The Truth Behind 'Natural' and 'Artificial' Flavors: How Bad Are They Really?

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  • čas přidán 19. 06. 2024
  • You see the words 'artificially flavored' and 'naturally flavored' on ingredients packaging all the time-but what does it actually mean? What is "natural" and what is "artificial"? How bad for you are they really? Join Hank Green and find out more in this episode of SciShow!
    Head to scishowfinds.com/ for hand selected artifacts of the universe!
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    Sources:
    www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/Cons...
    www.accessdata.fda.gov/script...
    www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/...
    www.scientificamerican.com/ar...
    www.fda.gov/food/ingredientsp...
    www.seriouseats.com/2014/04/w...
    www.cooksillustrated.com/tast...
    www.acsh.org/sites/default/fi...
    www.cbc.ca/news/business/orang...
    www.bonappetit.com/story/trut...
    www.popsci.com/what-are-natur...
    www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/env...
    www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/flav...
    www.scientificamerican.com/ar...
    www.newyorker.com/books/page-...
    abcnews.go.com/Health/califor...
    www.femaflavor.org/
    sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/201...
    www.ag.ndsu.edu/foodlaw/proce...
    www.popsci.com/history-flavor...
    www.sciencefriday.com/segment...
    onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/f...
    www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/0...
    www.gao.gov/assets/310/300743...
    www.effa.eu/eu-legislation/fla...
    www.sigmaaldrich.com/technica...
    europa.eu/rapid/press-release_...
    Images:
    www.istockphoto.com/photo/app...
    www.istockphoto.com/photo/a-d...
    commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
    commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
    www.istockphoto.com/photo/tub...
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    bit.ly/2lA0I8m
    bit.ly/2tIeKbO
    bit.ly/2KhsV2v
    bit.ly/2KwNzeB
    bit.ly/2KoQtOV
    bit.ly/2twWqTQ

Komentáře • 2,4K

  • @MrHeavy466
    @MrHeavy466 Před 6 lety +3135

    I admire the bravery of the men and women that discovered the vanilla taste of beaver butt.

    • @kyletowers9662
      @kyletowers9662 Před 6 lety +308

      Not all heroes wear capes

    • @Frostibaconsoda
      @Frostibaconsoda Před 6 lety +74

      MrHeavy466 your comment legit made me giggle out loud

    • @frankschneider6156
      @frankschneider6156 Před 6 lety +142

      You are aware that the the sugar content of diabetes patients was discovered from tasting dog's urine that tasted sweet ? Gustatory testing was quite common in science before more modern safety measures became common.
      Not to mention that humans are omnivores and in principle can eat or drink most things. And so they do.

    • @haveiszalfaroqie1628
      @haveiszalfaroqie1628 Před 6 lety +65

      Lick da peepee.

    • @alansandoval691
      @alansandoval691 Před 6 lety +56

      Creeps were really out there eating beaver cheeks

  • @lividsphincter4098
    @lividsphincter4098 Před 6 lety +1480

    I used to work at a fast food place and once had a customer ask for a drink with no chemicals in it. I had no idea what he wanted. I tried asking him what specific chemicals he didn't want and he just got angry and left.

    • @bunbundabunni3843
      @bunbundabunni3843 Před 6 lety +551

      livid sphincter Shoulda given them a cup of water and warned there was h2o chemicals in it.

    • @andreaaristokrates9516
      @andreaaristokrates9516 Před 6 lety +482

      "Here, have a cup 'full of' vacuum. Be sure to keep the lid on or else it might get contaminated by nitrogen, which is commonly used in fertilizers and is also in the same group as arsenic, which is a well known poison!"

    • @sirdeadlock
      @sirdeadlock Před 6 lety +398

      bunbundabunni "I apologize, but our entire selection of beverages contain a dilution of dihydrogenmonooxide. It's admittedly one of the most dangerous chemical compounds on Earth, proven fatal when inhaled; but in small doses the FDA has found it to be safe and nourishing... So long as it's not inhaled, of course."

    • @EebstertheGreat
      @EebstertheGreat Před 6 lety +112

      He probably meant synthetic chemicals, in which case it's unlikely the fast food restaurant even had any available apart from water.

    • @hithere5553
      @hithere5553 Před 6 lety +206

      “I’m sorry sir, all our products contain dihydrogen monoxide”

  • @Joel-pl6lh
    @Joel-pl6lh Před 4 lety +608

    I had an ice cream saying "Made with REAL ingredients !"

    • @aiden9298
      @aiden9298 Před 3 lety +162

      That makes me imagine an ice cream saying made with all fictional ingredients

    • @frankwest9892
      @frankwest9892 Před 3 lety +100

      The fact that they even listed that as a selling point would make me suspicious.

    • @maxthompson9113
      @maxthompson9113 Před 3 lety +69

      As opposed to imaginary ingredients

    • @joeastham0
      @joeastham0 Před 3 lety +36

      Thank goodness they weren't fake ingredients

    • @joeastham0
      @joeastham0 Před 3 lety +38

      @林 REAL atoms! 😂

  • @lizhumble9953
    @lizhumble9953 Před 6 lety +33

    The worst part about all of this, if you have some one in your life that has allergies, is that natural flavors can be literally anything animal or plant and they don’t have to tell you what it is. If it says flavoring I just have to put the item down. We need more transparent labeling, but I guess if they have to write crushed up bugs for color or beaver secretion for flavor they are not going to be able to sell as much.

    • @angelitabecerra
      @angelitabecerra Před 5 měsíci +2

      #facts
      Same goes for the artificial stuff too. Now I know why I always couldn't do artificial vanilla, I'm allergic to all things petroleum. So expensive only vanilla for me or nothing

  • @pdreding
    @pdreding Před 6 lety +740

    These terms are extremely loaded. Nobody would have an issue with "hand-crafted artisanal flavour".

    • @Klaidman-nr2gs
      @Klaidman-nr2gs Před 6 lety +31

      Patrick Reding prolly cause slapping natural flavors on it makes it sell better than 'artificial flavors'. Theyll make sure to jump that loophole to make sure that they get that profit boost

    • @pdreding
      @pdreding Před 6 lety +51

      That is literally what I just implied.

    • @G5rry
      @G5rry Před 6 lety +6

      prolly?

    • @adde9506
      @adde9506 Před 5 lety +9

      If it started out as petroleum, it would still bother me. I'm actually more grossed out by artificial flavors now. Before it was just that natural tasted better. Same price = easy choice.

    • @catpoke9557
      @catpoke9557 Před 5 lety +43

      @@adde9506 Well, everything starts out as something else. You are what you eat, and that's because you're just made of other things. A strawberry, for example, needs soil to grow and to just exist in general, and the soil is necessary because it contains nutrients. The nutrients come from poop and rotting animals, plants, etc. Everything contains and is made of something it got from somewhere else, and that something that leads to being in a living thing which leads to you eating that thing always has to start somewhere. Everything contains something which, at some point, was some very unappealing and possibly deadly chemical. Everything you find in a plant or animal was not always in a plant or animal to begin with. What matters isn't what it was, but what it is. Like how cow milk is made from cow blood, but it's not blood anymore, so it doesn't matter.

  • @blackbeardteach1193
    @blackbeardteach1193 Před 6 lety +609

    Cause of death:
    Popcorn lung.
    Even I won't blame someone for laughing at my funeral.

    • @JRLB38
      @JRLB38 Před 6 lety +26

      blackbeard teach Now I have to google if anyone has actually died from this and how much money their family was awarded.

    • @bimbette4892
      @bimbette4892 Před 5 lety +18

      @blackbeard teach if you vape, there's a chance you can develop popcorn lung.

    • @kauekairony990
      @kauekairony990 Před 5 lety +5

      @@metachirality
      well technically, it still does, but only with massive amounts of artificial butter flavoring

    • @ZacksRockingLifestyle
      @ZacksRockingLifestyle Před 5 lety +2

      blackbeard teach why not plan for everyone in attendance to bring a bag of popcorn to eat as you’re being interred? Heh

    • @neilisbored2177
      @neilisbored2177 Před 5 lety +1

      @@kauekairony990 'Tis but ter flavoring.

  • @horner385
    @horner385 Před 4 lety +333

    Also I love it when people are "well I don't want chemicals in my food or drink"
    Congratulations, you are just a walking pack of chemicals

    • @chironOwlglass
      @chironOwlglass Před 4 lety +16

      So if I offered you strychnine, you would consume it, since "we're all chemicals"? Everything is chemicals but some chemicals are still POISON, dumbass lmao

    • @aeircrown7994
      @aeircrown7994 Před 4 lety +31

      Clay Owlglass lol salt has poisonous chemicals in it, why you use it in food then lol

    • @farihatahir9316
      @farihatahir9316 Před 4 lety

      Better get that water out

    • @goodknyght4319
      @goodknyght4319 Před 4 lety +2

      @@chironOwlglass oh?

    • @zedantXiang
      @zedantXiang Před 3 lety +7

      @@chironOwlglass Do you know how we created sugar syrup?
      No?
      Some guy mixed 2 poison tasted it and found out it was sweet

  • @blackwood5851
    @blackwood5851 Před 5 lety +30

    In my chem class we learned about this, specifically about compounds called esters and the teacher actually mixed some chemicals and made that banana aroma that is characteristic from banana soft candy. It was fun

  • @Toastmaster_5000
    @Toastmaster_5000 Před 6 lety +603

    Just for some clarification about vanilla:
    Vanilla beans will taste different because they contain more molecules than just vanillin, but, those molecules get destroyed when heat at high temperatures (like when baking something). Vanillin, meanwhile, is the only flavor that truly remains. That being said, if you're cooking something, always go for artificial vanilla. If you have the opportunity to add vanilla while the product is cold, use natural vanilla.
    This is why a lot of recipes (such as puddings) call to add vanilla _after_ you're done cooking.

    • @adde9506
      @adde9506 Před 5 lety +53

      Interesting. But I'm going to disagree here. Not on the science, but on the flavor. I've cooked with both and the natural vanilla definitely tastes better, even cooked. I've never been rich enough to use vanilla seeds or paste, but between the two liquids there is a huge difference. That said, if you personally don't notice a difference, save the money and use vanillin.

    • @cferracini
      @cferracini Před 5 lety +13

      in my modest opinion, unless you got the natural stuff that is stronger even if you bake, just don't put anything if it's a cookie or a cake. Honestly, brown sugar has a stronger flavor and since I started to ignore vanilla in those two NO ONE ever noticed the absence of vanilla. They only noticed in sugar cookies because no molasses from brow sugar to overpower.

    • @thomas1918
      @thomas1918 Před 4 lety +26

      I'm sorry but that is completely false. Maybe some people don't have the same sensitivity to the flavours in vanilla as I do (I've been baking for most of my life, always from scratch) but I can tell instantly if artificial vanilla was used and it puts me right off. It has a subtle almond like flavour which I absolutely hate. It doesn't even compare to the real stuff and that includes when it is heated.

    • @johnthakidiyel5468
      @johnthakidiyel5468 Před 4 lety +26

      To all the people saying natural vanilla is better, I'm not disagreeing. At least some of you and probably most of you feel the difference due to the placebo effect. If you read about it or even watch videos from SciShow about how strong the placebo effect is, you might have a different opinion.

    • @thomas1918
      @thomas1918 Před 4 lety +21

      @@johnthakidiyel5468 100% not the placebo effect. It took me a few years to realize what the taste was when my bf's family baked, I didn't know they used fake vanilla. I think its proof enough that no good bakery ever has used artificial vanilla because anyone with a sensitive pallet can easily tell the difference. artificial vanilla doesn't taste like the real one at all to me; i get an almond like flavour.

