Braized Meat Paste
Braised meat paste is a concentrated savoury flavouring in a semi-solid form, built around a thermally processed reaction base that carries the aroma of Chinese red-braised meat. It sits between a flavour and a seasoning: alongside the aroma it delivers salt, hydrolysed protein solids, fat and colour, so it contributes body and taste as well as smell.
The composition is typically a Maillard reaction mass combined with rendered animal or vegetable fat, soy sauce solids, spice extracts and an emulsifying or thickening system. Fat content is high enough that the product is a soft, spreadable paste at ambient temperature and becomes pourable when warmed. The paste form loses fewer volatiles during storage than an equivalent liquid flavour, and the fat phase acts as a reservoir for the lipophilic aroma compounds.
The material is dispersed into hot aqueous systems, where the fat melts and the water soluble solids dissolve. It is not fully water soluble; in cold applications it requires emulsification or a high shear step. Storage is normally chilled or ambient in sealed pails, and once opened the exposed surface oxidises, so a nitrogen headspace or small pack size is common.
We source bulk Braized Meat Paste from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Henan. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
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- Function
- Flavours and Aromas
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Brown to dark brown semi-solid paste |
| Odour and Taste | Characteristic braised meat, soy and spice |
| Moisture | Not more than 20.0 percent |
| Fat Content | 25.0 to 50.0 percent |
| Sodium Chloride | 10.0 to 25.0 percent |
| pH (10 percent dispersion) | 5.0 to 6.5 |
| Peroxide Value | Not more than 5.0 meq/kg fat |
| Lead (Pb) | Not more than 1.0 mg/kg |
| Arsenic (As) | Not more than 0.5 mg/kg |
| Total Plate Count | Not more than 10,000 cfu/g |
| Yeast and Mould | Not more than 100 cfu/g |
| E. coli | Absent in 1 g |
| Salmonella | Absent in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
Paste grades are differentiated mainly by fat source and by declaration. Pork fat based pastes give the most authentic red-braised character; vegetable fat versions using palm or rapeseed fractions are made for halal and vegetarian applications and rely more heavily on plant protein hydrolysates in the reaction base. Salt content varies widely, from low salt versions intended for products already seasoned elsewhere to high salt versions that double as a preservation hurdle.
Strength is expressed as a recommended dosage rather than an assay. Standard pastes are used at around one to three percent of the finished food, while concentrated versions are formulated for use below one percent. Natural, nature identical and artificial versions exist in parallel, mirroring the equivalent liquid flavours.
Applications
- Hotpot and braising bases, where the paste is the principal aroma and fat carrier
- Instant noodle oil sachets and paste sachets
- Retorted and frozen braised pork, beef and poultry dishes
- Stir-fry and simmer sauces sold to catering and to retail
- Meat marinades and tumbling brines for cooked meat products
- Dumpling, bun and pastry fillings requiring a cooked meat aroma
- Soup and congee bases in central kitchens and chain foodservice
- Plant based meat analogues, supplying both fat character and reaction aroma
China Manufacturers of Braized Meat Paste
Top Braized Meat Paste manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
In the United States the FEMA GRAS programme or the synthetic flavouring substances listing at 21 CFR 172.515 covers the reaction base and the added aroma chemicals, while the salt, fat, protein hydrolysate and caramel colour are food ingredients regulated in their own right. Labelling depends on how the paste is used: where it functions as a seasoning rather than purely as a flavour, its components are declared individually.
In the European Union the flavour fraction falls under Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008, including its specific provisions for thermal process flavourings, and any chemically defined flavouring substances must be on the Union list. Caramel colours used for the braised appearance are authorised food colours under the food additives regulation and carry their own E numbers. Codex general guidelines for flavourings apply, and JECFA has evaluated the main classes of savoury reaction aroma compounds.
Manufacturing Process
Production starts with a thermal process reaction. Hydrolysed protein, reducing sugars, cysteine and thiamine are heated in water under controlled pH, temperature and holding time in a jacketed reactor, generating the sulphur heterocycles and furanones that carry cooked meat aroma. Rendered fat is either included in the reaction, where it produces species specific oxidation notes, or added afterwards.
The reaction mass is transferred to a heated mixing vessel and blended with fat, salt, soy sauce solids, caramel colour, spice oleoresins and essential oils, and with an emulsifier and thickener system. The blend is homogenised hot to give a uniform dispersion of the aqueous and fat phases, cooled under controlled agitation so that the fat crystallises into a smooth texture, and filled into pails or drums. Some lines pasteurise the paste in line before filling.
