FLORAL EXAMPLES   Honeysuckle - There are probably few people, who, as kids, did not stumble upon a Honeysuckle vine growing wild and, drawn by the aroma, pick the flower, pull the stamen and suck the sweet nectar. Honeysuckle has a sweet-edged, mild, floral, fruity flavor. It is considered to be an excellent, mild, non-characterizing floral note for fruit based dessert and dairy applications as well as for syrups and sweet sauces. Lavender as an herb has been in documented use for 25 centuries. It has moderate characterizing floral notes, mild peppery notes, lemon notes, and citrus notes. Lavender is excellent for beef, lamb, and pork dishes as holds up well with strong savory notes and highlights the deeper notes of baked and grilled meats. Lavender provides subtle enhancements to seafood flavors, particularly fin fish and to vegetable dishes where it adds floral dimension to vegetable notes. Orange Blossoms impart, as the name implies, strongly characteristic highly-floral perfumy notes and citrusy notes, pungent and sweet. The perfumy and citrusy notes make orange highly effective with savory flavors from stir-fry to grilled meats including lamb, beef, pork and chicken. The citrus notes also compliment seafood flavors. Orange blossomy notes are used in desserts from cookies and cakes to sorbet to ice cream. Rose is the quintessential floral note but also covers a wide spectrum: the deeper the color the stronger the floral notes. The older the variety the stronger the floral notes thus rose is most often considered a characterizing floral note with sweet notes and spicy notes. The lighter colored, more recent varieties Classic uses include teas, vinegars, syrups jams and jellies cakes and desserts.

Florals: The Flavors of Sophisticated Palates

The introduction of herbs and, by extension, flowers to cooking is not a new phenomenon. Herbs and perennials are mentioned in the Bible as foods, food flavorings, as well as medicines. Lavender has been a favorite herb for centuries – and has been in documented use for over 2,500 years. An early recorded mention of flowers in culinary use dates to 140 B.C. Many different cultures have incorporated flowers into their traditional foods. The practice was widespread during the Middle Ages and was popular throughout the Victorian era. Oriental dishes make use of daylily buds, the Romans used mallow, roses, and violets, Italian and Hispanic cultures gave us stuffed squash blossoms, and Asian Indians use rose petals in many recipes.

The American palate has become increasingly more discerning. Our affluence has allowed us to travel to foreign lands and learn new foods and flavors. Additionally, America has been the welcoming ground for peoples of virtually every culture on earth. Those cultures have brought new flavors and food fragrances. As a nation America has probably the most sophisticated, wide-ranging palate in the world.

Not only are the flavor expectations of Americans not going to diminish any time soon, they are going to continue to increase. Product developers will need to dig deeper into their bag of tricks to respond with products that achieve parity with Americans’ expectations. Floral notes are one answer; actually a very big answer.

Ottens Flavors offers a range of Floral flavors that can add new flavor dimensions to your products. Use them as background flavors to create more memorable and exciting products.

Contact us today to find out more.

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