Patent Information

• Patent Number: CN121942877A
• Country: China
• Application Number: CN202610244354.3A
• Status: Pending
• Publication Date: March 2, 2026

Technical Field

The invention pertains to the technical field of food flavor additives, and specifically relates to a natural beef essence, as well as a method for its preparation and its application.

Background of the Invention

Beef essence serves as an important food flavor additive and finds widespread application in the fields of meat product processing, instant foods, seasonings, leisure foods, and similar products. It can effectively enhance the characteristic beef flavor of products and improve their palatability and market acceptance.

With the increasing consumer awareness of health and the concept of "homology of taste," natural, safe, and healthy beef essences have gradually become the primary market demand. Traditional chemically synthesized beef essences present certain safety concerns due to their singular flavor profile and lack of the mellow sensation characteristic of natural meat aroma. These products have difficulty meeting the application requirements of the modern food industry.

Currently, the preparation method for natural beef essences primarily employs an enzymolysis-Maillard reaction combined technology. The core principle involves hydrolyzing beef protein with proteases to generate flavor precursors such as amino acids and polypeptides. These precursors subsequently undergo Maillard reaction and fat oxidation reactions to produce characteristic meat flavor compounds, including pyrazines, furans, and thiazoles. However, the prior art still exhibits the following disadvantages:

1. Limited flavor enhancement means: Some preparation processes rely solely on beef protein precursors for reaction, resulting in a limited variety of flavor substances generated. The resulting meat flavor lacks layering and richness. While the addition of chemical flavor enhancers can improve the flavor, this approach does not align with the development direction of clean-label products.
2. Insufficient flavor harmony: The synergy between the head fragrance, body fragrance, and tail fragrance of natural beef essences is inadequate. Some products suffer from thin fragrance or short fragrance retention, creating a gap compared with composite chemically synthesized essences.
3. Inadequate antioxidant systems: The prior art employs either a single antioxidant or no targeted antioxidant system. This inadequacy makes the product susceptible to lipid oxidation and non-enzymatic browning during storage, resulting in progressive darkening and blackening of the product color, increased peroxide value, rapid attenuation of characteristic aroma, and flavor deterioration. These issues seriously affect the product's appearance, flavor, and edible safety, leading to poor overall stability and short shelf life.
4. Flavor damage during sterilization: The natural beef essence system is rich in heat-sensitive flavor substances. While traditional high-temperature sterilization processes can achieve the desired sterilization effect, they also lead to the volatilization of a large number of characteristic flavor substances, causing flavor deterioration of the essence.

Therefore, there exists a need for one or more new related beef flavoring preparations or methods of preparation.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention aims to overcome the deficiencies in the prior art and provides a natural beef essence, a preparation method thereof, and its application. The invention fundamentally addresses the technical defects of existing beef essences—including insufficient flavor, uncoordinated fragrance, susceptibility to browning and oxidation, rapid fragrance attenuation, and poor stability—by employing a composite enzymolysis and staged feeding process in combination with a water-soluble rosemary extract and ascorbic acid compound antioxidant system.

Technical Solution

The technical solution adopted to solve the technical problems is as follows: