On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 745

TheNatureofFlavor
andFlavorings

FlavorisPartTaste,
MostlySmell

Thefunctionofherbsandspicesistoadd
flavortoourfoods.Flavorisacomposite
quality,acombinationofsensationsfromthe
tastebudsinourmouthandtheodorreceptors
intheupperreachesofournose.Andthese
sensationsarechemicalinnature:wetaste
tastesandsmellodorswhenourreceptorsare
triggeredbyspecificchemicalsinfoods.
Thereareonlyahandfulofdifferenttastes—
sweet,sour,salty,bitter,andsavoryorumami
(p.342),whiletherearemanythousandsof
differentodors.It’sodormoleculesthatmake
anapple“taste”likeanapple,notlikeapear
orradish.Ifournoseisblockedbyacoldor
pinchingfingers,it’shardtotellthe
differencebetweenanappleandapear.So
mostofwhatweexperienceasflavorisodor,


oraroma.Herbsandspicesheightenflavorby
addingtheircharacteristicaromamolecules.
(Theexceptionstothisrulearethepungent
spicesandherbs,whichstimulateandirritate
nervesinthemouth;seep.394.)
Odors and the Suggestiveness of Volatility

The aroma chemicals of herbs and spices are
volatile: that is, they’re small and light
enoughtoevaporatefromtheirsourceandfly
through the air, which allows them to rise
with our breath into the nose, where we can
detectthem.Hightemperaturesmakevolatile
chemicalsmorevolatile,soheatingherbsand
spices liberates more of their aroma
molecules and fills the air with their odor.
Unlike most of the objects that we sense
around us, which we see or touch or hear,
aromas are an invisible, intangible presence.
To cultures that knew nothing of molecules
and odor receptors, this ethereal, penetrating
quality suggested a realm of invisible beings