Taste Modulators: How Scientists Are Changing Our Taste in Food

As consumers, we almost never know how much research goes into the food we eat just by walking through supermarket aisles or by eating at our favorite restaurant, however advanced it is. (Unless you're eating at Moto Restaurant, where the scientists are also the chefs, and then it's kind of in your face to know.)

Enter: Future Food, a series about two molecular gastronomist chefs who play around with food flavors to come up with crazy things like "sushi" made from fruit. They believe in sustainability, but they also believe in taste.

Food technology is a thriving field that, if we trust the companies driving it, has the potential to improve the quality of the foods we eat, make it more sustainable, make even the packaged stuff healthier for us, and make it taste better all at the same time.

Reducing the sodium content of foods is one important goal in improving public health, particularly in the U.S. Also crucial is transforming sugar intake, both in reducing overall consumption, as well as shifting from corn syrup to, ideally, healthier and natural sweeteners like stevia.

This is not an endorsement of these products, only an effort to share information that's already out there. Consumers need to be informed before they can make informed choices. While some of the products here sound a little fishy, we do think the ideas and potential for this type of thinking are interesting, and that if used right, food technology can improve the quality and sustainability of our food.

The Institute of Food Technologists has a handy summary of the different "taste modulators" currently out on the market, and could well be in some of the foods in your kitchen cabinets.

Check out these 9 taste modulators

1. A company in Brooklyn makes "Masking Agents" to combat the aftertaste of whey and soy, proteins often used in supplements, vitamins, minerals, herbal extracts, omega-3s, calorie-free sweeteners, and pharmaceutical ingredients.

2. In an effort to reduce sodium content in packaged foods—a goal for many companies making processed foods—the Kansas-based Danisco USA, Inc has come up with Grindsted SaltPro, a "sodium reduction system" that allows food processors to halve the sodium content without compromising the taste, texture, or firmness that salt contributes to food.

3. Similarly, SymLife Salt Natural is a savory and salt enhancer product that can assist in salt reduction—by up to 50 percent—while maintaining the salty perception on the tongue.

4. Smoothenol is a system of "flavor solutions" put out by Sensient Flavors LLC to mask off-notes and aftertastes of certain functional ingredients, and enhance the palatability of the foods that will (the companies hope) end up on your plate.

5. Purac Fit Plus is a product made from lactic acid that is meant to mask the off-flavors of high-intensity sweeteners like stevia. Unlike citric acid, this neutralizer masks the characteristic off-flavors of Stevia and other high-intensive sweeteners, resulting in a better-tasting, more rounded beverage.

6. Savoury Systems International, Inc. makes yeast extracts that can be used as replacements for salt or monosodium glutamate to enhance flavor in savory food products.

7. The Long Island, NY-based Comax Flavors makes a line called "Special Effects," with products offered that mask the aftertaste of stevia (an herbal sweetener), astringency in certain foods, and other off-tastes associated with vitamins, minerals, and proteins.

8. Bell Flavors & Fragrances Inc. makes ReduxSo flavor systems, another product for sodium reduction, are designed to mimic the sensation that sodium chloride delivers.

9. New Jersey-based Advanced Food Systems Inc. makes Chef Ready stock bases that can help make lower-sodium, lower-fat seasoning blends.