Summary of Spices, Flavors and Their Classification
I. Spices
Spices are chemical substances that can be perceived by the sense of smell or taste. They possess pleasant aromas, have a certain degree of volatility at room temperature, and exhibit low toxicity.
Classification of Spices:
1. Natural Spices: These are divided into animal natural spices (such as musk, civet, castoreum, and ambergris) and plant natural spices (such as rose oil, jasmine concrete, and cinnamon oil).
Production methods: steam distillation, extraction, absorption, and pressing.
Forms of existence: essential oils, absolutes, tinctures, concretes, and resinoids.
2. Isolated (or Natural Isolate) Spices: These are monomeric spice compounds isolated from natural spices using physical or chemical methods.
Properties: Plant natural spices are mixtures, whereas isolated spices can be regarded as pure substances. For example, coriander seed oil is a plant natural spice, while linalool is an isolated spice.
Characteristics: They have the best quality, but their yield is relatively low.
3. Synthetic Spices: These are spices synthesized from basic chemical raw materials through relatively complex chemical reactions. They are divided into semi-synthetic spices and fully synthetic spices.
Fully synthetic spices have a wide range of raw material sources, but their synthesis is difficult.
Semi-synthetic spices have a simpler synthesis route, but their raw materials are limited.
II. Flavors
A flavor is a mixture prepared by blending two or more spices in a certain proportion. The process of preparing a flavor is called "compounding" or "perfumery."
(I) Classification of Flavors
1. Classification by Physical Form:
(1) Water-Soluble Flavors: All components can be dissolved in lower alcohols. They commonly use 40%~60% ethanol solution or propylene glycol as solvents. They are widely used in food flavors and daily-use fragrances.
(2) Oil-Soluble Flavors: All components are dissolved in oily solvents. The oily solvent can be natural oils and fats (such as peanut oil, rapeseed oil) or organic solvents (such as benzyl alcohol).
(3) Emulsion Flavors: Emulsifiers are added to enable the originally water-insoluble spices to form a stable emulsion in water. Their composition includes emulsifiers (such as gum arabic, Tween), stabilizers (such as pectin, gelatin, sodium alginate), preservatives (such as sodium benzoate, sorbic acid, citric acid), colorants (required to be non-toxic and water-soluble), a flavor base (a mixture of various added spices), a weighting agent (such as glyceryl abietate), and antioxidants (such as BHA, BHT, VE).
(4) Powdered Flavors: Various spices, carriers, and other raw materials are mixed uniformly and ground into a powder.
2. Classification by Application:
(1) Food Flavors: including flavors for food, tobacco, alcoholic beverages, and pharmaceuticals.
(2) Daily-Use Fragrances: including fragrances for cosmetics, perfumes, soaps, and toothpastes.
(3) Other Types of Flavors: used in plastics, rubber, leather, paper, inks, and other specialty applications.
(II) Composition of Flavors
According to the different roles of each spice component in the flavor, they can be divided into:
Primary Odorant (or Main Odorant): Constitutes the main body of the flavor's aroma. For example, geraniol, citronellol, and phenylethyl alcohol are primary odorants in rose flavors.
Blender (or Harmonizer): Harmonizes the aromas of various spices, making the aroma of the primary odorant more prominent. For example, nerol can serve as a blender in rose flavors.
Modifier: Makes the flavor's aroma more varied and prevents it from being monotonous. For example, linalool can serve as a modifier in rose flavors.
Fixative: Ensures the uniform evaporation of various spice components in the flavor, making the aroma more long-lasting. Various animal natural spices are excellent fixatives. Plant natural spices such as Peru balsam, orris root resinoid, and sandalwood oil, as well as synthetic musks, acetophenone (or similar crystalline fixatives), vanillin, and coumarin, are also good fixatives.
(III) Volatility of Flavors
During the different evaporation stages of a flavor, the aroma can be divided into:
Top Note: The initial aroma perceived by the sense of smell, lasting less than 2 hours on a smelling strip.
Heart (or Middle) Note: The main body aroma immediately perceived after the top note fades, lasting 2~6 hours on a smelling strip.
Base (or End) Note: The final aroma remaining after the top and heart notes have evaporated, lasting more than 6 hours on a smelling strip.
(IV) Composition of the Main Odor Body
Typically, the heart note is determined first, followed by the top note and base note.
Top note spices generally account for about 20%~30%,
Heart note spices account for about 20%~30%,
Base note spices account for about 20%~30%.
