ABSTRACT
Knowledge of basic flavor chemistry is crucial for chefs to understand the principles behind the flavor pairings, and to create new food combinations. Each food has its own chemical structure; hence its own hundreds or even thousands of taste and odor molecules that make up its flavor. Acids, esters, acetals, and aldehydes are the main flavor components of alcoholic beverages. Taste molecules in foods are detected by specialized sensory cells on the tongue. Taste and odor signals work together to create the person’s perception of flavor. Although some foods may share the similar flavor compounds, they may have completely different flavors due to the differences in their compositions. The flavor compounds of foods determine the acceptable food pairing. The common, complementing, and contrasting flavor compounds in different foods may create new flavors when they come together. Some flavor compounds can suppress the specialized sensory cells on the tongue, which may modify the perceived intensity of the other flavor compounds.
