All Stories
Follow
Subscribe to Technische Universität München

Technische Universität München

Chanterelle mushrooms as a taste enhancer - New method for quality control of chanterelle mushrooms

TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF MUNICH

Corporate Communications Center

phone: +49 8161 5403 - email: presse@tum.de - web: www.tum.de

This text on the web: https://www.tum.de/nc/en/about-tum/news/press-releases/details/36108/

Images for journalists: https://mediatum.ub.tum.de/1551963

NEWS RELEASE

Chanterelle mushrooms as a taste enhancer

New method for quality control of chanterelle mushrooms

Chanterelles give savoury dishes a rich body and a unique complex flavor. Experts refer to this as the kokumi effect. A research team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Leibniz-Institute for Food Systems Biology recently developed the first method to clearly quantify chanterelle-specific key substances that contribute to this effect. This method can also be used for quality control.

Chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius) are one of the most popular mushrooms in Germany. Depending on the weather, chanterelle season starts in early July. Connoisseurs value the mushroom's delicate fruity aroma, which is reminiscent of apricots, and its aromatic and slightly bitter taste profile. Not only do chanterelles have a unique flavor profile, they also function as taste enhancers, lending dishes a well-rounded mouthfeel and a lingering, rich flavor.

Key substances for the kokumi sensation

"Using the ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method developed by our team, we are now the first to accurately quantify the key substances in chanterelles that are responsible for the kokumi effect", says Dr. Verena Mittermeier from the TUM Chair of Food Chemistry and Molecular Sensory Science. Dr. Verena Mittermeier already contributed significantly to the study during her time as a PhD student under Prof. Thomas Hofmann, who now serves as the President of TUM.

As the research team's findings show, the effect is caused by natural substances derived from fatty acids. Storage conditions, such as duration of storage and temperature, affect the composition and concentration of these fatty acid derivatives in the mushrooms. Whether the mushrooms are stored whole or chopped also plays a role.

New quality control marker

According to food chemist Andreas Dunkel from the Leibniz-Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich, some of these derivatives are specific to chanterelles and can therefore be used as markers to control the quality of mushroom products. These findings could also be used to systematically improve the flavor profile of mushroom dishes or other savoury dishes using natural substances.

Andreas Dunkel explains: "Kokumi is a Japanese word that does not refer to a specific flavor quality such as salty or sweet." Instead, the fatty acid derivatives modulate the sensory characteristics of other ingredients.

Publication:

Mittermeier VK, Pauly K, Dunkel A, Hofmann T (2020) J Agric Food Chem 68 (20): 5741-5751, DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.0c02034. Ion-mobility-based liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry quantitation of taste-enhancing octadecadien-12-ynoic acids in mushrooms

Further information:

This project was supported by Takasago Europe GmbH.

Images for journalists: https://mediatum.ub.tum.de/1551963

Contacts:

Dr. Verena Mittermeier

Chair of Food Chemistry and Molecular Sensory Science

E-Mail: verena.mittermeier(at)tum.de

Tel: +49 8161 71 2992

Andreas Dunkel

Leibniz-Institute for Food Systems Biologyat the Technical University of Munich

E-Mail: a.dunkel.leibniz-lsb(at)tum.de

Tel: +49 8161 71 2903

Dr. Gisela Olias

Press & Public Relations

Leibniz-Institute for Food Systems Biologyat the Technical University of Munich

Tel.: +49 8161 71-2980

E-Mail: g.olias.leibniz-lsb(at)tum.de

The Technical University of Munich (TUM) is one of Europe's leading research universities, with around 600 professors, 43,000 students, and 10,000 academic and non-academic staff. Its focus areas are the engineering sciences, natural sciences, life sciences and medicine, combined with economic and social sciences. TUM acts as an entrepreneurial university that promotes talents and creates value for society. In that it profits from having strong partners in science and industry. It is represented worldwide with the TUM Asia campus in Singapore as well as offices in Beijing, Brussels, Cairo, Mumbai, San Francisco, and São Paulo. Nobel Prize winners and inventors such as Rudolf Diesel, Carl von Linde, and Rudolf Mößbauer have done research at TUM. In 2006, 2012, and 2019 it won recognition as a German "Excellence University." In international rankings, TUM regularly places among the best universities in Germany. www.tum.de

More stories: Technische Universität München
More stories: Technische Universität München
  • 23.06.2020 – 13:52

    Die Tricks des Immunsystems: T-Zellen-Antwort bei chronischen Virus-Infektionen

    TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITÄT MÜNCHEN Corporate Communications Center Tel.: +49 89 289 22562 - E-Mail: presse@tum.de - Web: www.tum.de Dieser Text im Web: https://www.tum.de/nc/die-tum/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/details/36073/ PRESSEMITTEILUNG Die Tricks des Immunsystems Wie sich die T-Zellen-Antwort bei chronischen Virus-Infektionen verändert Mehr als die Hälfte der ...

  • 22.06.2020 – 14:42

    Microsoft-CEO spricht mit Studierenden über Robotik und KI

    TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITÄT MÜNCHEN Corporate Communications Center Tel.: +49 89 289 25439 - E-Mail: presse@tum.de - Web: www.tum.de Dieser Text im Web: https://www.tum.de/nc/die-tum/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/details/36074/ PRESSEMITTEILUNG Microsoft-CEO im Gespräch mit TUM-Studierenden Satya Nadella besucht die Munich School of Robotics and Machine Intelligence virtuell Der Chief Executive Officer (CEO) von Microsoft, ...