Novel concepts and challenges of flavor microencapsulation

The advent of flavor science and the market need for application-specific flavor delivery has led the food and beverage industries to use microencapsulation technology. This chapter provides a brief historical review of flavor encapsulation, recent flavor encapsulation studies, and many examples of formulation and processing challenges associated with the microencapsulation of flavors. This chapter addresses the chemical and physical interactions within the flavor phase and the molecular interactions at the flavor phase interface and the encapsulation substrate or matrix. This chapter examines a detailed look at process-oriented matrix effects and postprocessing chemistry for optimized flavor stability and release. While this chapter reviews the various ingredients used to encapsulate flavorings and standard encapsulation techniques, the focus remains on specific examples of encapsulated flavor techniques. Lastly, this chapter concludes by exploring multiple case studies and patented art surrounding various aspects of encapsulated flavor preparations.