  • @ilovecatsijustlovecats3944
    @ilovecatsijustlovecats3944 Před 6 lety +57

    "it's all natural" Well so is Skunk piss but i don't want it in or on my body

  • @mellie4174
    @mellie4174 Před 4 lety +83

    So nice to see a nuanced discussion about natural vs artificial. It's amazing to me how many people just blindly think if its natural its healthy. In order to save our planet we really need to look at things from all angles to find the best solution

    • @justayoutuber1906
      @justayoutuber1906 Před 2 lety +6

      I like asbestos and radon because they are 100% natural.

    • @dianapennepacker6854
      @dianapennepacker6854 Před 8 měsíci +2

      I am so sick of people who mindlessly hate artifical, and things like GMOs or even preservatives. 99% don't know why, but are just sheep for marketing companies.
      GMOs have saved millions of lives for instance. Organic for instance uses more water, and doesn't automatically make it healthy.
      People sit there with fruit that has so much sugar content that many zoos stopped giving them it due to getting fat and teeth decay. Many fruits need humans just to grow.
      I'm just sick of it.

  • @iconic762
    @iconic762 Před 3 lety +125

    That’s why instead of “natural” or “artificial” when available I buy the actual ingredients and make it myself. I enjoy cooking and baking and fresh ingredients are always amazing.

    • @salihefee
      @salihefee Před 3 lety +22

      do you buy beaver butt and make a dish urself

    • @zealiouszone8861
      @zealiouszone8861 Před 3 lety +16

      That's an understandable idea, but what if the ingredients themselves are labeled "natural" or "artificial"?

    • @madsubhash
      @madsubhash Před 3 lety

      Your dp says a lot bout you

    • @engineerchew
      @engineerchew Před 2 lety +1

      But it contains lots of chemicals though.

    • @justayoutuber1906
      @justayoutuber1906 Před 2 lety +5

      So how do you make vanilla extract? You buy the beans? or grow the plant?

  • @SchutzmarkeGMBH
    @SchutzmarkeGMBH Před 6 lety +460

    Sooo beaver sex is totally vanilla?

    • @soccerandtrack10
      @soccerandtrack10 Před 6 lety +3

      what does vanalla mean as in game terms?"I'm doing the vanalli verson?",does it mean nature?,like first?

    • @extraemontamontes3618
      @extraemontamontes3618 Před 6 lety +10

      the night hAunter war/russian/aidan/doctor/doyle like vintage, old or original

    • @stockerkill7796
      @stockerkill7796 Před 6 lety +10

      I get it bro these people are totally simple and can appreciate a witty joke like that try and dumb it down for them and I can't believe more people haven't mentioned that Beaver ass taste like vanilla on this comment thread yet I wouldn't be surprised to be walking through the woods now and find someone munching out on a beaver's ass

    • @pegasusted2504
      @pegasusted2504 Před 6 lety +2

      I thought the beaver was at the front? ;~)

    • @alicered4198
      @alicered4198 Před 6 lety +6

      Vanilla in game terms mean that it is not modded

  • @maddie9602
    @maddie9602 Před 6 lety +558

    A good example of how natural isn't always better: while domesticated almonds are a tasty snack, wild almonds are poisonous; eating a small amount can expose you to lethal levels of cyanide.

    • @biggene3043
      @biggene3043 Před 6 lety +66

      The lovely part of domestication! Still applies to our lovely pets, too. The famous cat and dog are predators, and used to attack us on occassion. Now we call them our friends...development is strange.

    • @fireriffs
      @fireriffs Před 5 lety +109

      If I'm not mistaken, I think I learned somewhere that almonds (including ones labeled raw) are roasted just enough to burn off the cyanide. Of course that leads to the question of what imbecile saw someone die eating an almond and tried to find a way to make them edible. I would have just said, "Well, can't eat those" and gone about my day.

    • @nufgorf
      @nufgorf Před 5 lety +22

      @@fireriffs sorry mate, but have been eating almonds straight from the tree for 50+ years. No heating involved..

    • @robertaylor9218
      @robertaylor9218 Před 5 lety +41

      @@nufgorf And many people survive eating apricot seeds, but a blood test will show they suffer from cyanide poisoning, and deaths are not unheard of.

    • @nufgorf
      @nufgorf Před 5 lety +8

      @@robertaylor9218 unripe kernels are an issue, but once ripe they are fine. Just like walnuts, we can buy them unshelled from almost any supermarket during almond season. I suspect people are getting confused with apricot kernels.

  • @davidvandrunen3516
    @davidvandrunen3516 Před 5 lety +67

    Is salt an artificial flavour? Also: "Mmm, tasty. What is it?" Beaver bum.

    • @dandanthedandan7558
      @dandanthedandan7558 Před 3 lety +3

      I think the only way to make artificial salt would be to react it like hydrochloric acid plus sodium hydroxide. But idk maybe they don't consider seawater natural cause it's not a plant or animal, I haven't looked it up

    • @dr.suffuzz6383
      @dr.suffuzz6383 Před 3 lety +6

      i think it’s not technically a flavour because it adds nutritional value

    • @capivara6094
      @capivara6094 Před 3 lety

      @@dr.suffuzz6383 yeah, we need salt to survive and all, but this is only a way to scape the discussion of if naturally occurring non-biological compounds count as "natural"

    • @dr.suffuzz6383
      @dr.suffuzz6383 Před 3 lety

      @@capivara6094 ? he said in the video that things that add nutritional value aren’t flavours so salt can’t be a natural or artificial flavouring my comment was totally on topic

  • @TheViciousVendetta
    @TheViciousVendetta Před 4 lety +23

    To quote Tim Minchin, "EVERYTHING IS CHEMICALS!!!"

