What’s a flavorist? NJ has more of them than any other state

Did you know that New Jersey is home to the largest number of flavorists in the country? If you are unfamiliar with flavorists, they are basically the people responsible for making boxed food taste the way it does.

Flavorists are a rare breed of scientist; A very specialized field with only about 500 such experts in the country. They specialize in knowing exactly what chemical or ingredient is required for any particular food to taste the way it does.

For example, say a bottle of ketchup tastes the way it does because a flavoring made it so.

Flavorists are unique in that the majority of their work is kept private. The flavors they produce for any and all brands are kept anonymous in order to prevent reproduction or any sort of mimicking of the flavor.

While it is not intentional by any means that Jersey is a hub for these flavorists, it is interesting to know that flavors are literally being made right under our noses. Find out more here.

I suspect the reason New Jersey is home to so many of these labs is due to the amount of land that can truly make a flavor project private. I often drive past huge factory looking buildings and wonder what’s going on in there. Maybe some have been flavor factories.

So how does flavoring actually work? To my surprise and maybe yours too, smell comes first when inventing these boxed products.

Flavorists first have to learn how to truly smell before they begin developing flavors. You have to assess the flavor using all of your senses to ensure it is going to taste good when you eventually try it.

While these flavorists will remain unrevealed, there’s plenty more you can learn about the flavoring process and what was required in order for these scientists to become one of the 500 flavorists in the country.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco. Any opinions expressed are Judi Franco’s own.