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Cheryl Udzielak, 42, a senior flavorist at the Chicago laboratories of the Swiss company Givaudan, the world’s largest manufacturer of flavors and fragrances, sees more floral variations in demand in their work, which mixes science and psychology.

"But most people don't stop and think, 'Wow! What a great umami on this apple!' In the world of a flavorist, umami is used in a slightly different context."

Tom Gibson, who is the chief flavorist at Flavorman — a beverage development company in Louisville, Ky., that has worked with Ocean Spray, Jones Soda Co. and Ballotin Chocolate Whiskey — agreed to talk in generalities.

Wright is the vice president and chief global flavorist for Archer Daniels Midland, one of the world’s largest food processors and suppliers.

Flavorist is a mentoring profession, with trainees spending years as underlings in places such as ADM’s Academy of Future Flavorists program.