Formulation of an MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) free instant vegetable soup mix

Abstract

An instant dehydrated vegetable soup mix with no MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) was developed using dried vegetables (25 %), whey powder (18 %), lentil powder (12 %), salt (12 %), potato flour (10 %), corn flour (9 %), tomato powder (7 %), vegetable fat (4%), sugar (2%) and spice mix (1%) as the ingredients. The vegetables carrot, cabbage, leeks, onion as well as tomato and potato, lentil, spices (garlic, pepper, onion) and celery were dehydrated in a cross-flow air cabinet dryer using already established procedures. Physico-chemical analysis revealed that the final product possessed 3.8 % moisture, 0.43 water activity, 4.7 pH, 18 % ash, 16.1 % protein, 55 % carbohydrate, 4.1 % fat, 2.7 % fiber, 0.17 % calcium, 4.6 % (mg/g) iron and a calorific value of 321 kcal/g. Aerobic plate count of the developed soup mix was within the safe range (2.3 X10 3cfu/g). A reconstitution ratio of 1:15 produced an acceptable product. Sensory analysis revealed that there was no significant difference in colour (p = 0.7213), flavour (p = 0.2662), mouth feel (p = 0.9487), consistency (p = 0.0568) and overall acceptability (p = 0.8061) between a commercial soup mix and the MSG free instant soup mix developed in this study.