Cherry Flavors

Although many people consider them one-dimensional, boring, uncharacteristic of the true fruit, and reminiscent of cough medicines, Cherry Flavors have been among the most popular and often featured flavors in product categories since the beginning of the commercial flavor industry in the 1800’s. So why do consumers continue to demand cherry flavors and place them in the top-5 of the world’s most popular flavors? This blog will answer that and discuss...

• the composition of cherry flavors,
• a popular misconception,
• the incredible variety of cherry flavors,
• uses in a broad range of commercial products, both old and new.

First the Misconception

Many people think cherry-flavored products taste like cough syrup. The main reason for this perspective is usually rooted in their childhood experiences of taking cherry-flavored cough medicine, which taste like the active ingredients (dextromethorphan, camphor, eucalyptus oil, guaifenesin, menthol) top-noted with a benzaldehyde-heavy cherry flavor, which has proven to be the best flavor to make those medicines palatable, forget about tasty. Though this unpleasant memory may not be erasable, I can assure you that cherry-flavored candies, soft drinks, and other beverages do not contain such off-flavored active ingredients, which are difficult to mask with any flavors.

A Uniquely Identifiable Character

What probably has made cherry flavors so historically popular are their instantly identifiable character, which is due to the presence of one ingredient, Benzaldehyde. In fact, some would say that without a fair dose of it, a cherry flavor has little appeal. This is because, depending on the cherry cultivar (500+ known and 20 commercially available), benzaldehyde is present at 15% to almost 40% of the total volatile content. By comparison, two other important volatile compounds in cherries (there are more than 30 volatile compounds in a cherry), linalool (0.2 to 1.1%) and eugenol (2.0 to 13.7%), are present at much lower levels, depending on the varietal. Though sometimes very small amounts of a chemical have a huge impact on the overall flavor profile, in the case of cherry, benzaldehyde dominates and provides its unique character. This fact makes it relatively easy (versus blueberry or strawberry, as examples) for a flavorist to create an easily identifiable cherry flavor profile and a solid structure on which to hang other volatile compounds to add nuance and achieve profiles of various real or fanciful cherry varietals.

A Broad Range of Cherry Flavor Profiles

Cherry trees are hardy and have grown for thousands of years in moderate climates all around the world. As you may expect, such has given rise to a huge selection of both tart and sweet cherry varietals, many with unique flavor profiles. In abelei’s flavor library there are hundreds of cherry flavor formulas covering these popular varietals:

Acerola

Bing

Black (Chelan)

Black Tartarian

Bordeaux

Dark

Emperor

Luxardo

Montmorency

Morello

Rainier

Red

Royal Ann

Stella

Tulare

Van

Wild

Available in Liquid, Powder, N&A, Natural, Non-GMO, Organic, Whole Foods Compliant, Allergen-Free, Kosher, Halal and other forms.

In addition, most cherry flavor profiles play well in combination with other Fruit (Banana, Mango), Sweet-Brown (Chocolate, Toffee), Spice (Basil, Thyme), Vegetable (Cucumber, Pepper) and Floral (Hibiscus, Rose) flavors. For a more complete listing of such Cherry flavor pairings, please see the charts in our very popular blog on flavor pairings.

Uses of Cherry Flavors in Product Applications

There are many different types of beverage and food applications in which abelei cherry flavors are currently used. Among these are …

Beverage Syrups

Canned Cocktails

Cough & Cold Remedies

Frozen Yogurts

Fruit Preps

Gummy Candies

Hard Candies

Hard Seltzers

Juices

Popsicles

Pressed Tablets

RTD Teas

Sparkling Waters

Tea Leaves

Vodka & Other Spirits

Looking for a Cherry Flavor?

If you would like to discuss your interest in standard or custom cherry flavor profiles for your specific new product development project, please click on the Schedule A Call button below. If all you need are free samples of cherry or other flavor profiles, please click on the Request A Sample button below. We are at your service.

Flavorful Regards!