Flavorist

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A flavorist (or flavourist [lower-alpha 1] ), also known as flavor chemist (or flavour chemist), is someone who uses chemistry to engineer artificial and natural flavors. The tools and materials used by flavorists are almost the same as that used by perfumers with the exception that flavorists seek to mimic or modify both the olfactory and gustatory properties of various food products rather than creating just abstract smells. Additionally, the materials and chemicals that a flavorist utilizes for flavor creation must be safe for human consumption.

Contents

The profession of flavorists came about when affordable refrigeration for the home spurred of food processing technology, which could affect the quality of the flavor of the food. In some cases, these technologies can remove naturally occurring flavors. To remedy the flavor loss, the food processing industry created the flavor industry. The chemists that resolved the demand of the food processing industry became known as flavorists. [ citation needed ]

Education

Educational requirements for a flavorist are varied. Flavorists are often graduated either in Chemistry, Biology, or Food Science up to PhDs obtained in subjects such as Biochemistry and Chemistry. Because, however, the training of a flavorist is mostly done on-the-job and specifically at a flavor company known as a flavor house, this training is similar to the apprentice system.

Located in Versailles (France), ISIPCA French School offers two years of high-standard education in food flavoring including 12 months of traineeship in a flavor company. This education program provides students with a solid background in Flavoring formulation, flavor application, and flavor chemistry (analysis and sensory).

Every year The British Society of Flavourists together with Reading University provides, a three-week flavorist training course for flavorists from all around the world. [1]

Flavorist societies

In the United States, a certified flavorist must be a member of the Society of Flavor Chemists, which meets in New Jersey, Cincinnati, Chicago, and the West Coast 6 to 8 times a year. To be an apprentice flavorist in the society, one must pass an apprenticeship within a flavor house for five years. To be a certified member with voting rights, one must pass a seven-year program. Each level is verified by a written and oral test of the Membership Committee. As an alternative to training under a flavorist, rather than the above-mentioned cases, a 10-year independent option is available. At any given time there are approximately 400 certified and apprentice flavor chemists in the US.

In the United Kingdom, a flavourist can join The British Society of Flavourists, which meets near the London area. To acquire membership, applicants must be sponsored by at least two voting members, shall not be under thirty years of age, and shall have been engaged as a creative flavourist for a period of at least ten years. To be an associate member, applicants must be either a full-time creative flavourist with at least four years' experience, a flavour application chemist, or a food technologist responsible for flavour blending, assessment, and evaluation for a period of at least five years, or a person of such standing in the flavour-producing or using industries as satisfies the Membership Committee that he/she is eligible for membership. An Associate Member must be proposed by two voting members. To be a student member, the applicant must be a new entrant to the flavour industry, not yet able to qualify as an Associate, and proposed by one voting member. To be an affiliate member, applicants must be Technical and Marketing Consultants, Commercial and Technical Managers having a direct relationship to the flavoring industry, and sponsored by three voting members.

Prominent example

Grandma would make this concoction with rice and the sauce that she had; it was a combination of brown sugar and butter. It tasted good, obviously. They'd put it over the rice and eat it as a kind of a treat on Sundays...

William Low, Pamela Low's brother [2]

Pamela Low, a flavorist at Arthur D. Little and 1951 graduate of the University of New Hampshire with a microbiology degree, [2] developed the original flavor for Cap'n Crunch in 1963 recalling a recipe of brown sugar and butter her grandmother served over rice [3] [4] at her home in Derry, New Hampshire. [5]

Robert (Bob) Reinhart developed a technique in the manufacture of Cap'n Crunch, using oil in its recipe as a flavor delivery mechanism which initially presented problems in having the cereal bake properly. [6] The cereal required innovation of a special baking process as it was one of the first cereals to use the oil coating method to deliver its flavoring. [6]

Having arrived at the flavor coating for Cap'n Crunch, Low described it as giving the cereal a quality she called "want-more-ishness". [7] After her death in 2007, the Boston Globe called Low "the mother of Cap'n Crunch." [3] At Arthur D. Little, Low had also worked on the flavors for Heath, [7] Mounds and Almond Joy candy bars. [8]

See also

Notes

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flavoring</span> Food additive used to change its aroma or taste

A flavoring, also known as flavor or flavorant, is a food additive used to improve the taste or smell of food. It changes the perceptual impression of food as determined primarily by the chemoreceptors of the gustatory and olfactory systems. Along with additives, other components like sugars determine the taste of food.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Food additive</span> Substances added to food

Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavor or enhance taste, appearance, or other sensory qualities. Some additives have been used for centuries as part of an effort to preserve food, for example vinegar (pickling), salt (salting), smoke (smoking), sugar (crystallization), etc. This allows for longer-lasting foods such as bacon, sweets or wines. With the advent of ultra-processed foods in the second half of the twentieth century, many additives have been introduced, of both natural and artificial origin. Food additives also include substances that may be introduced to food indirectly in the manufacturing process, through packaging, or during storage or transport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cap'n Crunch</span> American breakfast cereal made by the Quaker Oats Company

Cap'n Crunch is a corn and oat breakfast cereal manufactured since 1963 by Quaker Oats Company, a subsidiary of PepsiCo since 2001. Since the original product introduction, marketed simply as Cap'n Crunch, Quaker Oats has since introduced numerous flavors and seasonal variations, some for a limited time—and currently offers a Cap'n Crunch product line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinnamon Toast Crunch</span> General Mills breakfast cereal

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Firmenich SA was a Swiss company in the fragrance and flavor business. The company has created perfumes for over 125 years and produced a number of well-known flavors. Founded in 1895, it merged in May 2023 with the Dutch company DSM to form dsm-firmenich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quisp</span> Cereal brand, and name of its mascot

Quisp is a sugar-sweetened breakfast cereal from the Quaker Oats Company. It was introduced in 1965 and continued as a mass-market grocery item until the late 1970s. Subsequently, the Quaker Oats Company marketed Quisp sporadically, and with the advent of the Internet, began selling it primarily online. Quisp made its return to supermarkets as a mass-market grocery item in late 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aroma compound</span> Chemical compound that has a smell or odor

An aroma compound, also known as an odorant, aroma, fragrance or flavoring, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor. For an individual chemical or class of chemical compounds to impart a smell or fragrance, it must be sufficiently volatile for transmission via the air to the olfactory system in the upper part of the nose. As examples, various fragrant fruits have diverse aroma compounds, particularly strawberries which are commercially cultivated to have appealing aromas, and contain several hundred aroma compounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liquid smoke</span> Edible chemical compound

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cocoa Krispies</span> Cocoa flavored version of Rice Krispies

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Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) products are foodstuffs obtained by protein hydrolysis and are used as ingredients to create a bouillon (broth) taste without the vegetables, bones, simmering, or other standard elements of creating bouillon from scratch.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Types of chocolate</span> Classification of different chocolate types

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chocolate ice cream</span> Ice cream with natural or artificial chocolate flavoring

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Pamela Low was an American flavorist, best known for developing and creating the flavor coating for the oatmeal breakfast cereal Cap'n Crunch.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to chocolate:

TheInternational Fragrance Association (IFRA) is the global representative body of the fragrance industry. It seeks to represent the collective interests of the industry and promote the safe use of fragrances through regulation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quaker Oats Company</span> American food conglomerate

The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois. As Quaker Mill Company, the company was founded in 1877 in Ravenna, Ohio. In 1881, Henry Crowell bought the company and launched a national advertising campaign for Quaker Oats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Dowthwaite</span>

Stephen V. Dowthwaite is an English perfumer, perfumery educator, programmer and writer. He is the founder of PerfumersWorld, a resource for professional perfumers. He is known for developing The ABC's of Perfumery, a comprehensive system of odour classification and perfume creation, and a training course in The Art and Technology of Perfumery.

References

  1. "Flavourist Training Course". British Society of Flavourists. Archived from the original on 2024-01-10. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  2. 1 2 "Pamela Low, Cap'n Crunch creator, RIP". Boingboing,net, David Pescovitz, June 7, 2007. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Marquard, Bryan (7 June 2007). "Pamela Low; kin's treat inspired creation of Cap'n Crunch flavor". Boston Globe . Archived from the original on 3 June 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  4. Gregg, John P. “Love the Guilty Pleasure of Cap'n Crunch? Thank New London's Pam Low”, Valley News, 3 June 2007, p.1. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
  5. "Pamela Low, 79; created flavored coating for Cap'n Crunch cereal". LA Times, June 6, 2007. Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  6. 1 2 Umstattd, Thomas Jr. (7 November 2008). "Bob Reinhart, Inventor of Captain Crunch, Dies at Age 84". ThomasUmstattd.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Meet the Mother of Cap'n Crunch". Alumni Profiles. University of New Hampshire. Archived from the original on 2017-09-10. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  8. "Inventor of Cap 'n Crunch dead at 79". SlashFood, Huffington Post, Bob Sassone, Jun 9th 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-07-09. Retrieved 2016-04-18.