The extracts, developed using traditional extraction techniques to produce distillates, infusions and washes, are: Calabrian lemon, Italian blood orange, Italian bergamot, Sicilian blonde orange, Sicilian mandarin, Sicilian lemon and Ligurian/Sicilian chinotto.
The new extracts deliver signature flavors to products such as dairy, beverages and baked goods. Customers can add a sweet and juicy taste to their products with Sicilian blonde orange, or a complex sweet and sour note with Sicilian mandarin. For a fresh, zesty aroma with a bitter and pungent profile, they can consider Italian bergamot, which is particularly suited to tea (Earl Grey), juices and alcoholic beverage applications.
Giorgio Ferluga, technical manager, Synergy Flavours Italy, said, “Italy is world-renowned for citrus and particularly lemon, which has been cultivated here for over 1,000 years. Processing the highest quality fruits directly from nature in a sustainable way enables us to deliver natural and authentic citrus profiles that meet the specific application requirements of our customers.
“Our contracts and agreements with domestic suppliers in Italian growing regions guarantee reliable and efficient supply. Alongside this, our rich heritage and citrus know-how means we can help provide new inspiration to our customers so that they can excite consumers’ taste buds.”
Synergy has also developed its global Citrusology program, which includes a series of educational webinars to help food and beverage manufacturers explore the nuances of flavor across regions and citrus varieties. The goal of the program is to help customers find their path to provenance, whether through a natural flavor delivering a signature tone reminiscent in profile to the provenance material, or by enabling provenance declarations through named source ingredients, such as the new Italian extracts.
Vicky Berry, European business development manager, Synergy Flavours, said, “While provenance is a growing trend for consumers, manufacturers have many choices and considerations when it comes to creating a provenance-inspired citrus product. In some markets and for some consumers, using named source materials is the preference, however, there are regulations and supply considerations to be taken into account.
“There is no ‘one size fits all’ and a whole world of possibilities exist when innovating with citrus. We work collaboratively with every customer to help them to take their citrus products to a new level.”