Essence is a kind of condensed aroma oil imitating fruit and natural flavor. It is artificial flavor, mainly applied in food, cosmetic and tobacco and so forth.

The first artificial essence is Vanillin made by Germany’s Doctor M and Doctor G in 1874.

Germany chocolate manufacturer applied artificial vanillin first. Hence, London’s candy plant start to make hard fruit candy. Today, various taste of fruit and fish can be composed in chemical method.

There are three circumstances for using essence: (1) Product doesn’t contain any flavor, so it depends on essence (2) Intensify or improve product flavor (3) Cover or modify product original odor by applying essence.

Edible essence can be sorted as liquid essence and solid essence. Liquid essence can be divided into water soluble essence, oil soluble essence and emulsify essence; solid essence include attaching essence and embedding essence. Liquid essence and solid essence have various performances and purposes.

Liquid essence: water soluble essence contains three components essence radicle, ethanol, and distilled water. Fit for product which don’t need heating or low temperature product, such as ice cream, juice, alcohol and some medicine and so on.

Oil soluble essence consists of essence radicle and propanediol. It can endure heating comparing with water soluble essence. So it fits for product that need processed in high temperature such as hard candy, biscuit, cake and other baking food and so on.

Emulsify essence consists of essence radicle, OPAQUE agent and distilled water. Fit for ice bar, ice cream or juice and so forth.

Solid Essence: attachable essence means simple mix of edible flavor and lactose.

Embedding essence means mix flavor and OPAQUE, embedding agent (such as edible glue and denaturalized starch and so on)

We have to notice the following points during using essence:

(1)                   Add light flavor and then add strong flavor when you have to put many essence at the same time.

(2)                   Choose proper time. It’s better to increase flavor after it is cooling or processing.

(3)                   Avoid flavor oxidation. Essence is not stable in alkaline food such as vanillin loses its flavor when it contact with sodium bicarbonate and color turns into red brown.

(4)                   Accurate dosage. Weight liquid essence accurately. Make essence distributed evenly.

Application Range and Reference Dosage

1. Oil essence fits for hard candy, biscuit and other baking food, common dosage is about 0.2%

2.Water based essence fits for soda pop, beverage, ice cream, other cold drinks, alcohol and so on, general dosage is 0.07-0.15%

3.Emulsified essence fits for soda pop, beverage and so on. General dosage is about 0.1%; thickness agent dosage is 0.08-0.12%.

4.Slurry essence fits for bottom material of soda pop and beverage, as well as applied in soda pop and beverage directly. Common dosage is 0.2-0.23% (full color), 0.05% (not full color, caramel color 0.15-0.18%)

5.Coconut powder fits for biscuit; other meat, vegetable, fowl powder fits for biscuit, expanded food, instant food and soup material, common dosage is 0.3-1%.

Alcohol essence dosage is 0.04-0.1%; essence for tea leaves, dosage is 1%. Essence for feedstuff powder is 0.5‰.