Blue raspberry flavoring is a synthetic, not real-berry flavor. It was created in the mid-20th century and is typically made from a blend of esters and other aroma compounds (often drawing on notes associated with pineapple, banana, and cherry) and then colored blue. The bright blue color helps differentiate it from red raspberry and other red fruit flavors in products. Key points:
- Origins: The flavor was developed to give a distinct, recognizable blue color and taste that doesn’t correspond to any actual blue fruit. It became commercially popular in the 1950s–1970s as blue-colored frozen treats and candies spread in the U.S. and beyond.
- Flavor profile: It’s an artificial combination designed to evoke raspberry-like sweetness, but the underlying compounds are not derived from real blue raspberries. Some formulations lean on notes reminiscent of pineapple, banana, and cherry transitions to create a punchy, candy-like raspberry impression.
- Color rationale: The blue dye (commonly a bright FD&C blue) was used to differentiate raspberry-flavored items from red flavors (cherry, strawberry, raspberry) and to avoid color confusion.
If you’d like, I can pull up a few reputable sources that trace the history and composition of blue raspberry flavoring.
