Why Don’t Artificial Flavors Taste Accurate?

[@indoor_vaping]

I had actually always wondered how "vanilla" had come to be associated with being bland and uninteresting given its origin as an exotic bean that only grows on one island.

[@Carewolf]

Ice-cream. It is the default/basic flavour of ice-cream, unless you want to go fancy and add other stuff.

[@gredangeo]

@@Carewolf Good ice cream can have good vanilla. But where most of the bland flavour of vanilla that people think it is, is due to cheap ice cream that doesn't even use any cream. In some places, they had to legally call it something else.

[@drdewott9154]

​@@gredangeo True. I mean here in Denmark they've started using real vanilla in dedicated vanilla ice cream for about a decade now, mostly listed as "Bourbon vanilla" or something similar, and it tastes great. Other things that involve vanilla ice cream as a base though like straciatella, cookie dough, or brownie ice cream and popsicles still use artificials though. You can even see the difference visually, with the real vanilla ice cream having a very yellow colour, whereas the artificial vanilla has a a white look to it.

[@sander7838]

@@nichole4684 this is the sencond most nonsensical rambling I've ever read in my life. Congratulations.

[@teemusid]

@@gredangeo I judge an ice cream maker by their vanilla ice cream, and a donut shop by their raised glazed donut. Master the basics, first.

[@Chubby_Bub]

When I was young my parents took me to a vanilla plantation in Hawaii. The owner was actually obsessed with vanilla, the way people are connoisseurs about wine. I think he was kind of nuts. He also looked like Al from Toy Story 2.

[@roseduste80]

Aww, I think that's sweet. He's passionate about what he does.

[@bossdude911]

I love that you included he looked like Al from Toy Story 2. I laughed way too hard at that!

[@tungmingxuan8559]

To be fair Al from Toy Story 2 was also obsessed with childrens' toys

[@fffrrraannkk]

Vanilla is no joke. From what I remember some vanilla is aged in bourbon barrels.

[@chicagotypewriter2094]

@@fffrrraannkk OH! Is that why it’s called Bourbon Vanilla?!

[@officially8210]

Here are all the irrelevant fun facts from 1:29: A drink that's 10% less sweet but colored red will be perceived as sweeter than one that's not. Potato chip bags are crinkly on purpose, because the sound tricks our brain into thinking the chips taste fresher. Low-pitched sounds can make food taste more bitter, and high-pitched sounds can make food taste sweeter. If you dye a steak bright blue it really freaks people out. We can tell whether a liquid is hot or cold by the sound it makes when it's being poured. Froot Loops are all the same flavor. If you close your eyes, you won't be able to tell the difference between any of them. The background noise on airplanes enhances the taste of umami. Sour candies are often coated in sugar because rough textures make foods taste more sour. Looking at pictures of high-calorie foods before eating something will make it taste better.

[@junyissmart]

Thanks man

[@QuantumHistorian]

God's work

[@max___87]

Damn why didn't i checked comments earlier i was pausing the video so i could read💀

[@howardbaxter2514]

lol, dyeing steak bright blue.

[@o_p0tterhead]

Thanks! I'll try out the hot vs cold liquid, that sounds neat.

[@ShortHax]

I admire the bravery of the men and women that discovered the vanilla taste of beaver butt

[@imveryangryitsnotbutter]

Technically it's a gland adjacent to the beaver's butt. ...if that knowledge gives you any peace of mind at all.

[@1nsaniel]

@@imveryangryitsnotbutter the real question is inside or outside the rectum

[@TheDemocrab]

@@1nsaniel Does it really matter at this point? We know someone was fiddling with beaver rectum either way.

[@Chris14141]

natives.

[@jakemcmillian]

Imagine all of the undiscovered flavors in the countless untasted butts around the world. There is still a chance for you to discover something incredible!

[@TheElectroclassic]

Low Resolution Flavors has to be the best analogy ever to describe this.

[@hidaven2006]

I personally love “banana” flavored things, not because it tastes like banana, but because I just like the taste

[@resolecca]

I don't like banana`s and while I agree fake banana does not taste anything like real banana,. it still manages to taste worse, it taste like vomit to me

[@sion8]

I don't know maybe you would like to find somewhere online where they sell the older type of cultivar that was used before the current one.

