Flavors
<p><b>Flavor</b> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences#-our.2C_-or" title="American and British English spelling differences">or</a> <b>flavour</b> is the sensory impression of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food" title="Food">food</a> or other <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_substance" title="Chemical substance">substance</a>, and is determined mainly by the chemical senses of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taste" title="Taste">taste</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olfaction" title="Olfaction">smell</a>.<sup class="Template-Fact" >[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup></p>
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The "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigeminal_nerve" title="Trigeminal nerve">trigeminal senses</a>", which detect chemical <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irritation" title="Irritation">irritants</a> in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouth" title="Mouth">mouth</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throat" title="Throat">throat</a> as well as temperature and texture, are also very important to the overall <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestalt_psychology" title="Gestalt psychology">Gestalt</a> of flavor perception.<sup class="Template-Fact" >[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup></p>
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The flavor of the food, as such, can be altered with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature" title="Nature">natural</a> or artificial flavorants, which affect these senses.<sup class="Template-Fact" >[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup></p>
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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.<sup class="Template-Fact" >[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup></p>
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Of the three chemical senses, smell is the main determinant of a food item's flavor.<sup class="Template-Fact" >[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup> While the taste of food is limited to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet" title="Sweet" class="mw-redirect">sweet</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sour" title="Sour" class="mw-redirect">sour</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitter_%28taste%29" title="Bitter (taste)" class="mw-redirect">bitter</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltiness" title="Saltiness" class="mw-redirect">salty</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umami" title="Umami">umami</a> (savory) – <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pungency" title="Pungency">pungent</a> or piquant and metallic, the seven <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_taste" title="Basic taste" class="mw-redirect">basic tastes</a> – the smells of a food are potentially limitless.<sup class="Template-Fact" >[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup> </p>
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<b>A food's flavor, therefore, can be easily altered by changing its smell while keeping its taste similar.</b><sup class="Template-Fact" ><b>[</b><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><b>citation needed</b></a></i><b>]</b></sup><b> </b></p>
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Nowhere is this better exemplified than in artificially flavored <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelatin_dessert" title="Gelatin dessert">jellies</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_drink" title="Soft drink">soft drinks</a> and candies, which, while made of bases with a similar taste, have dramatically different flavors due to the use of different scents or fragrances.<sup class="Template-Fact" >[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup> </p>
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<b>The flavorings of commercially produced food products are typically created by </b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavorist" title="Flavorist"><b>flavorists</b></a><b>.</b><sup class="Template-Fact" ><b>[</b><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><b>citation needed</b></a></i><b>]</b></sup></p>
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Although the terms "<i>flavoring</i>" or "<i>flavorant</i>" in common language denote the combined chemical sensations of taste and smell, the same terms are usually used in the fragrance and flavors industry to refer to edible chemicals and extracts that alter the flavor of food and food products through the sense of smell.<sup class="Template-Fact" >[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup> Due to the high cost or unavailability of natural flavor extracts, most commercial flavorants are <i>nature-identical</i>, which means that they are the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_compound" title="Chemical compound">chemical</a> equivalent of natural flavors but chemically synthesized rather than being extracted from the source materials.<sup class="Template-Fact" >[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup> Identification of nature-identical flavorants are done using technology such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headspace_technology" title="Headspace technology">headspace techniques</a>.<sup class="Template-Fact" >[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup></p>