It is rightly said that taste is king and flavour is queen. We all want to eat food that tastes very nice but there are some foods that require flavour enhancers to be added. Otherwise, it would taste bland, boring and tasteless. These flavour enhancers can be natural or artificial. They are mainly designed or manufactured to enhance the taste of foods and beverages. One can find mention of these on the labels of the food ingredients with E numbers. But some flavour manufacturers use their chemical name because it is difficult for consumers to fully interpret E numbers.
- The main technological function of flavour enhancers are as follows:
- To enhance safety & quality by preventing microbial growth
- To extend the shelf-life by providing protection against oxidation.
- To enhance flavour, appearance and odour.
- To stabilize/retain the colour.
- To improve the texture & consistency of foods and beverages.
Flavour enhancers are a boon for processed food or convenience foods. Ready-to-eat foods, processed food, canned food save a lot of time & effort and come in various ready-to-eat packages. It has revolutionized the food industry and this revolution would not have been possible without flavour enhancers.
Here’s a list of some very popular and widely used flavour enhancers:
Monosodium glutamate (MSG): It is derived from the fermentation of molasses. It's also used as a salt substitute. Commonly added to snack foods, canned vegetables, dressings, frozen foods, etc. It’s a non-sodium food flavour enhancer. Glutamic acid: It is an amino acid that is derived from vegetables, animals and bacteria.
- Glutamic acid has been used for centuries in savoury products.
- Maltol: It’s derived from larch of tree, oils, pine needles. It is also produced synthetically. Calcium diglutamate: Also known as calcium glutamate. Apart from being used as a flavour enhancer, it is also used for first-aid treatment.
- Guanylic acid: Also known as guanosine monophosphate. It enhances the umami taste. It’s among the most expensive flavour enhancers.
- Disodium guanylate/sodium guanylate: Also known as sodium 5'-guanylate and disodium 5'-guanylate, it is derived from dried seaweed or fish and used in snacks, instant noodles, cured meat, packaged soups, potato chips and thinned vegetables.
- Inosinic acid: This flavour enhancer is very crucial for proper metabolism of the body. It’s used as salt and flavour enhancer.
Advantages of flavour enhancers:
Flavour enhancer intensifies foods’ natural flavour rather than adding a new one. Nutrients are a perfect example of flavour enhancers where vitamins and minerals are added to food to make the food more nutritious and healthy. Nowadays many of the bread and grains are being fortified with essential vitamins, minerals and irons to substitute the loss while the whole grains are being milled into flour. The use of calcium has been increased in commercial fruit juices.
Food chemists use various kinds of natural and artificial flavour enhancers to upgrade the texture, to keep the food smooth, or to stop the different mixtures from separating. Emulsifiers are used to keep 2 unfriendly things such as oil & water from separating. As well as stabilizers such as alginic acid (derived from seaweed) are used to make ice cream more smooth, rich and creamy.
Toxicity & Safety
The risk of toxicity from flavour enhancers is very low. The main principles for using flavour enhancers are:
To enhance the quality or stability of foods or to strengthen organoleptic properties.
To maintain nutritional quality.
To deliver necessary ingredients in food manufactured for special dietary purposes.
To aid in processing the food, packaging, and transportation and storage of food.