[@soundscape26]

@@resolecca Ah... and here I was thinking I'm the only person in the world who hates bananas. it's quite a niche trait. 😄

[@michaelfederico2873]

The Fake Banana Flavor is an actual Flavor, the species of Banana it tastes like is now extinct due to the blight.

[@livispuzzled]

@@michaelfederico2873 oh really? interesting

[@moabt.frican7163]

Wonder if Guy Fieri realizes how wealthy he could actually be if the candy and soda manufacturers consulted with him on the artificial flavors they use. I mean, with him being the mayor of Flavortown and all, you'd think it'd be a no-brainer.

[@gurrrn1102]

Hi, I’m Guy Fyiddy and I’m not looking at the road while driving - so I’ll probably have a fatal accident before we finish looking for these DANrs, DRAVns, nDAVs

[@kyleferguson4236]

@@gurrrn1102 lmao that show cant possibly still b on the air can it? They used to play it literally ALL FUCKING DAY 🤦‍♂️

[@wraithgames]

There's this Japanese bubblegum I've been chewing since I was a kid that tastes almost exactly like black grapes. It's some good stuff!

[@palleppalsson]

Wow, how does it keep it's flavor for so long!?

[@sander7838]

@@palleppalsson 😂😂😂

[@ooooneeee]

What's it called? This sounds fascinating.

[@josiahhockenberry9846]

Yeah I want to know the name too.

[@LittleWhole]

Is it Fūsen?

[@matthewmccoy7437]

my sisters husband makes artificial flavors for a living. he literally tests shit like citrus and watermelon for everything like drink companies and food chains. you’d be surprised how widely spread these things are. i was drinking a beer once and he went “you know my company made the blueberry flavor in that right?”

[@wooperismyfavorite]

Finally, an answer to why I like grapes but grape flavored things are absolutely disgusting.

[@tardvandecluntproductions1278]

I have this with strawberries

[@nqh4393]

I kinda prefer it to real grapes though.

[@zamppa3974]

I think watermelon flavor is even worse. It's nothing like real watermelon.

[@MichaelDavis-mk4me]

I love grape flavor things but I don't like grapes.

[@shafa.n.t]

@@zamppa3974 agree

[@danielhale1]

I'm reminded of the NileRed video where he turns latex gloves into grape flavoring and makes a soda. It wasn't a terribly good soda though, because real grape soda uses a much wider range of flavors to create a more complete experience. It's rare you can just add one molecule to create a great taste and not end up with something that's kinda one-dimensional.

[@brendo3808]

Funnily enough there was a banana split flavoured milk in Australia that tasted scarily real. You could taste the caramel, you could taste the ice cream, you could taste the banana and you could taste the wafer, which was the weirdest bit. It tasted horrible but it was scary accurate

[@randalalansmith9883]

Around age 30, I tasted a concord grape for the first time and realized that's what fake-grape was mimicking. Wine grapes don't taste anything like that.

[@westrim]

Similarly, there are jelly grapes that actually taste like grape jelly.

[@wiplein982]

Plot twist - you had one of those chemistry teachers and now every time someone mentions "artificial flavors" all you can smell is butanoic acid and the dawning realization that no alcohol in the world will ever make it smell good

[@dannypipewrench533]

3:23 I actually really like artificial green apple flavoring.

[@dannypipewrench533]

0:52 OKAY, BANANA LAFFY TAFFY TASTES LIKE GROS MICHEL BANANAS, NOT CAVENDISH, *AND YOU KNOW THIS!*

[@embereatstoasters6835]

EXACTLY! oh no I'm a banana nerd now

[@dannypipewrench533]

@@embereatstoasters6835 Welcome, Comrade, to the Banana Nerd Club.

[@Etherman7]

Every once in a great while I'll have a banana that tastes slightly more like the artificial flavor than usual- sweeter and more fruity. It makes me a little paranoid every time, like it might be rotten or moldy.

