Science Common Sense

719 - How do spices and herbs enhance the flavor of food?

Spices and herbs enhance the flavor of food by adding special chemicals that our taste buds can detect. These chemicals are called flavor compounds. When we eat, the flavor compounds from spices and herbs mix with the food and travel to our tongue, where our taste buds can sense them.

Imagine your tongue has a special map with different zones for sweet, sour, salty, and bitter tastes. Spices and herbs add new sensations to this map, like warmth, coolness, or a special sharpness.

For example, cinnamon makes food taste warm, while mint makes it feel cool. This is because the flavor compounds in cinnamon and mint are different and our tongue can detect those differences. By adding spices and herbs to food, we can create a wide range of flavors and make eating more exciting.