FOOD FLAVOR

Cinnamon as a flavor

2011-11-19T20:59:00.001-08:00

Cinnamon was one of the first spices prized and enjoyed by man since the early days of civilization. It was precious not only as a flavoring agent, but was estemmed as a medicine, as a perfume and as one of the aromatic is burned as incense.

Cinnamon contains 1-2% volatile cinnamon oil and tannins, exudates and resin. The composition of cinnamon oil is 75-90% cinnamal with small amounts of cinnamyl acetate and cinnamyl propionate.

Cinnamon bark oil and leaf oil are used in numerous processed foods and drinks. It is used for domestic culinary flavoring and for industrially manufactured sauces, candy, pickles and some beverages.

A cinnamon leaf oil of Chinese origin, Cinnamomum japonicum Sieb, contains a high concentration of safrole (60%) and only about 3% eugenol.

Leaf oil is used in perfumery in preference to bark oil, where its spicy notes blend in to produce woody-oriental perfumes.

Cinnamon leaf oil almost equals clove oil in its eugenol content and in this respect cinnamon oil leaf competes with clove stem and leaf oil. Leaf of cinnamon is used for flavoring sweets and confectionery and is a common adulterant for bark oil.
Cinnamon as a flavor

Distillation in flavor industry

2011-11-14T17:42:00.000-08:00

Distillation is a process in which the separation of components in a mixture is achieved due to differences in volatility, that is differences in vapor pressure, of the components in the mixture to be separated.

In flavor industry distillation is frequently utilized for the isolation of flavor compounds, the formation of artifacts during distillation has been a subject of considerable interest.

It is extensively used throughout the flavor industry for:
*the recovery of volatile components from aromatic plants materials by distillation. The distillation process can take many form, Direct steam distillation in a blow over uses a very short condensation column. Condensed product is collected directly.

*Fractionalization of essential oils. The process of reclaimating the aroma of fruit products and specifically fruit juice concentrates by fractional distillation.

*The purification of volatile aromatic chemicals from more or less volatile impurities.

*The recovery of solvents during the process of extraction

*The concentration of natural flavoring materials

*In destructive distillation for the production of pyroligneous acid

*In numerous research and analytical technique

After the separation of extract and extraction material a complete removal of solids and cloudy components has to ensue. This filtration process can be performed with continue or discontinuous filters or by centrifugation with full jackets, reciprocal; pusher or sieve centrifuges.
Distillation in flavor industry

What is flavoring substance?

2011-10-24T01:37:00.000-07:00

Favoring substance can be defined as chemical component with flavoring properties, not intended to be consumed as such.

The legislation permits the use of any flavoring substance which is wholesome and presents no hazard to health.

Flavoring substances may be classified as:
*Natural flavoring substance
*Natural identical flavoring substance
*Artificial substance
*Flavoring preparation
*Process flavorings

Natural flavoring substance are obtained by appropriate physical, microbiological or enzymatic processes from a food stuff or material of vegetable or animal origin as such or after processing by food preparation processes.

When flavor compounds are added to foods, no health hazards should arise from the concentrations used.

The flavor contains flavoring substance and solvents or carries, the concentration of a single flavoring substance in the food does not usually exceed 10-20 ppm.

Historically flavoring substances have been tested for safety by testing representatively members of a chemically similar group.

Many flavoring substances are self-limiting and are typically used at very low concentrations to impart their desired effect and exposure from their use in foods is, generally, very low.

Like all other food additives, both natural and artificial flavoring substances are regarded as foreign substances and may not be use unless specifically permitted in the regulation governing each group of food products.
What is flavoring substance?

History of Synthetic Flavoring

2011-09-20T06:28:00.000-07:00

Synthetic flavorings almost any desired type are now available. These frequently posses the delicate flavor and aroma of the natural products and also the desirable characteristic of stability, reproducibility and comparatively low cost.

Although the food industry is rooted deep in history, the flavor industry has developed only over the past 170 years.

Throughout history, men have sought to make their food more appetizing, first by using spices and herbs and then by the spirits of fruits and aromatic plants or essential oils.