[@marcush4741]

Honestly, grape flavor is pretty spot on to Concord grapes. I used to be a vintner, and I will never forget the first day I had a fresh Concord grape. I literally shouted "THIS IS WHY GRAPE DOESNT TASTE LIKE GRAPE! THIS IS THE GRAPE THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT".

[@deatheternal720]

It's also hilarious that smell is included in "strawberry flavour" because they have no fucking smell!!!

[@ascendedeconpol4551]

RTX off

[@KingQubed]

Oh now I know why I hate artificial Grape

[@Doughy_in_the_Middle]

2:28 I find this believable. I have an absolute REVULSION at the taste, smell, and texture of bananas. It's not as bad, but a pure pear flavoring almost sets off the same issues, but not as badly. Knowing they could potentially be confused in the body, it makes enough sense to me.

[@sephalon1]

The 2 seconds of irrelevant fun facts that were fast-forwarded through: Episode V Fun Facts A drink that's 10% less sweet but colored red will be perceived as sweeter than one that's not. Potato chip bags are crinkly on purpose, because the sound tricks our brain into thinking the chips taste fresher Low-pitched sounds can make food taste more bitter and high-pitched sounds can make food taste sweeter. If you dye a steak bright blue it really freaks people out. You can tell whether a liquid is hot or cold by the sound it makes when it's being poured Froot Loops are all the same flavor. If you close your eyes you won't be able to tell the difference between any of them. The background noise on airplanes enhances the taste of umami. Sour candies are often coated in sugar because rough textured make foods taste more sour. Looking at pictures of high-calorie foods before eating something will make it taste better.

[@fredmayfield4354]

If you can mimic flavor, then can you make new ones.

[@justayoutuber1906]

stop with all the stock video clips

[@sirk603]

To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand HAI. The humor is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of theoretical physics most of the jokes will go over a typical viewer's head. There's also Sam’s nihilistic outlook, which is deftly woven into his all his videos - his personal philosophy draws heavily from making money, for instance. The fans understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of these jokes, to realize that they're not just funny- they say something deep about LIFE. As a consequence people who dislike HAI truly ARE idiots- of course they wouldn't appreciate, for instance, the humour in HAI’s existential catchphrase "something something bricks" which itself is a cryptic reference to how his fans want him to make a video on bricks I'm smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Sam Denby's genius unfolds itself on their television screens. What fools... how I pity them. 😂 And yes by the way, I DO have a plane tattoo. And no, you cannot see it. It's for the ladies' eyes only- And even they have to demonstrate that they're within 5 IQ points of my own (preferably lower) beforehand.

[@hotdogbananaman]

why did they try a chemical that smelling like cat urine in the first place?

[@pauhernandezbenlloch5032]

"If you dye a steak bright blue it really freaks people out" -Half as Interesting 2022

[@luanasari5161]

hes not wrong

[@breadisyummy_]

if bananas tasted like laffy taffy's i would eat more of those than the amount of air molecules that i breathe in every day

[@JoseLopez-bt6bk]

Mexican candy already cracked the code

[@fffrrraannkk]

I make vape liquid for myself and strawberry can be extremely difficult to use. There are dozens of different strawberry flavorings from different companies, but to mix up an authentic flavor is hard. Some people can't even taste whatever chemicals are used to make strawberry.

[@justicebeske5704]

Listen, if it doesn't have industrial coal tar, I'm not trying it.

[@jaketaylor3901]

As a child I distinctly remember feeling of betrayal @ my parents when given a banana for the first time (I was a banana Laffy taffy kid)

[@cheeseontoastbrah]

Clearly this man has never tried japanese candy

[@thefreudiantheoryofpenisen2197]

Hi where the citations for all the claims in the 2 seconds? Like a crunchy packet of crisps makes them taste fresher?? The colour of a slushy effects the sweetness?

[@handlewastaken]

"If you dye a steak bright blue it really freaks people out" -HAI, 2022

[@slime_whoscrabby]

Yeah i like how when you eat something with for example strawberry taste and think hmm this doesn't taste like strawberry, but when you eat another thing with this artificial taste you think yeah, this is strawberry taste

[@user-cs9by8jd6l]

Americans realizing their snacks taste so artificial:

[@djk0n3x0]

Vanilla is native to Mexico... not Madagascar

[@aaronsewell5664]

And then the bit about ‘purple flavor’…does the narrator have a beef?

