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Smell Amplification: How Volatile Release Shapes the Culinary Experience When a pot of stock simmers on the stove, when a lemon is zested above a dish, when a steak hits a screaming-hot pan …

Have you ever noticed a distinct smell in old bookstores, antique shops, or even around elderly people—and wondered where it actually comes from? It’s not ab...

Innova Market Insights has announced its Global Flavor Trends for 2026, with “Sensorial Explorations” taking first spot in a comprehensive analysis of the five consumer and market-driven flavor trends poised to reshape global food and beverage innovation in 2026 and beyond. The international market researcher will explore the trends in a webinar on January 29 (4 PM CEST / 9 AM CT), during which Lu Ann Williams, Innova’s global senior vice president for research, will introduce each trend and highlight standout launches across key F&B categories.

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Join us on 26 February to discover the chemistry behind the aromas and flavours of one of the world's favourite beverages

Coffee beans that pass through the digestive tracts of animals get their unique flavors from the activity of gut microbes, report researchers from the Institute of Science Tokyo. The guts of Asian elephants that produce Black Ivory coffee (BIC) were rich in pectin-digesting bacteria. Heat-driven degradation of pectin during roasting makes coffee bitter. Bacterial activity that reduces the pectin content of BIC could be the source of its smoother, chocolaty, and less bitter flavor.

Humans may use their sense of sight more, but through olfaction, we can determine such things as the quality and consistency of foods and beverages.

YouTube LabCoatz claims to have cracked the code on Coca-Cola's secret recipe, calculating caramel flavors and essential oils to replicate Coke's iconic taste.

Growing demand for sugar-reduced foods necessitates a deeper understanding of odor-induced sweetness enhancement. This study explored durian-derived volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) as sucrose potentiators through integrated SPME-GC/MS, sensory evaluation, and computational analyses. GC/O-AT, recombination, and omission experiments identified 10 key VSCs associated with ‘sweet’ prioritized for investigation. Sensory evaluation identified optimal sucrose concentration (30 g/L) for sweetness amplification, particularly with S-ethyl ethanethioate and dipropyl disulfide showing significant enhancement, while dimethyl trisulfide suppressed sweetness. Molecular docking revealed stable binding of sweet-enhancing VSCs to T1R2/T1R3-sucrose complexes (−9.811 to −8.274 kcal/mol), mediated by hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions in the Venus flytrap domain. Molecular dynamics confirmed that dipropyl disulfide stabilized receptor–ligand binding through multifaceted interactions. It was found that the binding energy has a certain correlation with the perceived intensity. Future research should integrate cross-modal sensory and molecular biology approaches to optimize low-sugar flavor compensation strategies.

Peptides, abundant in food systems and structurally diverse, act as important nitrogen-containing reactants in the Maillard reaction, contributing to …

The identification of sweet and bitter compounds is essential for improving the sensory quality of foods, yet traditional analytical methods remain ti…

The aroma modulation of Cabernet Sauvignon wine aged in Chinese clay jars was systematically studied, in comparison with stainless steel tank-aged con…

Aroma-food ingredient interactions fundamentally govern aroma release, stability, and perception; however, current understanding remains fragmented du…

Researchers propose a new citation index that balances productivity and impact in academic publishing. The h-index of citations was introduced in 2005 by physicist Jorge E. Hirsch. This index is defined simply as the maximum number h of an author's published papers with at least h citations each. For example, h = 3 means that there are three papers with 3 or more citations, but if a fourth paper exists, it has fewer than four citations.

Researchers at the Jülich Research Centre in Germany are working on a simulation at the scale of the entire human brain.

A Michigan dairy farm took a gamble on a new kind of soybean—and it paid off fast. After feeding high-oleic soybeans to their cows, milk quality improved within days and feed costs dropped dramatically. Backed by years of MSU research, the crop is helping farmers replace expensive supplements with something they can grow themselves. Demand has surged, and many believe it could reshape the dairy industry.

Researchers develop a device that uses trigeminal nerve stimulation to help people distinguish odors, offering a new way to perceive the chemical world.

Chemistry is often presented as one of the most advanced sciences, yet its day-to-day practice remains surprisingly manual.

Danielle Reed didn’t always know she would become a scientist. In fact, she started college as an economics major, drawn to the elegance of math but unsettled by how abstract it felt. Everything changed when she took a psychology course rooted in biology—and stepped into...

Scientists are taking a closer look at monk fruit and discovering it’s more than just a sugar substitute. New research shows its peel and pulp contain a rich mix of antioxidants and bioactive compounds that may support health. Different varieties offer different chemical profiles, hinting at unique benefits. The work could shape how monk fruit is used in future foods and supplements.

Properly prepared bamboo shoots offer multiple health benefits, from blood sugar control to antioxidant protection. Here's what to know.

Scientists have used CRISPR to give the goldenberry a modern makeover, shrinking the plant by about a third and making it easier to farm. Goldenberries are tasty and nutritious but notoriously unruly, with bushy plants that complicate harvesting. By editing a few key genes and selectively breeding the best-tasting fruits, researchers created new varieties ready for wider cultivation. The approach could speed up how new crops are adapted for a changing climate.

The material of your coffee cup matters more than you might think.

In a corner of Arabia Felix – “Happy Arabia,” the Latin name used by geographers to refer to South Arabia – lies the cradle of frankincense: Wadi Dawkah, 3,500 acres at the heart of the Dhofar region, a rocky land in the south of the Sultanate of Oman, where thousands of frankincense trees grow.

After a quarter-century of negotiations, the EU-Mercosur trade agreement has cleared its most significant hurdle — but the F&B industry remains deeply divided over what it means for European supply chains. EU member states have voted to approve the deal with the South American bloc comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, creating what European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen describes as “the largest free trade zone in the world” — a market of 700 million consumers representing approximately 20% of global GDP.

Abstract. Hundreds of bitter substances, synthetic or natural, toxic or health beneficial, chemically complex organic molecules or simple inorganic metal s

Sensomics and flavoromics represent distinct paradigms for studying volatile flavor compounds, differing fundamentally in their underlying logic and research objectives. This review systematically compares both approaches, detailing their workflows while highlighting essential considerations at key stages. For sensomics, this includes obtaining a representative flavor sample, rigorous criteria for compound identification, quantitation, and appropriate matrix design in recombination and omission studies. For flavoromics, critical aspects encompass robust data collection and preprocessing methods alongside model development and validation strategies. We further elucidate the specific strengths, limitations, and complementary nature of each methodology for volatile flavor analysis, together with their respective application scopes and future research trajectories. By establishing clear guidelines and addressing common pitfalls, the current review would provide foundational reference or design robust experimental frameworks in flavor research.

Researchers in Japan built a miniature human brain circuit using fused stem-cell–derived organoids, allowing them to watch the thalamus and cortex interact in real time. They found that the thalamus plays a decisive role in maturing the cortex and organizing its neural networks. Signals from the thalamus triggered synchronized activity in specific neuron types, while others remained unaffected. The system closely mimics human brain development and could transform how scientists study neurological disorders.

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