How are Flavors invented?

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Who Smarted?" Episode – "How are Flavors Invented?"

Introduction

In the enlightening and entertaining episode titled "How are Flavors Invented?" from the educational podcast Who Smarted?, hosted by Jerry Colbert and produced by Atomic Entertainment and Starglow Media, young listeners embark on a flavorful journey into the science behind the tastes they enjoy every day. Released on April 7, 2025, this episode seamlessly blends humor with scientific insights, making complex concepts accessible and engaging for children and their families.

Exploring the World of Flavors

The episode kicks off with Jerry Colbert engaging listeners by asking, "Hey, smarty pants. You like jelly beans?" ([00:01] Jerry Colbert). This playful introduction sets the stage for a deeper exploration into the diverse and imaginative world of flavors, particularly focusing on jelly beans as a relatable example for kids.

Meet the Flavor Experts

Jerry introduces his friend Candice, an expert on flavors, who shares her experiences as a flavorist: "Yep, that's what I do. Of course, it's not always fun. Sometimes I spend all day tasting different protein shakes. Blah. I'd rather taste jelly beans." ([00:44] Jenna Hoban). This candid insight highlights the often unglamorous side of flavor testing, contrasting it with the more enjoyable task of experimenting with jelly beans.

The Magic vs. Science of Flavor Creation

Adam Tex Davis, portrayed humorously as "Flavio, the fantastic enchanter of the edible," attempts to demonstrate flavor magic by transforming a plant into a hamburger with a puff of smoke ([01:07] Adam Tex Davis). However, his antics are swiftly debunked by Jenna, who clarifies, "Actually, you don't need magic to make flavors. The flavors found in jelly beans and other treats are the product of science." ([01:48] Jenna Hoban). This moment effectively distinguishes the myth of magic from the reality of scientific processes involved in flavor creation.

Understanding the Science Behind Flavors

Jerry delves into the scientific foundations of flavor creation, posing intriguing questions: "How do scientists create different flavors, including gross ones? And how can you make one food taste like another?" ([02:11] Jerry Colbert). Jenna elaborates on the role of chemicals in flavor development: "The flavors found in jelly beans and other treats are the product of science... By mixing and matching the right amount of flavors, you get combinations that taste like other things." ([05:10] Jenna Hoban).

She further explains the chemical basis of flavor, using water as an example: "Take water, for example. The chemical combination of hydrogen and oxygen makes water... And it's the same with flavors." ([04:07] Jerry Colbert). This explanation underscores the fundamental role of chemistry in creating both everyday and exotic flavors.

Historical Perspectives on Artificial Flavors

The discussion transitions to the history of artificial flavors, where Jenna reveals, "While A and B sound possible, the answer is actually C. People have been making artificial flavors since the 1800s." ([06:23] Jenna Hoban). She narrates how early scientists, lacking advanced technology, used synthetic esters to mimic fruit flavors, resulting in candies that taste distinctively different from their natural counterparts: "They didn't come from fruits. In fact, some were leftover materials from alcohol or coal." ([06:49] Jenna Hoban).

The Role of Smell in Taste Perception

Jenna highlights the critical connection between smell and taste: "Your sense of smell has a tremendous impact on taste... Scientists use that information to determine the exact chemicals to make a certain taste." ([12:13] Jenna Hoban). She introduces the gas chromatograph, a device that separates a food's odor into its chemical components, enabling scientists to recreate complex flavors accurately.

Creating Unusual and Gross Flavors

The episode takes a whimsical turn as Jenna discusses how even the most unappetizing flavors, like vomit, are scientifically crafted without any actual unpleasant substances: "Scientists can make all kind of weird, gross flavors like earwax, dirty socks, and vomit without magic." ([07:40] Jenna Hoban). She shares the amusing story of Jelly Belly's accidental creation of the vomit-flavored jelly bean from a failed pizza recipe: "They had a jelly bean that tastes unmistakably like vomit." ([14:48] Jenna Hoban).

