By Cindy Hazen, Contributing Editor
Few food developers can create a product that’s spot-on. Most of us can make educated guesses, but we work by trial and error. Sometimes, the formula requires a full-blown correction. When we’re lucky, a simple change moves the product closer to alignment.
Understanding how flavors work—and how they can go astray—can help us avoid complete write-offs and will lead us closer to the fine-tuning aspects of product development.
Sources of discord
Some ingredients are inherently difficult. They don’t play well with others. They come across as too loud. They may even be bitter. Ironically, the most obnoxious may offer the most benefit to the formula, so we need tools to subdue their impact.
Paulette Kerner, director of marketing communications & research, Virginia Dare, Brooklyn, NY, suggests specific applications that would benefit from masking “are products that contain fortification, alternative sweeteners, soy, whey, a high amount of fiber, vitamins and herbs. Omega-3s can contribute bitterness."
Vitamins and minerals are notorious offenders. For especially bad boys, microencapsulation is the best solution, according to Ram Chaudhari, Ph.D., senior executive vice president and chief scientific officer, Fortitech, Schenectady, NY.
Thiamine, also known as vitamin B1, is the most objectionable. “It has sulfur in the chemical formula, and that is very unstable," Chaudhari says—not to mention unpleasant.
In the mineral category, iron and copper take the lead in lending a metallic aftertaste. Potassium runs a close second and leaves a lingering, metallic and bitter flavor.
Calcium, on the other hand, can contribute varying degrees of chalkiness and grittiness. “Chalkiness depends on the source," says Chaudhari. “In calcium carbonate, chalkiness is very pronounced. If you have dicalcium phosphate, it’s not as pronounced, but it is always there."
Aside from an inherently bad-tasting ingredient, it’s important to remember that, in product development, all processing conditions must be considered. Packaging and storage conditions must also be factored in. At every step, complex interactions can occur that can result in off notes.
This is also true when selecting masking flavors, because they are not immune to interactions. “Flavors designed to distract from off notes are subject to all processing conditions, and these must be considered in the masking development," cautions Mary Svboda, senior flavor chemist, Synergy Flavors, Wauconda, IL.
Matters of perception
In the quest for flavor balance, it’s best to begin with some basic sensory science. “Researchers agree that taste perception is based on receptor sites on the taste buds in our tongues, and they can detect only one type of taste sensation," says Mariano Gascon, vice president, R&D, Wixon Inc., St. Francis, WI. “Yet there are hundreds of receptor sites on each taste bud. In general terms, the way that we perceive taste is by stimulation of these receptors. But, if you can stimulate them, you can also inhibit them." He notes that some of the mechanisms for modulating taste are known, but the vast majority are poorly understood.
