Popular Science of Fragrance: The Magic of Fragrance from Raw Materials to Finished Products

Popular Science of Fragrance: The Magic of Fragrance from Raw Materials to Finished Products

I. The Difference between Fragrance and Spices

1. Spices are "ingredients": Fragrance substances such as vanillin and eugenol are the basic raw materials for making flavors, just like salt, sugar and soy sauce in the kitchen.

2. Fragrance is "cooking": perfumers mix and blend these raw materials, adding emulsifiers and other auxiliary materials, just like chefs add starch to thicken dishes, making the aroma more stable and easier to use.

2. Four major sources of spices

1. Natural extraction (perfume in the plant world) • Traditional process: steam distillation of essential oils (such as rose essential oil) • Modern technology: use carbon dioxide extraction technology to obtain oleoresins (retain the complete aroma of plants) • Examples: orange peel essential oil, jasmine hydrosol

2. Chemical synthesis (artificial aroma factory) • Natural equivalents: artificial synthesis of aromas existing in nature (such as vanillin) • Innovative substances: aroma molecules created in the laboratory (a minority)

3. Microbial fermentation (flavors brewed over time) • Fermentation products: the mellow aroma of cheese, the aroma of soy sauce • Industrial application: cultivating specific aroma substances by controlling the strain of bacteria

4. Thermal processing reaction (chemistry class in the kitchen) • Maillard reaction: the charred aroma of fried steak • Caramelization reaction: the golden aroma of toasted bread • Application: wok flavor, barbecue flavor

3. The complex identity of flavors

1. The nature of the mixture: it may contain natural essential oils + artificial flavors + fermentation products + thermal reactants at the same time

2. "Natural flavor" controversy: • US standard: All-natural ingredients can be labeled "natural flavor" • Current situation in China: There is no unified standard, and the ingredient list is uniformly labeled "edible flavor"

IV. Practical value of flavors

1. Enhance flavor: Make instant coffee closer to the taste of freshly ground coffee

2. Stabilize aroma: Extend shelf life through embedding technology

3. Reduce costs: Use a small amount of flavor to simulate complex cooking processes

[Little knowledge] The next time you see "edible flavor" on food packaging, you can understand it this way: this may be a "fragrance cocktail" mixed by perfumers using plant extracts, fermentation products, artificial synthetic spices, etc., to make food present a richer flavor level through scientific means.