Sensory Analysis of Taste-Active Components in the Extract of Boiled Snow Crab Meat

A synthetic extract, prepared from 44 pure chemicals on the basis of the analytical data on the leg meat extract of the boiled snow crab, Chionoecetes opilio, satisfactorily reproduced the taste of the natural extract except for a slight lack of body and mildness. A series of taste panel assessments on synthetic extracts prepared by omitting or adding extractive component(s) were carried out by a triangle difference test and changes in taste profile were assessed. Only 12 components, Ala, Arg, Glu, Gly, glycine betaine, AMP, CMP, GMP, Na⁺, K⁺, Cl^?, and PO₄^3-, were found to contribute more or less toward producing the characteristic taste of the snow crab.