If you think you've got good taste in food, you probably don't know the half of it. Every time you bite into a processed food, your taste buds are being manipulated by chemists who have flavored the product.
A stroll through the booths of the many flavor vendors offering their wares at the Bonneville Institute of Food Technologists' Food Expo at the Utah State Fairpark a couple of weeks ago showed the many possibilities: Key Lime Truffles, chai-flavored drinks (a trendy Middle-Eastern milky-spicy coffee flavor), Polynesian Punch and . . . cucumber candy.
"What people don't realize is, cucumber is just a few notes off from melon," said Carol York, a sales representative for Bell Flavors & Fragrances, who showcased the cucumber confection. "We're also finding that people are wanting candy with a kick, or contrasting flavors put together, such as a peanut-lime sauce. We can manipulate our flavors so we know where it will hit on your taste buds. There's an initial hit, maybe more subtle in the middle and a kick afterwards."
She added, "One of our scientists calls it 'the will of gluttony' because it can make you crave a food product."
"Flavor" is a mixture of natural and/or synthetic aromatic substances that impart, modify or mask a flavor, said Sara J. Risch. As a flavor chemist for a Chicago-based firm, Science by Design, Risch works with food manufacturers to make their products more appealing.
Flavors can be extracted from plants or food, or they can be artificially created. Even "natural" flavors like vanilla and chocolate are comprised of many different compounds that give off different flavors. In coffee, there are 800 different compounds that determine the flavor, Risch said.
"To put together a good cherry flavor, you have to have about 50 flavor components," said Chuck Brasher of Gold Coast Ingredients, Inc.
Getting just the right combination of compounds is critical to a food manufacturer's success. In a Food Marketing Institute survey, "Trends in the United States" (1998), consumers ranked taste as the top factor in selecting foods, with nutrition placing second.
Look, smell, taste and even texture, or what processors call "mouth feel," contribute to the flavor. Does it feel creamy, smooth or gritty? For consumers to accept a product, it needs to feel "right" for that particular food.
"With low-fat foods, we often don't get the flavor we want because fat is critical to a flavor sensation," she said.
National Starch and Chemical sells starches made from tapioca to add a creamy mouth feel to items like a low-fat Alfredo sauce or a nutrition drink. Its Butter Buds powder is sold to consumers.
Chuck Brasher of Gold Coast Ingredients, Inc. said his company can add a "fuzzy" taste to peach flavoring. "So if it's a bad year for peaches, you can put a little flavor in pies or ice cream and make it taste better," he said.
Emulsifiers also help with mouth feel by keeping fat and liquid from separating — holding the oil and vinegar together in a salad dressing or stabilizing gravies, puddings or cake mixes, for instance. Anne Byrn, in her book "The Cake Mix Doctor," describes emulsifiers as "skilled party hosts. They mingle, introducing two guests — fat and water, for example — and work the room, making sure everyone is chatting and the party is one thick and happy batter."
In a from-scratch cake, the egg yolk is the only emulsifier. In baking mixes, emulsifiers sound more mysterious: mono- and diglycerides, sodium-steroyl lactylate or soy lecithin.
Here are some of today's flavor trends:
Global cuisine: "Chefs are being extremely creative with flavors of the world. For instance, some of the Asian or Indian spices are being blended with traditional Southwestern food."
The food industry is then challenged with simulating the flavors people are getting in restaurants. For instance, more people now want a grilled flavor in meat products.
Tropicals: "Tropical flavors are here to stay, often in combinations," said Mark Tuerffs, president of S&S Flavors. "You'll see mango-peach or guava-pineapple sherbet, or kiwi-strawberry and papaya."
"People like tropicals because they taste fun," said Douglas McCommins of Flavor Producers, Inc. "They say it reminds them of being in Hawaii."
Also, companies travel the globe in search of unusual-flavored plants to introduce — guanabana is one of the newest, said Risch.
Fusion flavors: With about 1,800 compounds approved for use as flavoring agents, there are an endless number of combinations.
For instance, Gold Coast Ingredients offers a host of flavors, like "Peaconut" — peach combined with milky coconut; "Garleek" — a marriage of garlic and leek; and "Carromatoe" — carrot with the acidic background of tomatoes.
Healthful foods: Consumers want products that contain antioxidants, herbs, fiber, soy isoflavones and so on, but many of those products can taste strong or bitter. Products like soy hot dogs and veggie burgers need a flavor boost.
At the Food Expo, Blue Pacific offered sips of its Breakfast Energy Drink, which contained yogurt, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins and fiber. The Mango Peach and Raspberry Creme flavors masked the "good-for-you" ingredients.
But some nutrients react badly with flavorings. "We tried adding chocolate to an amino acid- and protein-fortified drink," Risch said. "It tasted wonderful, but two hours later the flavor was gone. Some of the components pulled the flavor out of the system."
High-intensity sweeteners are often used to mask the bitterness of herbs or vitamins.
"It confuses the tongue because you get the sweet sensation first," Risch said. "Vanilla can also help cover up bitter taste."
Indulgence and decadence: Today's flavored coffees and rich ice creams show that people like a splurge. Rich flavors, such as hazelnut, give the idea that you're eating something indulgent without adding calories and fat, Risch said.
Market competition: Today's food industry is highly competitive in creating new taste sensations. Rather than appealing to one mass market as in the '50s, manufacturers must consider many groups. In households with children, the kids drive 85 percent of the food preferences, said Risch.
"They like flavors they're familiar with, like vanilla or fruit, but they also go for extreme flavors such as super-sour candy."
One idea that might please extremists: a lime-and-chili-pepper-flavored soda pop called Loco Soda, introduced to the New York City market last year.
"Also, kids love a nice fluorescent color — that's why blue raspberry is a cross-generational flavor," said Tuerffs.
Seniors are another growing market.
"People tend to lose their sense of taste and smell as they get older and don't think things taste as good," Risch said. "So the goal is a product that gives off a good aroma when consumed."
Why? Because about 80 percent of what we perceive as "taste" is actually smell, according to an article published by the International Food Information Council. Enhancing the product's aroma adds taste appeal.
E-MAIL: vphillips@desnews.com