Strawberry flavour is a go-to for many food manufacturers globally, and is one of the most popular flavours in the world, just after chocolate and vanilla. What makes it so special and delicious is its sweet profile and how the flavour itself interacts with our taste buds.
In this article, we will be highlighting the primary profiles of strawberry flavour, the best flavour combinations to use alongside strawberry flavour, as well as what applications you can use strawberry flavour in.
What does Strawberry Flavour taste like?
Taste is subjective; when you bite into a bright red, ripe and juicy strawberry most people think along the same lines in terms of profile. However it is not exactly the same between person to person.
Generally, an ‘in season’ strawberry would be described as fruity and green with the slightest acidic tang. Mix a fresh strawberry with some sugar and water and add heat, and the strawberry changes into jam which also alters the profile into a ‘jammy’ strawberry – something that is sweeter, less acidic and more juicy. Alternatively, bite into a chewy strawberry sweet and the profile is ‘confectionery-type’ – the profile being less fresh/green and more artificial tasting.
At Plant-Ex, our flavourists have worked hard in order to capture the various profiles of a strawberry, creating useable flavours available as natural or artificial, liquid or powder.
| 🍓 Strawberry flavour is one of the most popular flavours in a lot of ‘sweet’ applications, after chocolate and vanilla! |
Flavour Profiles of a Strawberry:
The flavour profile of strawberry can be generally categorized into four key groups: creamy, fresh/ green, confectionery-type and floral. Each category is suited to a different application, which we will talk through in this blog post, in order to help you make the best selection of flavour for your product.
- Creamy
- Fresh/ Green
- Confectionery
- Jammy
- Floral
The Difference Between Each Flavour Profile
To better understand each flavour profile and help customers understand the importance of selecting the right profile for their product, we speak through the differences in profiles.
Creamy Strawberry
A ‘creamy strawberry flavour’ emulates the profile of strawberries and cream. There are a few fatty notes which contribute to a creamy mouthfeel, and overall the flavour is more vanilla-y when compared to a fresh strawberry.
This profile of strawberry flavour is best suited to dairy applications. This is because the dairy further contributes to the mouthfeel, and react with the aroma chemicals in order to give the most out of the flavour. Examples of applications our NPD Team recommends are milkshakes, ice creams or even whey protein.
| 🍓 Think strawberries and cream when trying to imagine this flavour |
Fresh Strawberry
Imagine being at a farmers market on a sunny spring morning, seeing a punnet of bright red and juicy looking strawberries and helping yourself to one… Overall they are sweet and juicy, green and have a slight acidic tang.
Our flavourists have used their years of experience in order to balance aroma chemicals in order to replicate the fresh strawberry flavour. Taste it, close your eyes and you’ll be right back at that farmers market!
Application-wise, a fresh strawberry flavour is best suited to products that are not too sweet, such as tonic waters. Too much sweetness in the application may take away from the perceived ‘naturalness’ this profile brings.
| 🍓 Fresh strawberries are one of life’s more simple pleasures… |
Confectionery-Type Strawberry
The profile of a confectionery-type strawberry flavour is fruity, artificial and slightly jammy – overall, it is not characteristic of a fresh strawberry. The flavour is almost exaggerated to emulate the nostalgic ‘strawberry bubble gum’ flavour we all loved as children.
Although typically you would associate a confectionery-type strawberry as being artificial, Plant-Ex have also created natural versions of this flavour profile in order to give customers different options for their labelling.
