4. Synthetic flavors

4.1 Artificial flavors

The first category, corresponding to molecules that are not present in natural products, comprises a limited number of compounds whose list is virtually fixed. In a number of cases, these are structural analogues of natural flavor compounds such as ethylvanillin or propenylguaethol or vanitrope, which have an odor close to that of vanilla, albeit more intense. Ethylmaltol, the superior counterpart of maltol, also has a caramel-like odor. Other synthetic flavors have structures totally different from the molecules responsible for the aroma found in the natural product; this...