Taste and flavor additives
Additive flavoring for the development of products of excellence.
The flavor defines the choice of food.
The taste, whether it is present naturally or added, tends to be the main factor of impact on the choice of a food. The consumer does not seek simply nutritious foods, low cholesterol, sugar or fat and high fiber content, looking for products that provide pleasure and satisfaction. This technical note will discuss about the taste, the application of flavorings and how to get food and drinks that are attractive to consumers.
The term flavor formally refers to the combination of the sensations of taste and aroma. The taste is produced by non-volatile soluble molecules in water that are perceived in the tongue and the mouth and the aroma is the effect of volatile molecules, which are perceived in the nose and whose feature allows you to identify the food. In normal use, we characterize the flavor in addition to taste and aroma for tactile sensation and kinesthetic (comprising the texture).
Taste a food causes physical reactions involving all the senses: The eyes perceive color, shine and shape. Ears crispy sounds. Mouth textures and basic tastes: Sweet, bitter, sour and salt as well as pain, pungency (pepper, ginger), cold (menthol), heat (red pepper), Notes metallic and astringent; and also the sensation of umami, referring to MSG, yeast and proteins. Through the nose is perceived the scent, or rather the sum of flavourings in two forms; which is perceived before eating the food (called pre-ingestion aroma) and which comes to the olfactory sensors by the pharynx (aroma aftertaste) when the food is in your mouth.
Other aspects of perception are time and intensity, during the tasting, the flavors vary in feature and intensity depending on the speed of the physico-chemical processes that release stimuli and the speed of the reaction of perception, thus the sweet taste usually perceived more quickly than the bitter and sugar free its sweetness more slowly than a sweetener generating different sensations. The result of these times and intensities is manifested in a sense with different degree of balance, a balanced taste is what allows to perceive complex feelings harmoniously.
The previous concept gives us an idea of the complexity of stimuli that produce flavor, even so, the perception of taste manifests itself with an own characteristic, although it depends on its components is not easily identifiable with them. the conception of holistic is often applied in the sense that everything not related to easily the sum of its parts. It is often applied to the concept of holistic in the sense that everything not related to easily the sum of its parts.
The search of a good taste.
Characteristics of a good taste are a full aroma, complex rounded and well defined, a proper balance, good impact and rapid development; pleasant mouth feeling without notes or unpleasant peaks.
The first requirement to aim a good taste is to have a clear objetive defining both the primary and the secondary features to achieve.
It is essential to know and understand the composition of the food, its ingredients, its functionalities and potential faults of taste. The quality and proper storage of raw materials are vital to achieve a good tasting food.
The interaction of the flavoring components of the base must be planned and evaluated, proteins retain the molecules of the flavoring reducing its effectiveness and distorting its characteristics; carbohydrates influence the perception of taste by chemical interactions or sensory effects (sweetness). On the one hand, fat provide positive oral sensation but at the same time blocking the flavoring. In addition, they have a tendency to impair their taste by effects of oxidative rancidity.
The balance of sweetness, acidity, salt and degree of bitter with the intensity of the flavoring are fundamental factors to achieve a balanced product.
It can be said that a good flavoring is essential to a good product, but a careful study of its application and adaptation to each use is necessary to ensure a successful outcome.
At Novarom we work together with our customers, listening to their needs and providing our experience and our products to ensure the customer effort to reach a well deserved result.
Report prepared by the Technical Department of Novarom