Flavorings in Food
Flavorings add or enhance taste. Under FDA labeling rules, "natural flavor" and "artificial flavor" are defined terms, and the individual components of a flavor usually do not have to be listed.
Salt
Salt, chemically known as sodium chloride (NaCl), is a mineral compound essential for life. It is primarily obtained through the …
What is Salt? →
Natural Flavors
Natural flavors are substances extracted from natural sources like spices, fruits, vegetables, edible yeast, herbs, bark, buds, roots, leaves, meat, …
What is Natural Flavors? →
Spices
Spices are dried parts of plants, such as seeds, fruits, roots, bark, or flowers, that are primarily used for flavoring, …
What is Spices? →
Sea Salt
Sea salt is a type of salt produced by evaporating seawater. It primarily consists of sodium chloride, along with trace …
What is Sea Salt? →
Garlic
Garlic is a bulbous plant belonging to the onion family. It is widely used as a spice and vegetable, and …
What is Garlic? →
Garlic Powder
Garlic powder is a spice made from dried, ground garlic cloves. The fresh garlic cloves are typically peeled, sliced, dehydrated, …
What is Garlic Powder? →
Onion Powder
Onion powder is a spice made from dried, ground onions. To make it, fresh onions are peeled, sliced, dehydrated, and …
What is Onion Powder? →
Artificial Flavors
Artificial flavors are mixtures of chemical compounds created in laboratories. They are designed to mimic the taste of natural ingredients …
What is Artificial Flavors? →
Natural And Artificial Flavors
Natural flavors are complex mixtures derived from natural sources like spices, fruits, vegetables, and meat, through processes such as distillation …
What is Natural And Artificial Flavors? →
Yeast Extract
Yeast extract is a flavor enhancer made from yeast cells. It is produced by breaking down yeast cells, often baker's …
What is Yeast Extract? →
Spice
Spice refers to an aromatic or pungent vegetable substance used to flavor food. It is derived from various parts of …
What is Spice? →
Natural And Artificial Flavor
Natural flavors are complex mixtures of compounds extracted from natural sources like spices, fruits, vegetables, and animal products, whose main …
What is Natural And Artificial Flavor? →
Cocoa
Cocoa is a product derived from the cacao bean, which grows on the Theobroma cacao tree. After harvesting, cacao beans …
What is Cocoa? →
Black Pepper
Black pepper is a spice made from the dried, unripe berries of the Piper nigrum plant. This flowering vine is …
What is Black Pepper? →
Chocolate Liquor
Chocolate liquor, also known as cocoa mass or cocoa liquor, is the pure, unsweetened liquid form of cocoa beans. It …
What is Chocolate Liquor? →
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a popular spice that comes from the inner bark of trees in the Cinnamomum family. After the bark …
What is Cinnamon? →
Monosodium Glutamate
Monosodium glutamate, or MSG, is the sodium salt of glutamic acid. Glutamic acid is a common amino acid found naturally …
What is Monosodium Glutamate? →
Chocolate
Chocolate is a food product made from roasted and ground cacao beans. These beans are processed to separate cocoa solids …
What is Chocolate? →
Vanilla Extract
Vanilla extract is a liquid flavoring made by steeping vanilla beans in a solution of alcohol and water. This process …
What is Vanilla Extract? →
Dehydrated Garlic
Dehydrated garlic is fresh garlic that has had its water content removed through a drying process. This process concentrates the …
What is Dehydrated Garlic? →
Parsley
Parsley is a popular herb derived from the plant *Petroselinum crispum*. It is a biennial plant, meaning it lives for …
What is Parsley? →
Cocoa Powder
Cocoa powder is made from cocoa beans, which are the seeds of the cacao tree. After harvesting, the beans are …
What is Cocoa Powder? →
Vanilla
Vanilla is a flavor derived from the cured pods of the vanilla orchid, a plant native to Mexico. The pods …
What is Vanilla? →
Seasoning
Seasoning is a broad term for a mixture of ingredients, such as herbs, spices, salt, and other flavorings, used to …
What is Seasoning? →
Cocoa Processed With Alkali
Cocoa processed with alkali, also known as Dutch-processed cocoa, is made from cocoa beans that have been treated with an …
