Although its common knowledge that consumers crave more experiential flavors, determining these flavors and profiles is a little harder to pin down. How can product developers meet the “foodie culture” flavor expectations permeated from social media and travel? One-dimensional profiles no longer cut it as consumers want every food and drink- whether a meal from a restaurant or packaged item- to have more layers of flavor. The desire for layered profiles have led to more complex flavors appearing in product launches. At McCormick, we can deliver these food-forward flavors with our real culinary approach — our solutions are derived from the backbone of cooking reactions that occur in the kitchen.
Inspired by cooking techniques, profiles like braised, roasted, and stir-fried all lend an extra dimension to any application. From spices to fruits, vegetables and proteins, a world of flavor can be brought to life with our reaction flavor technology. As a flavor scientist, I work hand-in-hand with our chefs. Since we start with real, natural food, we end up with natural food ingredients. What happens my lab is what happens in cooking. I like to think of my lab as a technical kitchen. I work with reactors that may seem intimidating but are essentially just big pressure cookers. By controlling the time, temperature and pressure of our reactors, we are able to create truly roasted, grilled or seared notes —all those naturally delicious reaction flavors that occur in cooking.
Beyond delivering mouthwatering, culinary flavors, the use of these profiles in your applications add taste complexity to your products for a more ownable brand experience. If a competitor were to analyze your product in a gas chromatograph, they may find a myriad of peaks, making it very difficult to determine your formulation. If you're looking for a signature flavor for your brand, our reaction flavors may be a great place to start.
Looking for a ‘created from cooking’ flavor for your next innovation? Here are some ideas for real-meal flavors for a variety of applications, from proteins to snacks to desserts…
Partner with us to find exciting ways to infuse the flavors of cooking into your product lines by contacting your McCormick Flavor Solutions account manager or contact us today.
