Flavorist
Encyclopedia
A flavorist, also known as flavor chemist, is someone who uses chemistry
to engineer artificial and natural flavor
s. The tools and materials used by flavorists are almost the same as that used by perfumer
s with the exception that flavorists seek to mimic or modify both the olfactory and gustation properties of various food products rather than creating just abstract smells. As well, the materials and chemicals that a flavorist utilizes for flavor creation must be safe for human consumption.
Flavorists, as profession, came about when affordable refrigeration
for the home spurred a major growth of food processing technology. Processes used in the food industry to provide safe products often affect the quality of the flavor of the food. To the detriment of the manufacturer, these technologies remove most of the naturally occurring flavors. To remedy the flavor loss, the food processing industry created the flavor industry. The chemist
s that tackled the demand of the food processing industry became known as flavorists, and, thus, the flavor industry was born.
Today, the vast majority of everything we eat now includes natural flavors or artificial flavors developed by a relatively elite and small group of trade professionals.
system.
Located in Versailles
(France
), ISIPCA
French School offers two years of high-standard education in food flavoring including 12 months traineeship in a flavor company. This education program provides students with solid background in flavor
formulation, flavor application, and flavor chemistry (analysis and sensory).
The British Society of Flavourists together with Reading University provide, every year, a three-week flavorist training course for amateur flavorists from all around the world.
, a flavorist can join the Society of Flavor Chemists, which meets in New Jersey
, Cincinnati, Chicago
, and the West Coast 6–8 times a year. To be an apprentice flavorist in the society, one must pass an apprenticeship within a flavor house for five years. To be a certified member with voting rights, one must pass a seven-year program. Each level is verified by a written and oral test of the Membership Committee. As an alternative to training under a flavorist, rather than the above mentioned cases, a 10-year independent option is available.
In the United Kingdom
, a flavorist can join The British Society of Flavourists, which meets near the London
area. To acquire membership, applicants must be sponsored by at least two voting members, shall not be under thirty years of age, and shall have been engaged as a creative flavourist for a period of at least ten years. To be an associate member, applicants must be either a full-time creative flavourist with at least four years experience, a flavour application chemist, or a food technologist responsible for flavor blending, assessment, and evaluation for a period of at least five years, or a person of such standing in the flavor-producing or using industries as satisfies the Membership Committee that he/she is eligible for membership. An Associate Member must be proposed by two voting members. To be a student member, the applicant must be a new entrant to the flavor industry, not yet able to qualify as an Associate, and proposed by one voting member. To be an affiliate member, applicants must be Technical and Marketing Consultants, Commercial and Technical Managers having a direct relationship to the flavoring industry, and sponsored by three voting members.
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
to engineer artificial and natural flavor
Flavor
Flavor or flavour is the sensory impression of a food or other substance, and is determined mainly by the chemical senses of taste and smell. The "trigeminal senses", which detect chemical irritants in the mouth and throat as well as temperature and texture, are also very important to the overall...
s. The tools and materials used by flavorists are almost the same as that used by perfumer
Perfumer
A perfumer is a term used for an expert on creating perfume compositions, sometimes referred to affectionately as a Nose due to their fine sense of smell and skill in producing olfactory compositions...
s with the exception that flavorists seek to mimic or modify both the olfactory and gustation properties of various food products rather than creating just abstract smells. As well, the materials and chemicals that a flavorist utilizes for flavor creation must be safe for human consumption.
Flavorists, as profession, came about when affordable refrigeration
Refrigeration
Refrigeration is a process in which work is done to move heat from one location to another. This work is traditionally done by mechanical work, but can also be done by magnetism, laser or other means...
for the home spurred a major growth of food processing technology. Processes used in the food industry to provide safe products often affect the quality of the flavor of the food. To the detriment of the manufacturer, these technologies remove most of the naturally occurring flavors. To remedy the flavor loss, the food processing industry created the flavor industry. The chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
s that tackled the demand of the food processing industry became known as flavorists, and, thus, the flavor industry was born.
Today, the vast majority of everything we eat now includes natural flavors or artificial flavors developed by a relatively elite and small group of trade professionals.
Education
Educational requirements for the profession known as flavorist are varied. Flavorists may have had little or no formal education up to PhDs obtained in subjects such as Biochemistry and Chemistry. Because, however, the training of a flavorist is mostly done on-the-job and specifically at a flavor company known as a flavor house, this training is similar to the apprenticeApprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
system.
Located in Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
(France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
), ISIPCA
ISIPCA
ISIPCA is a school for post-graduate studies in perfume, cosmetics products and food flavor formulation, with an apprenticeship period in the industry. It was originally founded in 1970 by Jean-Jacques Guerlain as ISIP...
French School offers two years of high-standard education in food flavoring including 12 months traineeship in a flavor company. This education program provides students with solid background in flavor
Flavor
Flavor or flavour is the sensory impression of a food or other substance, and is determined mainly by the chemical senses of taste and smell. The "trigeminal senses", which detect chemical irritants in the mouth and throat as well as temperature and texture, are also very important to the overall...
formulation, flavor application, and flavor chemistry (analysis and sensory).
The British Society of Flavourists together with Reading University provide, every year, a three-week flavorist training course for amateur flavorists from all around the world.
Flavorist societies
In the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, a flavorist can join the Society of Flavor Chemists, which meets in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, Cincinnati, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, and the West Coast 6–8 times a year. To be an apprentice flavorist in the society, one must pass an apprenticeship within a flavor house for five years. To be a certified member with voting rights, one must pass a seven-year program. Each level is verified by a written and oral test of the Membership Committee. As an alternative to training under a flavorist, rather than the above mentioned cases, a 10-year independent option is available.
In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, a flavorist can join The British Society of Flavourists, which meets near the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
area. To acquire membership, applicants must be sponsored by at least two voting members, shall not be under thirty years of age, and shall have been engaged as a creative flavourist for a period of at least ten years. To be an associate member, applicants must be either a full-time creative flavourist with at least four years experience, a flavour application chemist, or a food technologist responsible for flavor blending, assessment, and evaluation for a period of at least five years, or a person of such standing in the flavor-producing or using industries as satisfies the Membership Committee that he/she is eligible for membership. An Associate Member must be proposed by two voting members. To be a student member, the applicant must be a new entrant to the flavor industry, not yet able to qualify as an Associate, and proposed by one voting member. To be an affiliate member, applicants must be Technical and Marketing Consultants, Commercial and Technical Managers having a direct relationship to the flavoring industry, and sponsored by three voting members.