I am worried about diketones, but enjoy custards. I currently have Flavour Arts custard, which is nothing like Capellas V1. I also have some V2 in the way, but have heard very conflicting views. I've also red HICs notes and he claims Flavour Arts Vienna Cream is much more like an American custard. Is that true?
Can anyone point me in the direction of a Diketone-free custard that will have as good a flavor as CAP V1? Maybe what you use? Thanks
In my opinion, there's no option to get that thick mouth feel and lingering custard taste.
The diacetyl and diketones concerns have been around a long time and the food flavor industry is many tens of billions of dollars.
Butyric acid exists in butter (2.9% I believe) and it isn't close. Isobutavan© has a creamy texture but not custardy.
Triacetin adds a little texture of sorts (foamy moreso) but just doesn't do it.
If someone discovers a non-diacetyl related aroma volatile that lends custard without the possible dangers, they'll be millionaires. And not because of vaping.
I would guess a lot of flavor engineers are working on it.
I fucking love reading all the sciencey stuff you post.
Lol.
The aroma volatiles in sweet cream butter are: hydrogen sulphide, methanethiol, acetaldehyde, 2,3-butanedione, 1-hexen-3-one, butanoic acid, 3-methylbutanoic acid, 2-heptanone, methional, dimethyl trisulphide, 1-octen-3-one, hexanoic acid, furaneol, δ-hexanolactone, nonanal, (E)-2-nonenal, δ-octanolactone, skatole and δ-decanolactone
Skatole happens to also be the aroma compound that gives feces their scent. Yay. Hydrogen sulfide is the smell of passing gas. Double yay.
I have a feeling we will actually find some complex vanilla-derived volatiles will lend a custardy flavor without the danger zone components.
But the downside is that a rare few will smell noxious shitgas in those concentrates.
Vienna Cream isn't very custardy - it's more like the way fresh ice cream smells or an egg nog base (without spices). Paired with FA's Custard, and some caramel, it might be a little closer to what you're looking for - but FA's custard has a citrus note, more akin to European style custards.
Going beyond just diketones, its everything that makes a custard a custard. Acetoin, many components in essential oils from fruits, it just seems that the thick buttery taste in general seems virtually impossible to get without diketones or closely related substitutes that cause irritation to the lung.
Even maltol, ethyl maltol, and many other highly sweet compounds dressing the flavors you buy cause irritation and are likely no safe for inhalation.
Butyric acid has been suggested but that is not exception to irritation.
Like abdada said it basically until someone synthesizes a new compound with inhalation research (which is low priority in the flavorist industry, inhalation testing is rather irrelevant when people are digesting it in food) there are practically no serious options worth considering.
It's pretty much pick your poison at this point for custard, with some juice manufacturers taking more liberties than others for a better but more dangerous tasting product.
The only thing I can think of right now would be focusing more on the vanilla, light sweetening, 70/30 VG/PG blends, with aromatic compounds considered safer than others extracted from essential oils