Conclusion: The Science Behind Deliciousness

As the episode wraps up, Jenna emphasizes the precision and creativity involved in flavor science: "Once a flavorist feels a certain combination of chemicals is correct, the recipe is written up, and the flavor ends up in your mouth without even the tiniest hint of magic." ([05:43] Jenna Hoban). This statement encapsulates the blend of art and science that defines flavor creation, leaving listeners with a deeper appreciation for the tastes they enjoy.

Notable Quotes

• Jerry Colbert ([00:01]): "Hey, smarty pants. You like jelly beans?"
• Jenna Hoban ([00:27]): "If you eat two blueberry ones and a popcorn one at the same time, it tastes just like a blueberry muffin."
• Jenna Hoban ([01:48]): "The flavors found in jelly beans and other treats are the product of science."
• Jenna Hoban ([06:23]): "People have been making artificial flavors since the 1800s."
• Jenna Hoban ([12:13]): "Your sense of smell has a tremendous impact on taste."
• Jenna Hoban ([14:48]): "They had a jelly bean that tastes unmistakably like vomit."

Final Thoughts

This episode of Who Smarted? masterfully combines storytelling, humor, and scientific explanation to demystify the process of flavor invention. By debunking myths of magic and highlighting the intricate chemistry behind flavors, the podcast not only entertains but also educates its young audience. Whether it's understanding why some candies taste different or appreciating the technology that transforms our favorite foods, listeners are left with a comprehensive and enjoyable understanding of how flavors are invented.

Transcript

[Jerry Colbert]

Hey, smarty pants. You like jelly beans? I heard some yeses and some nos. But here's the thing. When you think of jelly beans, what flavor are you thinking of? After all, jelly beans come in many flavors. Go ahead, shout some out.

[Brandon Bayless]

Nice.

[Jerry Colbert]

And then there's gourmet jelly beans, like the ones made by Jelly Belly that you can experiment with. Have you ever done that?

[Jenna Hoban]

If you eat two blueberry ones and a popcorn one at the same time, it tastes just like a blueberry muffin.

[Jerry Colbert]

Meet my friend Candice. She's an expert on flavors. Did you know there are people whose.

[Brandon Bayless]

Job it is to test flavors before.

[Jerry Colbert]

They'Re added to foods?

[Jenna Hoban]

Yep, that's what I do. Of course, it's not always fun. Sometimes I spend all day tasting different protein shakes. Blah. I'd rather taste jelly beans. Did you know two cotton candy jelly beans and two lemon jelly beans make pink lemonade?

[Jerry Colbert]

Amazing. But tell me, how are flavors made?

[Adam Tex Davis]

Ta da. Too much smoke for my magical entrance.

[Brandon Bayless]

I think I use too much smoke just a tad. More importantly, who are you?

[Adam Tex Davis]

I'm Flavio, the fantastic enchanter of the edible, sorcerer of the succulent, charmer of the chewable.

[Jerry Colbert]

Doesn't ring a bell.

[Adam Tex Davis]

I'm a flavor magician. I change ordinary things into tasty delights with magic. Just like those magic beans.

[Jenna Hoban]

You mean these jelly beans?

[Adam Tex Davis]

Yes. Taste what happens when I plant them in this soil.

[Brandon Bayless]

Hey, I was eating those.

[Jenna Hoban]

Actually, you don't need magic to make flavors.

[Jerry Colbert]

They.

[Jenna Hoban]

The flavors found in jelly beans and other treats are the product of science.

[Adam Tex Davis]

Science and magic?

[Jenna Hoban]

No, just science.

[Adam Tex Davis]

Even gross jelly bean flavors? Like vomit?

[Jenna Hoban]

You betcha.

[Adam Tex Davis]

Impossible. How can science do that?

[Jerry Colbert]

Good question, Flavio. So what gives foods their flavor? How do scientists create different flavors, including gross ones? And how can you make one food taste like another? It's time for a tasty whiff of science.

[N/A]

On who's smarted, who's smarted? Who's smart? Is it you? Is it me? Is it science or history? Listen up, everyone. We make smarting lots of fun on who's Smart and.

[Jerry Colbert]

Hey, smartypants. I'm here with my friend Candace, a.