  • @seanpeery7780
    @seanpeery7780 Před 6 lety +1760

    "Natural" flavoring. Natural to what? The universe? Am I gonna get some anti-matter Twinkies if they are artificially flavored?

    • @carlosmp2043
      @carlosmp2043 Před 6 lety +51

      Yes

    • @carlosmp2043
      @carlosmp2043 Před 6 lety +129

      Sean Peery
      That's why people are dumb for picking natural over artificial. If u get anti-matter Twinkies, you could sell them for billions and billions of dollars. I'm surprised they didnt mention this in the video!

    • @justinlin9936
      @justinlin9936 Před 6 lety +35

      I would probably still buy anti-matter twinkies 🤑

    • @spudthepug
      @spudthepug Před 6 lety +61

      I’d be throwing antimatter twinkies at certain people for reasons.

    • @aronseptianto8142
      @aronseptianto8142 Před 6 lety +72

      taste so good it will literally neutralize the atom in your mouth and explode

  • @ItzzzBeamo
    @ItzzzBeamo Před 6 lety +128

    One of the more eye-opening SciShow vids I’ve watched. Makes sense that mainstream information alludes us to have sort of an associative blame to artificial flavorings/molecules having an inherently negative comparison to natural ones. I didn’t know about The Naturalistic Fallacy. Thanks!

    • @profwaldone
      @profwaldone Před 6 lety +19

      The Naturalistic Fallacy is the most common fallacy out there, you can find it from antivaxers to climate change denial to the organic and palio scams.
      it is also incrediby anoying.

  • @wwiinnggnnuutt
    @wwiinnggnnuutt Před 6 lety +13

    This video is one of the most informative yet. I love everything Hank and John make. Thank you SCISHOW. For all your hardwork. 💕

  • @dennistucker1153
    @dennistucker1153 Před 4 lety +3

    Hank, love the work you're doing. Good subject and well explained.

  • @CreepyChappy
    @CreepyChappy Před 6 lety +43

    More people should watch this

  • @combatking0
    @combatking0 Před 6 lety +340

    Forget natural or artificial flavours. I'm an advocate of inorganic food.
    Steel steaks and mercuric oxide flakes. Yum.

    • @alexwang982
      @alexwang982 Před 6 lety +10

      Tasty!

    • @cristianverdugogalaz8725
      @cristianverdugogalaz8725 Před 6 lety +27

      G G i mean gold its inert so it goes straight through the body not doing anything, they just get the chance to say they're so rich they poop gold

    • @EpicB
      @EpicB Před 6 lety +8

      I'm more into organometallic food. I have breakfast with a fresh glass of dimethylmercury.

    • @combatking0
      @combatking0 Před 6 lety +2

      Eat your heart out, ethanol. Dimethylmercury is much more efficient at killing brain cells.

    • @EpicB
      @EpicB Před 6 lety +4

      Combat King 0 It's also far more efficient at just killing you altogether.

  • @nimbusthecat4048
    @nimbusthecat4048 Před 5 lety

    Excellent content and presentation.Thank you so much

  • @ChrisKramer_
    @ChrisKramer_ Před 5 lety +16

    i always had a bad taste in my mouth about artificial flavors. this video made me realize that i was completely wrong about the whole subject, and i loved it :)

  • @MrMudbill
    @MrMudbill Před 6 lety +331

    Surprised you didn't mention the banana flavor. From what I hear, the whole situation is flipped, as artificial banana flavor is based on "the original" banana, which went extinct many decades ago, and that the natural banana flavor is actually artificial because the banana trees we have today are a result of genetic modification that outgrew the original trees.

    • @TheaHFrancis
      @TheaHFrancis Před 6 lety +5

      Interesting!

    • @MrTBoneSF
      @MrTBoneSF Před 6 lety +43

      I always get a chuckle when I hear people ask "How come the banana flavoring doesn't taste anything like 'real' bananas?" Everybody just got used to the runner-up banana flavor once the "original" banana strain went extinct. It's sort of like how I got used to the flavor of Diet Coke (or Coke Zero) and think that regular Coke has a funny aftertaste and is too sweet.

    • @battleon81
      @battleon81 Před 6 lety +85

      Well, the bananas we have today are not genetically modified. They are just a different cultivar: the Cavendish. The Cavendish is as genetically modified as most other crops in that it is a product of selective breeding. The old banana cultivar was the Gros Michel, but it was wiped out by a fungal disease. It isn't extinct, but it is no longer commercially viable here in the US. Apparently it is still being produced in eastern Asia though.

    • @kaletrain1046
      @kaletrain1046 Před 6 lety +4

      Commercially available bananas, as it would have it.

    • @awulfy9052
      @awulfy9052 Před 6 lety +13

      battleon81 ooh i think ik what you mean, theres very small bananas in asia with thin skins that have a stronger taste, riper texture and taste quite tropical. They are delicious!
      Maybe they're the ones you're on about?

  • @charlesevans6568
    @charlesevans6568 Před 6 lety +16

    One thing I love about this show is that I can have it play in the background and not have to watch it just "listen".....

  • @mdderrek9280
    @mdderrek9280 Před 3 lety

    WOW Guys , sooo informative. Keep it up!!!

  • @WonderMagician
    @WonderMagician Před 4 lety +2

    Thanks for explaining the facts behind natural and artificial flavors

  • @MusyTheBest
    @MusyTheBest Před 6 lety +36

    That's just an amazing video.. I simply, didn't want it to end. Thank you for the consistent quality and the useful information.

  • @theoregonguy
    @theoregonguy Před 6 lety +517

    Thanks guys for making this video, it drives me insane when people freak out over artificial flavoring like it's the most dangerous thing in the world.

