How to best preserve natural flavors?

You have purchased natural flavors to subtly perfume your food preparations, but do not necessarily know how to store this product? Follow our advice on how to preserve your bottles of natural flavors, and avoid any modification of their organoleptic qualities!

Like all the ingredients you have in your fridge, your cupboards or on your work surface, natural food flavors need to be kept in a specific environment.

Cool and dark

Once opened, food flavors should be kept cool and protected from light. For example, you can store your bottles of natural flavors in the refrigerator door. Be sure to close your bottles tightly to avoid microbial contamination and to preserve the quality of your flavoring. Before each use, do not forget to shake the bottle well to homogenize the preparation.

Choose a quantity adapted to your needs

Natural flavors are very economical products, which can be kept for a long time. However, there is no point in buying industrial quantities if you are a hobbyist who only uses them occasionally: make sure you buy a reasonable quantity for your needs. On the Nerolian website, for example, you can choose from different sizes, ranging from 50 ml to 1 liter, through 125 ml, 250 ml and 500 ml. What to avoid waste!

Shelf life of food flavors

You will find on all bottles of natural food flavors a date, which corresponds to a DDM (formerly DLUO), Date of Minimum Durability. Beyond this date, you can continue to use your natural flavors, but their quality may be altered. However, this does not mean that your product has expired! The DDM, unlike the DLC (use by date), is affixed to foodstuffs that are not very perishable, while products such as eggs, meat or fish cannot be consumed beyond the date affixed on the packaging. After this date, the product may present a risk to your health.

What is a natural flavor?

According to European legislation, natural flavors are ingredients of plant origin, produced by concentration, distillation, extraction, fermentation or roasting. They can be essential oils, floral waters and distillate flavors (such as rose or lavender), extracts or concentrates. You will find all kinds - and all qualities - online, in supermarkets and in some specialized stores. Always choose natural DE flavors - vanilla, coffee, strawberry, lemon... - which guarantee that your flavor is composed of at least 95% of the molecules of the original raw material.