein (milk fat 2.0% by weight, protein 80.0% by weight, sugar 4.0 (100% by mass, moisture 6.0% by mass) is mixed (100 parts by mass of protein derived from component A, 556 parts by mass of protein from component C), sterilized at 90 ° C. for 10 minutes, and cooled to 50 ° C. Then, 5 g of flavorzyme 500L (manufactured by Novozyme) derived from Aspergillus oryzae was added, and the enzyme reaction was carried out with stirring at 50 ° C. for 3 hours. The enzyme was inactivated by heating at 90 ° C. for 10 minutes and emulsified with a homogenizer at around 70 ° C. to obtain a protease-treated product.

(Example 3)
Full-fat concentrated milk (milk fat 10.5% by mass, protein 8.7% by mass, sugar 13.7% by mass, moisture 65.1% by mass) 800g, and buttermilk powder (milk fat 7.0% by mass, protein 33.4% by mass, carbohydrate 48.4% by mass %, Moisture 3.7 mass%) 200 g (100 parts by mass of protein derived from component B, 104 parts by mass of protein derived from component C), sterilized at 90 ° C. for 10 minutes, cooled to 50 ° C., 0.5 g of protease A2G (manufactured by Amano Enzyme) derived from Aspergillus oryzae was added, and the enzyme reaction was carried out with stirring at 50 ° C. for 3 hours. The enzyme was inactivated by heating at 90 ° C. for 10 minutes and emulsified with a homogenizer at around 70 ° C. to obtain a protease-treated product.

Example 4
550 g of commercial cream (cream) (milk fat 45.0%, protein 1.6%, carbohydrate 2.3%, moisture 50.7%), concentrated buttermilk (milk fat 2.6%, protein 11.3%, carbohydrates 18.3%, moisture 65.0%) 300g, and 150g of whole milk powder (milk fat 25.3%, protein 25.3%, carbohydrates 40.6%, water 2.5%) (mixed from 100 parts by weight of protein derived from component A, derived from component B) 385 parts by weight of protein and 431 parts by weight of protein derived from component C), sterilized at 90 ° C. for 10 minutes, cooled to 50 ° C., and 5 g of flavorzyme derived from Aspergillus oryzae (manufactured by Novozyme) 5 g The enzyme reaction was carried out with stirring at 50 ° C. for 3 hours. The enzyme was inactivated by heating at 90 ° C. for 10 minutes and emulsified with a homogenizer at around 70 ° C. to obtain a protease-treated product.

(Comparative Examples 1-3)
Commercial fresh cream (cream) (milk fat 45.0%, protein 1.6%, sugar 2.3%, moisture 50.7%), concentrated buttermilk (milk fat 2.6%, protein 11.3%, sugar 18.3%, moisture 65.0 %), Whole fat concentrated milk (milk fat 10.5% by mass, protein 8.7% by mass, carbohydrates 13.7% by mass, moisture 65.1% by mass), respectively, 0.5 g of protease A2G (manufactured by Amano Enzyme) is added, Enzyme reaction with stirring for 3 hours at ℃, heat for 10 minutes at 90 ℃ to inactivate the enzyme, emulsify with a homogenizer at around 70 ℃, and treat these dairy products with only protease, that is, fresh cream (Cream) processed protease (Comparative Example 1), concentrated buttermilk processed protease (Comparative Example 2), and whole fat concentrated milk processed protease (Comparative Example 3).

(Test Example 1)
The protease-treated product obtained in Examples 1 to 4 and the protease-treated product obtained in Comparative Examples 1 to 3 were used as flavoring agents, and 0.1 mass for each of commercially available lacto ice, milk tea, and canned coffee. %, And each food and drink was prepared by a conventional method.
Each food / beverage product to which the protease-treated product was added and each food / beverage product to which the protease-treated product was not added were sampled or sampled, and sensory evaluations were compared by 12 expert panelists.
In sensory evaluation, fresh milk sweetness, milkiness, milk feeling, and richness are clearly ineffective, with 0 points for ineffectiveness and 1 point for slightly weaker but less effective. Evaluation was made with 2 points, and 3 points with very large effects. The evaluation result was the average of 12 evaluation points. The results are shown in Table 1.
As is clear from Table 1, the protease-treated product (flavoring product) of the present invention has a fresh milk sweetness, milkiness, and milk compared to a single protease-treated product of additive-free products and dairy products. A feeling of richness was given.

Table 1

(Example 5)
550 g of commercial cream (cream) (milk fat 45.0%, protein 1.6%, carbohydrate 2.3%, moisture 50.7%), concentrated buttermilk (milk fat 2.6%, protein 11.3%, carbohydrates 18.3%, moisture 65.0%) 300g, and a mixture of 150g of whole milk powder (milk fat 25.3%, protein 25.3%, carbohydrates 40.6%, moisture 2.5%) (100 parts by mass of protein derived from component A, derived from component B) Protease reaction was carried out at 45 ° C. or 50 ° C. with stirring for 3 hours or 4 hours using 385 parts by weight of protein and 431 parts by weight of protein derived from component C) at 45 ° C. or 50 ° C. . Thereafter, the enzyme was inactivated by heating at 90 ° C. for 10 minutes to obtain a protease-treated product.
20 mass% of propylene glycol was added to each protease-treated product and emulsified with a homogenizer to prepare each flavor imparting product.

