Flavor decoder: how I develop our understanding of food

What exactly is strawberry flavor?

This is the kind of question I have been asking myself for the last 18 years, throughout my career in the Science and Research department at dsm-firmenich.

Here’s how analytical scientists like me approach the problem. We take various types of strawberry and extract the volatile parts to identify and quantify the different molecules we find inside. This gives us an understanding of what the flavor consists of. We can then use those molecules to add strawberry flavor to other goods you might find on the shelves.

Typical day in my team

As an Associate Principal Scientist, my day usually begins with a team discussion over coffee, where we get together to talk about what each of us is working on and the challenges we’re currently dealing with. We then spend our day preparing our samples for injection and, if we’re lucky, finding new molecules that can be used for innovations in dsm-firmenich products. For example, I recently identified a molecule group that was common to a range of raw materials I was working on, including beer, cocoa and strawberry. It was an exciting discovery – and one that could have a real impact on how we work with flavors in the future. 

A career dedicated to innovation

I joined the organization straight after graduating and in my two decades here I have had the chance to make an impact on many different areas – including the taste and perfumery parts of the business, and regulatory affairs. Everywhere I have been, I have had opportunities to innovate. I’m really very lucky. It’s such a pleasure to be able to come into work every morning and tackle interesting scientific challenges with teammates who are as energized and motivated to find answers as I am.