Over the past century, success in reproducing some of these substances synthetically has created a new industry that today produces hundreds of flavors and fragrances for use in food, perfumes, and other products.
Some fragrant substances are relatively easy to synthesize.
Vanillin, the aromatic ingredient in vanilla, can be readily reproduced by synthesis, as can benzaldehyde, the principal component of the odor of wild cherry. Many flavors and fragrances, however, have scores, if not hundreds, of components that contribute to their aroma. Only recently has it become possible to separate these components, using gas chromatography, and to determine their chemical structure with the aid of spectroscopy. Once the chemical identity of the components is known, it is often possible to make them synthetically. The search for new synthetics continues, and some of the most complex, among them the substances that produce the aroma of coffee, have still not been duplicated satisfactorily.