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Why Are These Chips Sooo Delicious?

Meet the people who make your favorite foods taste so good. 

By Lauren Tarshis
From the December/January 2021 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will synthesize information from  a nonfiction article about food flavorists and an interview with a food scientist to learn about how tasty snacks are created.

Lexiles: 500L-600L, 600L-700L
Guided Reading Level: O
DRA Level: 34
Featured Skill: Synthesizing,
Common Core Standards
  • R.1, R.2, R.3, R.4, R.9, W.3, SL.1, L.1, L.2
TEKS Standards
  • TEKS Grade 3:
    1a, 1c, 3a, 3b, 3f, 3g, 6a, 6e, 6f, 6g, 6h, 6i, 7a, 7b, 7f, 7g, 10d, 12a

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Why Are These Chips Sooo Delicious?: Storyworks version
The Sweetest Job: Action version
Think and Read: Connecting Texts

As you read, think about the topics of both stories and how they are connected.

Why Are These Chips Sooo Delicious? 

Discover the secrets of making food taste great.

By Lauren Tarshis

They work in secret labs. They do not speak of their research. What they learn can be worth millions of dollars. It can change lives.

Are these scientists working on a new medicine? Or building a fancy robot? Nope. These scientists are “flavorists.” Their work is right in front of you. It’s in that fruit juice you’re sipping. It’s in those chips you’re munching.

Flavorists work to make food taste great. They also invent new flavors. It can take years to perfect a new taste. A successful flavor—a tangy citrus for gum, a zesty spice for chips—can earn a lot of money for food companies.

But what makes a flavor “good”? Why do we love some tastes and not others?

They work in secret labs. They don’t talk about what they do. What they learn can be worth millions of dollars. What they learn can change lives.

Are these scientists making a new medicine? Or building a fancy robot? Nope. These scientists are “flavorists.” Their work is right in front of you. It’s in fruit juice, potato chips, and other foods.

Flavorists make food taste great. They also invent new flavors. It can
take years to get a new flavor just right. Maybe the new flavor is a tangy lemon flavor for gum. Or a zesty spice for chips. A good flavor can make a lot of money for food companies.

But what makes a flavor good? Why do we love some tastes and not others? 

They work in secret labs. They do not speak of their research. What they learn can be worth millions of dollars. It can change lives. 

Are these scientists working on a cure for a disease? On a new weapon? Nope. Their work is right in front of you. It’s in that fruit juice you’re sipping and in those chips you’re munching. These scientists are called flavorists. They work to make food taste great. They excel at concocting flavors you will love, from a lip-smacking berry for a sports drink to a mouthwatering chili-cheese coating for a pretzel.

Flavorists use thousands of chemicals, oils, and extracts. Some chemicals are natural; they come from plants and animal products. