F is For Flavour (Part 2)

Why Add Flavour?

1. To give the product an intrinsic flavour.
An example would be ice-cream. Without the added flavour, there would be no taste.

2. To add flavour to products which flavour has been lost OR modified during processing.

The Role of the Flavourist

The flavourist who is also known as a flavour chemist who uses chemical processes to combine different flavouring agents to obtain the final intended flavour.

The flavourist will first identify the outstanding characteristics of a particular flavour. From these outstanding characteristics, the flavourist will then create a flavouring which is similar to the original flavouring profile. They are something like perfumists.

Once the flavourist and food manufacturer are satisfied with the new flavour that was produced, they will experiment this new flavour on focus groups to taste it. If the new flavour is accepted, then it can be marketed and sold!

Manufacturing Process of Flavourings

1. Producing Natural Flavouring Substances

a. Extraction Process

An example would be extracting vanilla from vanilla beans. Alcohol is used as a solvent.

b. Distillation Process

In this process, liquid mixture are separated by heating. The steam is collected by cooling. An example would be producing natural citral from lemon grass oil.

c. Biotechnological Production Processes

Flavours which are produced by these processes use micro-organisms to facilitate the 'extraction' of flavour. Acetic acid bacteria, enzymes, fungi are some of the ways.  Once this process is done, extraction or distillation will take place.

2. Synthetic Flavouring Substances

On 20th January 2011, the new EC Flavouring Regulation ruled that both 'natural-identical' AND 'artificial flavouring' will be both categorized under 'flavouring substances' with no distinctions between the two.

Click on LINK to read more.

3. Other Flavouring Categories

a. Flavour Preparations

These are natural flavouring properties which are obtained from animals or plants material by physical methods, enzymes or fermentation. A few examples are vegetable/fruit extracts, spice/herb extracts and yeast extract.

Even essential oil falls under this category. Clove and eucalyptus oil are two examples.

b. Thermal Processing Flavourings

Certain intense flavour only develope once it is placed under controlled heating elements. An example would be roasting meat. A raw steak is quite tasteless but once its is roasted or grilled certain flavours are produced due to the influence of the heat. Cooking oil is used as a solvent.

c. Smoke flavourings

Smoke flavourings not only preserve food but also produce food with a special smoke flavour.

Artificial Flavours Examples

1. Diacetyl - Buttery
2. Isoamyl Acetate - Banana
3. Benzaldehyde - Bitter Almond
4. Cinnamic Aldehyde - Cinnamon
5. Methyl Anthranilate - Grape
6. Ethyl Decadienoate - Pear
7. Allyl Hexanoate - Pineapple
8. Ethyl Maltol - Sugar, Cotton Candy
9. Ethylvanillin - Vanilla
10. Methyl Salicylate - Wintergreen

Acids as Flavourants

1. Acetic Acid - Gives vinegar its sour taste and distinctive smell.
2. Ascorbic Acid - Slightly sour taste: Also known as Vitamin C!
3. Citric Acid - Gives citrus fruits the sour taste.
4. Fumaric Acid - Used as a substitute for citric and tartaric acid. This does not exist in fruits.
5. Lactic Acid - Found in milk and fermented products which gives the rich taste.
6. Malic Acid - Found in apples that gives the sour/tart taste.
7. Phosphoric Acid - Used in cola drinks to give that acidic taste.
8. Tartaric Acid - Found in grapes/wines which gives that 'tart-grape-y' taste.

Flavouring Trivia

1. Food flavouring is added to medications to facilitate ingestion.

2. There are about 10,000 flavouring substances identified in nature. The flavouring industry only uses 2,500 of these flavourings.

3. The colour of one's food can alter the expectations and perceptions of the flavour significantly. Darker hue can influence the taste buds to a sweeter taste. Lighter colours decreases the sweetness.

4. Most F&B companies employ the services of flavour companies for their products.

5. Artificial strawberry flavouring is produced by vaporizing the strawberry natural flavouring.

6. There are seven basic tastes which are sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami, pungent and metallic.

7. Artificial flavours usually modify the smell of a food product to accent it while natural flavours set up the basic smell of the food.

8. The flavourists profession kicked off during the time when refrigeration became a household item which was affordable which accelerated the growth of food processing industry.

9. In the US, there is a Society of Flavour Chemist which flavourists can join. In order to join, the flavourist must pass an apprenticeship within a 'flavour house' for five years. A 'flavour house' is a flavour company where the training and (the job) of the flavourist is done.

10. In 2011, US$10.6 billion were generated from the sales of flavours alone!

For a brief history of food flavourings, do click on LINK.

F is For Flavour (Part 1)

Flavour plays such an important role in our daily meals. The flavour industry has revolutionized flavourings into a huge business industry.

A. 3 Types of Flavouring

1. Natural Flavouring
These are flavours which are obtained from animal and vegetable sources. They are produced by microbiological and enzymatic processes. This natural flavouring do not contain any natural-identitcal flavouring or artificial flavouring.