[Adam Tex Davis]

Flavor expert, and Flavio, the fantastic conjurer of confections. Wizard of.

[Jerry Colbert]

Yes, we get it.

[Adam Tex Davis]

For my first act, I will turn this plant into a hamburger. Sorry again about the smoke, but look. Instead of a plant there. There now sits a juicy burger. Ta da.

[Jerry Colbert]

That's not magic. You distracted us with the smoke while.

[Brandon Bayless]

You swapped the plant for a pre made burger.

[Adam Tex Davis]

Nonsense. It was magic.

[Brandon Bayless]

I can see the Plant behind you.

[Adam Tex Davis]

That's a different plant.

[Jenna Hoban]

Regardless, you don't need magic to turn plants into burgers. Scientists can do that using the smallest substances on earth. Chemicals.

[Adam Tex Davis]

Chemicals. You won't catch me putting nasty chemicals into my body.

[Jenna Hoban]

Too late for that, Flavio.

[Brandon Bayless]

Yeah, smarty pants?

[Jerry Colbert]

Can you name something you put into your body that has chemicals? Go ahead, shout out your answers. Guess what? Every answer is correct.

[N/A]

Huh?

[Jerry Colbert]

That's because everything is made of chemicals.

[Brandon Bayless]

Ha.

[Adam Tex Davis]

Now you're trying to trick me.

[Jerry Colbert]

Not at all. While some chemicals can be dangerous, other chemicals are necessary for life. Take water, for example. Now, you may have heard of water referred to as H2O, smarty pants. Do you know what the H stands for? How about the O? If you said hydrogen and oxygen, you're right. The chemical combination of hydrogen and oxygen makes water. And as you know, oxygen is not just in water. It's in both natural and synthetic things such as air, rocks, wood, and plastic.

[Jenna Hoban]

And it's the same with flavors. Some of the safe chemicals that make food taste a certain way can be found in other things. The chemical molecule heme helps meat taste like, well, meat. There's a lot of it in the meat of animals, but it can also be found in plants. By taking the heme molecule from plants, scientists are able to make things like the impossible burger, which has no meat, but tastes like a burger.

[Adam Tex Davis]

Nah, I ain't buying it. This plant don't taste like burger.

[Jenna Hoban]

That's because you're still going to need to mix it with other chemicals to get the full burger flavor. That's where people called flavorists come in. It's our job to taste foods and determine if a combination of flavors is just right. It's like what we were doing earlier with the jelly beans. By mixing and matching the right amount of flavors, you get combinations that taste like other things. Like how one popcorn and two blueberry jelly beans taste like a muffin.

[N/A]

Whoa.

[Jenna Hoban]

Once a flavorist feels a certain combination of chemicals is correct, the recipe is written up, and the flavor ends up in your mouth without even the tiniest hint of magic.

[Adam Tex Davis]

Oh, yeah. How come some candy flavors don't taste like the real thing? I mean, grape bubble gum doesn't taste like grapes.

[Jerry Colbert]

Hmm. Hey, smarty pants, have you noticed that, too? Why do you think some candy and gum flavors taste different than the foods they're supposed to taste like? Is it because A, the flavors are impossible to copy, B, the fake flavors are cheaper to make, or C, the flavors were made many years ago and everyone just got used to them.

[Jenna Hoban]

While A and B sound possible, the answer is actually C. People have been making artificial flavors since the 1800s. Back then, scientists didn't have the technology and knowledge to figure out every part of a fruit's flavor, so they'd mix and match chemicals to come up with something fruity. This included chemicals called synthetic esters.

[N/A]

Ah.

[Jenna Hoban]

And while some of these esters tasted like fruit, they didn't come from fruits. In fact, some were leftover materials from alcohol or coal.

[N/A]

Whoa.

[Jenna Hoban]

The scientists advertised these flavor mixes as fruits, such as grapes, cherries, or bananas. And that's how candies back then got their flavors.

[N/A]

Ah.

[Jenna Hoban]

Over time, people became used to them.

[N/A]

Yum.

[Jenna Hoban]

Flavor technology has improved greatly, but the old flavors remain simply because people expect fruit flavored candies to taste that way.

