Flavouring

Flavouring (CwE) or flavoring (AmE) is a product which is added to food in order to change or augment its taste.

Related Topics:
CwE - AmE - Food - Taste

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Flavourings can be either natural or artificial, and they are added to many foods made in a factory. There are also so-called nature-identical flavourings, which are the chemical equivalent of natural flavours, only chemically synthesised rather than being extracted from the original source.

Related Topics:
Natural - Factory - Chemical

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To produce artificial flavours, the volatile substance that produces the natural flavour must first be extracted from the source substance. The methods of extraction can involve boiling, leeching, or using force to squeeze it out. This concentrated extract is then passed through a chromatograph, either in liquid or gaseous form. This will provide the requisite information about how the molecules are structured that are needed to produce the taste. The compound is then artificially replicated by the chemist, although it is often difficult to produce an exact match to the original flavour.

Related Topics:
Chromatograph - Chemist

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Many of the compounds used to produce artificial flavor belong to a chemical category of esters. The list of known flavouring agents includes hundreds of molecular compounds, and the food scientist can often mix these together to produce many of the common flavours. Food manufacturers are often reluctant informing consumers about the source from where the flavor is obtained and whether it has been produced with the incorporation of substances such as animal by-products glycerin, gelatin the like and the use of alcohol in the flavors. Muslims, Orthodox Jews and Hindus adhere to religious laws, and vegans to personal morals, that restrict the use of animal by-products and alcohol in foods unless subject to overseeing and inspection by their respective religious authority or less-strict or circumstantial moral belief.

Related Topics:
Esters - Food scientist - Glycerin - Gelatin - Muslims - Jews - Hindus - Vegans

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Flavour enhancers are also used to augment the taste of foods.

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The compounds used to produce artificial flavours are almost identical to those that occur naturally, and a natural origin for a substance does not necessarily imply that it is safe to consume. In fact, artificial flavours are considered somewhat safer to consume than natural flavours. Natural flavours may contain toxins from their sources while artificial flavours are typically more pure and are required to undergo more testing before being sold for consumption.

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