Thursday, September 4, 2014

What is the definition of flavor?

Flavor is a biological perception, a sensation produced by a material taken in the mouth, perceived principally by the sense of taste and smell, also the general pain and tactile receptors in the mouth as received and interpreted by the brain.

It is said that there are basically five flavors namely sweet, sour, bitter, salt and savory.

A flavor can in other terms be called the essence of food. Earlier it was considered that there are just four flavors. It was just in the recent years the fifth flavor that of natural amino acid glutamic acid and certain nucleotides was observed.

The Council of Europe defined flavor: A flavoring substance is a chemically-defined compound which has flavoring properties. It is obtained either by isolation from a natural source or by synthesis.

Favoring properties are those which are predominantly odor producing and which may also affect the taste.

Flavor is never eaten in its natural state, it is always incorporated in a matrix or delivery system.

Although food acceptance in humans is determined mainly by appearance and texture, flavor is nevertheless also important. For example, spices are added to food not for their nutritional value, but for their taste and favor.
What is the definition of flavor?

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