Flavorings

The term “flavoring” encompasses a range of definitions. General dictionaries define “flavoring” as “a particular sensation as perceived after placing a substance in the oral cavity,” while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration provides a detailed explanation: “Flavoring means any substance, the function of which is to import flavor, which is derived from spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof.” Flavor has olfactory (smell) and gustatory (taste) components. According to the Monell Chemical Senses Center, “It has long been established that our sense of taste detects four basic sensations—sweet, salty, sour and bitter. More recently, increasing consensus has developed for the addition of a fifth class of taste sensation: umami, sometimes described as brothy.”