Flavour plays an important role in the consumption and acceptance of food and in the quality of life in general. The importance of flavour in food with regard to its palatability is well-known, but its value to digestion and metabolism must not be overlooked. The flavour and taste of food stimulate salivary flow and acid digestion.

Not only must food be palatable to be accepted in adequate amounts over a prolonged time, it must also be presented in sufficient variety to achieve a balanced and nutritionally adequate diet. These aspects are largely a function of flavour. Therefore flavourings are an essential constituent of human food.

The appreciation of flavour varies from region to region due partly to cultural and genetic differences and partly to the local availability of foods and food flavourings.

The increase in the world’s population and the movement of people from rural areas to towns resulted in life-style changes and the need for a more formalised food supply structure. This developed into the food industry.

Most of the daily food intake, even in industrialised countries, is freshly prepared and its flavour is either intrinsic or formed during cooking. However, in line with increasing demand for convenience, there is a growing range of industrially prepared foods. The addition of scientifically developed flavourings is needed to compensate for the loss of flavour during the processing of such foods.

Another result of urbanisation and our modern way of life is the demand for snacks, soft drinks, desserts, confectionery and so on. This sort of food would be most uninteresting without the addition of flavourings.

Flavourings are highly concentrated mixtures of different ingredients combined together to recreate the desired flavour. The ingredients used may be grouped into the following categories:

• Natural aromatic raw materials, such as natural fruit juices, spices and herbs
• Natural flavour concentrates, such as natural citrus oils, spice extracts, fruit juice concentrates
• Flavouring substances with a defined chemical structure and flavouring properties. These substances are further subdivided into three groups: natural substances, nature-identical substances and artificial substances

Flavourings are not to be compared to nor confused with food additives. Flavourings are self-limiting in use – they have such a strong impact on taste that they cannot be “over dosed” as this would make the food inedible.

The flavourist’s art of creating flavourings – combining different substances in a way that meets the demands of the food manufacturer and the consumer – requires tremendous expertise and skills. Without these flavourings many of our gastronomic pleasures would be greatly reduced.