Flavor Facts

Food is one of the most powerful ways to experience the world. Each cuisine tells a story—of geography, tradition, and innovation. Flavors are at the heart of these culinary experiences, allowing us to travel the globe through taste.

In today’s food landscape, flavors provide a bridge to new cultures, broadening our palates and appreciation for global cuisine.

Spices and flavors have been used for thousands of years all over the world, beginning when people used simple herbs or spices to flavor their food. Today, the flavor industry is comprised of hundreds of companies all over the world.

Farsighted, nearsighted, and 20/20 all represent your vision identity. But where do you fall on the taste-scale? Scientists refer to three categories to describe your tasting ability: supertaster, medium-taster, or – oh my – a non-taster.

February 1, 2018

By FEMA Staff

You don’t have to be a flavor chemist to know that some foods go well together and others don’t. A 2015 study, Analysis of Food Pairing in Regional Cuisines of India, looked at why this happens, particularly in India, which is home to many regional cuisines. Food pairing, as described by the study, is the “compatibility of two ingredients in a recipe in terms of their shared flavor compounds.” “We quantify food pairing with the help of flavor profiles of ingredients. Flavor profile represents a set of volatile compounds that render the characteristic taste and smell to the ingredient.”

Words like salty, sweet, sour, and bitter describe common flavor taste perceptions, but taste alone does not make up your entire flavor experience. Other aspects like appearance, aroma, sound, and texture also contribute to a flavor’s taste.

What gives meat its crave-worthy flavor? From umami compounds to the Maillard Reaction, discover the science behind meat flavor and why we love it.

Here’s a challenge: Create a heart-healthy, low sodium, low calorie dish that everyone will crave. Ready, Set, Go! This is the task for chefs today who are looking to meet customers’ health expectations without sacrificing flavor.

Think about the last time you had a cold with a stuffed up nose, limiting your sense of smell, and you tried to eat your favorite food. Didn't quite taste the same did it?

What do we actually know about our tongue’s ability to taste flavor? As we continue to learn more about our ability to taste, researches are able to develop new terms and classifications to describe flavor.