Smell That?

Before refrigeration, we had to depend on color, smell and the consistency of our food to know whether it was edible. Now, 90% of all of the money that Americans spend on food goes to fast food giants. So why do we reach for the two all beef patties, special sauce, onions, cheese, pickles, lettuce on a sesame seed bun instead of carrot sticks and apples slices?

Well, turns out canning, freezing, dehydrating and storing food gives it a cardboard taste. No one wants something that tastes of cardboard. So what’s a fast food chain to do? Take it to the lab. Chemical factories came to the rescue in an attempt to reproduce the original taste of foods. That unique taste that a fast food burger has actually comes from a scientist in a white lab coat applying a few drops of specialized chemicals dubbed “flavoring.” Some even got smart and started claiming “natural flavoring.” Don’t be fooled; there is little to no difference between natural flavor and artificial flavor. Both are man made additives doing what they do best-enticing your sense of smell. Up to 90 % of flavor comes from the aroma of food. Our taste buds can account for bitter, sweet, salty and sour but our sense of smell is where it’s at. Basically, the science behind the scent of your perfume is the same as the one that is added to give flavoring to your sausage biscuit.

Maybe one day we will all be able to buy a big vial of burger essence to sprinkle on our carrot sticks and save ourselves calories. At least then we would know there was some sort of nutritional value behind the flavor. As is, the nutritional value to a fast food burger is about the same as eating the plastic wrapping surrounding it. Don’t let the nostalgic aromas get to you, reach for the carrot stick instead.

Lagerquist, Ron. http://bit.ly/4hOGaE