Science Conjures the Essence of Flavors

Prepared Foods, March, 2001 by Linda Milo Ohr

Novel plant sources and advances in technology create innovative flavor profiles that tantalize today's sophisticated taste buds.

Flavor creation is often viewed as a magical production, extracting a myriad of flavor notes that taste exactly like fruits, vegetables, meats and more. Consumers rarely stop to question how the orange-carrot flavor in Diet Snapple came about, or ask why their lips pucker when eating Sour Patch Kids, or question where those warm cooked notes are derived from in Boston Market's homestyle gravy.

Many consumers would be amazed upon entering a flavor laboratory to see and smell countless brown bottles containing flavor profiles of everything from ripe strawberries to roast beef with gravy. To the non-scientist, it may appear that it takes some sort of wizardry to capture these distinct notes in small bottles and use them to flavor prepared foods.

Food scientists, and specifically flavor chemists, know that flavor science is not magic at all. It is a well-developed science, and an often highly guarded procedure. Creating unique, sophisticated flavors that satisfy consumer palates requires technological advances, research, flavor expertise and even artistry.

Seeking Flavor Sources

Flavors begin with the raw material, capturing the volatiles and essences that it secretly holds inside. Innovative flavors originate from new, unexplored sources. Several flavor houses have traversed not only the earth, but also the universe to find new sources that will entertain and excite consumers.

For example, a Cincinnati-based flavor company annually sends a team of internal scientists and creative experts to unique locations around the world in search of novel scent molecules. The company's most recent TasteTrek[TM] took scientists on an exploration through the Central African rain forest. Scientists hovered over the land in a large hot air balloon. When they spotted a flowering or other aromatic specimen, they placed vacuum-driven instruments over it and used micro-extraction techniques to capture the molecular makeup of the substrate. "This is a great way to develop new information and add innovation to flavors," says Bob Eilerman, senior vice president, R&D, and a participant in the company's most recent TasteTrek.

The scientists can calibrate their instruments to capture aromatic information on a time-elapsed basis to harvest volatiles from unique flora at different life cycle periods. The scientists then transport captured data back to the company's U.S. labs and recreate the flavor profiles of the new findings.

The "foret des abeilles" is one of the last unspoiled rain forests in the tropics of Central Africa. It provided the company's research teams from Switzerland and the U.S. with the opportunity to identify never-before discovered organoleptic sensations. They took samples of nearly 200 fruits, flowers, barks, pods and mushrooms, and discovered no less than five new plant species.

The flavor company's analytical teams and flavorists have reconstituted many of the samples, providing a catalog of commercially available flavors suitable for applications from candy to beverages. Examples include "wild onion bark," "drypetus," and "santiria." Some of the flavors are currently used in the Asian market.

Another flavor company, with its R&D facility in New Jersey, has literally left this world to source new flavors. Working in conjunction with the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics (WCSAR) and NASA's Commercial Space Development Center, the company conducted an experiment to examine the effects of microgravity on fragrance production by the "Overnight Scentsation," a miniature rose plant.

The company sent the plant on board NASA Space Shuttle mission STS-95 in 1998. While in space, scientists chemically sampled the flower of the rose plant using the flavor company's proprietary solid phase micro-extraction technique. The process utilizes a special fiber needle placed directly above the bloom of the flower to collect the odorous molecules.

Upon the plant's return to earth, scientists analyzed the samples by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and compared data to the same experiment scientists conducted on earth.

The plant on earth emitted an intense green rose aroma. However, the flower in space had a more floral rose aroma, which was aesthetically pleasing. The findings showed that the three major chemical components of the flower changed dramatically, causing a difference in fragrance.

More research conducted in microgravity may enhance the development of new flavor products. The environment nearly eliminates buoyancy-driven convection and may alter the physiology of certain plants, resulting in new flavors and fragrances.

Flavor Technology

In addition to seeking new flavor sources, companies are also turning towards technology. Advances in analytical technology, information management, molecular biology, chemosensory science and extraction techniques are leading to new flavors and improved, fresher profiles.