Flavourings – wonder ingredients in modern food production

Especially in the segment of vegan meat alternatives, the use of flavourings is appealing because they can imitate the taste and smell of meat. Some examples of vegan flavours include:

• Smoked salmon
• Red meat
• Bacon
• Ham
• Masking flavours, to mask undesirable tastes of vegetable proteins 

The use of flavourings is not permitted in bread, but it is a different situation for pastries such as croissants and other puff pastries. For various reasons, these are increasingly being made without butter. Flavourings can help to round off the taste.

Flavourings are also used in margarine and vegan cheese alternatives. Those used include flavours heading towards hard cheese, cream cheese, blue cheese, and masking. Masking flavours can be used in these applications to mask undesirable tastes of vegetable proteins.

Like in the imitation meat segment, there are many products available for dairy alternatives. Possible flavours include cream, yoghurt, milk, cream cheese, and many more. For yoghurt alternatives, there are (almost) no limits to nutty, fruity, and brown flavours.

If you want something more exotic, you can go for floral or cooling flavours.

Fruit preparations, wafers, and breakfast cereals offer the most diverse application possibilities for flavourings: vanilla, cinnamon, caramel, honey, chocolate, wild berries, garden berries, apricot, strawberry – the list could go on forever!

Certain taste modulators can also be used to intensify fruitiness and freshness in jams, for example. Other taste modulators can help minimise unwanted off-tastes from sweeteners.

Takasago

Our supply partner Takasago is a veritable all-rounder with a complete range of flavourings – where creativity has no limits. They are pioneers in citrus, vanilla, coffee, tea, savoury, taste modulation and mint.

Established more than 100 years ago in Japan, Takasago now operates successfully worldwide. 

For almost 25 years, they have been supplying the European market from their site in Germany. Various application teams stationed at this location offer support and product prototypes at the request of customers. 

Worldwide, they have various competence centres that conduct research and manufacture semi-finished products close to the source of the raw materials. Local production in Germany keeps transport distances short and quality high. In addition to the wide range of products, Takasago stands apart for:

• Maximum flexibility 
• Maximum quality
• Fair prices
• Application support & creation of product prototypes

Flavourings in food law

Of all the different ways flavourings can be classified, perhaps the most important way is by the governing regulations. At the fundamental level, a distinction is made between “flavouring” and “natural flavouring”. However, artifical flavours are of little relevance nowadays. 

Natural flavourings may only be produced from plant, animal, or microbiological raw materials by specific processes. All flavour components in natural flavourings must occur naturally in the same form.

A flavour may only be named after a specific natural food or source if at least 95 percent by weight originates from that named source.

Final thoughts

Flavourings are a powerful tool for intensifying and rounding off the flavour profile of your products. Smell and taste are famously known to evoke memories of specific events and associated feelings.

In this way, "house flavours" can be created, which can bind customers for the long term. Unlike fresh ingredients, flavours ensure consistent, standardised quality, microbial safety, lower costs and non-refrigerated logistics of smaller transport quantities.

In addition, flavourings enable flavour profiles that would otherwise be difficult or very expensive to achieve (for example, meaty flavours in meat alternatives or truffle-type flavours). 

A little glimpse behind the scenes: