Sweet horizons: Prova tips authenticity and high impact flavors as key caramel drivers

01 Nov 2018 --- Caramel is one of the fastest growing candy categories in the world and emerging as a top flavor in many food product categories. With caramel flavor high in demand, Prova has announced the availability of the company’s line of natural caramel flavors that authentically and accurately reflects the complex flavors of caramel. Prova’s caramel collection was developed to cover the demand for popular and cultural styles with high-impact, warm and comforting flavors.

The challenge that comes with creating real, authentic caramel flavors is that it is a multifaceted flavor that changes depending on the cooking technique and temperature at preparation. As the heat of the cooking temperature rises, the flavor changes from a sweet, blonde caramel at the base to an amber caramel, finishing with a pleasantly deep, burnt flavor. In the process of browning and the natural Maillard reaction that happens when heating together sugar, amino acids, and water, the flavor profile can differ drastically from a fresh milk toffee to a powdery, blonde fudge, or buttery, blonde butterscotch. Accurately capturing that reaction is the key to the true, authentic flavors of Prova’s caramel collection, ideally suiting them for any application or flavor combination, including the trending “sweet and salty” movement.

Caramel is a universally known comfort flavor with worldwide appeal. In the UK, the most popular caramel flavors include toffee, fudge, and butterscotch while Latin America marks the birthplace of the sweet and fresh milk flavor of dulce de leche. Other top regions in demand for more caramel flavor options include North America, Africa, and the Middle East, each with their own distinct taste and flavor profile.

“The Prova line of caramel flavors is ideally suited to meet the growing worldwide demand for complex, multifaceted, and exacting styles of caramel depending on the region,” says Pam deVries, Prova’s General Manager and Vice President of Sales, NA. “We have ensured that Prova’s collection of caramel flavor profiles is comprehensive in terms of any specific application and popular style.”

Speaking to FoodIngredientsFirst, deVries comments further: “Caramel a top flavor in many food categories. It’s a popular flavor note that complements a lot of categories, including beverages, confectionary, dairy, cereals and even savory foods that welcome a caramel note such as roasted chicken and barbeque sauce, for example.”

“Caramel is easily paired with other flavors. It does become more prominent in the autumn and winter months, especially in the hot beverages market, but also the ice cream category which is bigger in the summer. We feel caramel is popular the whole year around,” she notes.

Upon request, Prova can provide an extensive product list of their natural caramel flavors that features varieties with nuanced profiles such as buttery, fresh milk, cooked milk, salty and more.

By Elizabeth Green