Many effective flavor chemicals possess a number of quite distinct odor characteristics. Thankfully, these are often complementary, making the ingredient relatively easy to use. A good example of this fortuitous juxtaposition is b-ionone; it has a dominant violet note and a minor, but still quite evident, cedarwood note. In many flavor types these notes are found together and clearly work in a complementary fashion.
Theaspirane, 2,6,6,10-tetramethyl- 1-oxa spiro (4.5) dec-9-ene, also called Spiroxide (FEMA# 3774, CAS# 36431- 72-8), has harnessed together a much less happily married combination of odor characteristics. The dominant note is fruity, berry, damson and is especially well suited to berry and tea flavors. The minor note is distinctly camphoraceous and demands much more care in use. These notes are not, on the surface at least, very complementary, but the dominant note is so interesting and valuable that it is well worth taking the trouble to find ways to use this raw material to advantage.
The dose rates given throughout this article are the levels suggested for use in flavors that are intended to be dosed at 0.05% in a ready-to-drink beverage or in a simple bouillon.
