I N G R E D I E N T
BAKERY REVIEW
Flavours and Colours While colours work by increasing the visual appeal of the bakery products, flavours help bakers to develop a unique taste of the products
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hey sound a little too cosmetic, but in reality both flavours and colours serve as key ingredients in bakery products. Colours work by increasing the visual appeal of the products and this is no mean achievement. Research works have proved that when it comes to the choice of food, vision is the main sense that people use as their guide. The primary function of flavours goes even deeper. They can not only enhance the taste by neutralising the foul smell of some essential ingredients, but can also help bakers to develop a unique taste of the products. Using flavours and other ingredients in specific proportions can help bakers produce refreshing taste.
Fruits of Flavours While appearance often becomes the basis for initial choice of a product, flavour holds the key to most subsequent bakery sales. According to experts, there are several ways to derive a unique flavour in bakery production. For example, the process of baking itself – during brown reaction and caramelisation — can bring about changes
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which can add flavour to the product. The flavour may also depend on the process of fermentation. For example, breads made from sour dough or overnight sponge would have a different flavour from those made from short sponges and straight dough process. The use of different varieties of dried and preserved fruits and nuts to produce different types of flavours and finishes is also common in bakeries. And there are, of course, the flavour additives which can be natural, synthetic and imitation, with endless combinations
of all the three. Natural flavour additives can be derived from ingredients such as honey, molasses, malt syrup, ground fresh fruit, cocoa, chocolate, etc., besides from the essential oil of citrus fruits such as oil of lemon and oil of orange and vanilla extract. But natural flavour additives may not always be sufficient in large-scale production as the quantity of flavours present in fresh fruits is very small. If the flavour from the fresh fruit was to be used singly alone in the formula, large quantities of ground, sliced fruit will be necessary to bring about the desired level of flavour. This will not only unbalance the formula but will make it impracticable. If this natural flavour is fortified with synthetic flavour it will have more taste appeal than the use of natural flavours alone. Likewise, imitation flavours are not sourced from nature, but they are used to reproduce the natural flavours. But bakers need to concentrate not only in creating unique flavours for the products, but they must also simultaneously ensure
Feb-Mar ’22