Supply of these commodities was obviously limited in terms of both availability and quality, especially as the size of markets increased in the nineteenth century with the growth of modern consumerism.

It was not until the latter half of the 19th century that chemists has began to realize the flavoring possibilities of synthetic aromatic chemicals.

As a result of advances in chemical analysis and synthetic organic chemistry, came an increasing number of nature identical and synthetic flavor chemicals, which allowed improved fidelity to the original materials and greater flavor intensity, stability and reproducibility.

The first synthetic “aroma oils” were introduced between 1845 and 1850. These consisted of lower molecular mass fatty acid esters of several alcoholic and were synthesized by the chemical industry for their fruity odor.

In 1858, vanillin was first crystallized from an alcoholic extract of vanilla beans by Gobley.

In 1860, the first book of artificial flavoring formulations was published anonymously in Philadelphia.

In the middle to late 1800s, the potential of synthetic aromatics to increase the effectiveness of natural flavors was beginning to be realized.

In 1851 at the World’s Fair in London, solution of esters were exhibited and recommended as artificial fruit essences.

The term synthetic, artificial and chemical flavoring have aroused the doubts and suspicious of consumers in some instances. However, many such chemical components also occur in nature.

It has been noted by the FDA that an artificial flavoring is no less safe, nutritious or desirable than a natural flavor and the the purpose for distinguishing between a natural and artificial flavor is for economic rescan, i.e. the natural flavoring is often more expensive than the artificial flavor.
History of Synthetic Flavoring

Synthetic Flavoring

2011-09-02T04:59:00.000-07:00

Flavor is defined as the combined perception of mouthfeel (texture), taste, and aroma.

Synthetic flavorings almost any desired type are now available. These frequently posses the delicate flavor and aroma of the natural products and also the desirable characteristic of stability, reproducibility and comparatively low cost.

On the other hands, natural flavorings are often more acceptable. However, they are quite complex and difficult to reproduce synthetically.

In fact, one of the problems with natural flavorings is that they may vary according to season and other uncontrollable variables.

Synthetic flavorings, however, can be reproduced quite accurately. They can withstand with processing, readily available and they are consistent in quality.

A wide variety of synthetic flavors are used in processed foods.

Many artificial flavors, such as amyl acetate (artificial banana flavor), benzaldehyde (artificial cherry flavor), and ethyl caproate (artificial pineapple flavor), are added to confectionaries, baked products, soft drinks, and ice creams.

These flavorings are added in concentrations of 0.03% or less.

Actually the many reasons for use of synthetic flavoring are basically the same as those for the use of flavoring themselves – enhancing, replacing, economical price, varying, rounding up, masking, etc.

The term synthetic, artificial and chemical flavoring have aroused the doubts and suspicious of consumers in some instances. However, many such chemical components also occur in nature.

It has been noted by the FDA that an artificial flavoring is no less safe, nutritious or desirable than a natural flavor and the the purpose for distinguishing between a natural and artificial flavor is for economic rescan, i.e. the natural flavoring is often more expensive than the artificial flavor.
Synthetic Flavoring

Peppermint flavor

2011-08-25T03:19:00.000-07:00

Peppermint favor is one of the most universal tastes around and for good reason. It bright and cheerful and tastes good.

Peppermint is a hybrid of M. aquatica and M. spicata. It is cultivated in a number of European countries, North Africa and the United States of America.

This special form of mint cannot be grown from seed, but must be rooted from cuttings.

Peppermint has a right green leaves with purple-tinged stems. It is somewhat peppery and more pungent than spearmint.

Its flavor comes from its menthol content. Peppermint’s menthol is a mild anesthetic and it appears to aid digestion. Menthol in peppermint oil produces a cool sensation in mouth.

Peppermint is known technically by its Latin binomial Mentha x piperita where Mentha is the genus for various mint, x refers to a hybrid and piperita refers to that particular species, peppermint.

Piperita means pepper scented. Peppermint has string taste and should be mixed with other greens in a salad.

Peppermint’s origin are unknown, but the dried leaves have been found in the pyramids in Egypt, dating from as early as 1000 BC.

