Organic Processing Vo1.8 #4 - July/August 2011

ity. Today, certified organic cocoa replacers and enhancer flavors are available in water soluble, oil soluble and powdered versions.

There are also other “dessert” flavors available in organic today, including cheesecake, root beer, bananas foster, ginger and cola.

Citrus Flavors

Citrus is also a highly used category of flavor. Citrus ingredients such as lemon concentrate are not typically expensive, however, many high-note essences and oils found in the rind and pith of the fruit are lost in processing. These pivotal components of flavor must be added back to the product. In the simplest form, this is added back as an extract or as citrus oil.

Citrus flavors and extracts are also easy to find and straightforward to use. Lemonades almost always contain citrus flavors. There are also novel organic dry flavoring systems for tea and herbal blend bags made from dried citrus peel particles.

ties in the broth. There is even an organic clam meat flavor available for clam chowder fans.

Savory flavors can also be used to create a roasted, baked, char-broiled, flame-roasted, fresh or smoked note in products. Some other savory flavors include mushroom, roasted vegetables, vegetable stock and clarified butter. There are also several organic flavors created for herbs such as oregano, basil and sage.

Savory flavor formulas are often more complicated than sweet flavor formulas. Thus, fewer flavor houses make them and it takes a stronger product development team to figure out what works best. However,

Savory Flavors

Savory products typically have less need for flavors because ingredients such as salt, herbs and spices are strong and often inexpensive. Yeast, available in certified organic, is another ingredient commonly used as a flavor enhancer in many savory formulations. Soy sauces are often used to add a savory flavor to products as well, and organic gluten-free versions are available.

There are, however, still many instances when enhanced high notes are needed in savory foods. This is because many such products undergo a very strong heat treatment and high notes in garlic, onion, herbs, meat and cheeses are lost and need to be added back.