Episode 4 with Feng Shi: Inspiration for redesigning sweet experiences

Introduction by Feng Shi

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Hi, I’m Feng Shi, Category Technical Leader. Today we’ll explore together how we can find fresh sweet taste inspiration and capture flavours from novel sources.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

The attributes most impacted by sugar reduction
Discovering new flavour compounds
Identifying active flavour compounds
Capturing aroma to create authentic flavours
Discovering natural flavour modifiers in the lab

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The attributes most impacted by sugar reduction

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The attributes most impacted by sugar reduction

When sugar is reduced various attributes suffer.
This is why we’re constantly looking for new ingredients that can offset those drawbacks.

Sweet
intensity

Sugary
body and mouthfeel

Young woman eating a coated dougnut with sprinkles

Sugary body and mouthfeel

Fast
sweet onset

Flavour
top notes release

Discovering new flavour compounds

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Discovering new flavour compounds

We approach this in three key ways:

Taste treks

Exploring opportunities to discover the most unique new ingredients that have not yet been used in flavour creation.

Givaudan’s Chef’s Council

Connecting with some of the world’s most respected and renowned chefs to spot emerging trends.

External collaborations

Working alongside academic institutes worldwide to source botanicals with unique taste and functionalities.

Identifying active flavour compounds

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Identifying active flavour compounds

When a food or a plant has been identified as having interesting sensory properties, the next challenge is how to identify the molecules responsible for this effect.

What is the typical concentration of active components in plants?

Sometimes, the active components are only in the parts per million or parts per trillion range.

How can we filter out conventional compounds
to enrich the potential taste modifiers?*

Non-targeted molecule discovery through sensory guided fractionation

Targeted molecule discovery by combining human and artificial intelligence

Capturing aroma to create authentic flavours

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Capturing aromas to create authentic flavours

Some aroma molecules can be quite fragile and the freshness of the flavour profile may fade after heating
FreezeFrame® was developed to tackle this issue. But how does it work?

Freeze

Separate

Identify

The substances are identified using mass spectrometry (MS)

Some of the authentic top notes that Givaudan has been able to create using this approach include:

Lemon-lime

Watermelon

Discovering natural flavour modifiers in the lab

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Discovering natural flavour modifiers in the lab

Natural food processing can also provide inspiration for creating flavours.
Here’s how it works

Maillard reaction

A Maillard reaction is the non-enzymatic reaction between reducing sugar (carbohydrates) and amino acids (proteins). It contributes to the sensory quality of thermally processed foods