[Jerry Colbert]

Speaking of fruit flavored candies, what happened to our jellybeans?

[Adam Tex Davis]

I planted them in the dirt and ta da. They've been magically transformed into dirt flavored beans.

[Jenna Hoban]

That's not how you make dirt flavored jelly beans. Scientists can make all kind of weird, gross flavors like earwax, dirty socks, and vomit without magic.

[Jerry Colbert]

But how, and more importantly, does the vomit flavored ones contain actual vomit? Please say no. Please say no. Please say no.

[Jenna Hoban]

Well, the truth is coming up right.

[Jerry Colbert]

After this quick break.

[Brandon Bayless]

Have you ever had that moment where your kiddo looks up at you from the kitchen table, frustrated, stuck on their homework, and you want so badly to help them, but you just can't? No. Not because you don't care, but because school is different now. Math looks like a foreign language, the grammar rules have changed. Not to mention you're juggling five other things and dinner is burning. Every parent I know has been here. That's why I want to tell you about something that can make your life easier. Ixl. It's an online learning program that helps your child with math, English, science, and social studies from Pre K to 12th grade. But while that would be enough, what makes it extra special is how it adapts to your child. It figures out what they need and guides them gently toward mastery. And Just like WhoSmarted, IXL makes learning fun, your kids get instant feedback and even earn rewards. So if you're trying to set your child up for success, then set them up with ixl. It works and it's fun. And now who smarted? Listeners get 20% off when you sign up [e-mail] smarted that's ixl.com smarted 20% off. So you can get the most effective learning program out there at the best price. And be the helpful parent that you.

[Jerry Colbert]

Were meant to be.

[Brandon Bayless]

Okay, let's be honest. Life is a lot right now. Between school drop offs, back to back meetings, half folded laundry, and texts you forgot to reply to, who has time to launch that business idea that's been living in your Notes app since 2021? Especially with that one thing standing between you and finally getting your business out into the world. A website. That part always feels like a brick wall. You want it to look professional. You want it to work, and you don't want to spend a lot of money on it. That's why I'm telling you, use Squarespace. With Squarespace, it's as easy as tell it what your idea is. Pick a style you love. Boom. Website. They've got tools for selling, scheduling, newsletters, online stores, all of it. And it looks beautiful and it works perfectly. And the whole thing happens in minutes in the middle of your real, messy, overloaded life three months from now. Don't let the reason you still haven't launched your business be but the website. I built my first Squarespace site in less than a half hour. This is the sign for you. To build yours, go to squarespace.com smarted and use code smarted for a free trial and 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. You don't need more time. You just need the right tool. That's Squarespace.

[Jerry Colbert]

Now back to who's smarted. So my flavorist friend Candace was about to spill the beans on how scientists create fun, wacky, and sometimes gross flavors.

[Adam Tex Davis]

While I, Flavio the Great, explain how magic is used to make one meat tastes like another. Listen as I make this turkey sound like a pig.

[Jerry Colbert]

Hey, that's actually not bad.

[Jenna Hoban]

Very impressive.

[Adam Tex Davis]

Thank you. Thank you very much.

[Jerry Colbert]

There's just one problem.

[Brandon Bayless]

That oinking isn't coming from the turkey. It's coming from Flavio's smartphone.

[Adam Tex Davis]

That's just a coincidence. It happens to be my ringtone.

[Jenna Hoban]

Mm. Look. Flavorists have also performed this trick. Because turkeys are birds, you'd think they'd taste like chicken. But flavorists found that turkey meat has qualities that are juicy, fatty, sweet, and savory, similar to the meat of a pig, otherwise known as pork. Since turkey has less fat and fewer calories, it's often used as a substitute for pork flavor in foods such as bacon, sausage, and hot dogs. Of course, turkey is most popular at Thanksgiving. Can you name another Thanksgiving flavor that's become a favorite, appearing in pies, lattes, and even ice cream?

[Jerry Colbert]

Do you know, smarty pants? Is it A squash, B pumpkin, or C Turducken?

[Jenna Hoban]

Well, it's not Turducken. And surprisingly, it's not pumpkin.

