Art and Science in Flavour

The flavour of fortified foods may be affected by the off notes of nutrients used and may need either a masking agent or innovative techniques used by a chef or scientist.

The modern consumer is more conscientious of what they eat and of the delivery of flavour. It is not acceptable to taste a metallic flavour note or any other off notes due to fortification. The consumer wants products to deliver benefits without giving up flavour and consumption enjoyment. To encourage them to purchase a product for a second and third time, it has to taste acceptable, if not awesome. All of the same principles apply to fortified foods as to unfortified foods. It is all about flavour!

The art of creating a good flavour is both an art and a science. This discipline is referred to as culinology – a term created by the Research Chefs Association in North America. The combined use of culinary and technology are critical – hence culinology. For the past 5 plus years, chefs, technologists, and scientists have been working towards the same goal: creating tasteful and functional products that are here to stay.

For example, here is a process that is common in product development and that focuses on flavour by each team:

• Start out with an intended flavour in mind, say Mac and Cheese.

• Create a product from scratch; this is referred to as a gold standard, for instance, Grandma’s Mac and Cheese.

• This gold standard becomes the bench mark for the commercialised product.

• This benchmark or gold standard becomes the pinnacle or goal to achieve.

• Consider the various flavour characteristics when converting from a gold standard recipe to a commercial formula.

When I teach what a chef does or thinks about when designing or converting formulas, I always try to keep it simple and always refer back to the BASICS. The acronym BASICS stands for Balance, Acidity, Saltiness, Intended flavour and texture, Color, and Sweetness when designing the commercial formula. The SAS component of the BASICS is the balance of the Salt, Acid and Sweetness. These components alone are critical in the flavour profile and affect the overall liking. We will review this more thoroughly throughout this article, especially when discussing masking an undesirable flavour.

You might ask the question: "What flavour systems are used in the fortification process to help deliver a tasteful product to the consumer?". Masking a bitter note by adding something sweet works well and has been used for years by chefs and scientists alike. For example, a simple tomato sauce with a pinch of sugar covers up the flavour of the bitter herb oregano or balances the acidity in a tart sauce. The sugar also supplements the intended flavour of the tomato during off season or of a product that has not reached maturity. The flavours melt together after cooking to complement each other. A little sugar or sweetness goes a long way.

Choosing the proper flavouring materials is absolutely necessary. Do you add a salty product like cheese or anchovy; a sweet product like honey, sucrose, beet sugar, or reduced tangerine juice; or an acidic lemon juice to balance out the flavour? It depends on the manufacturing process and intended flavour/texture of the overall product. The balance of the product will depend on several factors, including the SAS ingredients. Some examples of salty components are: Parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese, sea salt, kosher salt, anchovies, meat base, and salted butter. A few sweet items that can add flavour and sweetness are: prunes, carrots, brown sugar, and reduced orange juice. A few acidic ingredients that can play a favorable role in masking or enhancing a flavour: lemon or lime juice, vinegar (malt, balsamic, cider, red wine, white wine or distilled), tomatoes, or a tart fruit puree. Some products that can affect more than one category are: mango puree (both sweet and tart), reduced orange juice (both sweet and tart), grapefruit juice (both sweet and tart), and brown butter (salty, sweet and savoury).

When reviewing a recipe and determining the process to optimise the flavour you will need to consider the intended flavour. For example, a chocolate product will be inherently bitter. So masking the bitter notes is less important to the overall experience. But you do want to control the amount of bitterness to achieve a true chocolate flavour. You have to balance the bitterness with sweetness to enhance the experience but you do not have to eliminate the bitterness all together. The bitter notes of a nutrient can be overlooked in a bitter-like chocolate product. The important point is to focus on the amount of bitterness and the level that is acceptable to the consumer. What is critical is to balance the flavour system to taste great to the consumer and encourage repeat purchase.

The balance of the product will depend on several factors, including the SAS ingredients. Carol Militescu, Flavour Chemist for Flavours of North America, explains:

"Many functional products can benefit from the addition of a masking agent; however, this is not always the only choice. Choosing the appropriate flavour, flavouring material or the combination thereof is the most effective way to overcome the unique challenges posed by various functional ingredients. For example, we’ve found that citrus blends and mixed fruits such as fruit punch work well to mellow vitamins.

Products featuring calcium can be improved through the addition of a flavour enhancer to help smooth out the overall mouth feel of the product. Although individual herbs have different profiles, selecting flavours that will compliment the herbal profile rather than attempting to mask it often yields the best finished product. For example, grapefruit works well with inherently bitter herbals. Protein and fiber tend to absorb flavours themselves so you may need to raise your flavour level to reach the desired impact or select an enhancer to help boost your product".

There are many ways to enhance the overall savoury flavour notes to round out and mask some of the unwanted flavour peaks. Caramelising sugars and amino acids or creating the Maillard browning effect are examples. Using vanilla, brown butter, or other dairy notes to round out flavours is useful. Vanilla has many applications in savoury and sweet products. Try to imagine a touch of vanilla in a beef stew to enhance the sweet caramelised flavours of the meat and vegetables. Vanilla rounds out the harsh bitter notes of chocolate in various dessert cakes, muffins, quick breads, confectioneries, and the like.

