My friend sent me this link today and I thought I would share it. This NPR clip talks about the food scientists that have developed the artificial/natural flavor components of “pumpkin spice”, used most commonly in pumpkin spice lattes. Interestingly enough, there is no actual pumpkin in “pumpkin spice”. The pumpkin spice flavor comes from cinnamic aldehyde (cinnamon), eugenol (allspice or cloves), terpenes (nutmeg), and vanillin (vanilla). Not all pumpkin spice flavors are the same. Based on the tastes and preferences of consumers in different parts of the country, flavor scientists create variations of different pumpkin spice flavor formulas. The pumpkin top notes come from nearly 340 character impact compounds. I learned that scientists do not actually have to use all 340 compounds when developing a product. The human brain can come up with the pumpkin spice flavor with just 5 to 10% of these flavor components. Flavor chemists are important for large-scale food companies because by replacing “real” ingredients for chemical substitutes, they can produce a consistent product for a fraction of the cost.