Monday, November 30, 2009

A Story About Natural Flavors


Raffi Khatchadourian, Annals of Science, “The Taste Makers,” The New Yorker, November 23, 2009

If you haven't read this yet, do so immediately--only the abstract is available online, unfortunately--you now need a digital subscription to read most of TheNY online, alas, but you can get it from the library--I now do this for most of my mags--avoids the horrible huge pile of mags for the recycling.

ABSTRACT: ANNALS OF SCIENCE about Michelle Hagen, a flavorist at Givaudan, the largest creator of flavors and fragrances in the world. Growing up, Michelle Hagen lived near a factory in Cincinnati that produced what she and her sisters called The Smell. The aroma wasn’t consistent: it was dynamic and unpredictable. Many of the odors triggered specific associations—birthday cake, popcorn, chicken-noodle soup. She never imagined that she would end up working in the factory that made The Smell, but that is what happened. The factory belongs to a Swiss company called Givaudan.