Vanilla can give a perception that the product is sweeter than it actually is, and therefore is used in reduced sugar products. The critical aspect of using an ingredient like vanilla or brown butter is to use it at the appropriate level. You want to create a building block with these flavours, not a sharp peak that takes over or changes the intended flavour. So start out with a very low amount and increase until it takes over. Your experience with these flavours will play a big role here.

The use of juices can help brighten up warmed over flavours. Garlic, celery, mirepoix (onion, carrot and celery), 8 juice blend (tomato, carrot, celery, beets, spinach, parsley, lettuce and watercress) at the appropriate level can add to either the savoury building block or be used to mask an undesirable flavour note. The savoury building block can be comprised of the meat itself; for example, beef, chicken or seafood. So the intended flavour of the protein can be built upon with mushrooms, parmesan cheese, soy sauce, vegetable juices, brown butter, olive oil, black pepper, caramelised onions, or grilled or roasted vegetables.

In products like savoury gravy, BBQ sauce, or marinade, various flavours can be used to enhance or mask undesired flavours. For example, vanilla, brown butter, lemon juice and kosher salt used in the right combination and level can create a significant building block to mask an off flavour of a fortified product. These attributes would enhance the sweet caramelised flavours of the meat and vegetables, lighten up the mouthfeel with the pH of lemon, and intensify the whole flavour experience with a brown butter and clean kosher salt.

There are also several ingredients on the market that are designed for masking undesirable flavours. One of the primary companies getting notice is Wild Flavours, Inc. The company has a product called Resolver Technology (Off-Flavour Suppression). This proprietary ingredient aids in covering undesirable notes in food products, e.g. off-notes associated with vitamins, soy, bitterness, and acidity.

Wild Flavours can provide flavour systems that deliver outstanding taste but also suppress many disagreeable off-notes. These flavour systems use proprietary ingredients derived from natural raw materials claimed to be unique to the Wild organisation.

These ingredients work synergistically when combined with other carefully selected flavour components, producing flavourings that are tailored to resolve specific flavour problems in particular applications.

Simply Rich by LifeWise Ingredients for example is a versatile and unique flavour modifier gaining recognition with the current nutraceutical movement. Vitamin off-flavours, bitterness, acidity, and ‘beany’ notes are toned down or eliminated without the need for a strong (and perhaps interfering) flavour being used primarily to mask or cover up. "LifeWise uses a unique combination of botanical extracts on a variety of carriers mimicking the flavour impression of fat without a significant presence of fat. This product is great for low-fat products in need of flavour suppression", says Millie Galey, R&D, Manager for LifeWise Ingredients, Inc. "Simply Rich is typically used in salad dressings, soy products, dairy products, enriched and enhanced foods, etc. at 0.2-0.5% by weight in the finished product. It is easily blended in with the spices or flour portion of the recipe or may be dissolved within a liquid state", said Galey.

Conversely, in some mediums or products you may need to coat the product instead of masking the undesirable flavours. For example, medication is commonly bitter. In cough syrup you add sugar to mask the bitterness, but in a pill form you can add a sugar or sweet coating. This will allow the pill to get to your stomach without experiencing the unpleasant bitter flavours.

When designing a flavour system, you have to consider the intended flavour and texture. The intended flavour will be reflected by the intended use. Whether it is a pill, chocolate nutrition bar, juice or beverage, then you will design and eliminate the undesirable flavours accordingly.

It is also important to use natural elements. Coffee and chocolate are naturally bitter. Fruits are usually a balance between sweet and sour. Dairy flavours are a mild sweetness. Use the natural elements as a guide when optimising a formula for flavour. So you do not want an overly sweet and acidic coffee, as you would not want a bitter mango flavour. Use what is natural and what the consumer expects.

Several mediums are used to encapsulate flavours and nutrients with undesirable flavour characteristics. Encapsulation can increase the stability and shelf life of an active ingredient. For example, gums, starches, and carbohydrates (maltodextrins) are used in spray drying flavours. Sometimes starches are combined with gums to further enhance the stability and shelf life of an encapsulated product.

Butter can be used in various forms. I use brown butter in many formulas to round out the savoury flavours and to act as a savoury flavour builder. Non-fat dried milk, unsalted butter, milk, or even cream will round out flavours as well. However, you have to be careful of the browning of the sugars in retorted products and any product cooked at higher temperatures.

Brown butter has different effects depending on the level of usage. When butter is cooked or browned it obtains a nutty flavour that complements many sauces and savoury applications. Sometimes, if butter or fat is used in a process that is cooled during manufacturing, like a filling, or for a chilled sauce, it will clog up the pipes. This can be eliminated with a flavour in an aqueous or an encapsulated flavour that is not sensitive to temperature.

Balancing the acidity in a formula can be done with several mediums. They can be used at varied levels to achieve different results. I will often use varied vinegars (apple cider, malt, red wine, rice wine, or balsamic) depending on the desired flavour. The vinegar can also affect the color. Match the vinegar to enhance the overall flavour experience and to act as a building block. The manipulation of flavour in a fortified ingredient is necessary when striving for a tasteful and consumer friendly product. There are many tricks of the trade as well. It is becoming and art and a science involving both the chef and the scientist. So develop your flavour systems with trade secrets of both the chef and the scientist. After all, it is all about flavour!

by Charlie Baggs