They say you eat with the eyes. But we now know that smell, texture, temperature, color and even atmosphere – down to the background music – influence how we perceive flavor.

As anyone who has lost their sense of taste will know, flavorless food is dull and monochrome - it is flavor that brings food into full technicolor life. Yet it's not always easy to make something tasty; the secrets to flavor can baffle chefs and scientists alike.

Food science expert Dr Stuart Farrimond explores major flavor categories such as salt, acid and heat (from chilies) and how they interact, and profiles all the major foods from individual fruit, veg, herbs and spices to the building blocks such as rice and wheat that give us stapes like bread, pasta, and noodles. With pairing notes for every ingredient, you'll soon be inventing new recipes.