[@aaronsewell5664]

The part about how an ‘artificial flavor can be conceived’…was that a subliminal diss? Seemed like it.

[@clockhanded]

I will go to war with you for disrespecting banana laffy taffy like that.

[@nickevershedmusic8927]

Why not just the original thing?

[@alyssinwilliams4570]

Definitely the red slushy

[@bronkobjama3154]

Losing my shit at 3:40 😂😂😂 “there’s actually more to it than that”

[@sammehlberg6664]

Hot damn that girl eating the donut makes me feel funny in my jeans

[@mwilkins1644]

As someone who makes industrial flavours for companies, strawberry and vanilla are the worst flavours to make and smell so bad

[@AuLumity_idol_is_GawrGura]

so my vanilla ice cream, isnt vanilla at all?

[@ryanmiller5499]

I had grapes a few years ago that tasted exactly like grape candy, and I couldn’t believe it, but I haven’t seen them since

[@embereatstoasters6835]

Does anybody know what artificial watermelon flavor comes from??

[@queerlang6611]

I'm surprised you didn't mention how a lot of the time the flavour compounds aren't very stable and long lasting, and therefore usable in foods with long shelf lives as opposed to fruits that are ripe for a week~

[@RyeBreadMels]

I've always noticed that japanese strawberry flavoring had a distinctly different flavor than the artificial strawberry flavor I'm used to. I wonder if japan has a different artificial strawberry flavor?

[@dominator35000]

Because god

[@montagepro3293]

Intresting Video!

[@luismartinez1056]

If they really did mimick grape and banana flavor properly I still demand they sell the others under "purple" and "yellow"

[@andrewfallon7963]

You're onto something at the end there. I've definitely called things "pleasantly artificial" before.

[@micahjacobson8533]

1:29 if you dye a steak bright blue it really freaks people out 😂

[@kitetsu2309]

"Too easy"

[@richarizard526]

Artificial grape makes me vomit

[@njoroge2061]

You cant replicate nature 100%

[@Being_Scientist]

I leaned new word “high resolution flavour”

[@ciangargan]

Artificial Banana Flavour > Real Banana Flavour

[@jonhevaragg7419]

This video is brilliant

[@AlRoderick]

Vanillin can be found in oak, which is why wood aged spirits like whiskey contain vanillin.

[@Delgen1951]

cliff notes, return to middles school. that is all it is a fake cliff notes. Ah No.

[@Crowbars2]

3:14 - "We have penicillin" **Shows a picture of a bunch of mints**

[@kevinaustin5342]

Vanilla is not native to Madagascar... like how pineapples and macadamias aren't Hawaiian

[@TS_Mind_Swept]

I've already watched your video on bananas, it was bananas

[@samanthabaylis8967]

Yeah blue steak really would freak people out

[@Jixxor]

Dude I legit cannot tell how much of this information is accurate and how much is made up. Coal tar? lmao

[@fallendown8828]

After all processes it doesn't matter if you used tar or water or oil or anything really since only thing that effects the properties of a molecul is its geometry

[@asdkant]

I am sorely disappointed at the lack of mention of Flavor Town

[@adrienaline4894]

We can taste more than five flavour types though. Metallic being one of the more obvious ones that isn't one of the usual five.

[@andrzejkwasniewski1266]

Meanwhile me with COVID - What is a flavor?

[@blairsmith4400]

ummm im here brick facts not banana facts

[@EdwardChan.999]

We shall now describe the tastiness of food in terms of resolution! This dinner I'm having is so 1280x720...

[@jaypastrana416]

I am disappointed.. I thought that there would be beaver butts involved in making vanilla flavor.. Welp, you win some you lose some, I guess.

