Applications of natural ingredients in savoury food products - Natural Food Additives, Ingredients and Flavourings - page 293

or woody' fl avour, too high a level of chilli or cayenne can give a 'raw heat'
fl avour, and too high a level of ground or rubbed herb can give a bitter fl avour.
• Undesirable colour can result from over-use of ground spices and herbs, for
example green colour from ground herbs and brown colour from ground spices.
Replacement by coarser particles or by spice and herb extracts can alleviate
this problem.
• Undesirable functional effects. For example too much of an acidic ingredient
such as tomato or lemon can break down the muscle structure of meats. Too
much sulphur-containing vegetable powders such as onion or garlic can cause
red meat to develop a grey or darker colour.

Compounded natural fl avours may fall into this block or even into the savoury or
umami ingredient section as they can contain a mixture of savoury ingredients
also including natural top note fl avours.

Block E: Decoration or visual effect
The savoury product is almost complete and ingredients are now added that
provide visual effects. It is often said that we eat with our eyes and the value of
this set of ingredients cannot be underestimated. For example, who can fail to be
attracted by the brightly multi-coloured Japanese sushi? Table 13.5 shows some
of the natural colours we now use in our natural savoury products. Most of these
natural colours now have E numbers and levels of use are regulated in the EU by
Regulation (EC) No. 1333/2008 (EC 2008) on food additives.
The use of natural colours in most savoury products is self-evident although
there are several challenges to the food developer in their use.
•

Cost . Compared with artifi cial colours there is a much greater cost implication
in using natural colours, which also are subject to wide market-driven cost
fl uctuations.

•

Instability . Compared with artifi cial colours the natural alternatives are much
more unstable, for example, curcumin colour can vary from bright yellow to
brick red with pH. The stability of anthocyanins is affected by pH, temperature
and light. Betanin is affected by heat turning from red to brown. Paprika
colour is destroyed by heat and light. In some cases the instability may be
overcome by either specifi c formulation of the food product, for example, to
buffer the pH or to include natural antioxidants such as rosemary extract
with the colour. Laleh et al. (2006) discuss the instability of anthocyanins in
further detail.

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• Interpretation . Some natural colours are perceived as being more natural than

others. For example, cochineal - once accepted as a natural red colour - is
being replaced by alternatives such as beetroot and paprika.

The incorporation of particulates into a savoury food product along with added
colour can enhance the product to give greater appeal to consumers. Rubbed or
kibbled herbs, whole or cracked spices and minced or kibbled vegetables can all
give enhanced visual attraction and give the impression of a 'premium' product.