    • @jaives
      @jaives Před 6 lety +78

      same goes with people preferring "organic"

    • @eddietorres1313
      @eddietorres1313 Před 6 lety +76

      Or "non-GMO"

    • @nathanaelraynard2641
      @nathanaelraynard2641 Před 6 lety +2

      Eddie Torres yeah

    • @chernandez2134
      @chernandez2134 Před 6 lety +51

      Eddie Torres GMO free is the worst one. Other than some problems with the corporations making them (which isn't a problem w GMOs themselves), there are virtually only benefits as far as the current peer reviewed studies go. It's annoying that fear mongering and misinformation prevents people from buying and supporting more sustainable options. Especially when GMOs might eventually be both healthier and safer if they aren't already.

    • @eddietorres1313
      @eddietorres1313 Před 6 lety +4

      D.I.C.E Daddy EXACTLY!

  • @bludelphinium994
    @bludelphinium994 Před 4 lety

    Great show. Thanks 😊

  • @bluejetlightning8427
    @bluejetlightning8427 Před 4 lety

    Man this channel is so awesome for learning!

  • @levandhisdemons6087
    @levandhisdemons6087 Před 6 lety +52

    My mom told me the beaver butt fact when I was 9, eating ice cream. :’)

  • @checkmyplaylist6879
    @checkmyplaylist6879 Před 6 lety +639

    I would choose natruficial

    • @sebbes333
      @sebbes333 Před 6 lety +23

      That isn't *beneficial* ;P

    • @AlabasterJazz
      @AlabasterJazz Před 6 lety +25

      mmmm deliciougusting

    • @Vnifit
      @Vnifit Před 6 lety +7

      Natruficial would be a great way to express that it is artificially made, but chemically identical to the natural flavourings

    • @greyturner3114
      @greyturner3114 Před 6 lety

      ahahaha

    • @brip2939
      @brip2939 Před 6 lety

      😂😂😂

  • @cassgryphon
    @cassgryphon Před 4 lety

    Thanks for the info!

  • @MC-xw2ro
    @MC-xw2ro Před 5 lety +6

    I severely doubt most people can't tell the difference between natural and artificial vanilla. I know I can. As you said, it's missing 20% of the flavor of natural vanilla, that one fifth of the overall flavor. That's significant.

  • @sharlennla4982
    @sharlennla4982 Před 6 lety +180

    Why is blue raspberry flavor a thing? Raspberries aren’t blue! For a long time when I was younger I thought there was red raspberries and blue raspberries.

    • @sharlennla4982
      @sharlennla4982 Před 6 lety +9

      Shaun Todd blueberry

    • @kyletowers9662
      @kyletowers9662 Před 6 lety +12

      Its actually a flower thats related to blackberries

    • @Richie_P
      @Richie_P Před 6 lety +35

      The fruit that "blue raspberry" is supposed to taste like is actually a very dark purple. The candy is blue because it's fun to look at.

    • @timnone2924
      @timnone2924 Před 6 lety +33

      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubus_leucodermis blue raspberries are a real thing. Their flavor is easier to concentrate in candy and offered an alternative for candies to avoid having too many of one color

    • @animeartist888
      @animeartist888 Před 6 lety +29

      Well how bout that. I learned more from the comments in this video than in the video itself. Neat. I love blue raspberry. It's nice to be able to say it actually exists.

  • @elinobenjamin
    @elinobenjamin Před 6 lety +55

    WEIRD its almost like things that exist in the world are complex and dont fit into neat little boxes and require a great degree of nuance to understand HMMMMNMMNM

    • @notpulverman9660
      @notpulverman9660 Před 5 lety +2

      You just have to add a 3rd box for stuff farmed from microbes.

  • @joshuacollins385
    @joshuacollins385 Před 4 lety +19

    3:20 But paper pulp comes from plants, right?
    Wouldn't the plant/animal definition mean that sea salt is an artificial flavour?

    • @NH2112
      @NH2112 Před 3 lety +3

      Joshua Collins any salt is, none of it comes from an animal or a plant.

    • @joshuacollins385
      @joshuacollins385 Před 3 lety +1

      @@NH2112 So salt isn't a natural flavouring?

    • @timothygreer188
      @timothygreer188 Před 3 lety +5

      @@joshuacollins385 The FDA considers Salt an ingredient, not a flavor.

  • @smokedbrisket3033
    @smokedbrisket3033 Před 3 lety

    wonderfully explained.

  • @LivingInTragedy
    @LivingInTragedy Před 6 lety +12

    Now I need a video on popcorn lung NOW

  • @Toni1193
    @Toni1193 Před 6 lety +13

    "Super kill you" I found that phrase to be more funny than I should have lol

  • @suhrim6666
    @suhrim6666 Před 5 lety +1

    I love how you list your sources.

  • @dr.leonardhofstadtersavage6413

    You're video's are excellent, very interesting to watch. 👍👍👍

  • @seannot-telling9806
    @seannot-telling9806 Před 6 lety +66

    Hank you forgot licorice root. The real one have this stuff in it. The drug: glycyrrhizin amd it can cause issues. The artificial licorice won't kill you the same way.

    • @nowonmetube
      @nowonmetube Před 5 lety +4

      The "artificial licorice" uses natural flavors like anise and fennel oil

    • @MrMega1423
      @MrMega1423 Před 4 lety +1

      Interesting.

    • @naturalnashuan
      @naturalnashuan Před 4 lety +6

      I think it was theorized that Napoleon Bonaparte died from licorice poisoning . I remember scientists trying to test his corpse's hair for the molecular concentration of the deadly chemical. Don't know how that turned out.

    • @MrMega1423
      @MrMega1423 Před 4 lety +2

      @@naturalnashuan "Licorice poisoning" Never heard of that before. Interesting.

    • @geniuswithacapitalk
      @geniuswithacapitalk Před 4 lety +2

      The same way?! How DOES it kill you then? 🤨

  • @richardguo8160
    @richardguo8160 Před 6 lety +75

    Literally always wanted to know the difference

    • @zombieblood1675
      @zombieblood1675 Před 6 lety +10

      Chestnut Bulldog organic, natural etc... is an excuse to make things more expensive.

