Let's face it. There are stretches of time when life can be rather bland, when a routine has drained all sense of chance and impulse out of your existence. In these times, it feels as though you have lost consciousness, walking, driving, nodding hello with utter vacancy. And then, something comes along to shake you from your suspended state, an event, an action of another, and you're suddenly alive with awareness. A brilliance comes to your senses. All past moments and those to come cease to exist. You are only aware of the stimuli in your immediate surroundings.

Colloquially, this is referred to as the spice of life. Yes, those moments that bring flavor and texture to your day.

And oh, what would our world of food and beverage be without spice, seasoning and flavor. What a dreary thought, all foods white and yellowish without the faintest flavor. A nightmare! A fearsome path I wished I had never conjured!

Let us retreat then to the warmth of our laboratories, where ingredient matrices define an array of flavor, with spices and seasonings used for subtly and explosiveness alike. The work you do makes the world so much better. My goodness! Christen a fleet of gravy boats! You are setting sail all the time on a course toward new products with flavorful ingredient makeups. Go forth, wizards! The world is with you!

Enough!

Your weekly reduction!

Articles and videos concerning flavors, seasonings and spices in food product development.

2014 Flavor Forecast
McCormick & Company has unveiled its "McCormick Flavor Forecast 2014: 125th Anniversary Edition."

Flavor Innovation Center
Synergy Flavors opened its remodeled, expanded flavor development and manufacturing center in Wauconda, Ill., outside Chicago.

Natural Seafood Taste, Color
Diana, Food Division offers a wide range of sustainable, clean label fish and seafood products that deliver taste, color and health benefits.

Learning Latin
With consumers expecting new flavors that broaden their culinary horizons, many manufacturers need only look south, though admittedly fairly far south -- to the spicy and sweet cuisines of Latin America and the Caribbean.

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The Use of Flavors in Food Products

VIDEO
Driving Customer Craveability with Chef-Inspired Flavor Solutions

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