(Test Example 2)
Each flavor imparting substance obtained in Example 5 was added to commercially available lacto ice by 0.1% by mass.
Comparison between each flavor imparting lacto ice added and no flavor imparting lacto ice was performed by 12 expert panelists. The evaluation score is 1 point for overall evaluation of sweetness, milkiness, milkiness, and richness of fresh milk in lacto ice added with flavor enhancers (1 and 6 in Table 2) prepared using protease alone. In comparison with this, 0 points were not effective, 2 points were effective, and 3 points were strong. The average score (rounded to the first decimal place) by 12 expert panelists is shown in the table as the score (Table 2).
As shown in Table 2, a protease treatment product obtained by using a protease derived from Aspergillus oryzae alone, or a protease of different origin from Aspergillus oryzae The obtained flavor-imparting product containing the protease-treated product was effective in the sweetness, milkiness, milkiness, and richness of fresh milk.

表中の添加量は、実施例５の混合物の全重量に対するプロテアーゼの質量％を意味する。 Table 2

The addition amount in the table means mass% of protease with respect to the total weight of the mixture of Example 5.

(Example 6)
500g of fresh cream (cream) (milk fat 45.0%, protein 1.6%, carbohydrate 2.3%, moisture 50.7%), concentrated buttermilk (milk fat 2.6%, protein 11.3%, carbohydrate 18.3%, moisture 65.0%) in a mixture of 200 g and 300 g of whole fat concentrated milk (milk fat 10.5% by mass, protein 8.7% by mass, sugar 13.7% by mass, water 65.1% by mass) (based on 100 parts by mass of the protein derived from component A) , 283 parts by weight of the protein derived from the B component, 326 parts by weight of the protein derived from the C component), 0.5 g of protease A2G (manufactured by Amano Enzyme) derived from Aspergillus oryzae, and 3 at 50 ° C. The enzyme reaction was performed while stirring for a period of time, the enzyme was inactivated by heating at 90 ° C. for 10 minutes, and emulsified with a homogenizer at around 70 ° C. to obtain a flavor imparting product.

(Example 7)
Using a single protease-treated product of the dairy products obtained in Comparative Examples 1 to 3, mixing was performed so that the ratio was the same as the milk raw material of Example 6. That is, 500 g of protease-treated product of fresh cream obtained in Comparative Example 1, 200 g of protease-treated product of concentrated buttermilk obtained in Comparative Example 2, and 300 g of protease-treated product of full-fat concentrated milk obtained in Comparative Example 3 Mixing was performed to prepare a flavor enhancer.

(Test Example 3)
The flavor imparting substance obtained in Example 6 and Example 7 was added to commercially available lacto ice at 0.1% by mass, and lacto ice was prepared by a conventional method. Evaluation of these flavor imparting effects was carried out by five specialized panelists. Lact ice was sampled, and the effect of the flavor enhancer was examined by sensuality. As for evaluation, with respect to the sweetness, milkiness, milkiness, and richness of fresh milk, there are 0 points where there is no effect, 1 point where the effect is slightly recognized but very weak, and the effect is clearly recognized Was given 2 points, and those with very large effects were given 3 points. The evaluation result was the average of the five evaluation points. The results are shown in Table 3.
The flavor imparting substance of the present invention was excellent in effect when protease treatment was performed after mixing dairy products as raw materials. Moreover, the effect was very excellent even if it was the flavor imparting substance obtained by mixing each processed material after processing the dairy product used as a raw material separately with protease.

Table 3

Claims (10)

The following component A, of the B component and C component, flavor enhancer which comprises a protease treatment product obtained by the action of only the protease a mixture of at least two or more components as a substrate:
A component; cream B component; buttermilk or buttermilk powder C component; one or more selected from the group consisting of milk, concentrated milk, whole milk powder, skimmed milk powder, skimmed milk powder and total milk protein. To protein 100 parts by weight from the component A, the flavor enhancer of claim 1, wherein the protein from the B component is characterized in that it is a mixture consisting of mixed A and B components so that from 60 to 2000 parts by weight object. The flavor impartation according to claim 1, which is a mixture comprising the A component and the C component mixed so that the protein derived from the C component is 60 to 2000 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the protein derived from the A component. object. The flavor according to claim 1, wherein the flavor is a mixture comprising the B component and the C component mixed so that the protein derived from the C component is 10 to 1000 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the protein derived from the B component. Grant. From A component, B component, and C component mixed such that protein derived from B component is 60 to 2000 parts by mass and protein derived from C component is 60 to 2000 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of protein derived from A component The flavor enhancer according to claim 1, wherein the flavor enhancer is a mixture. Protease treated product obtained by acting only protease with A component as substrate, protease treated product obtained by acting only protease with B component as substrate , and protease obtained by acting only protease with C component as substrate A flavor enhancer characterized by containing at least two or more of the treated products:
A component; cream B component; buttermilk or buttermilk powder C component; one or more selected from the group consisting of milk, concentrated milk, whole milk powder, skimmed milk powder, skimmed milk powder and total milk protein. The flavor enhancer according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the action of the protease on the substrate is performed for 30 minutes to 8 hours. Food or drink containing a flavor enhancer according to any one of claims 1-7. A method for producing a flavor imparting product, characterized in that a protease treatment is carried out by allowing only a protease to act on a mixture comprising at least two or more of the following components A, B and C as a substrate :
A component; cream B component; buttermilk or buttermilk powder C component; one or more selected from the group consisting of milk, concentrated milk, whole milk powder, skimmed milk powder, skimmed milk powder and total milk protein. The method for producing a flavor enhancer according to claim 9, wherein the action of the protease on the substrate is performed for 30 minutes to 8 hours.