    • @richardguo8160
      @richardguo8160 Před 6 lety +2

      zombie blood thanks!

    • @zombieblood1675
      @zombieblood1675 Před 6 lety +3

      Chestnut Bulldog no problem.

    • @soccerandtrack10
      @soccerandtrack10 Před 6 lety +2

      me too.

    • @EebstertheGreat
      @EebstertheGreat Před 6 lety +2

      The organic label has an actual meaning now, though it's not clear what significance it actually has on the environmental impact. It is mostly a way to make products more expensive. Natural is pretty much meaningless on every level.

  • @sidneypackard
    @sidneypackard Před 4 lety

    this is such an interesting and great video

  • @ccubed215
    @ccubed215 Před 5 lety

    This is the video I have needed my whole life

  • @xCrossBite
    @xCrossBite Před 6 lety +16

    When discussing natural flavors, I've been using the term "beaver butt" for years! I'm glad to see it shared with the world!!!! Thank you!

  • @hamsteraufkoks5949
    @hamsteraufkoks5949 Před 6 lety +5

    My mother used to work at a company that produced flavors. She said the main difference between "natural" and "artificial" flavors is that natural flavors a synthesized out of plant oils rather than mineral oils.

  • @jonathanlathrop267
    @jonathanlathrop267 Před 4 lety

    Amazing!

  • @nolanwestrich2602
    @nolanwestrich2602 Před 5 lety

    Pretty enlightening.

  • @billnye2382
    @billnye2382 Před 6 lety +6

    I have a suggestion for a video. How could we, theoretically, extinguish the sun?

    • @deftheocelot9125
      @deftheocelot9125 Před 3 lety

      With our current resources and technology or in the future?

  • @CarsSimplified
    @CarsSimplified Před 6 lety +14

    Artificial strawberry is different, but the one I was expecting was grape.

    • @dechenbloom9639
      @dechenbloom9639 Před rokem

      Candies with artificial grape flavor always remind me of grape cough medicine

  • @nicoletorcolini5316
    @nicoletorcolini5316 Před 3 lety

    Absolutely great... I just happened to be eating vanilla yoghurt while listening to this.

  • @jameshill2450
    @jameshill2450 Před 3 lety +13

    This sounds similar to those juices that print "Made with 100% Juice" on the label.
    Which means that "100% Juice" is *one* of the ingredients.

  • @MrWombatty
    @MrWombatty Před 6 lety +22

    When someone prattles on to me about wanting things to be totally natural, I suggest strychnine as it grows naturally on trees!

  • @Stanton_High
    @Stanton_High Před 6 lety +37

    Vanillin is not the sweet component, actually very much the opposite its very bitter, only when combined with sweeteners do you get the "vanilla" you imagine in your head.

    • @MustObeyTheRules
      @MustObeyTheRules Před 6 lety +8

      Same with chocolate

    • @patrickmccurry1563
      @patrickmccurry1563 Před 6 lety +14

      In culinary circles, sweet does not mean sugary sweet. It means pleasant or less bitter. Sweet almonds, for example are not sweet, just less bitter and poisonous than bitter almonds.

    • @nowonmetube
      @nowonmetube Před 5 lety

      @Thanatos aromas can't have a taste

    • @klakkat
      @klakkat Před 5 lety +2

      I'd contest it does have a sweet flavor (having actually eaten a spoonful of vanilla extract... I don't recommend this) but yes, different than sugar. Still a far cry from bitter flavors like cocoa or coffee.

    • @hiraunia
      @hiraunia Před 5 lety

      I can attest, I thought Vanilla tasted so good as a kid I straight up tried to drink the extract. All I got was intense regret.

  • @tausifalam2820
    @tausifalam2820 Před rokem

    wao....
    thanks.
    very good video

  • @kawannahardy2924
    @kawannahardy2924 Před 6 lety +3

    This reminds me of the argument between "fresh" and frozen vegetables. While it seems that fresh would be the better choice, frozen vegetables can actually be more nutritious than their fresh counterparts because they age from farm to table. Sometimes a Lot, and keeping them looking fresh is more of a problem. I would love if you guys would also do a video on Imitation flavors. Reading those bottles can be an exercise in terror! Thanks for sharing

  • @Zsokorad
    @Zsokorad Před 6 lety +66

    The snozberries taste like snozberries!

    • @mz7315
      @mz7315 Před 6 lety +2

      OMG you made my day!! :)

    • @kiya46107
      @kiya46107 Před 5 lety +2

      Who ever heard of a snozberry?

  • @Nijaan
    @Nijaan Před 6 lety +52

    Hank, I think you got something on your right arm

    • @HTYM
      @HTYM Před 6 lety +12

      Nijaan.N
      Don't worry. It's "GRAS".

    • @satisfiction
      @satisfiction Před 6 lety +7

      AND THAT ONE STRAND OF HAIR
      AHHHH HE'S A WRECK

    • @wandarichardson4213
      @wandarichardson4213 Před 6 lety +1

      Nijaan.N It's baby poo.

    • @maverick_loneshark
      @maverick_loneshark Před 6 lety +2

      Thinking it's either a bruise or mustard(?)

    • @MusicMonkey5555
      @MusicMonkey5555 Před 6 lety +1

      Glad I'm not the only one that noticed. I was like is that mustard on his arm?

  • @planescaped
    @planescaped Před 4 lety +31

    "It's possible some flavorings have minor long-term negative health effects we just don't know about"
    I'd put money on it...

