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The flavourists

Meeting the people bridging art and science to make food taste delicious

Meet the flavourists – the people who bring together art and science to create the flavours in our food. Each crisp, soft drink, or toothpaste flavour has been concocted by someone in a lab who has spent years studying why things taste good.

In this programme, Ruth Alexander visits the International Flavour Research Centre at the University of Nottingham in the UK, where flavour chemist Professor Ian Fisk demonstrates machines that can act as an artificial nose and tongue. Historian Dr Nadia Berenstein explains how this profession began and evolved alongside the boom in consumer goods in the 20th century. And we meet a master flavourist at the top of their field – Yukiko Ando Ovesen from Japan, who works for the international flavour and fragrance firm, Firmenich.

Presented by Ruth Alexander

Produced by Beatrice Pickup

(Image: girl eating doughnut with brightly coloured sprinkles. Credit: Getty/Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ)

Available now

28 minutes

Last on

Sun 18 Sep 2022 07:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Thu 15 Sep 2022 03:32GMT
  • Thu 15 Sep 2022 04:32GMT
  • Thu 15 Sep 2022 10:32GMT
  • Thu 15 Sep 2022 21:32GMT
  • Thu 15 Sep 2022 22:32GMT
  • Sun 18 Sep 2022 07:32GMT

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