Cheese Flavors Combat Rising Dairy Prices

The past year has proven difficult for dairy. A convergence of market forces, including increases in animal-feed prices, expanding Asian dairy consumption, depleting European cattle stocks and droughts in Oceania, have created a steady rise in dairy prices. This increase will likely continue to ripple through the industry.

In response, Flavor Dynamics, Inc., (FDI) has designed a new line of premium cheese enhancers and extenders to completely or partially replace cheese. The Artisan Cheese Flavor Line includes liquid and dry natural flavors, labeled as such, that impart the nuances of dozens of different cheeses in snacks, soups, sauces, gravies and salad dressings.

“FDI developed these products with cost points in mind relative to the marketplace’s rising prices,” says Dolf DeRovira, president. “This line covers a broad range of cheeses that were created with an array of potential applications in mind. This allows us to help food producers regardless of their ingredient’s use—from lower-cost, high-volume cheeses to premium cheeses that are used in lower amounts. The line was developed to provide a premium of quality at an optimal cost, so we paid specific attention to the detailed nuances of each product’s flavor profile to ensure that these flavors can act as optimal replacements, enhancers or extenders.”

Cheese is a complex flavor system that includes not only volatile elements, but also nonvolatile and more-elusive flavor components, including mouthfeel characteristics, proteinaceous attributes, umami taste components and nuances provided by the cheese’s aging process, culturing, milk type, and mineral and vitamin content. This complexity required a multifaceted approach to properly develop the line’s flavors. FDI replaced taste components using ingredients such as hydrolyzates, autolyzates, amino acids, proteins, and other tastants and enhancers. The company paid special attention to using natural techniques and ingredients to maintain the product’s integrity as a natural product with a true flavor profile.

Use of these highly concentrated flavors can reduce a producer’s cheese-related expenditures significantly—in some cases by more than 50%. Bulking agents are used along with the flavors per each application’s requirements. The flavor ingredient’s color can be adjusted per customer requirements.

“Our goal with this line is to allow producers to cut costs without cutting quality,” continues DeRovira. “We believe that this line will allow companies to do just that—maintain the integrity of their gold-standard ideations and market-ready products while guarding against the volatility of the marketplace.”

Flavor Dynamics, Inc.
640 Montrose Ave.
South Plainfield, NJ 07080 
Phone: 888/271-8424 
E-mail: [email protected] 
Website: www.flavordynamics.com