How to make 'artificial fragrance' which adds fragrance to food by the power of science learned from Starbuck's pumpkin spice latte

"Burger King's direct fire spicy fragrant perfume"Or"Pepsi where the fragrance of chest explodes very"Matsutake mushroom made with Matsutake powder and Ellingi without using matsutakeIt is possible to create combinations of flavor that can not be gained by using the power of science, such as " "SciShow" explains how "artificial fragrance" indispensable in the food industry of such modern society is made.

Flavor Science: What's Really in a Pumpkin Spice Latte - YouTube


Starbuck's "Pumpkin Spice latte"There is actually no pumpkin in it.


But when you drink this spreads to the surface of the tongueTongue papillaThe part called called will sense the taste. And the brain judges the flavor of the drink as "pumpkin pie flavor!"


And you can feel that it is "scent of pumpkin pie" with the scent entering from the nose.


As mentioned above, there are two kinds of fragrance that imparts a flavor to food, "natural flavors" and "artificial flavors".


"Flavor list" is an expert who prepares such fragrance for food. The flavor list learned about perfume for over 5 years,The Society of Flavor ChemistsIt is said that it refers to a person who holds the qualification by.


With the help of the flavor list, it is possible to actually make any fragrance, it is possible to reproduce any taste, and furthermore they can be realized relatively inexpensively.


However, in most cases, the information on what kind of ingredients combines to give a specific flavor is considered a secret


In the United States, food fragrance can not be used unless it is "safe" on the list after being approved by FDA.


Examples of natural perfumes are tree bark, meat, yeast and the like.


On the other hand, the FDA defines artificial fragrance as a substance that gives a scent that is not naturally derived, such as spices, fruits, and vegetables.


The scent of banana is derived from isoamyl acetate contained as ingredients.


This is natural fragrance.


However, when amyl alcohol is mixed with sulfuric acid and vinegar ... ...


I am able to produce isoamyl acetate.


Isoamyl acetate prepared by mixing rather than ingredients of banana is included in "artificial perfume".


Among the "artificial fragrances" produced in such laboratories, the first thing that was createdVanillin. This is a substance that is a major component of the scent of vanilla.


Vanillin has a structure that is very suitable for adding scents and it is more soluble in water due to the arrangement of oxygen atoms.


Furthermore, since it has a benzene ring, it also has a very strong scent.


The fragrance of vanilla of natural origin can be extracted from the beans of vanilla, but it is very difficult to produce this. 0.2% of the scent of vanilla used around the world is derived from nature.


On the other hand, about 10,000 tons of artificial flavoring vanilla is used a year.


In addition, it seems that 75% of the artificial flavoring vanilla used around the world is used for ice cream and chocolate.


It is also used as an artificial flavor used for a long time, such as candies of grape taste ......


There is methyl anthranilate.


This is a substance contained in orange flowers, it was useful as a valuable scent in the 1800s, and it was used as a perfume.


To create this methyl anthranilate, researchers have formulated a method to prepare methyl alcohol and anthranilic acid. Since this anthranilic acid has a benzene ring, it also has a strong scent.


This method has spread to researchers who produce food fragrances in the first half of the 20th century.


The scent of methyl anthranilate isConcordIt is said to be close to.


That's why most grape-flavored foods (flavored with methyl anthranilate) feel a different flavor than the actual grapes you can buy at the store.


Furthermore, if you want to increase the "umami" of food, there is also a way to add sodium glutamate (sodium glutamate, MSG).


However, when a large number of MSGs are injected into rats in one study, the rats die and the danger may be taken up. However, researchers argue that the action of glutamate in the body differs between humans and rats, "It is toxic if even ingested even with water," and that there is a problem with taking only the dangers of MSG It seems to be.


As a symptom related to this MSG, "Chinese restaurant syndromeThere is what is called.


If you can reproduce the scent with a single substance like heretofore, you can create the substance relatively easily. However, when multiple substances like pizza form scents, multiple substances are required to reproduce the scent.


So the flavor list developed "flavor pack". Using this, the food company reproduces the complex fragrance.


The task of creating a flavor pack is not just a combination of substances that make up the scent. Whether the flavor list is contained in the food that gives the fragrance the same substance as the artificial fragrance, etc are also taken into consideration, and the flavor pack is made.


Usually, "pumpkin spice latte" does not mean "pumpkin taste". Therefore, the flavor list will be scented with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, ginger and others as hints. However, if you actually put these spices in a drink, it will be like a chai. So, by reproducing the "scent of freshly baked pumpkin pie" that would give a strong impression as "scent of pumpkin pie" in the flavor pack, "the scent of pumpkin pie" is added to the brain of the person who drank the drink It is said that he is working on making scents to make him feel illusion.


In addition, although the name is slightly different from "pumpkin spice latte", "pumpkin pilate" is on sale as a drink of pumpkin pie flavor from Starbucks.

Starbucks Discoveries® Pumpkin Pilate | Starbucks Coffee Japan