Our NPD team would recommend using a confectionery-type strawberry flavour in cocktail mixes, gummy sweets and other products where the consumer does not mind a more ‘artificial’ profile.
| 🍓 Think of how strawberry taste like in a candy when trying to imagine this flavour |
Jammy Strawberry
Strawberry jam is made by simply heating sugar, water and strawberries, resulting in a profile of sweet, ripe and slightly tart strawberries. Jammy strawberry is the most popular type of profile offered by Plant-Ex because they tick every ‘flavour note’ box and generally are suited to most applications.
| 🍓 Bakeries make the best strawberry tarts, which perfectly describes the profile of a jammy strawberry flavour |
Floral Strawberry
If you go to a ‘pick-your-own’ farm and head to the strawberry section, you’ll notice just how fragrant the strawberries are – not only the strawberries themselves, but also the strawberry flowers on the plant. This overall fragrance describes the profile of a floral strawberry flavour. It has all the same notes as a fresh and ripe strawberry, but with added delicate floral notes. This can often contribute to an even more ‘natural’ profile, and therefore would be best suited to applications that aren’t overly sweet.
We’d best recommend using a floral strawberry flavour in a product such as a tonic water or a strawberry spritz, where you want to include a fragrant strawberry flavour but don’t want too much sweetness within your product.
| 🍓 Floral strawberry flavour is best described as light and delicate |
Where can I use Strawberry flavour?
Click on the links below to see where we have used our various strawberry flavours.
Bakery:
You can use all different profiles of strawberry flavour for bakery items.
To flavour a buttercream on top of a cupcake, we’d suggest a creamy strawberry flavour. This is because the dairy notes pair very well with the mouthfeel of fat-based frostings.
Macarons are a French delicacy, so need a delicate flavour to go alongside this. Plant-Ex recommends using a floral strawberry flavour for this. The subtle floral notes balance nicely with the ground almonds used to make macarons; neither of the flavours are too overpowering for a small mouthful!
Looking to use a jammy strawberry flavour? The obvious choice would be to include this in pastries or a jam tart. However, this profile would also suit shortbread biscuits.
Check more details about the applications: Cupcake, Macarons
Confectionery:
The obvious choice for most confectionery products is to choose a confectionery-type strawberry flavour profile.
However, if you’re making products such as strawberry milk bottle sweets we’d recommend a creamy strawberry flavour profile, as it gives the dairy notes as well as the strawberry notes.
Check more details about the applications: Hard boiled candy, Gummy Bears
Beverage:
Generally, most beverage manufacturers use depictable flavours, so the flavour profile best suited to these drinks is a fresh strawberry profile.
Check out our iced tea applications below for inspiration of where to use a strawberry flavour!
Link to Plant-Ex’s Beverage Applications : Green Iced Tea, Black iced Tea
Fruit Preparation:
The go-to flavour profile of a fruit prep or jam is a jammy strawberry flavour. The top note perfectly compliments the back notes and sweetness given by the jam.
Alternatively, try a floral strawberry flavour profile for something a little different…. very decadent!
Check more details about the applications: Complimented with Shade strawberry
Dairy:
Dairy products suit a variety of strawberry flavour profiles; whether you’re looking to make a natural sorbet requiring a fresh strawberry flavour, or an ice lolly with a confectionery-type profile, we’ve done it all at Plant-Ex!
Check more details about the applications: Yoghurt, Yoghurt base, Ice lollies, Slushies, and Sorbets
What Flavours goes best with Strawberry?
Here are some of the best flavours that go with Strawberry:
- Vanilla: Vanilla is an obvious choice to pair alongside strawberry – both flavours are extremely popular, and chemically contain similar aroma chemicals!
- Banana: Banana and strawberry are both fruity flavours that are commonly used in desserts and sweets alongside one another. The esters from the strawberry flavour give a fruity sweetness that balance nicely alongside the creamy lactones from banana flavour, overall giving a combined harmonious sensation!
- Raspberry: You’d eat strawberries and raspberries together in your granola, so why wouldn’t you pair a strawberry flavour alongside a blueberry flavour? The chemical composition of both a raspberry flavour and strawberry flavour are very similar, naturally because they’re both red berries. A delicious combination that would be loved by all!
- Cream: Using a creamy strawberry flavour profile but want to boost the creamy note? Why not add a cream flavour to your product?! These products generally pair very well together as we have discussed in in this blog post already.
The profiles of a flavour really do have an effect on the taste of your end product. For more information on flavour profiles, please get in touch by emailing us on sales@plant-ex.com.
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