On Food and Cooking

possibilities offered by foods themselves and
by different national traditions.
The other new emphasis is on the flavors
of foods, and sometimes on the particular
molecules that create flavor. Flavors are
something like chemical chords, composite
sensations built up from notes provided by
different molecules, some of which are found
in many foods. I give the chemical names of
flavor molecules when I think that being
specific can help us notice flavor relationships
and echoes. The names may seem strange and
intimidating at first, but they’re just names
and they’ll become more familiar. Of course
people have made and enjoyed well seasoned
dishes for thousands of years with no
knowledge of molecules. But a dash of flavor
chemistry can help us make fuller use of our
senses of taste and smell, and experience
more — and find more pleasure — in what we
cook and eat.