Decoding characteristic food odors

Scientists map molecular olfactory signatures of foodstuffs. How are we able to recognize foodstuffs like strawberries, coffee, barbecued meat or freshly boiled potatoes by smell alone? Foodstuffs contain more than 10,000 different volatile substances. But only around 230 of these determine the odor of the food we eat. Narrowing it down further, between just 3 and 40 of these key …

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