Most Flavorings Resemble Oils The flavorful material in an herb or spice is traditionally called its essential oil The term reflects an important practical fact: aroma chemicals are more similar to oils and fats than they are to water, and are therefore more soluble in oil than they are in water (p 797) This is why cooks make prepared flavor extracts by infusing herbs and spices in oil, not water They do infuse herbs in watery vinegar and in alcohols, but both alcohol and vinegar’s acetic acid are small cousins of fat molecules, and help dissolve more aromatics than plain water could The defensive aroma chemicals can have disruptive effects on a plant’s own cells as well as on predators, so plants take care to isolate them from their inner workings Herbs and spices stockpile their aroma chemicals in specialized oilstorage cells, in glands on the surfaces of leaves, or in channels that open up between cells Some dry spices are as much as 15% essential oil by weight, and many are 5–10% Fresh and dry herbs generally contain much less, around 1%, fresh herbs because their water content is much higher, and dry herbs because they lose aroma chemicals in the drying process The Flavor of an Herb or Spice is Several Flavors Combined As we’ve seen many times and in many foods, flavor is a composite quality A ripe fruit may contain hundreds of different aromatic compounds; and the same goes for a roast Though we tend to think of a particular herb or spice as having its own distinctive flavor, it too is always a composite of several different aroma compounds Sometimes one of those compounds predominates and provides the main character — as in cloves, cinnamon, anise, thyme — but often it’s the mixture that ... essential oil by weight, and many are 5–10% Fresh and dry herbs generally contain much less, around 1%, fresh herbs because their water content is much higher, and dry herbs because they lose aroma chemicals in the. .. too is always a composite of several different aroma compounds Sometimes one of those compounds predominates and provides the main character — as in cloves, cinnamon, anise, thyme — but often it’s the mixture that ... drying process The Flavor of an Herb or Spice is Several Flavors Combined As we’ve seen many times and in many foods, flavor is a composite quality A ripe fruit may contain hundreds of different aromatic