Chocolate maltol

Chemists produce synthetic flavourings such as smoky bacon and even chocolate . Meaty flavours come from simple heterocycles such as alkyl pyrazines (present in coffee as well as roast meat) and furonol, originally found in pineapples. Compounds such as corylone and maltol give caramel and meaty flavours. Mixtures of these and other synthetic compounds can be tuned to taste like many roasted foods from fresh bread to coffee and barbecued meat. 

Maltol has antioxidant properties. It has been found to prolong storage life of coffee and roasted cereal products. Maltol is used as a flavor enhancer in chocolate and candies, ice cream, baked products, instant coffee and tea, liqueurs, and flavorings. It is used in concentrations of 50 to 250 ppm and is commercially produced by a fermentation process. 

Flavourings that are useful for aromatising bakery and chocolate food products can be made from sulphur-free amino acids by the reaction with cyclic ketones (Fig. 3.36) such as 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2//)-furanone (26), maltol (63) or 2-hydroxy-3-methyl-2-cyclopenten-l-one (64, cyclotene) [109]. Amino acids of special interest are leucine, valine, proline and hydroxyproline. The reaction is carried out favourably in fat or propylene glycol. 

Maltol naturally occurs in many foods, e.g. baked goods, cocoa, chocolate, coffee, caramel, malt, condensed milk, cereals, soy sauce, and beer ]10, 20, 21 ]. It is formed when carbohydrates are heated (Fig. 3.61). It is a white, crystalline powder with a caramel-like odour and a threshold of 35 ppm in water at 20°C ]21 ]. 

Vanillin and maltol (3-hydroxy-2-methyM-pyrone) are responsible keys for the sweet, creamy flavour of chocolate. 

Flavour enhancers and suppressers are used in low concentrations to enhance or suppress other flavours. Examples include maltol and ethylmaltol, which have a low caramel taste and enhance the sugary feeling of products furaneol, which is used with red fruits or wild fruit flavours and vanillin, which softens bitter chocolate and fruit flavours and can also enhance the perception of sweetness. In general, sucrose suppresses bitter, sour and salty tastes, for example in chocolate, and enhances fruit flavours. A further important point for ice cream is that the perception of flavour is affected by temperature flavours are less intense at low temperatures. For this reason, ice cream and water ices are generally more strongly flavoured than products consumed at warmer temperatures, such as soft drinks (Experiment 17 in Chapter 8 demonstrates this). 

Maltol, 1% petrolatum. Flavour enhancer in fruit and chocolate flavours (Taylor et al. 1996)... 

Maltol and ethyl maltol are most commonly included in this category. Both of these compounds are used to enhance sweet products. The addition of 5 to 75 ppm maltol may permit a 15% reduction of sugar in some foods [63]. It is conunon to see maltol and/or ethyl maltol used in jams, jellies, fruit, or chocolate syrups, baked goods, sweet beverages, and other sweet foods. It is of interest that maltol has been found in nature but ethyl maltol has not. 

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