Its genus name, Mentha, is derived from Greek mythical nymph Mintha, who metamorphosed in this plant.

Pliny says that the Greeks and Romans crowned themselves with peppermint at their feasts and that their cooks flavored both sauces and wines with it.

It didn’t become popular in Europe until about the eighteenth century. Peppermint is a hybrid of watermint and spearmint that was first cultivated near London in 1750.

Peppermint is cultivated primarily for its pungent essential oil. It is one of the world’s most popular flavors being used in a wide range of sugar confectionary, chewing gum, chocolate filling as well as in pharmaceuticals and liqueurs.
Peppermint flavor

What is Essential Oil

2011-08-18T20:39:00.000-07:00

What is Essential Oil
Essential oils are odorous components of plants and plant materials that are the characteristic odors of the materials from, which they are extracted.

By strict definition, essential oils are always a product of steam distillation.

Essential oils are mixtures of hundred components. For example, it has been found that orange oil contains 34 alcohols, 30 esters, 20 aldehydes, 14 ketones, 10 carboxylic acids and 36 varieties of terpenes.

Essential oils are volatile liquid.

Essential oils are found in all distinctly aromatic plants. These constituents can be effected by a vast number of variables including: the parts of the plant from which the oil was produced, soil condition, fertilizer, geographical region, climate, altitude, harvest season and methods and titillation process.

The volatile nature and strong aroma distinguishes essential oil from fatty oils.

Fruit extracts have been used as flavorings, but these are relatively weak when compared to essential oils and oleoresins. An oleoresin is a solvent extract of spices from which the solvent, usually a hydrocarbon, has been removed by distillation.

Among the necessities of today’s world are perfumery products, several of which are based on essential oils and aromatic chemicals, obtained from different plants species. Many of these herbs and essential oil plants have long been the basic ingredients t ancient perfumery and still hold an important place in the modern flavoring field.

Other names for essential oils include “volatile oil”, “etheric oils”, “ethereal oils,” “aromatic oils,” and “essences”.
What is Essential Oil

The Functions of Flavorings

2011-08-01T19:50:00.000-07:00

Flavorings are compounds, many of which are natural, although there are also many synthetic ones that are added to foods to produce flavors or to modify existing flavors.

Flavorings are the complex mixtures of individual ingredients which are often natural constituents of food, and can be produce through physical means form traditional plant and animal sources, chemical synthesis and processes incorporating the techniques of modern biotechnology.

Flavoring means adding a new flavor to a food, thus changing or modifying the original flavor.

The flavor substances are comparatively strong smell organic compounds with characteristics, usually pleasant odor.

In the early days of human existence, salt, sugar, vinegar, herbs, spices, smoke, honey, and berries were added to foods to improve their taste or to produce a special, desirable taste.

The range of natural and synthetic flavoring available to the modern food technologists is very large.

Essential oils form a major source of flavorings. Most foods derive their characteristics flavor from chemicals that are present at levels ranging from parts per billion to parts per million.

With the discovery of distillation, it became possible to separate the flavor chemical mixture from botanical material.

Because of their weak effects, fruit extracts may be intensified by combining them with other flavorings.

Flavoring can be added at the beginning, middle or end, depending on the cooking time, the cooking process and the flavoring ingredient.
The Functions of Flavorings

Geranium oil

2011-07-01T10:15:00.001-07:00

Geranium oil is steam distilled from the leaves and branches of Pelargonium graveolens and other species of Pelargonium.

The term rose geranium implies either a particular cultivar or sometimes the fact that rose petals were distributed on top of the geranium leaves during the distillation.

Around 200 tons of geranium oils are produced annually in China and Egypt. The flowers yield 0.1% oil by steam distillation or 0.2% of concrete by extraction with hexane. The concrete yields 65% absolute.

The major components of the oil are typically:
32% citronellol (fresh, floral, rose)
12% geraiol (sweet, floral, rose)
6% iso-menthone (harsh, herbal, mint)

Geranium oil may be used as an inexpensive alternative to rose oil in Turkish Delight confectionary, but the mint note is intrusive at higher levels of use.

