Why Do We Eat Artificial Flavors?

Where do artificial flavors come from? Well whether it’s your average store bought yogurt, granola bar, or even butter, a lot of food we eat today is full of artificial flavoring. Why did this happen? Well it actually has to do with the strange history of vanilla (yes! boring old vanilla) and the human perception of taste. How does it all work? Watch the episode to find out!

Do you enjoy the show? The check us out on:
Instagram: @pbsoriginofeverything

Written and Hosted By: Danielle Bainbridge
Graphics By: Noelle Smith
Directed By: Andrew Kornhaber

History of fake flavors:
Vanilla

Fake butter flavor

Fake banana flavor:
Fake Grape
Doctoral candidate at UPenn who specializes in artificial flavorings in food (this is her blog)
Good examples of things that share the same properties/ingredients but that have multiple uses because they are chemicals and that’s normal!
Science Babe website

Organic food market:

Artificial flavorings:

[marisp]

Danielle can make literally any topic interesting.. That is a gift 👏👏👏

[Red-in-Green]

Grape flavor tastes like purple. Not grape. Purple

[hotsauce]

It don't taste like grape, but it sure as hell taste like purple.

[qpSubZeroqp]

I love this channel! You guys need more subscribers and views because you definitely deserve it!

[DrewSprague]

What about artificial banana flavoring? I've heard that artificial banana is trying to replicate the taste of the Gros Michel banana cultivar that was wiped out by Panama disease in the 1950s and the bananas currently in the produce aisle are Cavandish cultivars.

[dnyalslg]

I just love the presenter, just love her! It's a delight to watch these videos

[Obiki]

2:14 You’re tryna tell me that this guy is supposed to be

[KyleZager]

Using artificial flavors is better than natural ones. Natural flavors have to derive from naturally occurring sources. While it may sound good, in examples like natural coconut flavor (Massoia lactone), it is extracted from the bark of a tree that only grows in one part of the world. The process of harvesting the bark kills off the tree. The artificial flavor on the other hand is the EXACT same chemical compound, but is made for way less of a cost, is a more pure compound (lower chance of other chemicals), and without as huge of an environmental impact. Not to mention artificial flavors go through a lot of quality control to make sure they're safe to consume.

[MaryThompson]

Awesome! btw - I love vanilla, and now I know why it’s so expensive. What I want to know is how did anyone convince anyone else to try an artificial flavoring for the first time... I mean, like “Hey Henry, I just mixed up this test tube of something that smells vaguely like grapes. Taste it and let me know what you think.”. (Let’s get Mikey! He won’t eat it, he hates everything.). Plus the whole fact that there are chemicals combinations unrelated to the actual thing but that taste or smell like the actual thing, that fact boggles my mind. Great job!

[jordang]

Watching this while making vanilla whipped cream. I bought a vanilla bean to make something else. It was hella expencive so i decided to soak the remaining pod in some cream and hope it works ;)

[jiritsu]

This is a topic I would really love to hear and learn more about.
Fantastic video - thanks for it!

[beasthunt]

This video was fantastic. I'm here from ASU. I'm glad I was sent here.

"They even found a way to make butter taste even more like butter." I died

[jnwoodard]

To put it in the words of Mr. Krabs, “MONEY!”

[anuel]

0:50 I don't blame you; it's a reasonable mistake to make, but I just hate things being in quotes yet it doesn't get an end quote.
It's the word "ordinary but without the end quote. Uuh.

[KY_CPA]

I'm so bummed that I'm just now discovering this channel, now that it's already been cancelled. 😥
Great shows and great content!

[sleepysartorialist]

“Artificial” banana is actually a synthetic of the flavor of Gros Michel 🍌 which went extinct because Edwardian folk ate them to death. It’s a real fruit flavor we just no longer have access to the actual fruit

[illiteratemochi]

Personally, I dont think theres anything wrong with liking or even preferring artificial flavors. We associate the word chemical with bad, but literally everything is a chemical and is made of chemicals. And why does natural always mean “better”? If it doesnt taste as good, I dont see why you cant prefer the “fake” stuff. I think the main issue is how much of it we eat, and that the foods we associate with aritficial flavors tend to have way more sugar and things that arent great for us in large quantities.

[soniquecat]

It's kinda sad. I actually met a kid who claimed to like strawberries, but when he was given the actual strawberries, he whined they are tasteless and weird. Apparently, when speaking of strawberries, he was talking about strawberry flavored candy and such :(

[HeySophie]

I love this girl that Explains everything

[Darth_Pro_x]

Please make a video about the origin of trade!!
I suggest reading 'the money game and beyond' if you want to explore this subject