FLAVOURIST 6 Core Disciplines within Food Science Food Chemistry: Focuses on the chemical makeup of food and reactions that impact flavour, colour, and nutrition. Food Engineering: Involves designing processes to produce, package, and distribute food on a large scale efficiently. Food Microbiology: Examines microorganisms in food, focusing on foodborne pathogens and fermentation, to ensure safety and extend shelf life. Sensory Science: Investigates how food engages our senses to ensure products meet consumer preferences and quality standards. Consumer Research: Analyzes consumer behaviour and preferences to guide product development and marketing. Nutrition and Health: Explores the relationship between diet and health. Why does the food and beverage industry need the field of food science? Shelf-Life Extension: Food science allows for the development of techniques and equipment to help keep foods fresher for longer. Product Innovation: Food science drives the creation of new products helping to meet evolving consumer demands. Cultural Diversity: Food science helps scale culturally significant foods and ingredients, making them more accessible to a global audience. Food Safety: Food scientists help to prevent foodborne illnesses and protect public health. Sustainable Practices: Food science supports sustainability by reducing food waste and minimizing the environmental impact of food production through innovative processing and preservation techniques 7 creation, a flavourist can go through hundreds of iterations before finding the perfect combination. All this work takes a lot of time in the lab. 4. Flavourists Have Degrees In Science To become a flavourist, an individual generally starts by obtaining a bachelor’s degree in food science or chemistry, which provides sufficient knowledge and credentials to work as a laboratory technician or research assistant in the field. However, many flavourists also hold advanced degrees such as master’s or PhDs to further enhance their knowledge and expertise. However, to become a certified flavour chemist with the Society of Flavour Chemists (SFC) one must undertake extensive work and demonstrate substantial knowledge. This starts with an approved seven-year apprenticeship and then a written test. As an apprentice, they learn how to recognize and remember flavours in mystery solutions. For example, in one test, apprentices are tested on whether they can differentiate concentrations of sweetness at the minute level. After 5 years of being an apprentice, the candidates are required to take a written/oral test. The applicant is asked questions regarding their knowledge surrounding flavours based on a general syllabus provided by the SFC. They are considered successful if they pass with a minimum of 80%. Afterwards, they are considered a junior flavourist and train for an additional two years. You can enter the industry without the extensive apprenticeship but you will not be considered certified. 5. Flavourists Need To Follow Food Trends The popularity of flavours is constantly changing, driven by customer preferences. Various factors, such as cultural shifts, global events, and the availability of new ingredients, can impact flavour trends. Flavourists must stay updated on these trends. They can do this by attending conferences and seminars that focus on food and flavour trends. Furthermore, they can keep track of online food blogs, social media channels, and food influencers to see what people are talking about and what ingredients are trending. 6. Flavourists Are Intuitive Flavourists require a certain level of intuition when communicating with clients. Many experts in the food industry lack the vocabulary to express their desired flavour accurately. For instance, when describing ginger, it is challenging to come up with words other than ‘spicy’ or ‘sharp.’ However, flavourists are specially trained to describe ginger as flavours such as lemony, woody, earthy, and warm. This unique ability allows flavourists to understand their clients’ preferences without needing them to state them explicitly. Developing close relationships with their clients and having a high level of professionalism further enhances their intuition. 7. Flavourists Possess Exceptional Abilities In Sensing Various Smells And Tastes Although it is a given, flavourists have an excellent sense of smell and taste. They undergo rigorous training to develop their palates and olfactory senses, which allows them to detect even the slightest variations in flavour. Most flavour creation is done by smell, with the flavourist only taking a taste at the end. Flavourists combine their excellent sense of smell with their strong knowledge of flavour compounds to create the best flavours for their clients. 8. Flavourists Have A Good Memory, Strong Mathematical Skills And Are Creative As with any profession, certain skills are more advantageous for a flavourist. These skills include: • Having a good memory – A flavourist has to work with a vast array of chemicals, which requires them to have a good memory. When tasting, they must identify the flavours present and the chemicals that represent those notes without having to refer back to a manual constantly. It would take too much time to constantly refer back to a manual! • Strong mathematical skills – Flavourists need to make multiple dilutions of solutions based on the potency of a chemical. They have to be comfortable working with mathematical equations to ensure what they think of in their head matches what is in front of them. • Creativity – There is no recipe book for every single flavour out there, so it is up to the flavourist to come up with the best combination of chemicals to create a unique and delicious flavour. It is possible for two flavourists to create identical tasting flavours but composed of different components overall. FOOD SCIENCE 101: WHAT IS FOOD SCIENCE? Image by H_Ko on Adobe Stock Food Science is the study of food as a material. It combines principles from biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, and mathematics to understand the composition and behaviour of food. This knowledge enables food scientists to address real-world challenges such as extending the shelf life of foods, enhancing safety, improving flavours, and exploring the impact of food on our health. Source: Potter, N. N and Hotchkiss (2003). Food science. Springer
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