Harmony ahead: How hues influence flavor, and vice versa

The art of creating delicious, visually appealing products starts with natural colors and flavors. In the SupplySide Food & Beverage Journal digital magazine on this topic, learn more about how these essential components complement one another to elevate sensory experiences while meeting consumer demands for natural ingredients.

Colors and flavors are as different as the senses they affect. Yet they are complementary. Hues enhance the perception of taste. Marrying the appropriate shades with a chosen flavor is obviously critical to a product’s success. 

Enhancing, perfecting and preserving these attributes requires an understanding of not only the chosen components, but also the other elements in a formula. A brand has to consider what happens down the road through processing, packaging, storage, distribution, point of sale and ultimately consumption. And at each stage in the product’s life cycle, challenges are magnified when working with natural products. 

Similarities 

While natural colors and flavors are different in their applications, Ozan Kahraman, senior R&D technical sales lead at Applied Food Sciences (AFS), finds they share similarities in terms of shelf life, handling and storage. “Both are sensitive to environmental factors like light, temperature and humidity. To maintain their potency, they should be stored in cool, dark and dry conditions. Proper packaging also plays an important role. Using airtight, opaque containers helps protect against oxidation and moisture.” He recommended incorporating antioxidants like AFS Acerola extract PurC and green coffee extract GCA to help reduce color degradation and to enhance stability and shelf life. 

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Processing methods can easily damage natural colors and flavors. Kahraman mentioned exposure to high temperatures and extreme pH levels can cause chemical changes that alter their appearance, taste and aroma, leading to breakdown and instability while affecting quality and functionality. He advised starting with small quantities of natural colors and flavors, then gradually increasing these ingredients to balance the overall product profile while understanding their stability in different food matrices. 

Maximizing flavor 

Erika James, senior application scientist with Sensient Flavors & Extracts, agreed that heat processing can be tough on flavors. She stressed the need for developers to assess the effects of their specific processing techniques on flavors and adjust as needed. “Make sure your flavor supplier can test for that by simulating those processes and understand how a flavor will taste in any given application,” she said. “A good flavor house can often recommend ways to manage flavor. For instance, we can look at different formats for adding flavor at different phases of the process to get the most flavor retention. We can recommend using an extract, a dry blend or spray, or even sprinkling it on top at the end.”  Microencapsulation by spray-drying protects both colors and flavors. 

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Heat processing is more challenging than a cold-fill process. “It’s easier to predict cold-fill processes because the flavor remains stable throughout,” James said. “Emulsion-based products are more flexible to work with because the flavor can be water- or oil-soluble. Retort can pose difficulties due to the amount of time the flavor is exposed to heat. Frying, baking and HTST (high-temperature short-time) can test the flavor’s ability to remain stable for a predictable outcome.” 

To overcome these challenges, she encouraged considering different ways to deliver flavor. For example, in a baked product, flavor can be added to a base batter or dough, or it can be applied topically as a seasoning after baking. A burst of encapsulated flavor could be used rather than incorporating the flavor throughout, or the flavor could be baked in or added afterward. 

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To hit the right note, flavorists think about the way a product is consumed. James suggested asking questions such as, “Is the food chewed or does it melt on your tongue? Does it spend only moments on your taste buds when sipped?” She added, “By mimicking how a food or beverage will be eaten, we can taste the way the consumer will experience the flavor.” 

Besides processing, one must consider other elements of the formula such as fat, starch and acidic ingredients. Since all can impact the final flavor, James encouraged developers to let their supplier know as many details about the base as possible. “In fact, if they can send us their base for testing, we can give better guidance on how the flavor will carry and come through,” she noted. 

An acidic base will require a stronger flavor. “While fat is a good carrier of flavor, a higher fat content often requires more flavor to help it break through for an appealing taste experience,” she continued. “Starches and dairy proteins can bind to flavors, so it’s necessary to consider the levels of those ingredients when choosing flavor combinations. Anything with a strong or intense flavor like soy sauce, for example, will force us to use significantly more flavor to make sure it comes through on top of the existing intensity.” 

She believes natural flavors have a greater purpose than simply replacing an ingredient. “Natural flavors can help enhance an existing ingredient that may have lost some of its intensity during processing,” she said. “We can also bring back some of the fresh notes to bridge the gap between a flavor that has lost its edge during processing and the flavor that consumers expect.” 

What’s more, she’s seeing natural flavors moving into markets that were slow to transition, like savory snacks and convenience foods. “It’s simply what people expect now,” she stated. 

Some flavors are as popular today as they were centuries ago. Vanilla is a great example. With its long culinary footprint, it is a prime example of the expression of a natural flavor. Henry Todd, VP of international operations at Virginia Dare, calls the cultivation of vanilla bean one of the most sophisticated cultivation processes for any spice. “It demands an artful hand to pollinate each individual flower and requires a time- and labor-intensive curing process to develop its distinct flavor,” he shared. “Most consumers would be surprised to learn that the natural curing method for vanilla beans involves hot baths, sweating in blankets, sun drying that lasts for weeks and aging in wooden boxes that can go on for years.” 

He calls vanilla extract a complex expression of soil, sun, rain and region, as well as varietals, harvest times, aging and production methods. “The nuanced flavor and aroma of premium vanilla comes from working with growers who remain dedicated to the traditional harvesting of the fruit pods, curing and extraction processes, and understand that delivering the gold standard in vanilla is a pursuit that draws equally on science and art.” 

Colorful considerations 

Natural colors are primarily derived from fruits, vegetables and other edible plants. By themselves, they can be gorgeous. But they may not play well with others. Ingredients with oxidizing or reducing properties can interact with natural colors and cause degradation. Trace metals can have a negative impact. Even trace ingredients like fluorides and chlorine found in city water can interact. Anthocyanins, which include colors like purple carrot and red radish, are less stable in the presence of calcium and ascorbic acid. Conversely, carotenoids such as beta carotene are more stable in systems that contain ascorbic acid. 

The color format will also have a bearing on stability. An oil-soluble pigment will naturally migrate to other fat ingredients. In this case, a powdered color may be preferred. Techniques like encapsulation can reduce bleeding and enhance stability across all applications. 

Color performance is impacted by the environment’s pH. Anthocyanins, for instance, are most stable below pH 4.0. Shades will shift to bluer hues as pH increases. Temperature also affects natural colors, so the point of addition is important to reduce the amount of time the color is exposed to high heat. 

Using a natural color can sometimes bring along unexpected attributes; for instance, flavoring components can tag along. While this is true of spices like paprika and annatto, it also applies to colors derived from red radish, cabbage and turmeric. As the industry evolves, off-notes are becoming less noticeable. Caution, however, is needed in delicately flavored systems. Bringing in a masking flavor may be necessary, but that may also diminish desired flavors in the product requiring their higher usage levels. 

As consumer preference rises for products with natural ingredients, Kahraman has noticed advancements in extraction and preservation techniques. This helps maintain the integrity of natural colors and flavors from sources like turmeric and ginger. “Alongside this,” he said, “there is a heightened emphasis on sustainably sourced ingredients, which appeals to eco-conscious consumers and ensures long-term availability.”