What is a Flavour? (Patreon)

Having published the Dr Pepper recipe, it has generated a lot of questions about the ingredients, specifically the flavour compounds (esters, aldehydes, etc.) used in the formula. Most of the previous speculation on Dr Pepper recipe involved common fruit and spices (almond, cherry, lemon, vanilla, plums, etc), and the belief that the Dr Pepper company seemed to run the world's largest juicer. Then I came along and listed benzaldehyde, amyl formate, phenyl ethyl phenyl acetate, etc., as the ingredients, and I could see the disconnect.

If you've studied chemistry, then the compounds make sense. But if you just want to make drinks without the chemistry lesson, understanding what a flavour is can be confusing. I've made this video to help explain some of it, as this question has come up before. The issue is that flavour chemistry is complex from a scientific viewpoint, but relatively easy if you just understand that each chemical compound is just like a paint colour or musical note. You just put them together and create something new.

Creating a good analogy and explaining the topic was oddly difficult when I was making the video. I did not want to be overly complex because people would not watch, but over-simplifying doesn't give a decent answer. This means if you have questions, please post them below. I would like to understand what the disconnect is and if I can solve that, even with another video, I think it would help grow this community. And growth will benefit everyone as the more information shared, the easier it will be to get creative.