What makes a pear taste like a pear? That would be ethyl acetate, but the story is a bit more complicated than that. Artificial flavors keep getting better, because we're learning what makes natural foods taste they way they do in far more detail than ever before.
A few years ago, in England, I had a glass of alcoholic pear cider that I thought was outstanding. It was pleasantly fizzy, slightly sweet, and evocative of a fresh, ripe pear. I was certain, in my own mind, that it was a craft-made product, involving barrels of overripe pears crushed by the feet of sweet young maidens and fermented in an old oaken barn. Nope. It was, instead, a laboratory creation. There wasn't a molecule of pear in it – it was completely artificially flavored. And it was fantastic! Since then I've had a few other pleasant surprises with artificial flavoring – still the exception, but it's happening more often.
I hope someone will tackle tomatoes. I miss the flavor of an excellent fresh tomato...
No comments:
Post a Comment