Meet the flavourists (Medium)

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. Im Sam.

Neil

And Im Neil.

In this programme were finding out all about food flavours. Although everyone knows what food they like the taste , the science behind flavours is complex. Flavour involves much more than tasting with the tongue  � its also influenced how food looks, smells, and even how its described.

Neil

In this programme well be meeting the flavourists  � scientists who combine different natural and artificial ingredients to create the flavours we love to taste in our food. of course, well be learning some new vocabulary as well.

Sam

Sounds delicious, Neil, but first I have question for you. No-one really knows why but certain flavours seem to work well together. Some scientists think classic like lemon and lime, or strawberries and cream are so popular because their chemicals overlap in special ways. Sometimes creates new, interesting and unusual flavours. So, what weirdly popular combination was invented by British chef, Heston Blumenthal? Was …

a) dark chocolate and sea salt?

b) milk chocolate and chilli? or,

c) white chocolate caviar?

Neil

Well, Ive tried sea salt and chocolate and I think it tastes great, so Ill say ).

Sam

OK, Neil. Ill reveal the correct answer at the end of the programme.

Neil

Nowadays, the industry is big business. Flavourists work in high-tech laboratories and every new ice-cream-, crisp or toothpaste flavour is the of years of scientific research. But it wasnt always like that.

Heres food historian, Dr Nadia Berenstein, describing beginnings of the flavour industry in the 19th century to Ruth Alexander, presenter of BBC World Service programme, The Chain…

Dr Nadia Berenstein

There's really only a handful of people and maybe a dozen or so companies are really involved, and at that point they really are kind of working with secret recipes that were kept secure, and sometimes passed down within families from father to son, so it really seemed like a guild structure the Middle Ages at that point.

Ruth Alexander

Was it seen as some kind of dark art?

Nadia Berenstein

Yes, the term black art does come up in some of the early writing of people who producing flavours at this point.

Sam

To begin with, there were only around dozen, thats twelve, companies experimenting food flavours. The recipes they used were kept secret and only shared with family or trusted friends. Dr Berenstein these companies to a guild - an organization of people who do the same job or have the same .

Neil

Because it was so secretive and mysterious, people saw making flavours as a dark art - a of achieving something in a clever but dishonest or wicked way. But this all changed after the Second World , when the invention of processed food which could be bought in supermarkets, and kept fresh at home in the , increased the demand for new and exciting flavours.

Sam

Heres Dr Berenstein again, explaining the work of present-day to BBC World Service programme, The Food Chain…

Dr Nadia Berenstein

So, essentially becoming a flavourist today is an apprenticeship process. There's no academic path to it, right. Your training is on-the-job--, working alongside a master flavourist a flavour and fragrance company, or at some of the bigger food companies will have their own flavour divisions. a scientific profession for sure. You have to know a lot about chemistry, but it is a creative profession. the very heart of this industrial food system, there are these craft artisans who are essentially designing molecule by , the flavours that shape the way food is made to taste.

Neil

Todays flavourists learn their art by an apprenticeship  � a period of time spent working for a skilled master, often for low payment, in order learn their skills. Although a background in chemistry is important, you cant study flavours at university  � the training on-the-job--, at your place of work, while you are working.

Sam

Dr Berenstein calls flavourists craft artisans  � doing skilled work with their hands, and she describes their creations as the marriage of science and art.

Yes, I love the idea of the flavourist as a magician, adding a pinch of this flavour, or a of that oil to create the perfect, magical taste! I wonder if thats what British chef, Heston Blumenthal, was to do…

Sam

In my question, I asked what popular flavour combination was invented by chef, Heston ?

Neil

I said it was a) dark chocolate and sea salt. So, was I right?

Sam

Well, true that sweet and salty flavours go together well, but the correct answer was… white chocolate and caviar, a described by Swiss master flavourist, Franois Benzi, as “weird but wonderful”. Right, lets recap the vocabulary weve learned, with a dozen which means twelve.

Neil

Something described as a dark art refers to a method of something in a clever but dishonest way.

Sam

A guild is an organization of people who do the job.

Neil

An apprenticeship is the period of time an apprentice spends watching and working with a skilled in order to learn their skills.

Sam

When you do something on-the-jobit happens in the workplace, while you working.

Neil

And finally, an artisan is a person doing skilled work with their hands. Once again, our minutes are up. Bye for now!

Sam

Bye!