Food flavouring experts respond to consumer trends and shifting demand with the application of flavours in different textures. By blending, mixing and trying different flavours with different food textures, flavouring experts and companies can keep up with shifting consumer trends toward health and nutrition, while never straying too far from the taste factor.
How important is the taste and texture factor in food?
Some estimates say that as much as 86% of consumers say that the taste of the food they’re considering is a determining factor in which food purchase they choose, the texture is just as important. Consumers also make decisions based on how they anticipate the food to feel and break down in their mouths. An unexpected texture can cause consumers to think twice about purchasing a specific food product again.
However, achieving the perfect balance between both factors can be challenging. Experts are continually working to formulate improved solutions to achieve the ideal taste and texture, while also providing healthier products to consumers.
In today’s market, consumers are not only seeking products with good taste and texture but also those that are:
- Healthier
- Affordable without compromising quality
- Visually appealing
- Pleasant in aroma
- Longer-lasting
To discover more about healthy trends in product formulation, please check our post about Clean Label Foods.
How texture and flavour are linked
It’s no secret to chefs and others working in the food industry that food texture can affect taste, and vice versa. The application of flavours in different textures can often create different sensations of taste in different dishes.
Texture in the culinary world is often called mouthfeel. Since your tongue is tasting the food at this moment, it is intertwined with the taste of the food. Scientists and chefs agree that texture can add or detract from a food’s taste, often causing us to perceive a dish as saltier or sweeter than it actually is.
Everyone experiences texture and flavour a little differently. Mouthfeel can be a very personal feeling, often linked to personal memories or similar foods that individuals have eaten in the past. The experience is so subjective that it can even be related to the time of day when the product is consumed. In order to be successful, chefs and food production professionals have to enhance the texture and flavour of food without sacrificing either.
How to Enhance Food with the Application of Flavors in Different Textures
As you may be guessing, you can’t simply add this or that flavour to any dish to enhance or change it. How can food professionals enhance products without degrading their texture? The answer is usually in food flavourings.
With new distillate and extract technology, water-soluble flavourings have gained a foothold in the food industry, particularly all-natural distillates, and extracts made to not affect the texture of foods and still add the kick they were intended to make.
Some spices and other ingredients can be added in their natural forms to dishes to enhance them. The issue with this in many cases is the shelf-life of these whole ingredients (think nuts, fruits, juices, etc.). To make food at scale, you can’t have supply-line issues. Natural distillate flavourings and extracts are the solutions to this, they add an all-natural flavour without disrupting the mouthfeel, or the texture of the food product.
