A true taste is felt at a specialized nerve ending on the tongue.
The trend toward natural flavors started over 30 years ago. A natural flavor must be composed entirely of naturally-occurring ingredients.
US regulations defines natural flavorings as the essential oil, oleoresin, essence, extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contain the flavor constituents derived from a spice, fruit, or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible eyes, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar material, meat, seafood, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation product thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutrition.
Examples of natural flavors: allspice, bitter almond, anise, balm, basil, caraway, cardamom, cinnamon, celery seed, chervil citron, cloves, coriander, cress, cumin, dill, fennel, fenugreek, ginger, lemon, licorice, marjoram, mint, mustard, nutmeg, oregano, paprika parsley, rosemary, sage, savory, tarragon, thyme, turmeric, vanilla and wintergreen.
The natural flavor characteristics of food materials in their raw state are important because of the fact that quite a good number of these foods are eaten in the raw state without being cooked.
Natural flavors and artificial flavors sometimes contain exactly the same chemicals, produced through different methods.
Characteristics of natural flavor
