"Dose 3 to 10 ml per kilogram of mix.
With this generic indication, a minimum and a maximum dosage are defined, to be used according to need.
But how on earth are these blessed aromas to be dosed????
Let's say straight away that our human nose is not a suitable parameter for measuring a quantity that we perceive much more strongly than other noses that are much more structured and trained, such as those of carp and dogs (the parallel is deliberate as the two animals have very similar chemical sensitivity and taste...).
So when you judge whether you have put in the right amount based on how much fly you feel in the boilie you have generally over dosed the matter and missed the target!
The great carp anglers of the past used to say that if the angler could smell the aroma distinctly and strongly, it meant that it was too much for the carp!
And this statement is well-founded, except that the carp of the 1990s never smelled synthetic flavourings, whereas today's carp are familiar with them.
In addition, certain conditions of water turbidity and organic pollution may justify an overdose, but this must be targeted and functional.
So how do you dose the flavors?
Remember that if the minimum dosage proposed by those who sell them is 3 ml. per kg., this means that the carp can clearly perceive much lower doses, in the order of 1/2 ml. or so, practically an imperceptible quantity for our human nose!
In general, the minimum dosage is set according to a number of parameters, including:
the result obtained from fishing tests
the assumption that the average user could lose around 30% of the product by incorrect cooking
an economic factor linked to the massive use to make so many baits, which obviously has to be included in a well determined budget
finally, the concentration of the flavour (which is generally standardised).
As a general rule, the baits with which we will make a conditioning bait, which takes place at least 2-3 weeks before fishing, must be dosed at the minimum chemical, because the stay on the bottom for a long time, releases an intrinsic attraction from the flours used to make the mix, so this factor of primary attraction can be partially sacrificed (or even entirely, or you do not use chemical flavoring, if the bait is very prolonged in time).
Obviously this means that in fast fishing we tend to move to medium-high doses of synthetic flavouring.
Another fundamental rule is dictated by the chemistry of the water, which determines the dosage according to the pH of the flavouring.
In waters which tend to be basic (the majority), acidic flavourings are dosed to a minimum and basic flavourings to a maximum, because the aroma tends to come out more strongly the more it differs from the parameter of the water in which it is immersed.
In water which tends to be acidic (a minority), basic aromas are dosed towards the minimum and acidic towards the maximum, by analogy.
Another determining factor is the turbidity of the water due to suspended organic and mineral material. Due to this "density" of the liquid, the organic and chemical substances in boilies come out more slowly (slower osmosis) and are perceived more slowly by fish whose sense organs are constantly under stress.
In such cases, there is a tendency to overdose all the chemistry in the bait, both organic and synthetic.
Conversely, crystal-clear water (usually basic) requires a controlled and correct dosage of all the attraction, which otherwise risks being too violent for fish used to perceiving infinitesimal nutritional signals.
To recap:
Aroma is dosed primarily according to the type of boilie we are preparing and then according to the specific degree of knowledge we have of the waters we are dealing with.
Our nose has nothing to do with it and at the most it can gratify us and give us ephemeral confidence in the bait that we like best, but that does not necessarily mean that the big carp will like it too!
In my book Boilies you can find dozens of boilies recipes with the best dosages.
