When preparing sweets, you can safely use food flavors of plant origin, and to enhance the aroma of meat, dairy and fish dishes, flavors are often used that are also produced from natural products, but in an industrial way.
Despite the fact that spices also have a whole bouquet of aromas, it is customary to call food flavorings only those that are not able to affect the taste of the final dish.
Cooking Flavors
Plant-based flavors, which are made from the leaves, seeds or flowers of certain plants, are at the top of the line for healthy foods. They are infused with alcohol, dried, or oily consistencies are created with their participation. Typically, a flavoring agent has a single scent that is intended to enhance the natural flavor of the product or to give it an aromatically neutral dish.
Most often, such flavors are used in confectionery or to enhance the taste of beverages. These are anise or mint drops, rose and bergamot oils. Bergamot, jasmine, currant leaves are often used to add a fragrant aroma to black or green tea. Every housewife knows that with the help of a cherry leaf, you can create a unique aroma of blueberry or chokeberry jam.
Among synthetic flavors, vanilla and fruit essence are acceptable, which has a rich variety of aromas inherent in fruits and berries. They all help in the preparation of syrups, pastries and sweets.
However, this is not only about confectionery, because flavoring additives are actively used in the dairy and meat industry in the production of milkshakes, cheeses, sauces, soups and instant side dishes, crackers and much more. The presence of a chemical flavoring agent in every industrial product has become commonplace, but many people still reject the definition of “chemical”.
Is any chemistry harmful
Experts say that everything that happens in the home kitchen is also akin to a chemical process, only on an industrial scale a saucepan or frying pan is replaced by a modern unit. Commercially produced modern flavors are much safer than the same potatoes fried over high heat in deep fat, during the preparation of which acrylamide, which is harmful to health, is formed.
The industrial flavoring agent is produced in accordance with GOST R 52464-2005 and is used to flavor products that are not confectionery. Food natural flavoring, which can be used in cooking without fear for your health, is produced only from plant or animal raw materials. The definition "identical to natural" means that the composition contains at least one component obtained artificially, but from natural raw materials.
In Europe, the term "identical to natural" has not been used for a long time, since such a flavoring agent is classified as a natural product. But the flavoring substance, where there are artificial components that have no analogue in nature, belongs to the category of artificial flavors and is cheap. Manufacturers claim that such a fragrance is safe and contains a harmless amount of a synthetic substance, however, even a minimum can cause an allergic attack in people sensitive to such components. Unfortunately, not all manufacturers consider it necessary to report this.
