Taste & Sensory Solutions by Kalsec

Using their global and regional expertise, Kalsec delivers creative, authentic, and consistent taste and sensory solutions. Kalsec chefs and food scientists around the globe collaborate to create more than just a flavour. Their sensory experts explore everything from iconic and trending global cuisine to the dynamic flavours created through cooking. Kalsec not only stay true to the ingredient but also the cooking technique, providing you with culinary building blocks to develop the perfect taste profile for your product.  Spice and herb extracts are the building blocks of Kalsec’s taste and sensory solutions. 

Their extensive portfolio will cater to all taste profiles you are looking to achieve for your product range including:

• Alliums
• Chilies
• Citrus
• Hard Herbs
• Soft Herbs
• Warming Spices

The Extract Advantage

• Consistency and Convenience: Highly concentrated, reducing costs and storage space, with improved shelf stability and consistent flavour.
• Quality and Consistency Assurance: Trained sensory panel ensures precise flavor matching and consistency.
• Sustainable Sourcing: Reliable supply chain, committed to responsible sourcing and better agricultural practices.

Culinary Advantages with Allium Extracts

Alliums, with their complex and versatile flavour profiles, are indispensable in every cuisine, providing depth and richness to dishes from American chili to Italian marinara to Vietnamese pho. Their flavour dimensions are vast, ranging from pungent and spicy when raw to sweet and mellow when cooked. Techniques such as sweating, sautéing, frying, and caramelizing can dramatically enhance and transform their flavours. By leveraging the culinary power of alliums in packaged foods, manufacturers can deliver savoury base flavour profiles that elevate their recipes. 

Core Alliums

• Onion: Essential in global cuisine, onions offer a pungent and savoury flavour that mellows with cooking, forming a base for many dishes.
• Garlic: Known for its sharp, spicy, and pungent taste, garlic can be used raw in dressings and dips or cooked in marinades, soups, and sauces.

Creative Kitchen Alliums

• Sweated: Alliums like onions and garlic are cooked with moderate heat and fat until they become transparent, adding a sweet, muted, and mild flavour to soups and stews.
• Sautéed: Sliced or diced alliums are cooked over high heat with fat to promote browning, delivering a sweet and slightly toasted flavour, commonly used in stir fry, soups, and stews.
• Fried: Thinly sliced shallots and onions are fried to develop rich, caramelized sweet, and toasted notes with big depth of flavour.
• Grilled: Direct high heat creates a charred exterior and sweet interior, adding a robust flavour to salsas and sauces.
• Oven Roasted: High heat for about 30 minutes results in darkly coloured, crispy edges with a soft interior, providing a sweet, toasted, and slightly charred flavour.
• Caramelized: Slow-cooked sliced alliums develop a sweet, nutty, and evenly browned candy-like flavour over 30-45 minutes.
• Smoked: A low-temperature smoke imparts a smoky sweet flavour, ideal for dips, dressings, and condiments.

Specialty Alliums

• Sweet Onion: Mild enough to eat raw, great in salads and sandwiches, and also suitable for roasting.
• Red Onion: Mildly pungent and sharp, often used raw for colour, or lightly cooked.
• White Onion: Pungent and crisp, mainly used raw in dishes like Mexican food and salads.
• Green Onion/Scallion: Sweet and mild, used raw or cooked, with the green and white parts often separated in dishes.
• Chives: Bright and green in flavour, typically used as garnish or in raw applications like dressings and sauces.
• Spring Onion: Less pungent, with both parts used raw or cooked, often confused with green onions or scallions.
• Leek: Mild and sweet, commonly poached, roasted, or baked, and used in soups and sauces.
• Shallot: Delicate and less sharp, versatile in sauces, roasted whole, fried, grated, or pickled, typical in French cuisine.
• Black Garlic: Subdued pungency with flavours of soy sauce, molasses, and tamarind, used in dressings, sauces, marinades, and soups.

Embracing the Heat: Kalsec's Hot and Spicy Innovations

Hot and spicy flavours continue to rise in popularity globally, with more than 50% of consumers reporting they are eating spicier foods than a year ago. This trend spans traditional dishes and innovative culinary creations. Kalsec, a leader in heat and spice, offers an extensive portfolio of ingredient solutions designed to deliver precise, authentic, and memorable heat experiences.

Capsicum Extracts

Kalsec’s capsicum extracts are precisely standardised for pungency, colour, and heat value, ensuring consistent heat across various applications. From low to extreme heat, these naturally sourced solutions cater to diverse culinary needs. ClearCap® Super Soluble Capsicum delivers distinctive heat without colour or aroma, making it ideal for salsas, sauces, marinades, and more.

Specialty Peppers

Kalsec’s specialty pepper extracts allow manufacturers to highlight specific, natural origins, enhancing product appeal. Varieties include:

• Szechuan: Slight citrus undertones with a tingling, numbing sensation.
• Ancho: Mild heat with sweet raisin notes, rounded out by smoky tobacco and chocolatey undertones.
• Guajillo: Tangy fruit flavour with paprika-style earthiness and mild heat.
• Green Hatch: Crisp green notes with mild pungency, grown in the Hatch Valley of New Mexico.
• Jalapeño: Green and vegetal notes followed by moderate heat.
• Chipotle: Smoked jalapeño providing strong smoky heat.
• Cayenne: High heat with minimal flavour, used primarily to increase heat.
• Serrano: Similar to jalapeño but with increased heat.
• Habanero: High heat with a balanced floral and fruity body.
• Ghost: Extremely hot with fruity undertones.

Zero Degrees® Pepper Flavours

Kalsec’s Zero Degrees® line captures the specific flavours of ancho, chipotle, habanero, and jalapeño peppers without the heat. This allows manufacturers to differentiate their products with authentic pepper flavours while controlling the heat to suit consumer preferences.

HeatSync® Systems

Kalsec’s HeatSync® Systems offer precise heat delivery and sensory attributes, allowing manufacturers to create customised heat experiences. These systems manage:

• Heat Delivery: From quick to lingering heat.
• Heat Control: Targeting specific areas of the mouth and nose.
• Heat Sensation: Ranging from intense raw heat to mild tingling sensations.

Fusionary® Heat

Combining heat with other flavours like sweet, sour, and salty, Kalsec’s Fusionary® Heat solutions create dynamic and memorable flavour experiences. Whether classic combinations like pepper and citrus or adventurous blends like herbal, chilli, and citrus, Kalsec’s culinary experts ensure consistency and authenticity.

The Extract Advantage

• Consistency and Convenience: Highly concentrated, reducing costs and storage space, with improved shelf stability and consistent flavour.
• Quality and Consistency Assurance: Trained sensory panel ensures precise flavor matching and consistency.
• Sustainable Sourcing: Reliable supply chain, committed to responsible sourcing and better agricultural practices.