Flavorings are prepared from essential oils, such as almond and lemon; from vanilla; from fresh fruits by expression; from ginger by extraction; from mixtures of essential oils and synthetic organic chemicals; or entirely from synthetic chemicals, with alcohol, glycerol, propylene glycol, alone or in combination, as solvents.
Lots of chemical compounds contribute to the flavor of food. Chocolate bar, for example, is a mixture of more than 300 flavor compounds; vanilla comes from about 300 chemicals mixed together; and coffee beans contain more than 800 chemicals.
An indication of the flavors importance is the fact that two third of the used food additives are natural or synthetic flavors.
The purposes of flavour enhancers are added to food are:
To amplify the existing taste and/or odor of a foodstuff, and/or
To increase the overall perception of all flavour characteristics, and/or
To increase a single flavour perception so significantly that it is out of balance relative to the modification of the other flavour characteristics.
Monosodium glutamate
It is a flavor enhancer permitted to be used in meat, poultry, soups, level of use is not specified, mildly toxic by ingestion, and its LD50 is 50 mg/kg. It increases the umami taste in foods such as soups, sauces and savoury snacks.
Vanilla
One of the most widely used flavoring and is added to various foods including ice cream, beverages, baked items, chocolate products, candy and others. It is used in concentrations ranging between 0.006 to 0.1%.
Cinnamaldehyde
It is found in cinnamon oil and has the strong odor of cinnamon. Its use is limited in nonalcoholic beverages, chewing gum, confectionery, ice cream, and meat.
Flavouring substances are used at low levels – self limiting. Consumers expect flavourings to taste like those of recognizable foods – so flavouring substances must be at similar concentration as found in Nature.
Applications of flavoring agents
