Critical review of the flavor principles from the social sciences

Seasoning the food is a key element of intermediation between the ingredients and the culinary corpus, which gives the accent to a kitchen, making it unique among the different ways of cooking and an identifier element. This article purposes a critical review of some aspects related to the kitchen as a social fact, They have not been treated in deep by specialists in social sciences. It is a documentary research - both, descriptive and explanatory - based on the socio-anthropology of food, based on the review of various bibliographic as well as hemerographic sources. It addresses six elements that characterizes the cuisine of a group, community, region or country, namely: ingredients, culinary corpus, mode of preparation (with cooking techniques), cultural and symbolic representations associated with the food act, kitchen bottoms and -finally- flavoring principles. It also examines the role historically played by aromatic herbs, spices and food additives in food as a social fact. Main findings allow emphasizing that the flavor principles (i.e., aromatic herbs, spices and food additives) act as a complex gustative-olfactory structure that makes recognizable and acceptable a preparation and a culinary style, from the point of view of its biological and cultural consumption, while making it a marker trait of a given culture. The way they feed themselves and organize their culinary practice in a given society is an important expression of a group, community, region or nation, related to its cultural identity and its intangible heritage.