1. 核心定义

Food flavors (or flavorings) are substances added to food products to impart, enhance, or modify taste and aroma, but do not primarily provide nutritional value. They are used to compensate for flavors lost during processing, to ensure batch-to-batch consistency, or to create entirely new taste experiences.

2. 主要分类

Food flavors can be categorized based on their origin and production method:

• Natural Flavors: Derived from plant, animal, or microbial sources through physical, enzymatic, or microbiological processes. Examples: vanilla extract from beans, citrus oil from fruit peels.

• Example Sentence: "This yogurt uses natural strawberry flavor obtained from real fruit."

• Artificial Flavors: Synthetically created in laboratories to mimic natural flavors or produce tastes not found in nature. They are chemically identical to molecules found in natural sources or are novel compounds.

• Example Sentence: "Many candies contain artificial flavors to achieve intense and consistent tastes like blue raspberry."

• Nature-Identical Flavors: A subcategory of artificial flavors where the chemical structure is identical to that found in natural products, but produced synthetically. (Note: In some regulatory systems like the EU, this is a distinct category; in the U.S., it is generally grouped under "artificial.")

• Example Sentence: "The nature-identical vanillin in this product is chemically the same as the main component in vanilla beans."

3. 物理形态

Flavors come in various delivery forms:

• Liquid Flavors: Often used in beverages, sauces, and dairy products.

• Powdered Flavors: Common in dry mixes, snacks, desserts, and instant products.

• Encapsulated Flavors: The flavor is protected within a coating (e.g., starch) to prevent evaporation or degradation during processing, releasing upon cooking or consumption.

4. 关键用途与目的

• Flavor Enhancement: Boost the existing taste profile of a food.

• Flavor Compensation: Restore flavors diminished by heat treatment, freezing, or storage.

• Standardization: Ensure a uniform flavor in mass-produced foods despite natural variations in raw ingredients.

• Innovation: Create novel and appealing sensory experiences (e.g., for sodas, snacks).