[@Kee715]

Another factor with artificial flavors is that not all chemical compounds last as long as each other. There might be 10 or 20 or even a hundred different compounds that go into a flavor from a fruit, but how many of those flavors will keep for a week? A month? Possibly years sitting on a store shelf? Make something with fresh fruit and you'll find that the flavor gradually fades away over time and only certain parts of that flavor remain - like compare peach jelly made with fresh peaches that's weeks or months old with currently fresh peaches and you'll find that a lot of the flavor complexity has faded. That's a big part of why watermelon flavor tastes so unlike watermelon; the chemical that is watermelon flavor is actually found in watermelon in a large amount but most of the other chemical compounds found in a watermelon will barely keep a few days, so only that one chemical is suitable for use in a candy or a soda or anything that's going to be sitting on shelves for a long time.

[@LiberalsReadmyBio]

So that's why I love watermelon flavoring and hate watermelon?

[@Kee715]

@@LiberalsReadmyBio probably, yeah.

[@markchinguz4401]

Vanilla isn't a bean aaaaaaa. It's an orchid

[@scampercom]

So. Many. Stock. Video. Clips. There were so many clips, rat-tat-tat, thrown at my eyeballs that I don’t think I retained anything. Couldn’t there be any actual on-site video, or at least video of the narrator reading to me?

[@TelephonePlays]

if you didnt speed up the flavor message, youd have a 10 min video

[@TheCreapler]

did u just have something negative to say about green apple Jolly rancher!

[@RayaRSS]

Sam be like "why artificial flavours taste so accurate?" And I am like "whaaaaaaat! They never do, that's why I love fruits but hate everything fruit flavoured"

[@Darxide23]

"Artificial strawberry is just strawberry with bad graphics." The best line I've heard in a long time. That wins. Also, the source of one of the more common artificial vanillin is just... wood. Yup. It's made from plain old wood. From trees.

[@fr2ncm9]

Fun fact. You can make artificial grape flavor from plastic gloves.

[@fallendown8828]

Yeah you can basicly make anything out of anything with right conditions like you can make a cake with pure light or you can make a Earth with only hydrogen atoms. It is just that conditions might need to be extream for some of these reactions

[@nyarlathotep6493]

PURPLE DRANK

[@khanh41444]

you spelt umami wrong at 1:11. Its spelt "MSG" hiaya

[@dariustiapula]

People can mock the US they want. In the end our processed and artificial foodstuff will outlast all natural ones!.

[@ibec69]

Most people don't know this but I used to get good quality inexpensive vanilla beans directly from Madagascar on eBay until around 2011. Then the French came in and I don't know how they did this but they monopolised the bean production there, causing all the direct producer/vendors to disappear from sites like eBay. The prices tripled instantly. I don't know why this was never talked about at the time.

[@ipodzrock1]

The baby comparison had me on the floor laughing 😂

[@azazzelx]

imagine a steak dyed blue.....or even violet....maybe red...

[@cobaltgreen1138]

3:34 Aurebesh?

[@chemistweeb]

throwback to when I synthesized fake banana flavoring in a lab and then spilled it everywhere so my bench smelled like bananas for weeks

[@TokyoXtreme]

What flavor profile is stock footage?

[@Jake-sw3ss]

I buy real vanilla beans to make homemade ice cream. About $23 for 3 in a test tube. Destroys artificial flavor.

[@chawco]

Sam, I'm very disappointed that you failed to mention that one of the earliest replacements for vanilla was goo from a beaver's butt, but now we mostly get it from wood pulp (seriously).

[@deesnutz951]

Japanese KoRoRo grape candies are the ultimate artificial grape experience in taste and feel.

[@keithkrummel9344]

Coal tar gets two whole mentions, but castor sacs don't rate a single name drop? Whaaaaaaaa?

[@mon6745]

Ok - but what about the beaver - ass thing and artificial vanilla?

[@mon6745]

If vanilla is dark brown, why are most of the foods white? 🤔

[@26acorn34]

i am a chemist (though not a food chemist!) and not only is it hard figure out what chemicals make up a real flavor, it can be difficult and expensive to synthesize them. And yes, sometimes random lab chemicals do smell a bit like fruit!

[@IloveElsaofArendelle]

Or Almonds, benzaldehyde. I was tempted to take a deep whiff from the brown bottle