Rose geranium oil is extensively used in most major food products, including alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, frozen dairy desserts, candy, baked goods and gelatins and puddings.

Oil of geranium ranks high among the essential oil used for perfuming toilets soaps.
Geranium oil

Xylitol

2011-05-13T17:30:00.000-07:00

Xylitol is a polyhydric alcohol having the formula C5H7(OH)5. It is presently used in chewing gum, mainly because of its noncariogenic property (it has not been found to cause tooth decay).

Xylitol’s intense and distinctive cooling effect in combination with its equal sweetness to sugar make it perfect ingredient for use in chewing gum especially sugar free chewing gums.

Xylitol is a white crystalline substance that for all purpose looks and tastes like white sugar.

It occurs naturally as a constituent of any fruits and vegetables, and is a normal intermediary product of carbohydrate metabolism in humans and in animals.

Because xylitol is slowly absorbed into blood stream and is only partially metabolized, it has a much lower caloric value about 40 percent lower than white sugar.

Commercially, it is produced by the hydrolysis of xylan (which is present to many plants), to xylose. Which is then hydrogenated to produce xylitol.

Xylitol is then purified and crystallized. Xylitol impart a sweet taste, which also appears to have a cooling effects. As it is metabolized by many organisms, it is quite stable.

Xylitol has been shown to improve breath color, retard loss of tooth enamel, reduce infections in the mouth and nasopharynx and relieve dry mouth.
Xylitol

Flavor Trends Category

2011-04-24T01:33:00.000-07:00

There have been many flavor trends affecting out eating habits over the last few years.

The key category of flavour trends can be divided into three application directions:

Salty snacks
Salty snacks with mostly typical flavours (cheese, salt, chili) hot and new flavours which indicate potential growth segment (meaty flavours, ethnic flavours in new ways). The research showed that Hispanics had the greatest interest in snacks flavored with chili, citrus and cheeses seasoning.

Flavored snacks are a valued added item. The seasoning can make or break a product and sufficient sensory and market testing in necessary to produce an acceptable flavor.

Juices
Juices with orange being predominant or extremely fragmented flavour blends –orange plus other flavours such as aloe vera, mango, hibiscus, vitamin fortified.

Citrus flavors are among the most important ingredients in food processing and are widely used in mainly in fruit juice containing beverages, soft drinks, dessert, frozen yoghurt and bakery products.

Sugar confectionary
Sugar confectionary strawberry on top on all regions and regions with very specific flavours and generally a high geographic diversity (chocolate within the top ten of Asia, liquorice in Europe, tamarind in Latin America, sour in North America.

Additional, strong increases are for ethnic offering in meals. Unique flavour trends and changes in ethnic foods are influencing the spice and seasoning market. Many of the new ethnic cuisine and flavour trends of the new millennium have strong, unique uses of spices.
Flavor Trends Category

Definition of Flavor

2011-02-24T22:20:00.000-08:00

Definition of Flavor
Flavor can be defined as follows: “flavor is the sensation produced by a material taken in the mouth, perceived principally by the senses of state and smell, and also by the general pain, tactile and temperature receptors in the mouth.

Flavor also denotes the sum of the characteristics of the material which produce that sensation.”

This definition makes clear that flavor is a property of a material (a food) as well as of the receptor mechanism of the person ingesting the food.

The study of flavor includes the composition of food compounds having taste or smell, as well as the interaction of these compounds with the receptors in the taste and smell sensory organs.

Following an interaction, the organs produce signals that are carried to the central nervous system thus creating what we understand as flavor.

Although flavor is composed mainly of taste and odor, other qualities contribute to the overall sensation.

Texture has a very definite effect. Smoothness, roughness, granularity and viscosity can all influence flavor, as can hotness of spies, coolness of menthol, brothiness or fullness of certain amino acids, and the tastes described as metallic and alkaline.

Flavor regardless of the medium in which they are dissolved, do not stay at the same intensity day after day, but diminish over time.

Sensory chemists and flavor technologists know that one way to keep the food products sold by manufacturers from losing their appeal is to prevent the volatile compounds responsible for flavor from deteriorating, escaping or reacting with other substances.
Definition of Flavor

Processing Factors on Flavor

2011-02-18T03:21:00.000-08:00

Various production and processing factors can effect the flavor in addition to the complexity of flavor.

