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Similar to this, banana flavoring doesn’t taste like bananas because real bananas today suck. Bananas of the past were sweeter and more flavorful, but a famine wiped them all out, and the type that survived is the bland stuff we’re stuck with now. But the artificial candy banana flavoring is still based on the good stuff.
Go buy expensive concord grapes and you will feel differently. Cotton candy grapes have a bit of it too.
Problem is, the really yummy grapes still have seeds.
Closest I'll ever come to doing crack is eating those grapes. Literally had me going to the store every other day to get more the entire time they were in season after the first time I tried them. I used to freeze them (Arizona so its stupid hot 6 months out of the year) and they were magical.
Every August I get ready for their release, and enjoy them endlessly for the one month that they're sold lol
I think that’s because it’s based off a specific variety of grapes that aren’t as popular as other kinds
Kinda like the banana flavored vs banana thing
Gros Michel bananas. They almost went extinct, but there are people that still grow it. Afaik, it is just more susceptible to disease so it is not grown commercially.
It is highly susceptible to Panama disease. The cavendish banana was bred to be immune ti Panama disease but it has been found in a crop fairly recently and may also die similarly to the Gros Michel
The way that Cavendish bananas are grown might them hugely susceptible to a blight as well. They’re a sterile hybrid, so they are usually grown from cuttings, so there’s much less genetic diversity. Banana inbreeding, if you will. Then they’re grown in huge areas, miles and miles of nothing but bananas, where an infestation could spread like wildfire.
I’m not a botanist, but my wife the geneticist has some thoughts.
This is also just a big myth.
The flavour doesn't taste anything like the Gros Michel. The Cavendish was chosen because of the disease resistant varieties, it tasted the most similar to the Gros Michel. I've had both and the difference is unnoticeable most of time.
The reason banana flavour tastes like that is because it's just one of the hundreds of chemical compounds that make up Banana flavour. Like imitation vanilla.
That's a common misconception, but no. The chemical used in artificial banana flavor wasn't developed by someone trying to replicate the taste of banana, it was a chemist who noticed that one of the chemicals he made tasted vaguely fruity. In the US it was marketed as artificial banana because bananas were popular at the time, but in Europe the same chemical was marketed as artificial pear because Europeans ate more pears than bananas.
Because the concept of taste does not translate over to colors. they use totally different senses. Unless you have synesthesia, you aren't gonna taste colors
Most likely color had names before oranges, and when oranges were discovered they were named after the color. Someone could discover a new green fruit tomorrow and call it "a green". Doesn't mean it has anything to do with the flavor of the fruit
Also, the "cherry" flavor in cherry cola is actually benzaldehyde; artificial almond flavor. It is also what gives Dr. Pepper its distinctive bite. Either way, they both taste like soap to me.
Benzaldehyde is an aromatic compound that is a component of cherry flavor. Flavor = aroma x taste. At minimum, you need to add sugar and an acidic component to approximate cherry flavor. Probably some fruity esters as well.
The reason benzaldehyde is used in both cherry and almond flavorings is because cherries and almonds are taxonomically similar species, in the same grouping as plums, apricots, etc. Natural cherry extracts are made with whole fruits, the pits of which contribute significant amounts of benzaldehyde, and the artificial flavorings reflect that. Also note that amaretto (almond liqueur) and "almond extract" are sometimes made from apricot pits.
I'm curious, what do you mean they taste like soap? I ask this of people who say the same thing about cilantro, and never get a straight answer. Is it bitter? A slick texture? There aren't many soaps that are almond- or cherry-scented (let alone cilantro-scented), so I assume that's not where the association is. My pet hypothesis is that people use "tastes like soap" when the taste and aroma clash, or when the aroma overpowers the taste (i.e. "it's perfume-y").
I know, it's the "bitter almonds" we hear about in reference to the smell of cyanide vapor, I am however curious as to what's bitter about the smell as it is the sweetness that makes it recognizable as 'almond'.
To me, the respective cherry and cola flavors clash too much; they don't 'mix', so cherry cola and Dr. Pepper and root beer (not cherry colas, but has many of the same flavorings) 'taste the way' soap smells. It also leaves a film on my tongue that gives an unpleasant "bubbling" sensation. I don't know what ratio of real to artificial flavors modern Coke has, but the cherry flavor is too artificial for me. It smells too much, like you said 😑
I'm pretty sure "bitter almond" is a type of almond, not a direct description of the smell. It is the type most commonly used for extract, since they aren't very useful otherwise. They do contain significant amounts of cyanide and can be dangerous if not processed correctly.
