The Evolution of Beverage Flavors

Whether to energize, relax, nourish or indulge, beverages have become an integral part of many moods and moments. As consumers increasingly turn to nuanced needs and new tastes, the beverage industry must evolve as well.

Flavors play a role in helping consumers navigate these new needs and desires. The market for beverage flavours is expected to exhibit strong growth throughout the forecast period.

Bitters

Bitters are a key ingredient in many classic cocktails, but they can also be used to add depth and balance to other beverages. They can help to balance out sweetness and sourness, and they are said to provide digestive benefits.

They are also commonly used to bolster flavours and aromas in foods, and can be added to marinades or drizzled sparingly into salads for extra flavor. They can even be used in baking recipes to add depth and intensity to cakes or other dishes.

The main ingredients of bitters include botanicals that have been soaked in clear, neutral alcohol. This enables the full range of flavours to be extracted and preserved. Grain alcohol is typically used for bitters, but other types of neutral spirits can be used as well.

You can use a variety of botanicals in bitters, including cinnamon, cloves, vanilla bean pods, lavender buds, and more. You can buy premade bitters, or you can make your own.

To make your own, you’ll need a one-quart canning jar with a tight-fitting lid (mason jars work best). Place the botanical in the jar and then fill it halfway up with neutral alcohol. Stir it up and let the mixture sit for a few days. After the infusion is complete, strain out the ingredients and store it in a clean glass jar for up to three weeks before you use it.

Aside from helping to enhance flavours and aromas, bitters can also be a natural way to boost your immune system. For instance, burdock is a natural anti-inflammatory that can ease heartburn and bloating. In addition, gentian root and goldenseal are both antioxidants that can improve your immune health.

These are all great reasons to try them out in your drinks! But be sure to read the recipe carefully and only use them when you’re in the mood for a drink with a little bite.

While bitters are traditionally made from high-proof alcohol, some companies now produce bitters that are nonalcoholic. These can be a great alternative for people who are looking to cut down on their alcoholic intake. They can be used in drinks like soda water and tea to add a refreshing and distinctive taste.

Sweeteners

Sweeteners are one of the most important components in beverage flavours, as they can have a huge impact on taste, body, texture, and mouthfeel. While they can be a challenge to get right, the key is knowing what sweeteners are available and how to use them in a way that will improve the overall flavour of your product.

There are two main categories of sweeteners: natural nonsugar sweeteners and synthetic or artificial sweeteners. Both types of sweeteners flavor concentrates for beverages can be used to add sweetness to beverages, but their effect on beverage flavours is different.

The first category is made up of natural sugars such as table sugar and honey, as well as syrups derived from fruits like agave and maple syrup. These are low-calorie and low-glycemic, so they can help control blood sugar levels.

Another option is a sugar alcohol, such as erythritol or allulose. These are similar to table sugar in terms of their taste and mouthfeel, but they are lower in calories and have a lower glycemic response than sucrose.

However, they are not without their drawbacks, as they tend to be bulky and can make a drink feel a bit flat. Additionally, they can have a strong aftertaste, so they are best avoided in drinks where a pleasantly sweet, fruity flavour is essential.

Synthetic or artificial sweeteners, such as saccharin, cyclamates, aspartame and sucralose, are the most common type of sweeteners. These are energy (kilojoule or calorie) free and can be used in a variety of products, including drinks, cordials, jellies, yoghurt, ice-cream and chewing gum.

Some of these sweeteners can also be mixed with other ingredients to improve the overall flavour of your beverage. For example, a blend of a high-potency sweetener with maltitol could decrease the amount of sugar in a beverage while adding bulk and mouthfeel to the product.

Finally, nutritive sweeteners are a popular choice for beverage manufacturers looking to create a product with a clean label. Nutritive sweeteners such as agave and brown rice syrups have the advantage of being lower in calories and carbs, which are both major concerns for health-conscious consumers. But these ingredients have their own drawbacks, as they can also be expensive to produce and can contribute a slightly grassy flavour to the final product.

Natural flavours

Natural flavours are a key element of beverage flavor. These additives are used to boost the taste of beverages such as sodas, flavored waters, and alcoholic beverages. The market for natural flavours is expected to grow significantly in the near future due to rising demand from customers.

Natural flavors are extracted from plant and animal sources such as fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, dairy products, herbs, spices, roots, leaves, bark, and bud. These ingredients are distilled, fermented, or manipulated in a lab to create a distinct flavor.

Artificial flavours, on the other hand, are added to food and drink products as additives that mimic the tastes of natural compounds. These synthetic flavorings are structurally similar to the natural compounds they mimic and flavor concentrates for beverages offer a cost-efficient way for manufacturers to achieve the desired taste profiles of their products.

The main difference between natural and artificial flavours is that the original source of natural flavors must be a plant or animal, while the origin of an artificial flavor is a chemical. Therefore, natural and artificial flavours do not share the same nutritional properties, despite their common appearance on packaging.

Moreover, the FDA defines a natural flavor as an ingredient that derives its aroma or flavor from a plant or animal, such as fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, herb, spice, root, leaf, bark, or bud. This distinguishes them from artificial flavors, which rely on synthetic chemicals to add taste and aroma to foods.

This distinction is important because natural and artificial flavours are permitted to be used as ingredients in food and drink products, but the FDA does not require them to be listed on ingredient labels. The use of these flavors is governed by the Code of Federal Regulations, and is defined as an “additive” under Section 201(c) of the FDA’s regulations on food additives.

Natural and artificial flavours can be a confusing issue for food and beverage manufacturers, as they are both allowed to be added to their products without being listed on the label. This is why it’s crucial to understand how these ingredients affect the flavour of a beverage, and what the right approach is when creating them.

Other flavours

In the world of beverage development, there are always new twists and turns in the flavors being introduced into product formulations. There are line extensions, limited editions, unusual taste sensations, flavors marketed to specific demographic groups, flavors masking the taste of nutraceutical components, and more.

Many of these trends are the result of sensory work and market research that reveals beverage customers’ tastes, preferences and needs. These insights have helped some manufacturers and small and large batch makers capitalize on these changes, introduce unique and inventive beverage ideas into the marketplace, and ultimately create a more successful business model.

Flavors are also becoming increasingly important in the beverage industry for their role in supporting the health and wellness of consumers. A recently launched program, TasteSolutions(tm) for Health & Wellness from Switzerland-based Givaudan Flavors SA, provides beverage manufacturers with flavor essentials to launch products that contribute to healthier lifestyles while maintaining their taste.

These ingredients are designed to deliver a wide variety of functional attributes, such as reduced sugar, higher calcium content and low fat. The program also offers ingredient suppliers access to a portfolio of taste modifiers, taste enhancers and other flavor-related products that can be customized to meet the needs of beverage manufacturers.

For example, chocolate is a popular flavor for soy-based beverages due to its ability to mask protein flavor, enabling formulators to produce smoother beverages with less astringency and aftertaste. However, as formulators strive to create more bland base proteins, they are having trouble getting subtle flavors such as vanilla and fruit to come through.

These issues are largely related to the protein binding with the flavour molecules and how they interact with each other. The type, amount and composition of the protein, as well as the presence of lipids or polysaccharides, all play a part in how much and what kind of flavor is lost or altered. In addition, the resulting beverage will also be impacted by other factors such as the size of the particle, the presence of additives and the overall aeration of the beverage. The effects of these factors will affect the perceived intensity of the drink’s taste, which can make or break the success of a new product in the marketplace.