Apart from product safety, flavor stability are important issues for the evaluation by the consumer.

Therefore the requirements for the flavor of the final product are increasing. This requires extensive knowledge in various field:
*Processing properties of the flavor
*Behavior of the flavor during the production of the food
*Behavior of the flavor during the shelf life of the food
*Interactions of flavor and foodstuff.

Minor effects from processing include those from filtration, aeration and freezing, but by far the most important factor is heat.

This may cause chemical changes in the flavor, but the main problem is the loss of volatiles.

This may have the effect of reducing the fresh top note of a flavor. If the key recognition chemicals have widely different boiling points, heat could render the flavor unrecognizable.

The products odor, as well as its taste, contribute to its flavor. The favor industry works very closely in many areas to recover volatiles lost in processing which when treated from valuable entities.

The choice of solvent can reduce this problem. In some instances, volatile chemicals may be replaced by higher boiling analogues.

In processes involving considerable heat, such as bakery and extrusion, the best solution is multiple encapsulation.

Numerous new volatile compounds are formed during the processing of grain. Although they are often identical compounds, their amounts and relative proportions may vary significantly depending on the process parameters, thereby resulting in different flavors.

Important flavor compounds in rye sourdough are alcohols, ester and carbonyls. In baking, mainly compounds related to the Millard reaction form: alcohols, acids, aldehydes, hydrocarbon-substitutes furans, ketones, lactones, pyrazines, hydrocarbon-substituted pyroles, and sulphur compounds.
Processing Factors on Flavor

Early food flavor before 19th century

2010-09-19T06:29:00.001-07:00

In 1492 Christopher Columbus set sail to find seasoning. Today the influence of flavor in the world market place is no loess decisive. The rise and fall of corporate empires – of soft drinks companies, snack food companies and fast food chains - is frequently determined by how their products taste.

During the early days of history, people used mainly herbs and spices (whole or ground) to impart flavor to , or modify the flavor of, foods. It is to make food more appetizing, first by using spices and herbs and then by the extraction of fruits and aromatic plants during Middle Ages or distillation of essential oils.

The latter were predominantly used by pharmacists, and it was not until the 19th century that some people found out that essential oils can be used to impart flavor to foods.

It is believed that people began the practice of adding flavor to foods by marinating or soaking them in seasoned and salted liquid between the mid-1600s and the mid–1700s.

In the second half of the 19th century, chemists began to realize the flavoring potential of some synthetic chemicals e.g. vanillin.

Wohler and Liebig synthesized benzaldehyde in 1830 and this substance was identified in 1932 by Robiquet an Boutron-Charlard to be responsible for the odor of bitter almonds.

Thus was born the flavor industry around the middles of the 19th century.
Early food flavor before 19th century

The Usage of Cloves (Myrtaceae)

2010-08-03T23:14:00.000-07:00

The Usage of Cloves (Myrtaceae)
Cloves are the dried, unopened flower buds of Eugenia caryophyllus, an evergreen tree indigenous to a group of a small volcanic islands in the Moluccas, once named the “Spice Islands” by Portuguese and Dutch traders who visited them for cloves, mace and nutmegs.

The trees flourish best near the coast.

The essential oil is a powerful antiseptic as we may recognize from our visit to the dentist where it is used as the basis for a powerful mouthwash.

The oil is also numbing and used on the gums for toothache as a home cure. So we have to be delicate when we are using cloves in cooking because the smallest amount can be overpowering.

The flavour of cloves is strong, sweet, hot and very distinctive. Cloves are used with discretion in some spices mixtures as they tend to swamp delicate flavours.

They are used in Indonesia in a mixture of 1:2 with tobacco in then production of clove cigarettes, called kretek, which is a major industry.

In India, cloves are used in the preparation of the betel nut quid; it is customary in Asia to chew a clove to sweeten the breath.
The Usage of Cloves (Myrtaceae)

Eucalyptus Oil

2010-07-06T23:01:00.000-07:00

Eucalyptus Oil
Eucalyptus globus, or Blue Gum, oil was a traditional Australian aboriginal remedy for infections and fevers. It is now used all over the world for relieving coughs and colds, sore throats and other infections.

