It's Chocolate Week!

What an awesome lecture last night by David Baines, talking all about the chemistry of flavours, the interaction of amino acids to create flavours, the importance of pyrazines in chocolate and the Maillard Reaction, and how evolution plays a huge part in how we detect flavours and aromas. One of the in vogue taste experiments at the moment that David showcased brilliantly is the tasting of high % chocolate whilst holding the nose closed (demonstrated on C4's Sunday Brunch at the weekend)... what do you think happened? Well, the bitter, foul taste of the chocolate whilst holding my nose was lifted as soon as I let go to reveal that famous chocolatey taste we all know too well. Why? It turns out that there are 6 million receptors in both sides of the nose and that pyrazines that come off the chocolate are detected through the retronasal route (one to Google for sure!) without detecting these compounds we don't enjoy the taste! Thankfully I normally eat chocolate without holding my nose, so I can continue enjoying the delicious taste for many years to come...phew!

David also explained how cultural differences alter the way in which we capture, cultivate, prepare and consume food. In addition to our culture, our "eating experience" is influenced by several factors, such as the noise (the crunch of a crisp, for example), our appetite, the taste, the smell and appearance, and even the environment around us affects the way in which we interpret flavours. Who would have thought?! A simple but effective experiment to illustrate this was using 2 different images whilst smelling one aroma (passionfruit) and to see how the audience responded.

The evening ended discussing the popular but controversial MSG, mono-sodium glutamate, and its use in various processed foods. I have tasted MSG on its own before in another lecture, but I couldn't resist having another taste last night either. What foods rely on MSG? What is MSG used for? Where can we find MSG naturally? Definitely worth another Google search.....