Natural & Artificial Flavors

[ShiniKoroshi]

Some resources.....

The Good Scents Company is a flavor information database.

Apex Flavors good source for "standardized" extracts and other "natural" flavors.

The Perfumer's Apprentice - SPEC SHEETS & COMPONENTS the link on the right of each line (list) is a spec sheet of what is in the flavor. This information is either from articles written by Gerard Mosciano, which can be found in various issues of Perfumer & Flavorist magazine or though their own analysis using Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry.

Then we can look into Leffingwell's Book - Tobacco Flavoring for Smoking Products which most are familiar with.

Bull City Flavors also provides a use guide at the bottom of each flavor.

Abstrax Tech sells isolated terpenes. These have become widely available due to the alternative smoking product industry. Terpenes are a major flavor/aroma component.




Disclaimer: This information is posted for entertainment purposes. Your health is your responsibility, DO YOU OWN DUE DILIGENCE!

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

Trying to piece this together from memory and links across several devices collected over the past 6 months. The terpene link isn't the one I intended which Ill post when I find it again. Another find that I lost is breakthrough medical science (NIH) from this year of the exact cause of lung cancer. Its a long-known fungus from Asia that was an unproven cause until now. The fungus alters DNA to switch off the immune system from recognizing and eradicating cancer in the body, particularly the lungs where it enters. But I digress.......

Going back to The Perfumer's Apprentice, the material list provided for each product differs from the formal SDS because because trade secrets are omitted from the public filing. Unfortunately, transparency has yet to become a trend at the manufacturer level. Anyhow, we can see from the offerings that there are differences and hidden gems. For example....


Absinthe Flavor **

COMPONENT​	CAS​	Type​	Range​	Description​
Ethyl Alcohol	64-17-5	-ol group	>= 75% and < 100%	no taste
Star Anise Essential Oil	68952-43-2	n/a	>= 10 and < 30%	sweet, anise and fennel with a full-bodied eweetness and an herbal nuance
ISOAMYL ALCOHOL	123-51-3		>= .5% and < 1%	fusel, fermented, fruity, banana, etherial and cognac
Eucalyptol	470-82-6		<0.5%	eucalyptus herbal camphor

Absinthe Flavor Concentrate

COMPONENT​	CAS​	Type​	Range​	Description​
Star Anise Essential Oil	68952-43-2	n/a	100%	anise

Absinthe II Flavor

COMPONENT​	CAS​	Type​	Range​	Description​
Propylene Glycol	57-55-6	diol	>= 30% and < 50%	no taste
Anise Oil	8007-70-3	n/a	>= 5 and < 10%	anise
Ethyl Alcohol	64-17-5	-ol group	>= 5 and < 10%	no taste

Its the same flavor but it isn't. For our hypothetical uses the exact ingredients are very important! Assuming something like "chocolate flavors contain cocoa" is totally incorrect and will provide nothing but frustration. Once we know the exact ingredients we can look them up in the Tobacco Flavor book to get more information. CAS numbers provided allows for more specific research for important things like toxicity, allergens and such. BTW- nice find on the undiluted pure Star Anise Oil.

 

[TigerTom]

A few interesting articles I found on a cursory search. While none seemed to point to a specific fungus or its geographical origin (admittedly, I didn't dig too deeply into them), they all discuss connections between fungal infections and cancer or tumors.

Fungi and tumors: The role of fungi in tumorigenesis (Review)

Role of Fungal Infections in Carcinogenesis and Cancer Development: A Literature Review

The Intricate Relationship between Fungal Infections and Cancer: Unveiling the Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications

 

[deluxestogie]

Let's please not stray from flavorings, into medical opinions and advice. There are many, many "causes" of cellular alterations that lead to malignancies.

Bob

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

A few interesting articles I found on a cursory search. While none seemed to point to a specific fungus or its geographical origin (admittedly, I didn't dig too deeply into them), they all discuss connections between fungal infections and cancer or tumors.

Fungi and tumors: The role of fungi in tumorigenesis (Review)

Role of Fungal Infections in Carcinogenesis and Cancer Development: A Literature Review

The Intricate Relationship between Fungal Infections and Cancer: Unveiling the Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications

Thank you for the interesting links and my apologies for that poorly worded section that should have been prefaced with "Note to Self" as it was an incomplete thought I was jotting down as a reminder to look for that article (actually 3 and a paragraph in an early 20th century book). Ill save these for another thread.

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

For those who prefer pure extracts and other natural ingredients, the additional government oversight works in your favor here (for once). TTB Approved Ingredients: What You Need to Know

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

Flavor companies come in all types. Some are marketed toward end users and some marketed toward industry. For purposes of modifying PH and lifting/suppressing particular notes it is important to know the ingredients. Natural Anise Oil and Pure Anise Extract are entirely two different ingredients though both are "natural". If we were concerned only with taste and aroma it wouldn't matter much. Chemistry wise it is vital to know the difference. This is why I prefer the TTB approved flavors because there is more transparency and the products are presented in a manner that is beneficial to efficient experimentation.

Apex Flavors seem to be one of the better no-nonsense suppliers. In the section TTB Approved Flavors for Alcoholic Beverages we see that no only do they provide an ingredient list (SDS available upon request) there is also mixing advise. Products are somewhat standardized and use is usually below 1% which is about whats needed for casing.

And for those who have yet to find the perfect cocoa, consider this gem. Cacao Nib Extract, Natural

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

More links....

Information
All The Flavors
The Good Scents Company

Retailers
Bull City Flavors
Flavor Jungle
The Perfumer's Apprentice

Manufacturers
Flavor West
Flavorah
Nicotine River
Capella Flavors
Sobucky
Purilum
Flavor Artists
Lorann Oils
Flavour Art
Flavorika
Wonder Flavors (Canada)
Bickford Flavors

All of these flavors are highly concentrated so using metric and "drops" as a measurement simplifies the process of diluting for casing/sauce.

Below is a simple conversion chart for quick-n-easy mixing.
100 ml = 3.4 oz
10 ml = 2 teaspoons
1 ml = 20 drops
.1 ml = 2 drops
.05 ml = 1 drop

Might as will mention that these flavors are absolutely amazing in food and drink. Im not so much for flavored tobacco (except clove) but I do enjoy a tasty beverage while smoking, especially with stronger tobacco.

 

[deluxestogie]

This is so comprehensive. I've added it to our Index of Key Forum Threads.

Bob

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

This is so comprehensive. I've added it to our Index of Key Forum Threads.

Bob

Thank you Bob!

Now is a good time to mention that for my daily smokes I still use Don's Casing. Some things that have helped me is understanding that though Flue-cured is acidic its not acidic enough to sweeten its own funk when un-aged. Also, that as we add casing there will be a gradient from harsh mouth burn to sweet and past that harsh and bitey as we apply more casing. So, I dilute the #1 casing with 2 oz of water and make several light applications and sampling each time. Though it takes longer this way the end result is excellent. This is akin to tuning a race car or working up a rifle load for competition. There is a combination that brings out the best and +/- that the performance declines.