Eucalyptus oil production now totals 5,000 tons. The majority is produced in China from camphor oil fractions, with a steadily decreasing proportion of true eucalyptus oil coming from Portugal, South Africa and Spain.

An additional 400 tons of a “eucalyptus” oil from camphor oil fractions are produced annually in China.

Eucalyptus leaves yield 1.5% on steam distillation. The demand for cineole eucalyptus oils is increasing steadily.

The major markets are Western Europe (60%) and the United States (20%).

The major components of eucalyptus oil are typically:

75% 1.8 cineole (fresh, eucalyptus)
10% alpha-pinene (light, pine)
2% para –cymene (light, citrus)
2% limonene (light, weak, citrus)

Eucalyptus oils are often sold by their cineole (eucalyptol) content. The major use for particular oil is in blends to give a fresh bright, slightly medicinal note particularly in conjunction with peppermint and aniseed oils.

It may also be used in small quantities in other natural flavors such as blackcurrant. There are no legal restrictions on the use of eucalyptus oil in flavorings.
Eucalyptus Oil

The Dynamics of Flavour Industry

2010-06-06T10:08:00.000-07:00

The Dynamics of Flavour Industry
Humans are decisively influenced by their sense of taste and odour and human history is, therefore, closely tied to the development and usage of flavors.

Whereas in prehistoric times, only herbs and spices could be employed for flavouring purposes today a broad spectrum of flavourings is available, but only for use in the individual house, but especially for the production of food on an industrial scale.

The application of all products from the flavour and fragrance industry is solely aimed at enhancing the human striving for increase pleasure and sensual enjoyment. Hedonistic aspects, therefore, form the basis of our industry.

The roots of this industry date back to early Egyptian history, as this extraordinary advanced civilizations was already thoroughly aware of and acquainted with perfumery and the embalming characteristics of certain spices and resins.

Simple methods foe the distillation and extraction of essential oils and resins were already known in pre –Christian times and subsequently elaborated by the Arabs.

Balsamic oils produced by these methods were later on primarily used for pharmaceutical purposes; it was not before the times of the courtly period that fragrance was an aspect of growing importance.

In the medieval age, mostly monks were the pioneers in the art of capturing natural essences and transforming them into substances capable of flavouring food.

The onset of the industrial production of essential oils can be dated back to the first half of the 19th century.

After the importance of single aroma chemicals was recognized in the middle of the century, efforts were started to isolate such compounds from corresponding natural resource for the first time.

This was soon followed by the synthesis of aroma chemicals.

From this starting points, the flavour and fragrance industry first developed in Europe, expanded to the USA and later reached an international scope.
The Dynamics of Flavour Industry

Complexity of Flavour

2010-05-07T04:03:00.001-07:00

Complexity of Flavour
Flavour formulations vary radically in complexity. The simplest flavour can be based on just one component, many flavors, just like nature, contain hundreds of ingredients.

Very simple flavours have been popular since the earliest days of the flavour industry. Vanillin, isoamyl acetate and benzaldehyde have been the most popular single component examples.

Very simple flavours may represent an attractive caricature but they never taste look the real food.

At the extreme, very complex flavors often lack impact and can taste flat and characterless.

Complex flavours can be deliberate (the result of slavishly following every detail of an analysis) or accidental (the result of lazy blending of flavours and intermediates).

If a natural character is desired, then the optimum level of complexity is often the minimum number of components required to prevent the taster from perceiving the individual characters.

This level of complexity can vary from perhaps as few as 15 components in simple fruit flavors to up to 100 in the most complex flavour of cooked food.

There are however some important exceptions to this rule.

The key problem with complex flavours is that a mixture of two chemicals usually smell weaker than the sum of its parts. The perceived intensity of flavour chemicals has a logarithmic rather than a linear relationship with concentrations.

At low concentrations, near the threshold, the logarithmic relationship does not hold because the chemical is not perceived at all until it reaches the threshold level.