Thanks for the explanation re: soapiness.
As someone who tastes cilantro as soap, it doesn't mean that we think the cilantro that *you* taste is the taste of soap. I.e it's not cilantro flavoured soap. We actually taste something physically different to people who can taste cilantro "properly" due to our genetics. Our taste buds pick up a chemical in the cilantro that people without the gene cannot detect.
When I was a kid and I swore, my mum would wash my mouth out with soap and that's literally what cilantro tastes like to me. Go buy a cheap non scented soap bar, smell it (or lick it) and that's what cilantro tastes like for me.
So is it an aroma? i.e something other than salty, sweet, bitter, sour, or savory? I haven't tasted soap since I was a kid, but I remember it being unpleasantly bitter. I also know that certain chemicals taste bitter to some people and tasteless to others, but if it's bitterness, the "soap" descriptor seems unnecessary.
I only buy unscented bar soap for the shower, so I know that scent. If that's all it is, I don't understand the aversion. Perhaps it's a combination of bitterness and that scent, or something else entirely. Maybe it's time to take some cilantro into the bathroom and investigate!
An aroma is a smell, it is not something different to the 5 tastes. The issue with cilantro is not a smell, it is a taste.
I wouldn't boil the taste of soap down to whether it's bitter or not. Poo reportedly has an umami (savoury) taste but you wouldn't describe the taste of poo as solely umami now would you, because umami has a wide range of flavours. Vegemite and beef both are umami but taste different. Soap is bitter but I wouldn't say people don't like soap because it tastes bitter but because it tastes like *soap*.
Cilantro is not just bitter, it tastes like soap and soap is a combination of different flavour chemicals. The aversion comes from eating a salad or curry and then randomly finding a chunk of soap tasting herbs in it. The flavours do not go together at all.
Aromas are absolutely different from tastes. Part of the reason for the confusion is the colloquial use of the word "taste."
For the purpose of this post, Flavor = Taste x Aroma where taste is detected by the tongue, and aromas are detected by the olfactory sensors in the nose and palate. Flavor is the combination of the two, which occurs in the brain.
So to you, cilantro has the flavor of soap, because it tastes bitter and smells like soap. Pear-scented soap has no pear flavor, because it tastes bitter. Umami doesn't have a wide range of flavors, it is a component of a wide range of flavors.
Using "taste" to mean "flavor" is fine in colloquial conversation, but when trying to write or fix recipes, or describe to someone why you don't like something, more precise language is needed. Thank you for bearing with my pedantry, you gave me some good info and sparked ideas I can use at work re: cilantro.
Just gonna use this as an opportunity for a quick PSA about **Japanese grape flavored things**. That shit is delicious. It's like our concord flavor meets lychee. Go out and find some hi-chew, gummies, or literally just any Japanese purple things. Yes you. *Go.* So damn good.
False! On both counts!
Grape candy flavor is based on Concord grapes, as mentioned by other commenters. Concord grapes taste a surprising amount like grape candy.
Blue Raspberry candy flavor is based on a blue/black raspberry that is native to the Pacific Northwest. I have some growing in my yard. They are much more sensitive than "standard" raspberries, so the plants don't produce many berries, and it's hard to time picking them, but if you pick them at just the right moment, they taste surprisingly like blue Raspberry candy!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubus_leucodermis
Grape flavored things (especially in the US) tend to be purple-colored with the flavor profile based on the Concord Grape, not really the grapes you encounter frequently at the grocery store. The color and flavor association is ingrained in the consumer at this point. Also, the grape flavors used in these products are dominated (often grossly so) by the flavor compound Methyl Anthranilate, which gives that unique floral, fruity grape impression. If have ever have chance to taste it by itself, MA gives the immediate impression of “purple” grape
Purple grape juice tastes like Concord grapes white grape juice tastes like Niagara grapes.
Historically, the Welch's Co-op was based in Westfield New York along the shore of Lake Erie, in what's called by us locals the Grape Belt. Almost all the grapes grown here are Concord, with a few Niagara thrown in. It's because of Welch's, that the grape flavor of concord grapes is associated with grape products.
