Flavor (American English) or Flavour (British English; see spelling differences) is the sensory impression of food or other substance, and is determined primarily by the chemical senses of taste and smell. The "trigeminal senses", which detect chemical irritants in the mouth and throat, as well as temperature and texture, are also important to the overall gestalt of flavor perception. The flavor of the food, as such, can be altered with natural or artificial flavorants which affect these senses.
A "flavorant" is defined as a substance that gives another substance flavor, altering the characteristics of the solute, causing it to become sweet, sour, tangy, etc.
Of the three chemical senses, smell is the main determinant of a food item's flavor. While only five basic tastes – sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami (savory) are universally recognized, the number of food smells is unbounded. A food's flavor, therefore, can be easily altered by changing its smell while keeping its taste similar. This is exemplified in artificially flavored jellies, soft drinks and candies, which, while made of bases with a similar taste, have dramatically different flavors due to the use of different scents or fragrances. The flavorings of commercially produced food products are typically created by flavorists.
| Type |
Description |
| Natural flavoring substances |
These flavoring substances are obtained from plant or animal raw materials, by physical, microbiological, or enzymatic processes. They can be either used in their natural state or processed for human consumption, but cannot contain any nature-identical or artificial flavoring substances. |
| Nature-identical flavoring substances |
These are obtained by synthesis or isolated through chemical processes, which are chemically and organoleptically identical to flavoring substances naturally present in products intended for human consumption. They cannot contain any artificial flavoring substances. |
| Artificial flavoring substances |
These are not identified in a natural product intended for human consumption, whether or not the product is processed. These are typically produced by fractional distillation and additional chemical manipulation of naturally sourced chemicals, crude oil, or coal tar. Although they are chemically different, in sensory characteristics they are the same as natural ones. |
| Acid |
Description |
|
Glutamic acid salts |
This amino acid's sodium salt, monosodium glutamate (MSG), is one of the most commonly used flavor enhancers in food processing. Mono- and diglutamate salts are also commonly used. |
|
Glycine salts |
Simple amino acid salts typically combined with glutamic acid as flavor enhancers |
|
Guanylic acid salts |
Nucleotide salts typically combined with glutamic acid as flavor enhancers |
|
Inosinic acid salts |
Nucleotide salts created from the breakdown of AMP, due to high costs of production, typically combined with glutamic acid as flavor enhancers |
| 5'-ribonucleotide salts |
Nucleotide salts typically combined with other amino acids and nucleotide salts as flavor enhancers |
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