What Constitutes Flavor & How We Perceive It

What Constitutes Flavor & How We Perceive It

Confidential Property of Clement Pappas

What Is Flavor “Taste testing” is a misnomer (taste is only a part of flavor) Flavor perception is affected by the other senses not typically associated with it: sight, sound, touch Flavor perception is very complex, involving several independent nerve systems, pieced together by our brains

Taste is a complex effect of: Taste sensations Aroma sensations Trigeminal sensations (feeling factors) stimulated by substances in the mouth

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Sources: H.T. Lawless, H. T., & H. Heymann, (1998). Sensory Evaluation of Food, Principles and Practices. Aspen Publishers. J. M. Murray, C. M. Delahunty, I. A. Baxter, Descriptive sensory analysis: past, present and future, Food Research International, Volume 34, Issue 6, 2001, Pages 461-471. M. Ortega-Heras, M. L. Gonzalez-SanJose, S. Beltran, Aroma composition of wine studied by different extraction methods, (2002) Analytica Chimica Acta, 458:1:85-93.


Taste Most simple. There are 5-6 taste sensations ▫ Sweet ▫ Sour ▫ Salty ▫ Bitter ▫ “Umami” – (e.g. MSG) ▫ Calcium? All taste sensation comes from your tongue – taste buds Experts estimate taste only accounts for only 5-20% of flavor Genetic differences – some people are more sensitive to certain sensations

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Aroma Most complex & primal Experts estimate aroma accounts for 50-90% of flavor There are an infinite number of aroma sensations Our noses can detect billions of different chemical compounds For example, over 800 aroma chemicals have been identified in red wine

Difficult to describe – tip of the nose syndrome – sensory scientists use descriptors Aroma sensation are often different when smelling something than when tasting the same thing

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Aroma Descriptors For example, strawberry flavor descriptors include: fresh, cooked/canned, grassy/green, dried/jammy, seedy, fruity, moldy, artificial, pungent, sulfurous, oxidized, earthy, floral, berry, woody, swampy, winey, sewer, nutty, caramelized, raspberry, blackberry, cherry etc….

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Trigeminal “Feeling” Factors Different nerve system in mouth, nose, eyes and throat – often tactile or detecting ‘irritants’ Thermal hot/cold Spicy (chili pepper) and cooling (menthol) Caustic (vinegar or chopped onion) Astringent (different than bitter!) – dry/puckering sensation Mouthfeel/texture Experts estimate 5-20% of total flavor

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Flavor Interactions All these different signals going to your brain are not independent Examples: ▫ Increasing sourness enhances cranberry flavor ▫ Astringency generally masks sweetness while enhancing bitterness Good product developer utilize these interactions to their advantage

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Time Intensity Not all sensations happen at once…this adds another layer of complexity Aromas – “top notes” and “bottom notes” Tastes – “up front” vs. lingering sweetness “Feeling Factors” – spiciness of chili vs. wasabi Defects often manifest in bitter aftertastes or top note aromas Making an appealing product requires balancing these considerations (e.g. masking aftertaste of stevia)

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Summary Flavor is not one sensation but the complex combination of many Aroma dominates flavor but taste and feeling factors are important too Components of flavors interact and may be perceived at different moments Strong understanding of sensory science makes for strong product development

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