At high concentrations the relationship also does not hold because the nose fatigues to the stimulus. The lower extremes of the concentration scale explain synergistic effects which otherwise appear to contradict the rule that a mixture smells weaker that the of it parts.

Traces of components that tasted individually would be well below their threshold level can this have significant positive effects in mixtures At the other extreme, it is unwise to use so much of any single ingredient that the taster would quickly become fatigued.

A mixture of two or more chemicals with complimentary odors can often give better results.
Complexity of Flavour

Flavour of the Future

2010-04-19T00:09:00.000-07:00

Flavour of the Future
Multifunctionality with to the single components will simultaneously lead to simplified process technology and cost reduction and is therefore, increasingly called for today.

A lactobacillus culture, which on the one hand imparts a positive mouthfeel effect to a beverage while producing natural stabilizers through its metabolism on the other hand is just as good an example as thickening agents, which simultaneously have positive effects on stabilization.

Cooling agents that simultaneously strengthen the flavour of a product should be also mentioned.

The usage of a verity of different spices can, apart from their flavoring properties at the same time impart additional benefits to the product as far as preservation, color and health are concerned.

Especially for organically oriented consumers such ingredients constitute a valued alternative to chemical preservatives and artificial colors.

The so called intelligent-flavour (flavors being liberated when food is prepared or when it is eaten, depending on different factors such as pH value and temperature) have been gaining increasing importance.

These high-tech intelligent compounds give access to clearly defined product properties. In this context, the potential of a number of diverse ingredient with significant potential as flavor enhancers or masking agents have to be mentioned.

In particular, special minus-diets, e.g. low carbohydrate or low fat diet, change the taste, texture and sensory qualities of a products and therefore require corresponding alterations to endow the products with properties called for by the consumer.

Flavour enhancers are defined as: ‘natural substances which are components of proteins or cells tissue. They have no typical taste or smell, but their presence potentials other flavours present in the food.’ In this field more and more studies are looking at the synergistic abilities of flavour enhancing substance and the possibility of flavour masking.

Bitter blockers and sweetness potential are another field of current importance.

The combination of scientific techniques such as genetic engineering, biotechnology, enzymology, physics and electronics will play an important role in the development of new, innovative flavours.
Flavour of the Future

Dill oil

2010-03-23T19:49:00.000-07:00

Dill oil
Anethum graveolens. The major producers are the United States, Hungary and Bulgaria, followed by the Egypt.

The weed oil is steam distilled from the whole plant at a yield 0.7%. The seeds yield 3.5% oil.

The major market for dill oil is the United States.

The major components od dill weed oil are typically:

35% dextro-carvone (warm, spearmint, caraway)

25% alpha-phellandrene (light, fresh, peppery)

25% limonene (weak, light, citrus)

Dill weed oil can be adulterated with distilled orange terpenes, but this can be readily detected by gas chromatography.

The main use for dill oil is seasoning, particularly for use in pickles. There are no legal restrictions on the use of dill oils flavorings.

Davana Oil

2010-03-16T19:47:00.000-07:00

Davana Oil
Artemisia pallens. Two tons of davana oil are produced each year in India.

Davana grass yields 0.4% of oil on steam distillation, Demand is increasing in the major markets in Europe and the United States.

The major components of davana oil is typically: 40% davanone (sweet, berry)

Davana oil is frequently adulterated but it it is very difficult to adulterated the oil without changing its distinctive odor.

The unusual fruity/berry character of davana oil is widely known outside the flavor industry.

It is widely use in natural flavors to give a berry note, especially to raspberry flavors.

There are no legal restrictions on the use of davana oil in flavorings.
Davana Oil

Flavor taste effects

2010-02-26T01:17:00.001-08:00

Flavor taste effects
Taste effects are normally confined to individual flavoring ingredients that are highly water soluble or have a high molecular weight.

Research on taste has lagged far behind that on odour, so natural extracts are still widely used to confer subtle taste effects.

Maltol is a good example of a water soluble taste effect ingredient. Maltol has a pleasant candyfloss odour, and a lingering sweet aftertaste, and is claimed to have favoring enhancing properties.

