Cost - Effective Flavor Evaluations One of the most common questions we get asked daily is, “how do we evaluate flavors or extracts?” Understandably, most retailers, or soon to be retailers feel they need to make a full batch, freeze and taste. While this process presents the end product for evaluation it is inherently wasteful of your time and resources, two things that are precious to your bottom line. Additionally, the majority of prospective business owners do not have a commercial location or equipment to run the trial. So, what are some of the options?
1. Half & Half Plus Sugar Method 2. Actual Mix Method 3. Scaled Down Batch Method To begin, let’s cover converting US fluid ounces to milliliters as this will be utilized for scaling down the flavor or extract portion of the exercise. This is important as the majority of food products in the American market are measured in Gallons, Fluid Ounces, Weight Ounces and Pounds, while the rest of the World and scientific community utilizes the Metric system, Liters, Milliliters and Grams. Please see below: 1 Fluid Ounce = 29.5735 Milliliters
Half & Half Method For customers that do not have equipment or mix, you can test flavor profiles in a sugar and dairy mixture. This method is substantially less expensive than using an actual frozen dessert mix and can be used for extensive or large scale flavor testing. Start by mixing the below: 880 grams of Half & Half 120 grams of granulated sugar Use a scientific scale and 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup and stir vigorously until all the sugar is dissolved. Then measure off 4 Cups (32 Fluid Ounces) into a separate container. This mixture mimics the dairy fat and sucrose levels in a common frozen dessert mix. Now, look at your flavor/extract usage recommendations. Let’s assume that the extract calls for 2 fluid ounces for every 2.5 gallons of mix. To calculate the flavor usage see below: 128 Fluid Ounces per Gallon 320 Fluid Ounces in 2.5 Gallons 322 Fluid Ounces Total 2 fluid Ounces/322 fluid ounces = .62% Now back to the 32 ounces (4 Cups) of Half & Half and sugar in the separate container.
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