What are flavors and fragrances?
Spice-some aromatic substances synthesized by animals and plants in nature or artificially separated are called spices. Essence-a multi-component mixture made of spices as raw materials, spices and sometimes appropriate diluents, which is called essence. With the development of food industry, the application scope of edible essence has been extended to drinks, sweets, dairy products, baked goods, puffed food and other foods. The tastes of new varieties are endless. The application of essence in food has three States: the product itself has no fragrance, and the food produces fragrance by adding essence; In order to strengthen or improve the fragrance of the product itself, it is necessary to add essence; Cover up or polish the inherent taste of the product with essence. Edible flavors should be selected according to consumers' requirements for food flavor, the properties and uses of flavors and fragrances, and the characteristics of food itself. Edible flavors can be divided into liquid flavors and solid flavors according to dosage forms. Liquid flavors are divided into water-soluble flavors, oil-soluble flavors and emulsified flavors; Solid essence can be divided into adsorption essence and embedding essence. Their performances and uses are different. Water-soluble essence consists of essence base, ethanol and distilled water. Its characteristics are easy to dissolve in water and the solution is transparent and clear. The essence concentration of this kind of essence is low and the boiling point of ethanol is very low, so most of them are not heat-resistant. At higher temperature, alcohol is easy to volatilize, taking away some spices with lower boiling point and affecting flavor and quality. Therefore, this kind of flavors and fragrances are only practical for products that are not heated or have low temperature when perfuming. Such as popsicles, ice cream, ice cream, fruit juice drinks, soft drinks, alcohol and some medicines and preparations. Oil-soluble essence consists of essence base material and oil-soluble solvent such as propylene glycol. It is characterized by strong fragrance and insolubility in water. Compared with water-soluble essence, it has better heat resistance. Therefore, it is more practical for some products that must run at higher temperatures. Such as hard candy, biscuits, cakes and other baked goods. Oil-soluble essence is easy to form turbidity and accumulation in cold weather, which affects its appearance. In addition, it is insoluble in water and must be fully stirred to make the fragrance uniform. Emulsified flavors and fragrances are composed of three important parts: flavor base, sunscreen and distilled water. This essence is a milky white liquid, which is relatively thin and can be emptied quickly in water, but the solution is milky white. It is not practical for products that require transparency, but practical for products that have no effect on transparency, such as popsicles and ice cream. Or juice soda and juice that requires turbidity. Adsorption essence is made by simply mixing edible spices with lactose and other carriers, so that the spices are adsorbed on the carriers. Embedding essence is made by premixing edible spices, emulsifiers and embedding agents (such as edible gum and modified starch), dispersing them in aqueous solution and spray drying. It is characterized by good stability and emptying, and it is suitable for various beverages, powder products and convenience foods. Article source: flavors and fragrances/