It forms an important part of the aroma of a number of flavors but the use of maltol as a taste ingredient dwarf its, use as a n odor ingredient.

Ethyl maltol is stronger than maltol has a similar taste and odor characters but is not found in nature.

Furaneol is even stronger than ethyl maltol and is found widely in nature. The only drawback to the use of Furaneol is that it can be easily oxidized.

Vanillin is another water soluble ingredient frequently used for its sweet taste effect and vanilla odor.

It is widely found in nature and can be integrated into many flavor types.

The taste effect of high molecular weight ingredients can be illustrated by the lactones in dairy flavors.

Many high boiling, nature identical chemicals have been little used in flavors because of the historical emphasis on odour rather than taste. They can often play a useful role in enhancing taste characteristic even though they have little or no effect on the odor of the flavor.
Flavor taste effects

The Flavour and Fragrance Industry Today

2010-02-14T02:45:00.000-08:00

The Flavour and Fragrance Industry Today
In the course of the last decade, this enormous led to nearly revolutionary structural changes, especially in the technological sector.

This was the only to answer the trends towards natural systems, while simultaneously increasing cost effectiveness.

This resulted also in the transfferal of biotechnological basic knowledge into large areas of industrial production processes.

Additionally, gentle, modern technologies, such as reverse osmosis, ultra filtration, column chromatography and cold extraction processes, were increasingly employed to obtain stable.

Final product with the utmost degree of naturalness – a droving force of the flavoring and fragrance industry.

Today broad analytical knowledge, the result of the rapid development the analysis of different matrices is thanks to computer technology, omnipresent.

From simple gas chromatography assistance up to the highly improved analytical technique of the electronic nose detector as an example of a relatively new routine analytical approach – modern techniques are available for all areas of flavour creation, technological production and quality control.

In the end, the composition of a flavour remains a creative act of art despite the fact that today scientific knowledge of modern analytical methods is a prerequisite.

Based on flavour science, the combination of flavour compositions and building blocks permits the creation of taste sensation tailored for the customer’s delight.

The recipes resulting form such composition are today the last well kept secrets of the flavour houses.
The Flavour and Fragrance Industry Today

Cumin Seed Oil

2010-01-24T19:11:00.001-08:00

Cumin Seed Oil
Cuminium cyminum. Most of the annual tonnage is produced in Iran, Spain and Egypt.

Cumin seeds yield 3% of oil on steam distillation. Demand is steady in the major markets in Europe.

The major component of cumin seed oil is typically:
33% of cuminic aldehydes (sweet, spicy, cumin)

Cumin seed oil is not easy to adulterate because some important components are not available synthetically.

The main use of the oil is in seasoning blends, especially curry, and also in some natural citrus and other fruit flavors.

There are no legal restrictions on the use of cumin oil in flavorings.
Cumin Seed Oil

Asafetida (Ferula foetida, Regel)

2010-01-11T20:28:00.000-08:00

Asafetida (Ferula foetida, Regel)
Although totally unrelated to the alliaceous vegetable there is one other aromatic plant material which has a profile not unlike that of garlic.

Asafetida (or devil’s dung) is an oleo-gum-resin obtained from the thick fleshy roots of an umbelliferous plant, Ferula foetida, and allied species which are found throughout Afghanistan and Iran.

The latex is collected by incising the plant at the top of the main root.

The dried gum when steam distilled yields 5- 15% of an orange brown of having a pungent, strongly garlic like odor.

The components responsible for this character have yet to be studied but are mainly di- and tri- sulfites.

The name of asafetida is derived from the Persian word aza, meaning resin, the Latin word foetida, meaning fetid or bad smelling.

Asafetida was known to early Persians as “the food of the Gods” and to Romans who used it to flavor sauce and wines as Persian sylphium.

European equated its smell to truffles and the French flavored mutton during the early Middle Ages, after which, its use declined.

In ancient India and Iran, asafetida was used as a condiment and as a medicine. Today, asafetida is commonly used in the vegetarian cooking of South India and Bengal.
Asafetida (Ferula foetida, Regel)