Flavor Glossary

At Mother Murphy’s we always do our best to serve you – and provide you with just what you ask for when you ask for it. Good communication is a key ingredient to good service. We offer these simple definitions of some common flavor terms to help us all communicate better.

Let us know if you have some terms you think we should add or if you have ideas to help us improve this section in any way.

Artificial
A flavor not made solely from natural ingredients.

Concentrated
A stronger version of an average flavor.

Dairy (OU-D)
That which contains dairy or dairy-derived products.

Emulsion
A flavor that is suspended in water by the use of gum or starch.

Encapsulated flavorings
Dry powders made of oleoresins and essential oils encapsulated in protective coatings of modified food starch, maltodextrin or gum arabic, providing a certain degree of protection during processing and extending the shelf life.

Extract
An alcohol-based product in which an extraction of certain raw materials has taken place.

Flavor
A substance that gives taste or enhances flavor in an existing product.

Kosher
Fit or allowed to be eaten or used according to Torah.

Maillard Reaction Flavors
Flavors formed by the reaction of precursors (permitted materials) to form complex flavors. These flavors mimic the processes used to form flavor in natural products i.e. roasting, cooking, dehydration.

Natural
A flavor derived solely from the item represented, i.e., natural lemon flavor is derived only from lemons.

Natural and Artificial (N&A)
A flavor made of both natural and artificial components.

Oil Soluble
A flavor that is compatible with oil-based products.

Pareve (OU)
That which contains neither meat non dairy.

Powder
A flavor plated on the surface of a powdered substrate.

Spray Dried (S.D.)
An encapsulated flavor that offers an extended shelf life.

Water Soluble
A flavor that is compatible with water-based products.

W.O.N.F.
A natural flavor in which other natural flavor components have been added. Stands for “with other natural flavors.”