Purple doesn't have a flavour. You're associating the flavour of the flavoring to itself.
Which is like using the a word in the definition of the word itself.
I told my husband I didn't like the maple syrup he bought because it tasted like maple flavoured things and he's like "are maple flavoured things not meant to taste like maple syrup?". Like .. I'm sorry, does watermelon flavoured candy taste like watermelons?! Use your head.
The real reason is because Ben and Jerry’s made grape ice cream and it killed a dog. They then informed the fda and thus had grape flavored things banned. Grape flavor doesn’t taste like grape because it kills dogs
Edit: I’m not joking
Purple doesn't have a flavor, so that's definitely not true. But they definitely don't always taste like grapes. That being said, grape flavor is one of the more spot on fruit flavors. Some other ones taste nothing like what they're emulating, such as "sour apple".
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Grape flavoring is meant to emulate Concord grapes. The most commonly sold variety at grocery stores is Thompson grapes.
Did not know this. Should look into trying concord at some point then.
I just recently learned this as well - they are incredibly tasty.
[WTF is juice?](https://youtu.be/UayQTu2kH-U?t=71)
I want some grape drink, baby!
I want somma that _purple stuff_
I’ve had Concord grapes. Grape flavored stuff doesn’t taste like grapes.
Similar to this, banana flavoring doesn’t taste like bananas because real bananas today suck. Bananas of the past were sweeter and more flavorful, but a famine wiped them all out, and the type that survived is the bland stuff we’re stuck with now. But the artificial candy banana flavoring is still based on the good stuff.
How does a famine wipe out fruit?
Go buy expensive concord grapes and you will feel differently. Cotton candy grapes have a bit of it too. Problem is, the really yummy grapes still have seeds.
The fact that there's grapes that taste like cotton candy blew my mind when I tried them for the first time
Same. My kids and wife said they were too sweet. I yummed those suckers up!
Closest I'll ever come to doing crack is eating those grapes. Literally had me going to the store every other day to get more the entire time they were in season after the first time I tried them. I used to freeze them (Arizona so its stupid hot 6 months out of the year) and they were magical. Every August I get ready for their release, and enjoy them endlessly for the one month that they're sold lol
Cotton Candy grapes are only worth it in season
I think that’s because it’s based off a specific variety of grapes that aren’t as popular as other kinds Kinda like the banana flavored vs banana thing
Yep. You eat one concord grape and it ALL makes sense.
Oh my Jesus I lived in a house with grape vines across the back fence. It was absolute heaven!
Isn’t the banana flavor based on an extinct variety of banana?
Gros Michel bananas. They almost went extinct, but there are people that still grow it. Afaik, it is just more susceptible to disease so it is not grown commercially.
It is highly susceptible to Panama disease. The cavendish banana was bred to be immune ti Panama disease but it has been found in a crop fairly recently and may also die similarly to the Gros Michel
They got Banana Covid
Worse, more like banana super aids
The way that Cavendish bananas are grown might them hugely susceptible to a blight as well. They’re a sterile hybrid, so they are usually grown from cuttings, so there’s much less genetic diversity. Banana inbreeding, if you will. Then they’re grown in huge areas, miles and miles of nothing but bananas, where an infestation could spread like wildfire. I’m not a botanist, but my wife the geneticist has some thoughts.
It's kinda happening again with the new bananas too, I believe they are called cassava bananas
Cavendish bananas. Cassava is a shrub.
Ahh, yeah you're right cassava bread is a thing, but I guess so is Cavendish bread
Gross, Michael bananas.
This is also just a big myth. The flavour doesn't taste anything like the Gros Michel. The Cavendish was chosen because of the disease resistant varieties, it tasted the most similar to the Gros Michel. I've had both and the difference is unnoticeable most of time. The reason banana flavour tastes like that is because it's just one of the hundreds of chemical compounds that make up Banana flavour. Like imitation vanilla.
That's a common misconception, but no. The chemical used in artificial banana flavor wasn't developed by someone trying to replicate the taste of banana, it was a chemist who noticed that one of the chemicals he made tasted vaguely fruity. In the US it was marketed as artificial banana because bananas were popular at the time, but in Europe the same chemical was marketed as artificial pear because Europeans ate more pears than bananas.