Natural citral is extracted from lemon grass. Vanillin is obtained from vanilla pods.

2. Nature-Identical Flavouring
These are 'chemically identical' to the natural flavouring but they are prepared or extracted using chemical methods. The molecules of the natural-identical flavouring are of the same as the natural flavouring thus the body is unable to tell the difference.

Vanilla extract is chemically produced from a plant material called lignin.

3. Artificial Flavouring
These are chemicals whose molecules are not identical or even similar to the natural flavourings.

Ethyl vanillin is a synthetic molecule not found in nature. This is three times stronger than vanillin and is used in the production of chocolates. Ethyl maltol is used as a flavourant in confectionaries as it has a sweet smell and produces a flavour similar to caramelized sugar/cooked fruit.

B. Regulations on Natural Flavourings

1. UK Food Law
'A flavouring substance(s) which is/are obtained by physical, enzymatic or microbiological processes from material of vegetable or animal origin which material is either raw or has been subjected to a process normally used in preparing food for human consumption and to no process other than one normally so used.'
Taken from here.

2. US FDA
'The essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis which contains the flavouring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or any other edible portions of a plant, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products, thereof, whose primary function is flavouring rather than nutritional.'
Taken from here.

3. European Union
On 1 October 2012, the Commission adopted two new Regulations on flavourings. Firstly, they established a new list of EU authorized flavouring substances to be used in foods which includes over 2100 authorized flavouring substances. The second Regulation was the transitional measures for other flavourings (about 400) which are made from non-food sources. For an in-depth understanding of this transitional period, click on LINK.

For a complete list of permitted flavouring substances in the EU, click on LINK.

Chemical Free

When I clicked on Google search to look for the definition of 'chemical free', I found the most laughable statements.

Before I go into that, let's get to the basics. Let's have a look at Wikipedia's definition of 'chemical free'. 'Chemical free is a term used in marketing to imply that a product is safe, healthy or environmentally friendly because it only contains natural ingredients. The term is a misnomer, as nothing that physically exists is free of chemicals.'

In my opinion, this term 'chemical free' has been misused and has misled many people. Many times when I go into organic marts, they have descriptions about their products being chemical free AND organic. In that case, anyone who uses their products can be akin to be drinking from the fountain of youth, health and immortality!

So what does chemical free actually connotes?

Chemical

The word chemical, according to the Collins English Dictionary, can be defined as a noun where it is a substance with a distinct molecular composition that is produced by or used in a chemical process. According to the American Heritage Science Dictionary, chemical can also be defined as an adjective where it is relating to or produced by means of chemistry.

So chemical is a material which is produced by or used in reaction which involves changes in the atoms and molecules structure.

So in other words, WE are chemicals too! Why? Because most of the composition of the human body is made up of water! Human cells consist of 65 to 90 percent of water. Which is H2O. And if I recall correctly, my chemistry teacher taught us that hydrogen IS a type of chemical. And almost 99 percent of the mass of our human body is made up of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus. (Click here.)

Man-Made Chemicals

So man became smarter (lazier and greedier, in my opinion). Man in all their ingenuity came up with ideas in tweaking the DNAs of chemicals and combining them and thus made potent fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides, bombs and explosives, food stabilisers, preservatives, artificial colourings, artificial flavourings, artificial fragrances, detergent with toxic ingredients, softeners and many more to make life easier and more profitable. Everything is instant, express and with-no-effort. Which results in man becoming sicker and weaker in the immune system as the days go by.

I am sure that when people say that they are selling chemical-free products, they mean that they are free of the list above. Right? And for your information, naturally derived and natural flavouring is NOT chemical free either. Anything that is processed has gone though a chemical processing stage. (That will be discussed in another post.)

Thus, when I say that I try to live a 'chemical-free' life as much as possible and use 'chemical-free' stuff as much as possible and eat 'chemical-free' food as much as I can, it means that I try to eat food which has no or little fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides. I also try as much as I can to eat food with no food stabilisers, perservatives, artificial colourings, artificial flavourings, MSG, food conditioner, and food additives. I make my food fresh, from scratch. From the barest of basics. And I try to use products that has as little artificial fragrance as possible or fragrance-free products or products with the least toxic ingredients.

So in my humble, little opinion there is no such thing as 'chemical free'. It depends on how much contamination where the toxic chemicals are concerned and how stringent and honest the people who make the products are. So if they screw up, WE are screwed up. But then again, isn't the air that we breathe in everyday, every minute and every second toxic? Maybe we should start selling 'chemical-free air' in oxygen tanks! I reckon I could be richer than that Facebook guy!!!! *Ahem*

My chemically fueled life is an interesting read. So is chemical-free nonsense.

So I guess Superman was a chemically sensitive person too (with all his bulging muscles, super-spectacular-Herculean strength and laser eyes). Krypton is a chemical element after all!

Anyone up for some chemical free flower pots, chemical free mattress, chemical free water and chemical free shaving?