cider vinegar is a complex composition which contains many flavor producing volatile and non - volatile compounds . many of these have been characterized in the published literature , and many have not . for example , the above - noted reference to kahn et al indicates that although their particular study identifies 61 volatile compounds present in various concentrates from vinegar , at least 20 more are shown to be present but are unidentified . moreover , kahn et al stress that there may be no direct correlation between the size of a peak on their chromatograms and the actual concentration of the component , represented by the peak , in untreated vinegars . they note that the peak size is affected not only by extractability or preferential solubility of each compound in the extracting solvents , but also by the compounds gas - liquid chromatographic responses . moreover , there can be no assurance that the compounds present in the concentrates are those naturally present in the untreated vinegar starting materials . similarly , the characterization of the compositions of the non - volatile components is fraught with difficulty because the procedures for separating and identifying all of the components could alter the structural chemistry or relative proportions of the components . the present invention is based upon the discovery that a very limited class of volatile compounds , preferably in combination with other characterizing compounds such as acids and sugars , are highly reminiscent of the characteristic flavor and aroma of natural cider vinegar . the flavoring composition according to the present invention can be employed as a component of a food product not containing vinegar in any form or it can be employed along with vinegar to provide a vinegar product . in either case , the resulting product will simulate the flavor and aroma of cider vinegar even though no natural cider vinegar need be present . it is of course possible , to provide a blended vinegar product which contains a portion of cider vinegar and a portion of distilled vinegar containing the flavoring composition according to the present invention . in addition to the diethyl succinate , the beta - phenethyl formate , and the beta - phenethyl alcohol , the composition according to the present invention preferably further comprises sugar and edible acid in amounts desired for more closely simulating the overall flavor and mouthfeel of natural cider vinegar . the sugar and acid components can be chosen to simulate the natural composition of cider vinegar , or simply to simulate the net flavor effect of the naturally - occurring sugar and acid components . the sugar can be any of those sweet carbohydrates normally employed for providing a sweetened taste to food products . suitable as the sugar would be at least one member selected from the group consisting of sucrose , glucose , maltose , mannose , galactose , xylose , arabinose , ribose , fructose , rhamnose , corn syrup solids , and high fructose corn syrup solids . preferred among the sugars are fructose and glucose . preferably , the sugar will be employed in an amount of from about 2 to about 5 % based upon the weight of an aqueous solution containing about 6 % acid , calculated as acetic acid . the acid component of the preferred composition , like the sugar component , can be selected to either approximate or simply simulate the acid composition of natural cider vinegar . the preferred compositions will contain at least one food acid which is a member selected from the group consisting of acetic , malic , adipic , citric , glutamic , lactic , succinic , tartartic , propionic , butyric , iso - butyric , valeric , iso - valeric and caproic . of these acids , the acetic acid is the most preferred additive , simply because it is the principal constituent of natural cider vinegar other than water . the acetic acid can be added as glacial acetic acid , distilled vinegar , or any other type of vinegar . other acids preferred on the basis of their flavor effect are those selected from the group consisting of propionic acid , butyric acid , iso - butyric acid , iso - valeric acid , and combinations of at least two of these . most preferably , the acetic acid will be employed as part of the final composition at a concentration of from about 4 to about 20 %, and will comprise greater than about 90 % of the total weight of acid in the composition . because natural cider vinegar is such a complex composition , containing such a wide variety of compounds as noted in the above - mentioned reference to kahn et al wherein 62 volatile compounds are identified , and at least 20 more are shown to be present but not identified , the composition of the invention will also preferably include other volatile flavor - producing compounds . among these are ethyl acetate , which is believed to have a wine - like essence ; 2 - pentanol , which is believed to have a fresh apple , green note ; 2 - methyl - 3 - heptanol and 3 - methyl - 1 - butanol , which together are believed to have a slight - sour , apple - like , green note ; cis - 2 - butene - 1 , 4 - diol and 2 , 4 - dimethyl - 3 - hexanol , which together are believed to have a weak fermented apple note ; 2 - propanol and 1 , 3 - dimethoxy - 2 - propanol , which together are believed to have