Note that this is just for taste, not smell. You're not going to lick it and taste chocolate or bread. Having a neutral source of the 5 tastes is helpful for c

Note that this is just for taste, not smell. You're not going to lick it and taste chocolate or bread. Having a neutral source of the 5 tastes is helpful for cooking. Sugar, salt, citric acid, and mono sodium glutamate cover the "desirable" flavors well-- bitterness is best delivered by some ingredient that also has interesting smells, like cocoa powder or okra. There are other compounds that are close to tastes, but don't operate using tastebuds or olfaction. Pungent and cooling sensations from chili peppers and mint are well know, and there are several other chemicals that have unique sensations on the tongue: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taste#Further_sensations_and_transmission https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taste#Further_sensations_and_t...