Most seasonings have their own specific flavor components, which are closely related to the properties of their chemical components. Different chemical components can evoke different tastes. Commonly used seasonings mainly have salty, sweet, sour, spicy, umami, fragrant, and bitter tastes. Below is an analysis of the chemical components that can cause various tastes.
1. Salty Taste
Salty taste is the taste exhibited by neutral salts in compounds such as sodium chloride, potassium chloride, and ammonium chloride, but they also have other off-flavors. The intensity of the flavor of various salts is related to the molecular weight of the compound; the larger the molecular weight, the stronger the bitterness and other off-flavors. The main source of saltiness is table salt, whose main component is sodium chloride. Due to the unique properties of chloride and sodium ions, sodium chloride has a pure taste.
Salty seasonings include salt, soy sauce, and sauces. For some kidney patients who cannot use table salt, sodium malate or potassium glutamate can be used as substitutes.
2. Sweet Taste
Sweetness is a universally popular flavor profile. Sweetness is primarily the result of the combined action of sweet-producing groups such as amino hydroxyl groups and sweet-aiding groups. Sugars with low degrees of polymerization generally have a sweet taste, such as sucrose, maltose, glucose, and fructose.
Sweet condiments include: table sugar (including white sugar and brown sugar), honey, maltose, and rock sugar.
3. Sourness Sourness is produced by the ionization of hydrogen ions from organic and inorganic acids. Vinegar, tomato sauce, spoiled soy sauce, and alcohol can all be used as sour condiments. Common sour components include acetic acid, succinic acid, citric acid, malic acid, and lactic acid. Organic acids are weak acids that participate in normal human metabolism and generally have no effect on human health. They are soluble in water, but their sourness is far less intense than that of inorganic acids.
4. Spiciness Spiciness is a sensation produced by non-volatile irritants stimulating the oral mucosa. Its composition is complex, with different types of spiciness originating from different components.
The spiciness of chili peppers mainly comes from capsaicin; the spiciness of black pepper comes from capsaicin and capsaicin oil; the spiciness of ginger mainly comes from gingerone and gingerol; the spiciness of onions and garlic mainly comes from allicin.
5. Umami: MSG, chicken essence, shrimp roe, oyster sauce, shrimp oil, and fish sauce all have umami flavor. The umami components of shrimp roe, oyster sauce, and fish sauce are various amides and amino acids, while MSG is monosodium glutamate, and chicken essence is sodium inosinate.
6. Aroma: Aroma originates from volatile aromatic alcohols, aromatic aldehydes, aromatic ketones, and lipids.
Aromatic seasonings include fennel, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns, cooking wine, fermented rice wine lees, sesame oil, cinnamon sauce, soy sauce, cloves, and rose petals.
7. Bitterness: Bitterness comes from alkaloids such as theobromine, theobromine, and caffeine, which contain ketone compounds. Coarse salt contains magnesium chloride and magnesium sulfate, which also contribute to bitterness. Bitter foods include tea, coffee, bitter melon, and lotus seeds.