Enhancing the taste of a meat-flavored foodstuff

Claim 1

A process for enhancing the taste of a meat-flavored foodstuff comprising the step of adding to said foodstuff a taste enhancing quantity of a mixed seasoning composition of matter consisting essentially of: (a) from about 0.25 up to about 0.80 mole percent on a dry basis of a lactic acid/lactate species mixture having the structure: ##STR23## (b) from 0 up to about 0.09 mole percent on a dry basis of glycollic acid/glycollate ion species mixture having the structure: ##STR24## (c) from 0 up to about 10.0 mole percent on a dry basis of magnesium ion; (d) from about 6 mole percent up to about 50 mole percent on a dry basis of a phosphate/monoacid phosphate/diacid phosphate/phosphoric acid species mixture having the formula: [PO.sub.4.sup.--- ]+[HPO.sub.4.sup.-- ]+[H.sub.2 PO.sub.4.sup.- ]+H.sub.3 PO.sub.4 taken alone or taken further together with at least one of the species tripolyphosphate, pyrophosphate and/or polymetaphosphate; (e) from 0 mole percent up to about 40 mole percent on a dry basis of sodium ion; (f) from about 8 mole percent up to about 50 mole percent on a dry basis of potassium ion; (g) from about 0.3 mole percent up to about 16 mole percent on a dry basis of chloride ion; (h) from 0 mole percent up to 30 mole percent on a dry basis of carbonate/bicarbonate/carbonic acid species mixture having the formula: [CO.sub.3.sup.-- ]+[HCO.sub.3.sup.- ]+H.sub.2 CO.sub.3 (j) from 0 mole percent up to about 2.0 mole percent on a dry basis of monobasic glutamate/dibasic glutamate/glutamic acid species mixture having the formulae: ##STR25## (k) from 0 up to about 0.6 mole percent on a dry basis of calcium ion; with the proviso that the sum total of mole percent on a dry basis of sodium ion, potassium ion, magnesium ion and calcium ion is from about 48 mole percent up to about 60 mole percent; and with the proviso that the sum total of carbonate/bicarbonate/carbonic acid ion species mixture having the formula: [CO.sub.3.sup.-- ]+[HCO.sub.3.sup.- ]+H.sub.2 CO.sub.3 taken together with the sum total mole percent on a dry basis of the phosphate/monobasic phosphate/dibasic phosphate species mixture having the formula: [PO.sub.4.sup.--- ]+[HPO.sub.4.sup.-- ]+[H.sub.2 PO.sub.4.sup.- ]+H.sub.3 PO.sub.4 taken alone or taken further together with at least one of the species tripolyphosphate, pyrophosphate and/or polymetaphosphate is from about 34 mole percent up to about 50 mole percent; the term "mole percent" being based upon the total moles of cations, anions and free organic acid which is substantially non-ionized in the composition and with the additional proviso that the sum total of: (i) magnesium ion; (ii) monobasic glutamate/dibasic glutamate/glutamic acid species mixture; and (iii) calcium ion is greater than 0, is of a finite amount and is functionally effective.