a sweet , green note ; 3 - pentanol , 4 - methyl - 2 - oxapenta - 3 - ene , and tridecane , which together are believed to have a metallic , fruity , flower - like note ; 2 - phenyl ethanol , glutaric acid , methylmethoxy acetate , 3 - hydroxy iso - valeric acid - methyl ester , propionic acid , 2 , 4 - dimethyl - 3 - pentanol , and pivalolactone , which together are believed to have a honey sweet , sour , salty - fish like note ; methyl iso - butyrate and with diethyl succinate , carbamic acid - methyl ester , which together are believed to have a sour apple note ; carbamic acid - methyl ester , which is believed to have a sour apple note in combination with an as yet unidentified compound ; phenethyl alcohol which has a good fermented apple note ; phenethyl alcohol , 2 , 3 - dihydrobenzaldehyde , and beta - phenethyl formate which together are believed to have a typical cider vinegar , good fermented apple , flower - like note . preferably , the composition according to the present invention will contain at least one member selected from the group consisting of 2 , 3 - dihydrobenzaldehyde , 3 - pentanol , 4 - methyl - 2 - oxapenta - 3 - ene , 2 , 4 - dimethyl - 3 - hexanol , and cis - 2 - butene - 1 , 4 - diol . the principal essences of the flavoring composition according to the present invention , namely the combination of diethyl succinate , beta - phenethyl formate , and beta - phenethyl alcohol , will preferably be present at relative weight ratios of within the ranges of 15 to 50 parts of diethyl succinate : 1 to 4 parts of beta - phenethyl formate : 0 . 5 to 2 parts of beta - phenethyl alcohol ( i . e ., 15 - 50 : 1 - 4 : 0 . 5 - 2 ). in the preferred vinegar products according to the invention , which have an acetic acid content of from about 4 to about 20 %, it is preferred that the concentration of the diethyl succinate be from about 15 to 150 ppm , the concentration of the beta - phenethyl alcohol be from about 0 . 5 to about 10 ppm , and the concentration of the beta - phenethyl formate be from about 0 . 25 to about 4 ppm . the relative percentages of the sugar and acid components will be within the ranges previously set forth , while the levels of the volatile additives can be selected to impart the desired degree of their respective flavor and aroma contributions . typically , these materials will be employed at levels within the range of from about 1 ppm to about 50 ppm , based upon the weight of the preferred vinegar composition containing 4 - 20 % acetic acid . the following examples are presented for the purpose of further illustrating and explaining the present invention and are not to be taken as limiting in any regard . unless otherwise indicated , all parts and percentages are by weight , based upon the weight of the product or intermediate at the indicated stage in processing . according to this example , a vinegar product , based upon distilled vinegar , is prepared according to the following formulation and is judged by a panel of expert tasters to have a flavor and aroma similar in most principal aspects to natural cider vinegar . the formulation is as follows : ______________________________________component amount______________________________________distilled vinegar ( 6 % acid , 98 . 75 parts by weightcalculated as acetic acid ) diethyl succinate 35 ppmbeta - phenethyl alcohol 2 ppmbeta - phenethyl formate 1 ppmsodium citrate 0 . 25 parts by weightpropionic acid 108 ppmisobutyric acid 126 ppmbutyric acid 18 ppmisovaleric acid 228 ppmapple cider concentrate 0 . 83 parts by weightcontaining at least : glucose 27 gm / 100 ccfrucrose 15 gm / 100 ccsucrose 1 . 83 gm / 100 cc______________________________________ this example demonstrates the contribution of the diethyl succinate , beta - phenethyl alcohol and beta - phenethyl formate to the achievement of a natural cider vinegar flavor and aroma . a panel of expert tasters is given a solution comprising distilled water containing 35 parts of per million diethyl succinate , 2 parts per million of beta - phenethyl alcohol and 1 part per million of beta - phenethyl formate for the purpose of characterizing the flavor and aroma . all panelists indicate that the flavor and aroma is reminiscent of natural cider vinegar . the above description has been presented for the purpose of teaching the person of ordinary skill in the art how to practice the present invention . it is not intended to detail each and every obvious modification and variation thereof which would be apparent to the person of ordinary skill in the art upon reading . it is intended , however , to include all such obvious modifications and variations within the scope of the invention which is defined by the following claims .
disclosed are a composition simulating the flavor and aroma of cider vinegar , a vinegar product having a simulated cider vinegar flavor , and a method for imparting the flavor and aroma of cider vinegar to food products . a flavoring composition comprising diethyl succinate , beta - phenethyl formate and beta - phenethyl alcohol has been found to be essential to achieving a cider vinegar flavor and aroma . a preferred vinegar composition will comprise sugar , distilled vinegar , about 35 ppm diethyl succinate , about 2 ppm beta - phenethyl formate and about 1 ppm beta - phenethyl alcohol .