Subreddit: r/ExplainLikeImFive
User: u/LordLaz1985
Original Post:
Why is there a good vanilla artificial flavor, but not an artificial chocolate flavor?
My Response:
Hi, food scientist here.
Many people have already made good points in the comments. I’ll follow up here with my own professional perspective.
As some have mentioned, vanilla flavor owes much of the base of the flavor to the compound vanillin. It happened to be one of the first flavors synthesized as well, given how preposterously expensive it used to be since vanilla beans only grow in four regions in the world (Madagascar, Mexico, Tahiti, and Indonesia). This was done in the 1800s by two German chemists when organic chemistry was just about to get its heyday.
That said, vanillin alone is fairly dull compared to real vanilla. So a few other compounds are added to round out the notes. The main one that’s added to premium artificial vanilla is ethyl vanillin. Ethyl vanillin has three times the intensity of vanillin - alone it’s a bit too much. But together, you can replicate the flavor of natural vanilla quite well, as natural vanilla flavoring contains some proportion of ethyl vanillin.
Ethyl vanillin is a little harder to synthesize, but it’s still more or less straightforward. It is more expensive than vanillin.
Chocolate flavor is composed of many compounds, many of which are essential for the base flavor. Many of them are products of the roasting process, which initiates a reaction called the Maillard reaction. This is a highly complex reaction in which sugars and amino acids combine at high temperature, forming hundreds of compounds.
These are so diverse that you can really only name them by class (pyrazines, aldehydes, ketones, and pyroles), otherwise you have a CVS receipt list of compounds. No single compound is the standout that gives chocolate its flavor. A handful can make a very crappy chocolate, maybe a few of the sulfur-containing molecules. But a delicate balance is needed.
There are currently startup companies that are working to make synthetic chocolate by taking advantage of the complex chemistry behind the Maillard reaction. By combining the amino acids and sugars found in cocoa beans in the same ratios, they are able to replicate some of the flavor.
However, cocoa beans not only go through a roasting process, but also a fermentation process. So the vast majority of compounds involved, including fats, create a dizzying array of aromas. And even the most minute compound at a few parts per million can lead to a drastic change in flavor, as many of these are sulfur-rich compounds that humans are highly sensitive to.
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