Hawaiian Shave Ice Pointer #8 (Flavors- Nat & Art)

[ShaveIce]

Hello all, this pointer will be about using natural vs artificial flavoring.

As some of you may have noticed, there has been a huge spike with vendors offering natural flavorings to their existing menu or only offering natural flavors. Here is a break down on the types of flavors out there:

True Natural Flavors: Purely natural flavors should not contain any artificial ingredients nor should it be made with anything other than the natural fruit itself. Puree and certain extracts are examples.

Natural Flavors: Natural derived flavors meaning that there are flavors that are made with natural ingredients but not necessarily the actual natural fruit itself. There are a bunch of plants and colors that can resemble the real smell and taste of a strawberry without the real strawberry being involved. Most suppliers like us a provide natural flavors. It is much more shelf stable, easier to produce, and also cost efficient.

Natural and Artificial Mixed These type of flavors are a blend of both. Take blue raspberry for example. Raspberries don't come in blue, however by adding blue coloring they can produce a blue raspberry using natural raspberry ingredients. Many suppliers will also add natural flavorings into their artificial. A flavor like lime could be made with artificial lime and natural lime ingredients. This produces a smoother taste. Many juices sold in the super market are also made this way.

Artificial: Artificial flavors are just purely artificial. Flavors like bubblegum, cotton candy, and melona are usually purely artificial meaning they are made using a composition of various chemicals and colors.

In the next pointer, we will discuss the pros and cons of each type of flavoring.