June 2022
Flavor
Explosive
These versatile ingredients help formulators—whether the job is expanding a delicious flavor note or blocking an unpleasant one.
Part 1
Flavor modulation and enhancement demands have taken a sharp turn toward natural sources. Video courtesy of: Getty Images / GMVozd
The clean-label and better-for-you products are moving from a niche marketplace and into the mainstream at a rapid rate. The ingredients for these new formations often have special needs, including the need for clean-label bitter blockers, flavor maskers, flavor potentiators, and flavor extenders.
Ingredient statements must include the names of any modifying ingredients, presenting with the challenge of finding flavor modifiers to match their products’ attributes. In some cases, desirable profiles such as sweetness, richness, and specific subtle undertones or overtones can be lost during processing. In other cases, the addition of enhancements, such as caffeine, cannabinoids, or vitamins, or some of the components used in plant-based meats, dairy alternatives, and other on-trend better-for-you products carry undesirable flavors and off notes.
By ANNE-MARIE RAMO, Contributing Editor
Flavor-masking agents are designed to distract the palate from unwanted flavor notes, while flavor blockers bind directly with taste receptors, stopping the taster from experiencing the off flavor. An example is glycyrrhizic acid, derived from licorice extract, which functions by creating lingering sweetness that can cover up any undesired flavors. Some masking agents are made with simple, clean-label ingredients. Sucrose and vanilla extract are two great examples. They sweeten and distract the tongue from the undesirable flavor attribute.
Botanical boosters
Herbs, spices, and chili peppers function formidably as natural flavor modifiers. Generally used as flavor enhancers, these natural ingredients can also behave as maskers. The key when using these natural alternatives is to find the right balance between the natural flavor of the chosen enhancer/masking agent and the formulation’s overall flavor.
For beverages, natural modulators for high-intensity sweeteners need to be able to remain stable in formulations of low pH, carbonation, and/or alcohol. Photo courtesy of: Kerry Americas, Inc.
Sweetening up
Reducing sugar can be a challenge. High-intensity sweeteners like monk fruit or stevia carry a bitter aftertaste when used at high levels. Compounds derived from licorice, vanilla, and citrus can mask that bitter note and contribute pleasant flavor notes to the overall flavor profile. Fruit concentrates can add sweetness without added sugar or lingering bitter aftertastes. Vanilla is a powerful masking agent and adds delicious notes to baked goods and formulations with a sweet flavor profile. It is especially good at blocking the natural bitterness of pure chocolate, covering up the beany flavor of plant-based protein drinks and nutrition and snack bars, and even enhancing the flavor of acidic components of savory formulations, such as tomato- or wine-based sauces. Warm spices, such as nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, and clove, also are commonly used to boost sweetness.
Chocolate flavors provide comfort and indulgence, and natural cocoa extracts and concentrates are perfect for custom modulation or enhancement of those flavors. Photo courtesy of: Florida Food Products, LLC
Flavor potentiators are designed to enhance flavor or mouthfeel. In the savory category, boosters are made from vegetable extracts, yeast extracts, amino acids, or fermented forms of soy, mushroom, and certain vegetables. Glutamic acid is the common denominator in all of these products. Glutamic acid compounds occur naturally in foods such as mushrooms, seaweed, tomatoes, cheese, yeast extracts, and fermented soy sauce. Extracts, powders, and concentrates of all these products can be used to boost umami and kokumi notes and reduce sodium.
While these ingredients have a centuries-old history of use as flavor enhancers, ingredient technology is building them out. An example of how such technology is expanding on these traditional ingredients is the use of tomato fiber and clear tomato concentrate to enhance the rich “tomatoeyness” and mouthfeel of tomato paste.
On the subject of sodium reduction, several ingredients can be used to achieve that aim. One option is to use a more potent salt that provides a bigger salt kick than traditional NaCl salt. A handful of sodium chloride ingredients take on different forms of salt crystals, increasing surface area. For example, a smaller crystal, about one-fifth the size of an ordinary NaCl crystal, could be used to increase contact with the taste receptors so that less salt goes further in the formulation. End of Part 1
Vinegars, fermented soy sauces, and reductions are excellent sources of savory flavor boosters, without resorting to MSG or other additives. Photo courtesy of: Mizkan America, Inc..
June 2022