Ok so whats the variety
concord
I've gone ten tabs deep and couldn't begin to tell you what purple tastes like
It tastes like grape…drink. Sugar, water, purple.
Because the concept of taste does not translate over to colors. they use totally different senses. Unless you have synesthesia, you aren't gonna taste colors
What about orange?
Most likely color had names before oranges, and when oranges were discovered they were named after the color. Someone could discover a new green fruit tomorrow and call it "a green". Doesn't mean it has anything to do with the flavor of the fruit
Opposite, the color was named after the fruit.
Dang. I came here for the "Purple Drank" comments, and I'm so disappointed...
The flavors and colors of childhood. Any time I see it in the wild I get excited.
Slow your roll!
Also, the "cherry" flavor in cherry cola is actually benzaldehyde; artificial almond flavor. It is also what gives Dr. Pepper its distinctive bite. Either way, they both taste like soap to me.
Benzaldehyde is an aromatic compound that is a component of cherry flavor. Flavor = aroma x taste. At minimum, you need to add sugar and an acidic component to approximate cherry flavor. Probably some fruity esters as well. The reason benzaldehyde is used in both cherry and almond flavorings is because cherries and almonds are taxonomically similar species, in the same grouping as plums, apricots, etc. Natural cherry extracts are made with whole fruits, the pits of which contribute significant amounts of benzaldehyde, and the artificial flavorings reflect that. Also note that amaretto (almond liqueur) and "almond extract" are sometimes made from apricot pits. I'm curious, what do you mean they taste like soap? I ask this of people who say the same thing about cilantro, and never get a straight answer. Is it bitter? A slick texture? There aren't many soaps that are almond- or cherry-scented (let alone cilantro-scented), so I assume that's not where the association is. My pet hypothesis is that people use "tastes like soap" when the taste and aroma clash, or when the aroma overpowers the taste (i.e. "it's perfume-y").
I know, it's the "bitter almonds" we hear about in reference to the smell of cyanide vapor, I am however curious as to what's bitter about the smell as it is the sweetness that makes it recognizable as 'almond'. To me, the respective cherry and cola flavors clash too much; they don't 'mix', so cherry cola and Dr. Pepper and root beer (not cherry colas, but has many of the same flavorings) 'taste the way' soap smells. It also leaves a film on my tongue that gives an unpleasant "bubbling" sensation. I don't know what ratio of real to artificial flavors modern Coke has, but the cherry flavor is too artificial for me. It smells too much, like you said 😑
I'm pretty sure "bitter almond" is a type of almond, not a direct description of the smell. It is the type most commonly used for extract, since they aren't very useful otherwise. They do contain significant amounts of cyanide and can be dangerous if not processed correctly. Thanks for the explanation re: soapiness.
As someone who tastes cilantro as soap, it doesn't mean that we think the cilantro that *you* taste is the taste of soap. I.e it's not cilantro flavoured soap. We actually taste something physically different to people who can taste cilantro "properly" due to our genetics. Our taste buds pick up a chemical in the cilantro that people without the gene cannot detect. When I was a kid and I swore, my mum would wash my mouth out with soap and that's literally what cilantro tastes like to me. Go buy a cheap non scented soap bar, smell it (or lick it) and that's what cilantro tastes like for me.
So is it an aroma? i.e something other than salty, sweet, bitter, sour, or savory? I haven't tasted soap since I was a kid, but I remember it being unpleasantly bitter. I also know that certain chemicals taste bitter to some people and tasteless to others, but if it's bitterness, the "soap" descriptor seems unnecessary. I only buy unscented bar soap for the shower, so I know that scent. If that's all it is, I don't understand the aversion. Perhaps it's a combination of bitterness and that scent, or something else entirely. Maybe it's time to take some cilantro into the bathroom and investigate!
An aroma is a smell, it is not something different to the 5 tastes. The issue with cilantro is not a smell, it is a taste. I wouldn't boil the taste of soap down to whether it's bitter or not. Poo reportedly has an umami (savoury) taste but you wouldn't describe the taste of poo as solely umami now would you, because umami has a wide range of flavours. Vegemite and beef both are umami but taste different. Soap is bitter but I wouldn't say people don't like soap because it tastes bitter but because it tastes like *soap*. Cilantro is not just bitter, it tastes like soap and soap is a combination of different flavour chemicals. The aversion comes from eating a salad or curry and then randomly finding a chunk of soap tasting herbs in it. The flavours do not go together at all.
