Founded in 1988, Totole was inspired by Japanese compound seasonings and chicken umami to develop the third generation of compound umami condiment chicken essence, which can be described as the "father of chicken essence" in China. Totole has now become one of the top three enterprises in China's condiment industry, and has taken the lead in formulating China's chicken essence and chicken powder industry standards, with an annual production and sales volume of 180,000 tons of chicken essence condiments, which is controlled by Nestle, the world's largest food company.
 
The name of Essence of Chicken makes it sound like a concentrated nutrient essence of chicken, but it is not, its main function is only to flavor and enhance freshness. After the chicken is boiled into chicken broth, the chicken is partially hydrolyzed to produce umami substances such as free glutamate and guanylate, which is a natural compound umami combination. Glory Zhongyuan works in the state-owned monosodium glutamate factory, and on the basis of monosodium glutamate, this natural combination is transformed into a condiment, that is, chicken essence.
 
Essence of chicken, an ordinary household seasoning, actually contains the essence of umami science and conveniently embodies the compound umami. Totole Essence of Chicken is one of the representatives of this type of product, its core ingredients are monosodium glutamate, edible salt, disodium 5 ́-flavored nucleotide, chicken, and other ingredients are excipients and spices.
 
Monosodium glutamate, i.e., monosodium glutamate, is still defective in umami when it is alone, but with the help of sodium ions, umami will be further perceived by the taste buds of the tongue. 5 ́-Flavor nucleotide disodium contains disodium guanylate and disodium inosinate, which has the effect of "umami multiplication" with sodium glutamate, which can produce a more complex and mellow umami taste.
 
Totole chicken essence is added with garlic, green onions, curry powder, etc., which are all commonly used spices in Chinese households, adding a familiar fragrance to the chicken essence and making up for the lack of flavor of chicken lean dry matter.
 
Although the added chicken also contains umami substances, the main role of chicken is only to provide some chicken flavor, so that chicken essence really contains "chicken". A classic serving of Totole chicken essence contains more than 35% monosodium glutamate, about 20% edible salt, plus other excipients and spices, and there are not many chicken ingredients. The hidden sodium content in chicken essence is not low, and people with high blood pressure should pay more attention when using it.
 
Since its inception, Totole has developed a lot of seasonings with different umami themes, including mushroom essence seasoning based on guanylate umami, vegetable seasoning based on plant hydrolyzed protein umami, chicken juice and chicken powder seasoning that highlight the flavor of chicken, etc., their essence is an umami seasoning formed by the combination of monosodium glutamate, flavor nucleotides, and edible salt iron triangle, and the degree of umami is different, but it is generally the same, and the main difference is that the flavor components are different. Consumers can choose the corresponding products according to the actual dishes and preferences.
 
Totole's basic chicken essence is divided into two types: essence of chicken seasoning and Tiantianwang, and the ratio of the two ingredients is slightly different. The chicken essence seasoning chicken composition is slightly higher, the umami ingredients are better matched, the umami taste is better, and the price is about 5.5 yuan/100g. Tiantianwang is a product promoted by Totole in low-consumption markets such as rural areas, with a large amount of single package and cheap price, and the umami is not as good as chicken essence seasoning under the same amount, and the price of 454g specifications is about 13.9 yuan. In fact, the amount of chicken essence can have obvious umami in a small amount, and the difference in freshness between the two is difficult for consumers to detect, so it can be used instead.
 
Essence of chicken products contain monosodium glutamate, which is also deeply affected by the "harmful theory of monosodium glutamate", and it is difficult to continue to expand the consumer market of essence of chicken. In response to this situation, Totole launched a new original umami seasoning in 2018. The original fresh is made with corn fermentation as the core, adding edible salt, starch, chicken, mushroom powder and other raw materials for compound seasoning. Careful ingredient control may reveal that MSG (monosodium glutamate) does not appear in the ingredient list, which is the selling point of original umami, which is made from "all-natural" materials.
 
MSG (i.e., monosodium glutamate) is actually widely found in natural foods, and synthetic monosodium glutamate is exactly the same as natural monosodium glutamate, and it is chemically impossible to distinguish the source.
 
The umami flavor of the original umami still relies on monosodium glutamate and flavored nucleotides, and the principle is the same as that of chicken essence, but the product made from fermented pure natural ingredients is more acceptable to consumers and helps to expand sales. The original fresh is also a granular solid seasoning, the color of the particles is dark, with the dark brown color of the fermented product, and the gloss is not as good as the general chicken essence granules. Its ingredients are more diverse than chicken essence, and the umami flavor comes from the fermented ingredients, which makes the flavor more natural and layered, making people feel more "familiar". The price of the original fresh is expensive, the price of 209 grams is about 15 yuan, but the sales have been well reflected after the launch, and it is a unique product of Totole.
 
After Nestle took control of Totole, the chicken powder under the Maggi brand was also incorporated into the Totole product line, which was produced by Nestle's Dongguan Maggi branch. Compared with Totole Essence of Chicken products, Maggi Chicken Powder contains higher levels of chicken ingredients and edible salt, and the chicken flavor is obvious and salty, but the freshness is poorer, which is suitable for cooking light food. The price of chicken powder is more expensive than chicken essence, and the price of Maggi 160g chicken powder is about 14.5 yuan.