[N/A]

Huh.

[Jenna Hoban]

Most pumpkin pies, pumpkin spice lattes, and pumpkin ice creams are made with pumpkin puree, which is usually made with a squash. What? That's due to another component of taste, texture. A pumpkin pie made from big orange pumpkins would end up stringy and watery. Not to mention, real pumpkin pie can taste rather bland. So about a century ago, a food maker named Libby's developed a type of butternut squash with a better texture and flavor and used it for their pumpkin puree, which is now the top selling pumpkin filling. They call their squash Dickinson Pumpkin. So you can say it's still pumpkin pie or pumpkin ice cream, even though it's not made with pumpkins.

[Jerry Colbert]

But the texture isn't the only factor impacting flavor.

[Jenna Hoban]

That's right. Your sense of smell has a tremendous impact on taste. It's how you pick up all the details of a flavor. Try squeezing your nose while eating something and you'll see what I mean.

[Adam Tex Davis]

You're right. The flavor magically disappeared.

[Jenna Hoban]

Nope, not magically. To make better flavors, food scientists used the smell of foods. They've developed a device called a gas chromatograph, which takes a food's odor and separates its chemical components.

[N/A]

Amazing.

[Jenna Hoban]

Scientists use that information to determine the exact chemicals to make a certain taste. They often get the odor by heating up whatever it is they're trying to extract the smell of. Think of how you can practically taste chocolate chip cookies when you smell them baking in the oven.

[Adam Tex Davis]

Cookies. Nom nom, nom, nom, nom, nom.

[Jenna Hoban]

Well, the scientists at Jelly Belly did that with dirty socks.

[Adam Tex Davis]

Me prefer cookie.

[Jerry Colbert]

I prefer cookies too.

[Jenna Hoban]

But I am curious to make a dirty sock flavor. For their trick jelly beans, a Jelly Belly scientist put the socks he was wearing in a sealed plastic bag for two weeks. Then scientists took the socks, heated them up, and used the gas chromatograph to break whatever chemicals made up that awful odor. At first, the flavor was way too strong, so their flavorists tweaked it to make it more manageable, but still gross. And that's what ended up in the jelly bean. Jelly Belly has had a lot of success using odors to make their most delicious and most disgusting flavors.

[Adam Tex Davis]

Don't tell me they cooked somebody's vomit.

[Jenna Hoban]

Nope. The vomit flavor was discovered by mistake. What? Jelly Belly scientists had tried to create a pizza flavor, but the cheese taste was pretty nauseating. They put that flavor aside. But when the company started making gross flavors. Somebody remembered it. Flavorists pulled out the failed pizza recipe, tweaked to the bed, and ta da. They had a jelly bean that tastes unmistakably like vomit.

[Jerry Colbert]

Oof. I think I'll stick to fruit flavored ones, even if they don't taste like the fruit.

[Jenna Hoban]

Good idea.

[Adam Tex Davis]

Well, my work here is done. Farewell, flavor friends. Time to disappear. I overdid the smoke again, didn't I?

[Brandon Bayless]

Yes.

[Jerry Colbert]

And wait.

[Brandon Bayless]

I hear your voice, but I don't see you.

[Jerry Colbert]

How'd you do that?

[Adam Tex Davis]

You know the answer. Magic.

[Brandon Bayless]

A sweet shout out to Mia in California.

[Jerry Colbert]

We hear you've been listening since you were 6. And at first you weren't sure about.

[Brandon Bayless]

It, but now, years later, you love the show and you beg to listen to it. Ah, now that's what we call a happy ending. Thanks, Mia.

[Jerry Colbert]

This episode, Flavors, was written by Dave Beaudry and voiced by Jenna Hoban, Brandon Bayless, Adam Tex Davis, and yours truly, Jerry Colbert. Technical direction and sound design by Josh Hahn, who Smarted is recorded and mixed at the Relic Room studios. Our associate producer is Max Jellybean Kamasky. The theme song is by Brian Suarez, lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex Davis, who Smarted was created and produced by Adam Tex Davis and Jerry Colbert. This is an Atomic Entertainment production.