Basics in Understanding Flavour: Smell & Flavour
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July 12, 2024For part two of this series we are going to be talking about the importance of smell, and its overall role in the equation of flavour.
The sense of smell contributes to around 70% of what flavour is, making it probably the most important sense of all. But what’s the difference between aroma and flavour, and why, on occasion do we find them so different.
Well first of all the sense of smell has to be broken down into two parts; orthonasal olfaction, the aroma of an object passing through our nose, and retronasal olfaction, the aroma of something that passes through our mouths, and through the back passage up into our nasal receptors. In both cases, volatile compounds, chemically light compounds, float around in the air, we then breathe in, and like with taste, an individual receptor will bind to its corresponding chemical.
Now it gets a little complicated, most ingredients contain hundreds of volatile compounds, simple ingredients like tomatoes and roses contain over two-hundred compounds and more complex, fermented foods like chocolate contain around seven-hundred compounds. To oversimplify, these compounds (sort of) disperse in the air and we inhale them, they attach themselves to the corresponding receptor in our nose, located right under the part of the brain that stores memories, and from there, messages get sent to the brain and we get smell or orthonasal olfaction. On the other hand if a beverage (I’ll explain food in another issue) enters the mouth, the non-volatiles will attach themselves to taste receptors, and the volatiles will bind to nasal receptors via the back of the mouth, messages will be sent to the brain, along with a truckload of other information, and there is where we get flavour and enjoyment or disgust.
In short aroma, without taste is just smell, aroma and taste together gives us a basis for flavour. You could also smell something while having a taste of something and you’ll still get flavour, try it in a dish, let’s say you want to serve some delicate fish with a hard herb like sage, you could place some sage oil on the cutlery before serving, so one can enjoy a gentle flavour of sage without actually ingesting it. You could also use a taste to ‘cure’ aroma fatigue, chew on gum for thirty minutes and you’ll realise the flavour is gone, that’s because our brain gets bored of the same smell and just cancels it out of the equation, adding a little salt in the mouth will invigorate the mind and bring back some flavour.
It's just so cool to think that arguably the most important part of the flavour equation, smell, accounts to up to three percent of our entire DNA, and we have an estimated one trillion smell receptors in our noses, this is due to the vast amount of volatile compounds that exist in the world, especially considering that each receptor is dedicated to one molecule. Unfortunately for us there’s a catch to this evolutionary marvel, due to the fact we rely so much on sight as a species we lost the ability to use approximately two-thirds of those one trillion receptors. To make this worse, the compounds we can pick up are all unique to the individual.
So from the 600 compounds present in wine we can only pick up around 200 of them, and all of us will pick up slightly different ones. Luckily there are dominant compounds that found in high enough amounts can be picked up by most individuals. But non-dominant compounds might not be picked up by all. A brilliant example of this is truffles, its estimated that one in five people find the aroma of truffle utterly deplorable, while the rest of the population are enamoured by their aroma, this is because truffles contain a non-dominant compound called androsterone, which most people simply can’t pick up. Those who can smell androsterone find it repulsive, noting that it has the aroma of sweat, socks and rotten milk.
We often say that flavour is subjective, but nowadays we have ample evidence to prove that that is the case, so while us mixologists, Chefs, and food and beverage designers, try to bring the very best flavour to this game, we all have to remember that there are individuals that aren’t getting the full flavour, the full story we are trying to portray to them through our craft. It’s biology, we can’t change that, and we should welcome all forms of criticism as a gift, because they are smelling something you’re not.
This also applies to external smells, remember smelling and tasting at the same time will still be registered as flavour. Heavy perfumes, scented candles and flower arrangements in a dining room will affect the flavour of the food, for better or for worse. A lavender scent with a dessert could mean wonders for its flavour but a lavender scent with a fish broth would probably be a disaster.
Due to the olfactory bulb being so close to the memory cortex, aroma, and thus flavour has the ability to evoke memories and emotions. With everyone having their own experiences in life it poses a real challenge to please everyone when it comes to food and beverage. Funnily enough, one could use comforting national and traditional flavours. Refining Nanna’s Sunday lasagne, or a simple baked potato with fennel seeds and onions that are both simultaneously burnt and raw (and I say this with nothing but love), can teleport almost any Maltese person to the happier, simpler times of childhood, and that can be amazing for overall enjoyment.
Smell is the overall champion of individual flavour, it gives food its unique and distinctive flavour, it plays with our emotions and transports us to a simpler time, and yet knowing all this about smell and taste is all useless unless we understand how the base of all this works; chemicals, flavour in its essence, in its measurable form is just chemicals, hundreds of chemicals, bound together, all different, all wanting to do their own thing. While yes, it takes our entire body and mind to perceive these flavours, its roots are all based in chemical compounds.
Stay tuned for Issue 17, where Keith will unveil the final part of the basics of understanding flavour - learning all about the chemical compounds that influence, challenge and alter flavour.
