Botanical ingredients have been key components in culinary traditions worldwide for centuries, not only for their unique flavors but also for their ability to enhance and balance the taste profiles of various dishes. Spices and herbs, in particular, are powerful tools for both flavor enhancement and masking off-flavors.

Food and beverage companies across North America are grapplin FlavorModulation.comg with the challenge of developing new products that meet the complex demands of health-conscious consumers—while preserving the essence of flavor.

The clean-label and better-for-you products are moving from a niche marketplace and into the mainstream at a rapid rate. The ingredients for these new formations often have special needs, including the need for clean label bitter blockers, flavor maskers, flavor potentiators, and flavor extenders.

To attain the coveted clean-label designation, today’s “flavor helpers”—the secondary ingredients needed to mask or block a bitter aftertaste or to enhance a desired flavor (which in turn can mask off notes)—need to be derived from natural ingredients and contain no traces of solvents or similar chemicals.

Prepared Foods speaks with Cassandra Rouleau, Activation Marketing Specialist at Kerry Taste & Nutrition.