I’m currently working on a Banana custard recipe (can’t taste strawberry anymore, but that’s another story) and although I like the banana, I find it a bit fatiguing, and ‘hard around the edges.’ Would this be a good time to use EM? If so, would you use it instead of sweetener, or as well as? Thanks.
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I certainly would and have had the same problems with banana (as well as being tone deaf to strawberry) I use EM 10% at up to 1% in a recipe, additional sweetner may be needed depending on the recipe, I’m sure others will disagree, but it works for me 
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Notes:
Em, Ethyl Maltol 10% in PG
Mutagen, masks bitter / off notes. Adds some sweetness, use maybe at 1% or lower in combination with sweetener.
(Higher percentages will get cotton candy flavor and can reduce flavor intensity)
“Maltol, ethyl maltol, (and diacetyl) are weak mutagens. However, relatively large amounts of the substances are present in the diet. The usual levels of maltol added to baked goods, ice creams, and candy are approximately 110 ppm. Levels on the order of 80 ppm are added to certain beverages. Ethyl maltol, a more potent flavor enhancer than maltol, is generally used in concentrations of about 20 ppm in these foods.”
“Masking is the addition of flavors to minimize the detectability of off-flavors. The methods include: taste modifying by providing other sensations, taste suppression by competing with bitter receptors (blocking), or accentuating other flavors (taste enhancing) (Gascon, 2011).
Sweetness often is enough to mask bitter flavors, since bitter and sweet receptors are similar in structure. However, just adding more sucrose may not be the answer, Maltol, vanillin, and MCP all smell “sweet,” that is, they possess aromas that are associated with sweet foods (think ice cream, sweet bakery items, and maple syrup). Added to a food with a bitter component, the sweet aroma will trick the mind into ignoring the bitter component as it is not congruent with the sweet taste and aroma.”
“Maltol is often added as a sweetness enhancer, but it also enhances and modifies savory flavors, adds mouthfeel, increases creaminess and dairy notes and decreases bitterness.”
“Maltol, ethyl maltol, and diacetyl are representatives of the 1,2-dicarbonyl class of chemicals. The total daily human doses of mutagenic 1,2-dicarbonyl compounds are likely to be much greater than estimates based on known levels of maltol, ethyl maltol, and diacetyl. Other 1,2-dicarbonyl compounds such as intermediates in enzymatic and nonenzymatic browning reactions in foods are weakly mutagenic in the Ames test. No conclusive evidence showing the carcinogenic activities of these substances has been presented.”
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Well said Rocky
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Which banana have you used? I’ve not encountered any that were hard around the edges. I stopped using EM a while ago but you could experiment with it. It can be used as a sweetener to a small degree but it tends to mute flavors, giving the impression that it’s rounding off those edges. At least that’s my experience.
Depending on the profile you’re going for maybe try some Marshmallow or Meringue instead of the EM. Hope you find a solution.
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Is this Raven Knightly posing as Rocky?
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Yes, that’s what it’s purpose is 
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I’ve found FLV banana to be just divine!! No harsh edges or anything!
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Is that Smoky posing as Wombatred 26?
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Thanks for that. I knew it took the edges off of tart fruits, but I didn’t know it added creaminess. So I’ve learnt something. Which is always nice. 
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Well I don’t think it “adds” creaminess, maybe just increases creaminess that’s already there, if any.
I also use a lot of Sour to take the edge off fruits, I find Pineapple is a bit edgy for me as well as banana, I have a Pineapple / cream mix steeping that I put in 0.5% of Sour TPA, won’t know the results for another few days 
My notes on Sour TPA are on the flavor list page, ( I won’t bore the peanut gallery 
)
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Nope, it’s just little ol’ Wombat! lol
Smoky sent me a lil bottle of it. I’m not a total convert to all Flavorah but if I have the flavor in FLV or can afford to buy it, I’ll use it…
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I’m working on a Banana Custard so it sounds perfect. Thanks.
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Hi, I used to make a banana custard for a friend, i found that using a good custard base and your banana, plus 1.75% fa caramel and 1,75% fw butterscotch complimented it really well, you can lower it if you prefer less, in my recipe it rounded it off really nicely, you could also use toffee or a little brown sugar instead of the caramel and butterscotch.
I’m not a huge fan of banana vapes but with this addition I found it enjoyable.
Not sure if that’s at all what your looking for, but it worked for me, you might enjoy it. Best of luck with your recipe.
Glen
Gdesigns coil art uk
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1.7% Butterscotch fw and 1.7% butterscotch Laurans also made a good combo to bananas, I’ve cream, custards and more…
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I’m not sure if it’s what I’m looking for either, but there’s one way to find out. Thanks. I’ll give it a go.
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Hope you find what you looking for. Good luck
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I wasn’t a Banana fan either, but I reached a point where I couldn’t taste strawberry anymore so I went in search of something else. I’m quite happy with my banana custard now, the EM seems to have worked. I really like TPA banana nut bread too, so I’m going to work on a recipe with that. I like the idea of what you recommended, and I have all those flavours, so I’ll give that a go as well. I’ve got a great custard mix which I pretty much stole from SthrnMixer which is 2.5% INW Custard, 4.00%FA Custard Premium and 1.5%FA Whipped Cream. It’s thick rich and buttery. Magical. He originally used Cap VC vs 1, but I prefer FA premium, and it doesn’t need to steep for a year or two, lol. I love FA Custard Premium though. It’s my favourite custard. I prefer it to TPA V. C. 2. Haven’t tried Molinberry yet, but FA Premium will always be in my arsenal. Thanks for your help.
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That sounds great, I’m a fan of premium as well, I remember the days when some folk were using like 20%cap v1, it was crazy lol.
I couldn’t find my banana recipe?? But it’s in memory I think lol, however I did find my very very good ice cream recipe or ice cream base, it really is delicious but it takes a few weeks to come into itself. I’ll have to try email it to you. If it works. It was an adaption of someone else’s recipe, I’ve just tweaked it to my liking. Please try it, I think its great. Especially with winter around the corner, it’s nice to have nice creamy recipes to vapes.
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I have a buddy that was struck by lightning. Ever since then he can barely taste anything. I always had to bump flavor usage up for him so he could taste it. So let others disagree all they want lol.
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