Abstract:An enzymatic process for preparing flavoring bases from river snail meat was developed using a systematic approach involving protease screening, single-factor experiments, and response surface methodology-based optimization, with the degree of hydrolysis used as the key index. The free and total amino acid contents and sensory characteristics of the snail flavoring bases were then evaluated. Subsequently, a novel river snail-based rice noodle soup was formulated using the optimized flavoring base that had been developed. The optimal enzymatic parameters for preparing the river snail flavoring base were as follows: a trypsin-to-substrate mass ratio of 0.19%, solid-to-liquid ratio of 1:2 g/mL, pH value of 8.0, temperature of 50 ℃, and duration of 3 h. Under these conditions, the degree of hydrolysis reached 26.82%, resulting in a final solid yield that was 6.3 times higher than that achieved using the traditional boiling method. Overall, the flavoring base derived from river snail meat had an excellent flavor, with a prominent umami taste (6.64). Notably, amino acids with umami and sweet flavors constituted a significant proportion (57.48%) of the total amino acids. The formulation for the new enzymatically hydrolyzed soup is as follows: the original soup serves as the solvent system, with additions (in mass fractions) of 25 g/L flavoring base, 3% salt, 1.25% white sugar, and 1.5% monosodium glutamate. The total free amino acid content (142.21 mg/100 g) and total sweet amino acid content (17.28 g/100 g) in the new enzymatically hydrolyzed soup were significantly higher than those in the traditional boiled soup (14.25 mg/100 g and 13.48 g/100 g, respectively), rendering the flavor of the enzymatically hydrolyzed snail rice noodle soup superior. This study provides novel insights and recommendations for the efficient utilization of river snail resources and the quality enhancement and industrial preparation of river snail rice noodle soup.