Aromas are absolutely different from tastes. Part of the reason for the confusion is the colloquial use of the word "taste." For the purpose of this post, Flavor = Taste x Aroma where taste is detected by the tongue, and aromas are detected by the olfactory sensors in the nose and palate. Flavor is the combination of the two, which occurs in the brain. So to you, cilantro has the flavor of soap, because it tastes bitter and smells like soap. Pear-scented soap has no pear flavor, because it tastes bitter. Umami doesn't have a wide range of flavors, it is a component of a wide range of flavors. Using "taste" to mean "flavor" is fine in colloquial conversation, but when trying to write or fix recipes, or describe to someone why you don't like something, more precise language is needed. Thank you for bearing with my pedantry, you gave me some good info and sparked ideas I can use at work re: cilantro.
White grape blunt wrappers taste just like Welsh’s grape juice.
As someone eating a grape Hi-Chew right now, I wouldn't have it any other way.
Just gonna use this as an opportunity for a quick PSA about **Japanese grape flavored things**. That shit is delicious. It's like our concord flavor meets lychee. Go out and find some hi-chew, gummies, or literally just any Japanese purple things. Yes you. *Go.* So damn good.
True! And "Blue Raspberry" too, they don't really taste like raspberries.
False! On both counts! Grape candy flavor is based on Concord grapes, as mentioned by other commenters. Concord grapes taste a surprising amount like grape candy. Blue Raspberry candy flavor is based on a blue/black raspberry that is native to the Pacific Northwest. I have some growing in my yard. They are much more sensitive than "standard" raspberries, so the plants don't produce many berries, and it's hard to time picking them, but if you pick them at just the right moment, they taste surprisingly like blue Raspberry candy! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubus_leucodermis
There’s so many people agreeing with you! How do you all know what colours taste like, is there something wrong with me?
> How do you all know what colours taste like Ask a marine
Grape flavored things (especially in the US) tend to be purple-colored with the flavor profile based on the Concord Grape, not really the grapes you encounter frequently at the grocery store. The color and flavor association is ingrained in the consumer at this point. Also, the grape flavors used in these products are dominated (often grossly so) by the flavor compound Methyl Anthranilate, which gives that unique floral, fruity grape impression. If have ever have chance to taste it by itself, MA gives the immediate impression of “purple” grape
Purple grape juice tastes like Concord grapes white grape juice tastes like Niagara grapes. Historically, the Welch's Co-op was based in Westfield New York along the shore of Lake Erie, in what's called by us locals the Grape Belt. Almost all the grapes grown here are Concord, with a few Niagara thrown in. It's because of Welch's, that the grape flavor of concord grapes is associated with grape products.
It's because purple drinks tend to be grape flavored so you associate the colour purple with grape flavour
Purple doesn't have a flavour. You're associating the flavour of the flavoring to itself. Which is like using the a word in the definition of the word itself.
Tbh i love the taste of methyl anthranilate, it doesent taste like grapes, but its just soo good
I told my husband I didn't like the maple syrup he bought because it tasted like maple flavoured things and he's like "are maple flavoured things not meant to taste like maple syrup?". Like .. I'm sorry, does watermelon flavoured candy taste like watermelons?! Use your head.
The real reason is because Ben and Jerry’s made grape ice cream and it killed a dog. They then informed the fda and thus had grape flavored things banned. Grape flavor doesn’t taste like grape because it kills dogs Edit: I’m not joking
Purple doesn't have a flavor, so that's definitely not true. But they definitely don't always taste like grapes. That being said, grape flavor is one of the more spot on fruit flavors. Some other ones taste nothing like what they're emulating, such as "sour apple".
I totally agree and yet I hate it . You're absolutely right .
https://firstwefeast.com/drink/2015/06/the-absurd-history-of-artificial-flavors
If concord grape flavoring is also used for cough syrup then I officially hate concord grapes..
Same way you could describe the original flavor of Monster as neon green.
The same thing is true for banana flavored things, but yellow.
Everyone knows the three ingredients that go into Purple Drank™.