Ok, finally had a chance to try some of my recent flavors, still got a few waiting on the full 4 week steep. Has anyone else been mixing different flavors or tried any of the raw extracts yet. These are my thoughts on the most recent flavors I have tried. Some are VG and some are the extracts, which is why the big difference in percentages used. Please remember taste is subjective, something I like you may not, or vice versa.
Lemon Meringue VG
Tested @15% with a 4 week steep. This is a very well balanced smooth and sweet lemon. The lemon to meringue ratio is good, without any egg taste. The lemon is very smooth, creamy and vibrant, however it doesn't have that tart twang that is inherent to a good lemon meringue pie. It reminds me of Jello brand lemon meringue pudding, like it has some type of cream. Which is very good and refreshing. I like it at 15% as a SF if you are looking for an easy instant pudding, and it has little to no harshness to the throat, which is unusual for lemon. I think with some TFA Graham Cracker Clear or Pie Crust and .25-.5% FA Cold Pressed Lime to give it that zippy tartness, this will make a very good pie. Or LA Tart & Sour, or whatever you use for sour .
Funnel Cake Extract:
Mixed at 1.7% SF 30/70 PG/VG using SG of 1.05 g/ml
At a 3 day steep: This one is not quite as strong as the other extracts I have tried so far. Still not weak, just a very delicate flavor, and it's obvious with the sniff test, so I started this one a bit higher than the others. I got a very very sweet pile of powdered sugar with a hint of greasiness overlaying a slight play doh. Not really much dough or cake yet. Definitely needs a longer steep time on this one.
Let me say that I am one of the unlucky ones that can only taste Play Doh with CAPs Doughnut as well, so if you don't you won't taste that in here either.
At a 1 week steep: This has strengthened and developed a deeper flavor. It's still very light, and I am now getting a very small hint of play doh every 3rd or 4th hit instead of every one. Except extremely sweet. I am now tasting a weak amount of greasy dough that is drowned in powder sugar. For me, the sweetness is so much more pronounced than the dough, it's not balanced at all. I don't get that light fluffy fried dough from it. I can almost taste it though. Hard to tell with this one. I am going to taste this again at 4 weeks to see if the sugar settles and the dough comes out. I am also going to mix another one at 2.5% and see if a little bit stronger blend will bring the dough more forward without being too sweet. And no, this doesn't taste of cinnamon. If you are looking for cinnamon, I would recommend a churro flavoring. This dough so far will not stand up against adding cinnamon. So still undecided on this flavor, further testing required.
At the 4 week steep, the occasional hint of play doh has completely disappeared, as well as the greasy flavor. It does taste like a very authentic funnel cake, including the powdered sugar flavor. The overwhelming sugar has calmed down, and although still very sweet, it's more balanced with the cake now. It is a very light flavor though. At least at this percentage. My concern is that the delicate flavor of the dough would disappear if mixed with any other flavors. However, the higher percentage of 2.5% may strengthen this a lot. I will update this with the stronger tests. If you are looking for just a funnel cake, this at a higher percentage would be great. Might also be good in lower percentages .5-1.5) for adding a powdered sugar flavor to bakery recipes as that is quite prominent.
Rice Crispy Treat VG:
Tested at 15% with a 4 week steep. Apparently this is another one of those flavors I am adding to the list of sensitive flavors for me like Cap Cake Batter and Glazed Doughnut and FA Joy, etc. I am not going to give this a star rating due to that. All I get from it is an offensive grainy almost rice krispie taste with a background of sweetness. I can't taste past that to detect any butter or actual marshmallow flavor. It's the same grainy grossness I get with FW Rice Crispy. However, I think that's my sensitivity and therefore it's not fair for me to judge this flavor. I had my husband taste it to see what he gets, and he actually likes it and says it's quite good. He said it tastes like a crispy treat to him, and he can taste the marshmallow and butter from it. I gave him the rest of the tester.
Brownie Batter Extract:
Mixed at 1.5% SF 30/70 PG/VG using SG of .96 g/ml
At a 3 day steep: OMG. This is a very good strength at 1.5% at 3 days. If the flavor strengthens with a longer steep, I might have to reduce it to 1%, but it's great at 3 days. I made the mistake of mixing the first batch of this with sweetener, thinking of those “other” chocolates I had tried. It was sickening, had to dump and remake. I recommend trying without sweetener first, then start small if you want more sweetness. Tastes and smells exactly like the name. Imagine you have just stirred that mix with 50 spoon strokes, then scraped the batter into the pan. Then you use your finger to clean the bowl of that delicious, rich, gooey, chocolaty goodness. And it's not that weak chocolate brownie mix, oh noooo. This is the deluxe Fudge Brownie Mix batter. So this and rich you can practically feel it coating your tongue mmmmmmmm. Oh, ummmm, where was I at?
Oh yes, it really is that good. Just buy it. Sweet, fudgy, chocolaty, uncooked brownie batter. Nice thick mouth feel even at 3 days. I can honestly say this is the first chocolate flavor I have found that I like. My only caveat would be that this is so realistic and rich that I can't ADV it. Gets sickening after a while, just like if you have really eaten too much batter. It's been great for around 3 hours at a time, or whenever I get a sweet tooth. And with coffee, definitely with coffee. I will update at the 4 week steep.
At a 4 week steep, this has weakened and had flavor loss similar to what lemon does. I still get the brownie flavor, but it's not as strong and has lost that fudgy rich flavor and the thick mouth feel is completely gone. I am going to skip this right up to 3%, which means it will be way too strong before steeping. But testing to see if it can hold on to more flavor with a steep. Otherwise, this would make an incredible S&V after 24 hours. I wouldn't make more than a week's worth or so at a time, so as to not lose that realistic fudgy richness that makes this flavor so good during the first week.
At a 3-7 day steep I would rate this 5 stars as it's perfect, and this will probably be one I keep as a S&V. At a 4 week steep I would give it 3, unless the stronger percentage helps hold the flavor. It still tastes good and like brownie batter, but a weaker version compared to how gooey and intense it is in that
Rice Crispy treat smelled very very mild, so not getting my hopes up on that one. Going to try to at least get some mixers made and started steeping later today.