What is Cocoa Processed With Alkali? →
Dehydrated Onion
Dehydrated onion is fresh onion that has had most of its water removed through drying processes. This process can involve …
What is Dehydrated Onion? →
Dried Garlic
Dried garlic is a common food ingredient made from fresh garlic cloves that have been dehydrated. The cloves are typically …
What is Dried Garlic? →
Soy Sauce
Soy sauce is a savory, salty liquid condiment. It is traditionally made by fermenting soybeans and wheat with salt and …
What is Soy Sauce? →
Flavoring
Flavoring is a broad term for substances added to food to give it a specific taste or smell. These can …
What is Flavoring? →
Ginger
Ginger is a popular spice derived from the rhizome (underground stem) of the *Zingiber officinale* plant. It is native to …
What is Ginger? →
Basil
Basil is a popular aromatic herb from the mint family (Lamiaceae), native to tropical regions of Central Africa and Southeast …
What is Basil? →
Unsweetened Chocolate
Unsweetened chocolate is made by grinding roasted cocoa beans into a paste. This paste, also called chocolate liquor or cocoa …
What is Unsweetened Chocolate? →
Vanillin
Vanillin is the main compound responsible for the characteristic taste and smell of vanilla. It can be naturally extracted from …
What is Vanillin? →
Disodium Inosinate
Disodium inosinate is a flavor enhancer, a sodium salt of inosinic acid. It is commonly produced through the fermentation of …
What is Disodium Inosinate? →
Cilantro
Cilantro refers to the fresh leaves of the Coriandrum sativum plant, also known as the coriander plant. It is a …
What is Cilantro? →
Disodium Guanylate
Disodium guanylate is a flavor enhancer that helps give foods a savory, umami taste. It is a nucleotide, a building …
What is Disodium Guanylate? →
Oregano
Oregano is a popular herb from the mint family (Lamiaceae). It comes from the dried leaves of the Origanum vulgare …
What is Oregano? →
Autolyzed Yeast Extract
Autolyzed yeast extract is a flavor enhancer made from yeast. It is produced by breaking down yeast cells using their …
What is Autolyzed Yeast Extract? →
Mustard Seed
Mustard seeds are small, round seeds harvested from various mustard plants, primarily Brassica juncea (brown mustard), Sinapis alba (white/yellow mustard), …
What is Mustard Seed? →
Natural Smoke Flavor
Natural smoke flavor is a food ingredient made by capturing and concentrating the compounds found in wood smoke. This process …
What is Natural Smoke Flavor? →
Flavorings
Flavorings are substances added to food to give it a specific taste or smell, or to enhance existing flavors. They …
What is Flavorings? →
Chili Pepper
Chili pepper refers to the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, known for their pungent flavor. These peppers are …
What is Chili Pepper? →
Red Pepper
Red pepper is a spice made from the dried and ground fruits of certain chili pepper plants, primarily from the …
What is Red Pepper? →
Natural Flavorings
Natural flavorings are substances extracted from natural sources like spices, fruits, vegetables, edible yeasts, herbs, barks, roots, or dairy products. …
What is Natural Flavorings? →
Mustard
Mustard is a condiment and spice made from the seeds of the mustard plant. The seeds are typically ground and …
What is Mustard? →
Cumin
Cumin is a spice made from the dried seeds of the Cuminum cyminum plant, which belongs to the parsley family. …
What is Cumin? →
Chicken Broth
Chicken broth is a liquid food base made by simmering chicken meat, bones, and sometimes vegetables and herbs in water. …
What is Chicken Broth? →
Natural Vanilla Flavor
Natural vanilla flavor is a complex mixture of aromatic compounds extracted from vanilla beans. The beans are typically cured and …
What is Natural Vanilla Flavor? →
Torula Yeast
Torula yeast is a type of yeast, specifically *Candida utilis*, that is cultivated on plant-based carbohydrate sources like wood sugars. …
What is Torula Yeast? →
Granulated Garlic
Granulated garlic is a spice made from dried garlic cloves that have been ground into a coarse, sand-like texture. It …
What is Granulated Garlic? →
Other ingredient types
Note:
This site presents label data from USDA FoodData Central for general information. It is not medical advice.
Check the package label; formulations change.