Taste Quality of the Hot Water Extract from <i>Flammulina velutipes</i> and its Application in Umami Seasoning

Flammulina velutipes, also called enokitake, is usually used for soup cuisine in Taiwan. For health concern to reduce the use of monosodium glutamate (MSG), mushrooms are a particular alternative of interest. Accordingly, we prepared the extract using thermal processing. Commercial protease was added before extraction. Contents of total free amino acids in Bromelain and commercial enzyme extracts (100.74 and 97.34 mg/g dry matter) were higher than that in the hot water extract (WE, 84.94 mg/g dry matter) but contents of umami amino acids were not increased. However, WE showed the highest equivalent umami concentration (241.29 g MSG/100 g dry matter). Sensory study showed that 0.3% WE or 0.3% powder was equivalent to 0.3% MSG but less sweet than 2% sucrose. In vegetable soups, 0.1% WE showed sensory results of 4.83-5.50 at a nine-point hedonic scale. Nevertheless, 0.05% WE and 0.05% MSG was comparable to 0.1% MSG. Overall, WE could be developed for umami seasoning.