  • @victorn6065
    @victorn6065 Před 4 lety

    Wow this was a good episode

  • @DezzieYT
    @DezzieYT Před 6 lety +12

    As a person with food allergies I have an appreciation for artificial flavours. For example, one of the vitamins I take is a mix of three flavours one of which is strawberry. Since the flavour is made from real strawberries I cannot take those and end up tossing out 1/3 of the bottle. If the flavour was artificial I wouldn't need to worry about strawberry proteins finding their way in.

  • @CoranceLChandler
    @CoranceLChandler Před 4 lety +19

    The fact that they have to do a video explaining the intricacies of all this in the first place speaks volumes.

  • @thorlong2983
    @thorlong2983 Před 6 lety

    This was a good video.

  • @DistortedBird
    @DistortedBird Před 6 lety

    Crush those advertising ploys, Hank!

  • @macsnafu
    @macsnafu Před 6 lety +5

    A much-needed video on "natural" and artificial flavorings.

  • @austinburrell2071
    @austinburrell2071 Před 6 lety +4

    I love how objective you guys are. So refreshing to hear someone just giving the viewers all the information possible without trying to make them think a certain way. Thank you. Seriously.

    • @Ganara426
      @Ganara426 Před 5 lety +2

      Uhm excuse me? They are obviously promoting artificial flavors here. Are you that easily manipulated? God...

    • @john_titor1
      @john_titor1 Před 4 lety +1

      @@Ganara426 not really manipulation though when they are just giving facts. just turns out the facts are biased away from natural = good.

  • @bonefetcherbrimley7740

    Good video.

  • @tyler1234321
    @tyler1234321 Před 6 lety

    Thank you I've been trying to tell others this for years.

  • @horner385
    @horner385 Před 4 lety +13

    I'm actually avoiding natural flavours since I don't want trees to die just so my cookies have the flavour of cinnamon

  • @Cadwaladr
    @Cadwaladr Před 6 lety +109

    Sounds like flavours derived from yeast and bacteria should still count as artificial, since those aren't plants or animals. Under that kind of rule, though, you can never have "natural mushroom flavour" even if it's extracted from natural mushrooms, since they aren't plants either.

    • @anupamasunny9892
      @anupamasunny9892 Před 6 lety +8

      Btw yeast and fungi can come under plants and animals depends on which classification system u use
      Though they r in separate classes in Whitaker 5 kingdom kingdom

    • @frankschneider6156
      @frankschneider6156 Před 6 lety +12

      Anupama Sunny
      Can you name any classification system that puts fungi under the "plant" oder "animal" kingdom ? No ? Thought so ...
      You may subsume them as eukaryotes, which is of course fine, but no half-decent classification system will categorize fungi as plants or animals. That's simply ridiculous. That's worse than classifying archae as eubacteria.

    • @anupamasunny9892
      @anupamasunny9892 Před 6 lety

      Frank Schneider wat abt in the 2 kingdom classification??

    • @Darmst
      @Darmst Před 6 lety +2

      You mean the historical classification used in the 18th century by Linnaeus? No one sane uses that anymore.

    • @anupamasunny9892
      @anupamasunny9892 Před 6 lety +1

      Dude I was just trying to help justify the ppl who thought fungi are like plant
      I took enough bio classes to know what ur saying

  • @tueemsyhu4846
    @tueemsyhu4846 Před 5 lety

    Yummy and Interesting!!

  • @azharyahya1281
    @azharyahya1281 Před 2 lety +1

    Tq bagi info tentang vapour....

  • @sebastianelytron8450
    @sebastianelytron8450 Před 6 lety +530

    If I see the word "natural" (or "real") on a food product I avoid it like the plague.

    • @joaovitormatos8147
      @joaovitormatos8147 Před 6 lety +4

      Probably it's whole grain

    • @ElectricHelloKitty
      @ElectricHelloKitty Před 6 lety +158

      Sebastian Elytron I actually avoid them simply because the “appeal to nature” conundrum is the most annoying logical fallacy

    • @livinglifeform7974
      @livinglifeform7974 Před 6 lety +60

      Horrible idea, and completely pointless. It's not always healthier but doing that will make your diet much shitter.

    • @raintrain9921
      @raintrain9921 Před 6 lety +64

      Real is my fav, no where in the production of this food did we take the square root of a negative number

    • @How_To_Drive_a_TARDIS
      @How_To_Drive_a_TARDIS Před 6 lety +9

      Sebastian Elytron what about if it's naturally derived vitamin C I mean synthetically made vitamin C is less efficiently absorbed
      This applies to most nutrients

  • @SimuLord
    @SimuLord Před 5 lety +3

    I'm glad you told me fly amanita will super kill me before I tried to use one to double in size and stomp on turtles!

    • @kelzbelz313
      @kelzbelz313 Před 4 lety

      Fox D it’s odd that they put that one s toxic. Because it won’t “super kill you” but it might make you think you can double in size and stomp on turtles (it is highly psychoactive)

    • @naturalnashuan
      @naturalnashuan Před 4 lety

      Is that a reference to the rumor that Lewis Carroll might have been inspired to write the Alice series from a childhood experience eating those mushrooms?

  • @nawrozzahanpreety6857
    @nawrozzahanpreety6857 Před 3 lety

    I had watched this video earlier, when it was uploaded. But depending on how Hank Green is looking vs how he looks now , it seems like the video was made at least 4 years ago. Both Hank and John Green has changed a lot in terms of appearance in just 2 years.

  • @PaulSebastianM
    @PaulSebastianM Před 6 lety

    You should do a larger series on processed foods.

  • @Stierenkloot
    @Stierenkloot Před 4 lety +24

    I always like to say. “ tigers are natural”

    • @Thickmint
      @Thickmint Před 4 lety +3

      So is cyanide

    • @AveryAce2
      @AveryAce2 Před 4 lety

      Tiger nuts are the best

    • @GewelReal
      @GewelReal Před 4 lety

      I don't get it

    • @madsubhash
      @madsubhash Před 3 lety

      @@GewelReal He's saying that Tigers are natural and they can kill you

  • @garrylawson1470
    @garrylawson1470 Před 6 lety +19

    I don’t care what they mean, they both taste good.

