Married to eggs, slipped into salads or added to dishes directly during the meal, Aromat is a must in Swiss cuisines. Often present on restaurant tables to replace salt, this legendary condiment goes through the ages and changes in habits.
The history of Aromat began in 1952 in Thayngen, in the canton of Schaffhausen: it was in this village that Walter Obrist, a cook who worked for the Knorr group, developed the recipe for a new condiment . First called “Plant extract”, this new product was then marketed under the name of Aromat in 1953.
Very quickly, it became a star, even if some denigrate its too recognizable taste or its irrational use. “This product is known throughout Switzerland, although to a lesser extent in Ticino; even people who do not use it at home have had the opportunity to see, if only at the coffee shop, the famous yellow box and green with a red lid”, notes Swiss Heritage on its site internet.
A recipe that does not change
For almost three quarters of a century, the recipe has remained almost the same. It’s an industrial secret, but we know that Aromat comes from the dehydration of several ingredients. It contains salt, spices, vegetable extracts, fats and glutamate, a flavor enhancer.
And despite this venerable anniversary, that should not change. “There will be no revolution,” says Daniel Lötscher, director for Unilever-Knorr on the Thayngen site, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. “In 70 years, Aromat has evolved a little in terms of its composition. But for us, it is important to use Swiss ingredients as a priority.”
Aromat in its infancy. [RTS]
The fact that Aromat brings back memories of childhood, of meals in restaurants or at grandma’s, also contributes to its popularity. In fact, 3,000 tons of it are produced each year.
“It reminds me of my third year at school. At Easter, we ate boiled eggs and covered them completely with Aromat. It was like eating yellow gold, we mightn’t stop stopping, it was really too good”, recalls Ivo Adam, chef in Bern.
New eating habits
But will Aromat survive new eating habits? The World Health Organization hunts for salts and even if this salt looks like gold dust, it is still salt, a substance that is gradually diminishing on the plates.
As for glutamate, this substance is also no longer popular with consumers and this is reflected in sales. If the faithful continue to slip the little box into the shopping basket, others shun it: in ten years, the production of Aromat has fallen by nearly 30%.
For Stefan Vogler, marketing expert, new generations tend to be wary of industrial foods and Aromat is one of them. “That’s the problem with Aromat today. There is an organic version, but it won’t change much.”
So, following 70 years of success, will the Aromat retire? Nothing is less certain, as the taste of a fried egg is, for some, tasteless without a touch of this condiment.
TV Subject: Jean-Paul Cateau with SRF
Web adaptation: Frédéric Boillat
