Flavor Extracts For Beverages
As consumers demand beverages that are naturally sourced, low in sugar and calories, formulators need to be ready to meet these new consumer guidelines. Flavor extracts can help beverage manufacturers do just that.
Unlike juices and concentrates, pure extracts do not contain any sugar. As a result, they are the ideal ingredient for heightening and balancing a recipe without adding any additional sweetness.
1. They’re More Versatile
Extracts are versatile ingredients that can help beverage creators create unique, delicious flavors. They can enhance a wide variety of foods and beverages, from cakes, cookies, and frostings to smoothies, shakes, cocktails, and coffee and tea drinks.
Extracts add a deep, intense flavor to recipes without changing their texture or consistency. Because they are based on natural products, extracts can help beverage brands meet consumer demand for flavor extracts for beverages natural, clean-label ingredients. Extracts made from botanicals like ginkgo biloba, green tea, and ginseng can align with customers’ searches for functional benefits in their beverages.
As a whole, extracts are more flexible than juices or concentrates. They can be adjusted to achieve different levels of intensity, heat processing tolerance, and stability, which allows beverage makers to formulate to their specific needs.
For recipes that require low or no heat, such as ice cream, pudding, parfaits, marshmallows and whipped cream, we recommend using our all-natural and water-soluble extracts. Water and oil-soluble suspensions are more neutral, superior carriers than alcohol, and they do not impart added flavor or evaporate as quickly when exposed to heat – so they don’t “bake-out” as traditional alcohol-based extracts do.
Our flavor extracts are also heat stable, so they’ll stay robust even through the beverage production process and throughout the shelf-life of your finished product. Because they are a natural product, they also work well in cold-processed beverages.
2. They’re Healthier
When developing a new beverage, the most important attribute to consider is taste. While other factors like price and healthfulness may be important to consumers, they won’t keep them coming back if the product doesn’t satisfy their cravings. Fortunately, using extracts can help developers create delicious products without adding unnecessary sugar, calories or artificial ingredients.
Unlike juices, extracts are more stable than other flavor components, helping to ensure the integrity of your finished product. Additionally, if you’re looking to add functional properties to your beverage, extracts provide the perfect platform to explore a variety of options. There are natural herbal and botanical extracts that can deliver a wide range of benefits to your product, including the addition of vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals.
For example, a flavored water that uses cherry extract and almond extract can provide a refreshing summer drink with a balanced, crowd-pleasing profile. There’s also an option that combines lemon extract with raspberry extract to capture the essence of springtime. The citrus notes of the lemon extract complement the tart freshness of the raspberries to enhance any beverage concept. Similarly, the smooth nuances of banana extract pair well with the refreshing burst of strawberry for a flavor blend that captures the spirit of summer.
3. They’re More Consistent
Walk down the baking aisle at any grocery store and you’ll find a wall of bottles, vials and boxes of extracts. Many people associate them with baking, but they also work well in drinks. Unlike flavored liquors and bitters, extracts generally consist of only one flavor, so you only need a few drops to add a big punch of taste.
Using a process known as “extraction,” manufacturers pull the essence of natural ingredients, such as spices and herbs, and suspend them in a base to preserve and retain their characteristics. This helps them last longer, and gives formulators the flexibility they need to customize their beverage formulations.
While a lot of the flavoring industry has gone the cheap route by cutting corners in manufacturing, that can often lead to inconsistent results and poor performance. By using the highest baking flavoring quality ingredients, extracts and concentrates deliver consistent, reliable flavor across a wide range of formulation conditions.
In addition to their versatility, extracts are a great choice for beverages because they are water-soluble and much more heat stable than other flavoring options. Flavors suspended in an alcohol base will affect the freezing point of any recipe they are used in, but extracts for beverages can be added to all types of drinks – from coffee to tea, cold drinks like sparkling waters and juices, as well as smoothies and shakes.
4. They’re More Flexible
Extracts can help beverage formulators add flavor profiles without introducing too much volatility. This is because they’re typically a lower-volume solution than syrups, and because they’re made with a higher-grade ingredient, they are less likely to contribute astringent or off-note flavors that can affect the stability of finished products.
In addition to their flexibility, extracts can help beverage brands align with consumers’ growing desire for “clean label” ingredients. For example, natural extracts that offer added functional benefits like increased focus or immunity are moving from the specialized nutraceutical market into beverages—both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.
While you may be familiar with the use of extracts in baking, they’re also a great way to add flavor and elevate cocktails, mocktails, water, and coffee or tea drinks. And unlike bulky pump bottles of syrup, they take up very little space in your pantry.
When developing your next recipe, consider working with a supplier who uses all-natural ingredients that are sourced from premium sources and never contain any FD&C synthetic dye colors. Then, choose an extract that will play a supporting role, rather than standing out as the main flavor. That way, you can ensure your finished product is clean, consistent, and versatile.