What is microencapsulated essence?

The socalled essence microcapsule is to embed essence in micro sealed or semi sealed capsules, so that it can be released under specific conditions.  

The microencapsulation technology of essence is mostly protected in the form of confidentiality or patent. To apply microcapsule technology to essence, four principles must be followed:

1. While keeping the original flavor of essence unaffected, try to improve the yield;

2. Production costs should not be too much higher than competitive products;

3. The microencapsulation system is selected according to the physical and chemical properties of essence, application occasions, expected release mechanism, etc;

4. In terms of physical performance, it is necessary to have appropriate particle size, flowability, and dispersibility.

Researchers constantly absorb research achievements in the fields of materials science, polymer science, physical chemistry, sensory science and flavor chemistry, and apply them to the research of microencapsulation technology. essence microencapsulation technology emerges in endlessly.  

The main applications include:

1. Spray drying microcapsule essence is used in solid drinks or instant noodles flavoring powder and snack food flavoring powder. Under the action of water or saliva, the capsule wall is destroyed and instantly released.  

2. In the meat product industry, the application of spray drying microcapsule salty essence can greatly reduce the volatility of essence and enhance its temperature resistance. The essence added in the product can easily exude its fragrance, and it is well integrated with the aroma of raw meat. The finished product cannot taste the flavor of essence.

3. The application of compression and agglomeration processes to process spray dried microcapsule essence into large particles can improve its application performance, such as reducing dust and improving instant solubility. This kind of essence is used in traditional Chinese medicine granules and tea bags.

4. Sugar vitrified microencapsulated fruit flavor essence, with its high temperature resistance, slow release, adjustable shape, color and size and other properties, brings candy unusual sensory and visual enjoyment.  

5. Sugar vitrified microencapsulated tea essence is used to make tea bags. It is slowly dissolved in water in the tea bag and slowly and evenly releases the tea fragrance.  

6. The microencapsulated essence with fat and its derivatives as the matrix or wall material can only be released at the temperature higher than the melting point of the wall material. The release of essence can be controlled by adjusting the melting point of the wall material. The essence produced by this technology is applied to baked food, microwave food, quick frozen food or extruded food, and the flavor of the product can be volatilized when heated, reducing the flavor loss caused by heat treatment.  

7. In the complex coagulation method, gelatin and gum arabic were used as wall materials to embed essence oil: when the PH value was lower than the isoelectric point of gelatin and gum arabic, gelatin was positively charged and gum arabic was negatively charged. Under the condition of low PH value, the action of these oppositely charged molecules forms a mixture that is insoluble in water, and is separated from the solution to form a viscous solution. These viscous solutions envelop the suspended oil drops in the aqueous solution to form microcapsules, which are separated and dried to obtain microcapsule essence. The peppermint oil microcapsule essence produced by this technology is used for chewing gum products. Through the chewing of consumers' teeth, mechanical pressure is generated to destroy the microcapsule and release the fragrance, which can last for a period of time.  

8. Cyclodextrin has hydrophobic inner cavity, which can use its hydrophobic lipophilic effect and space volume matching effect to form stable inclusion complexes with essence oil molecules with appropriate size, shape and hydrophobicity through the interaction of non covalent bond. The microencapsulation formed by cyclodextrin inclusion can isolate essence from the external environment, prevent it from deteriorating due to the damage of ultraviolet rays, oxygen and other external factors, reduce the volatilization loss of essence, and slow the release rate of essence, playing a role in controlling the release. This technology is often applied to unstable or high value-added special aroma chemicals. When used in chewing gum, it can achieve a long fragrance retention time.