Keith Abela
Keith Abela is a forager, product developer and local food consultant. Who spends all of his time researching the delicious, rare and unique ingredients Maltese nature has to offer. He has a particular interest in multisensory flavour perception and all things fungus.
Click here to see Horeca Issue 16 online
Well first of all the sense of smell has to be broken down into two parts; orthonasal olfaction, the aroma of an object passing through our nose, and retronasal olfaction, the aroma of something that passes through our mouths, and through the back passage up into our nasal receptors. In both cases, volatile compounds, chemically light compounds, float around in the air, we then breathe in, and like with taste, an individual receptor will bind to its corresponding chemical.
Now it gets a little complicated, most ingredients contain hundreds of volatile compounds, simple ingredients like tomatoes and roses contain over two-hundred compounds and more complex, fermented foods like chocolate contain around seven-hundred compounds. To oversimplify, these compounds (sort of) disperse in the air and we inhale them, they attach themselves to the corresponding receptor in our nose, located right under the part of the brain that stores memories, and from there, messages get sent to the brain and we get smell or orthonasal olfaction. On the other hand if a beverage (I’ll explain food in another issue) enters the mouth, the non-volatiles will attach themselves to taste receptors, and the volatiles will bind to nasal receptors via the back of the mouth, messages will be sent to the brain, along with a truckload of other information, and there is where we get flavour and enjoyment or disgust.
In short aroma, without taste is just smell, aroma and taste together gives us a basis for flavour. You could also smell something while having a taste of something and you’ll still get flavour, try it in a dish, let’s say you want to serve some delicate fish with a hard herb like sage, you could place some sage oil on the cutlery before serving, so one can enjoy a gentle flavour of sage without actually ingesting it. You could also use a taste to ‘cure’ aroma fatigue, chew on gum for thirty minutes and you’ll realise the flavour is gone, that’s because our brain gets bored of the same smell and just cancels it out of the equation, adding a little salt in the mouth will invigorate the mind and bring back some flavour.
It's just so cool to think that arguably the most important part of the flavour equation, smell, accounts to up to three percent of our entire DNA, and we have an estimated one trillion smell receptors in our noses, this is due to the vast amount of volatile compounds that exist in the world, especially considering that each receptor is dedicated to one molecule. Unfortunately for us there’s a catch to this evolutionary marvel, due to the fact we rely so much on sight as a species we lost the ability to use approximately two-thirds of those one trillion receptors. To make this worse, the compounds we can pick up are all unique to the individual.
So from the 600 compounds present in wine we can only pick up around 200 of them, and all of us will pick up slightly different ones. Luckily there are dominant compounds that found in high enough amounts can be picked up by most individuals. But non-dominant compounds might not be picked up by all. A brilliant example of this is truffles, its estimated that one in five people find the aroma of truffle utterly deplorable, while the rest of the population are enamoured by their aroma, this is because truffles contain a non-dominant compound called androsterone, which most people simply can’t pick up. Those who can smell androsterone find it repulsive, noting that it has the aroma of sweat, socks and rotten milk.
We often say that flavour is subjective, but nowadays we have ample evidence to prove that that is the case, so while us mixologists, Chefs, and food and beverage designers, try to bring the very best flavour to this game, we all have to remember that there are individuals that aren’t getting the full flavour, the full story we are trying to portray to them through our craft. It’s biology, we can’t change that, and we should welcome all forms of criticism as a gift, because they are smelling something you’re not.
This also applies to external smells, remember smelling and tasting at the same time will still be registered as flavour. Heavy perfumes, scented candles and flower arrangements in a dining room will affect the flavour of the food, for better or for worse. A lavender scent with a dessert could mean wonders for its flavour but a lavender scent with a fish broth would probably be a disaster.
Due to the olfactory bulb being so close to the memory cortex, aroma, and thus flavour has the ability to evoke memories and emotions. With everyone having their own experiences in life it poses a real challenge to please everyone when it comes to food and beverage. Funnily enough, one could use comforting national and traditional flavours. Refining Nanna’s Sunday lasagne, or a simple baked potato with fennel seeds and onions that are both simultaneously burnt and raw (and I say this with nothing but love), can teleport almost any Maltese person to the happier, simpler times of childhood, and that can be amazing for overall enjoyment.
Smell is the overall champion of individual flavour, it gives food its unique and distinctive flavour, it plays with our emotions and transports us to a simpler time, and yet knowing all this about smell and taste is all useless unless we understand how the base of all this works; chemicals, flavour in its essence, in its measurable form is just chemicals, hundreds of chemicals, bound together, all different, all wanting to do their own thing. While yes, it takes our entire body and mind to perceive these flavours, its roots are all based in chemical compounds.
Stay tuned for Issue 17, where Keith will unveil the final part of the basics of understanding flavour - learning all about the chemical compounds that influence, challenge and alter flavour.
Keith Abela
Keith Abela is a forager, product developer and local food consultant. Who spends all of his time researching the delicious, rare and unique ingredients Maltese nature has to offer. He has a particular interest in multisensory flavour perception and all things fungus.
Click here to see Horeca Issue 16 online
