Flavoring Agents
Flavoring agents increase the acceptability of food. People have long tried to improve the flavor of foods; since the mid-19th century, numerous flavor chemicals have been synthesized. Coumarin was synthesized in 1868; vanilla flavor, vanillin, was synthesized in 1874; cinnamon flavor was made in 1884 (cinnamic aldehyde). By the 20th century, nearly 1000 flavoring chemicals had been developed. At the present time, over 3000 synthetic chemicals are used as flavor ingredients.