The reconstitution of flavors

Abstract

The traditional purpose of flavor reconstitution in processed foods is to restore the depleted flavor level and quality. A more recent trend is the impartation of flavor to foods which have none, such as addition of synthetically reconstituted chicken flavor to soya protein and bacon flavor to hydrogenated fat. Flavor reconstitution of such foods can be approached from either a physicochemical study or by the use of organoleptic procedures. For best results a marriage of the two methods is required. The advent of modern gas chromatographic techniques has revolutionized the possibilities for the discovery of new flavor components and for determining the amounts in which they are present in food substances. While much time has been spent in the last 15 years gathering analytical data of this type, rapid progress can be expected in the future by the utilization of this information in areas of flavor reconstitution new to the flavor industry. The usual problems which arise when flavor reconstitution from analytical data is attempted are reviewed. The performance advantages and disadvantages of reconstituted flavors are compared against their natural counterparts.