ABSTRACT
Smell and flavor are two popular words in science, particularly since the award of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2004 to Linda Buck and Richard Axel for their work that led to the discovery of the gene coding for the synthesis of olfactory receptors. Olfaction is currently believed to be based on the interaction between volatile molecules forming odor and olfactory receptors. The perception of smell is physiologically limited, and this limit is called the odor perception threshold. The combination of aroma and taste is the flavor of food. In a food, natural aroma represents a very small percentageand consists of hundreds of volatile molecules. The odorous compounds that form flavors are organic molecules of low molecular weight; they have a partial ­pressure of vapors that is sufficiently high at atmospheric pressure and ambient temperature to allow a fraction to be released into the headspace surrounding their original media.