  • @jessicapinto3817
    @jessicapinto3817 Před 6 lety

    Just had a case of semantic satiation with the word 'flavour', a term which I also learned on SciShow!

  • @TianXiaoMao
    @TianXiaoMao Před 5 lety

    I love you, Hank.

  • @ooooneeee
    @ooooneeee Před 6 lety +10

    Vanilla has a flavour much richer and tastier than plain vanillin though. So I only buy products with vanilla flower extracts in them and avoid those which only contain vanillin without all the other compounds.
    Hopefully one day we will be able to artificially produce more of those compounds through biotechnology, making the artificial flavour taste much closer to vanilla extract. Then I'll switch to the artificial flavour.

    • @ooooneeee
      @ooooneeee Před 6 lety +4

      ita-eng subber it will be possible by engineering microorganism which produce all of those compounds at once, maybe by directly transferring genes for necessary Enzymes.
      If we could do that we couldone day even copy essential oils, which would be amazing for more affordable surrogates fo expensive oils and Critically endangered plants.

  • @chriss6356
    @chriss6356 Před 6 lety +518

    Non-binary flavor

  • @bryanalexiscontrerasmercad2680

    Awesome

  • @marcosrissi
    @marcosrissi Před 3 lety +1

    Great content, although you could still give maybe three example of different products of exactly how the flavouring is made in the lab or factory, with a recipe for it. Thank you. M

  • @WayneManifesto
    @WayneManifesto Před 6 lety +8

    Same with "nitrate free" bacon

    • @fowlerj111
      @fowlerj111 Před 6 lety +5

      Yep! Celery extract is a way of putting in nitrates without copping to it on the label, and to make matters worse it's harder to control the amount of nitrates when they come from celery extract so they have to put more in and it ends up higher in nitrates than when they use the pure chemicals!

    • @extraemontamontes3618
      @extraemontamontes3618 Před 6 lety +1

      Wayne Searle well....

    • @joeyouyang
      @joeyouyang Před 6 lety

      Nitrite?

    • @fowlerj111
      @fowlerj111 Před 6 lety +1

      If I'm not mistaken nitrates and/or nitrites are used for various cured foods; saying only nitrates was intended as shorthand

  • @DescartesRenegade
    @DescartesRenegade Před 5 lety +7

    Whenever I go grocery shopping, I head straight for the artificially flavored and GMO section.

    • @24get24give
      @24get24give Před 4 lety

      that's pretty much becoming the whole store

    • @john_titor1
      @john_titor1 Před 4 lety +1

      @@24get24give good. i love gmos. amazing feat of human ingenuity.

  • @garyclouse4164
    @garyclouse4164 Před 4 lety +1

    I remember making bana and mint flavorings in college chem lab.
    Another interesting twist is artificial maple syrup is usually naturally flavored with fenugreek extract

  • @koobi00
    @koobi00 Před 3 měsíci

    dropped the vanilla beaver bum fact at a house party last week. I might send them this for a bit of extra context

  • @beretperson
    @beretperson Před 5 lety +45

    Yeah, I eat grass!
    Generally
    Recognized
    As
    Safe
    Stuff

  • @512TheWolf512
    @512TheWolf512 Před 6 lety +3

    I think vanilla isn't actually the most popular, it's just that vanilla flavored anything is usually the cheapest among its differently-flavored ones

    • @violencia6164
      @violencia6164 Před 6 lety

      Eugene InLaw that still makes it the most popular.

    • @Gildedmuse
      @Gildedmuse Před 2 lety

      Plus, that's only think of flavour as if you have different choices: the chocolate version, the vanilla version or the strawberry version?
      A lot of vanilla is used to flavour things you wouldn't even think of. Like chocolate cakes. Or almost any cake.

  • @mcnorcan
    @mcnorcan Před 2 lety

    I love that your videos take such a balanced approach.

  • @baltakatei
    @baltakatei Před 5 lety +2

    05:26 Ugh. I hate when evaporative cooling towers are shown spewing dark smoke. They don't vent smoke! They vent water vapor! From water!

  • @CameraManBlaise
    @CameraManBlaise Před 6 lety +4

    so natural vanilla can potentially come from a beavers taint if it was more cost effective to milk?

  • @kozmaz87
    @kozmaz87 Před 6 lety +17

    High5 for mentioning the nature fallacy... I reckon it is one of the most commonly abused belief in developed countries and bio shops and hipster stores capitalize on the benevolence of uneducated people who mean well but all they end up doing is spending the big bucks on some veggies infested by some common fungal pest ending up worse than the non-bio alternative. Same goes for flavourings... I usually defuse this fallacy by offering the believer to go and try a bite of this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_muscaria

    • @klakkat
      @klakkat Před 5 lety +2

      I don't think I'd call Amanitas a "flavoring", but they are a good example of why "all natural" doesn't mean "healthy". That said, artificial flavoring isn't necessarily better either. Added sugar in foods is bad, but added artificial sweeteners is likely as bad or worse, and those are the most common added flavorings (thankfully, those always are included in the ingredients list, not under the vague "natural and artificial flavors" label). My advice would be to check the ingredients list, and make sure it isn't longer than it needs to be for whatever food you are buying. Some foods will surprise you; raw chicken will usually have around 4 ingredients even though it should obviously just have one, same for most orange juice (though some will just have 2, juice and flavorings, go for that).

  • @jaymanier7286
    @jaymanier7286 Před 6 lety

    Man that bruise on your right forearm looks gnarly man!

  • @nancymencke6980
    @nancymencke6980 Před 5 lety

    Hank green u keep me from going into a deep depression. When I’m watching your videos I’m not watching the news and I can think that there r some wonder intelligent in this world