different aromas that we usually describe by
the foods they remind us of, fruity or flowery
or spicy or herbaceous or meaty. The
molecules that we smell are more soluble in
fat than in water, and tend to escape from
water into the air, where our smell detectors
can sniff them.
It can be useful to think of taste as the
backbone of a flavor, and smell as its fleshing
out. Taste alone is what we experience when
we take some food in the mouth and pinch our
nostrils shut; smell alone is what we
experience when we sniff some food without
putting it in the mouth. Neither is fully
satisfying on its own. And recent research has
shown that taste sensations affect our smell
sensations. In a sweet food, the presence of
sugar enhances our perception of aromas, and
in savory foods, the presence of salt has the
same effect.
The Spectrum of Sauce Flavors When