Glossary
Spray Drying
How is spray-dried flavor made?
Turning liquid flavor into a powder by spraying it into hot air. It is how powdered flavors are made, and it costs you most of the lightest, freshest aromas.
The flavor is mixed into a solution of carrier — usually gum arabic, modified starch or maltodextrin — sprayed into a drying chamber, and dried in seconds as the water flashes off. What collects at the bottom is a powder with flavor droplets held inside a carbohydrate matrix.
What you gain: a powder you can measure into a dry product, real protection from air, and much easier handling than a liquid.
What you lose: the lightest parts. Anything volatile enough to leave with the water does leave. That is why spray-dried citrus rarely has the lift of the liquid version, and why powdered products often need more flavor to reach the same strength.
How to specify one
Flavor load — how much of the powder is actually flavor. Usually 10–20%. A cheaper powder is often just a weaker one.
Carrier — gum arabic holds flavor best, maltodextrin is cheapest and dissolves fastest, modified starch sits in between.
Particle size — it has to match the rest of your dry blend, or the mix separates in transit and the last scoop tastes different from the first.
If the fresh notes matter more than the format, check whether your product could take a liquid flavor instead. See liquid vs powder flavor.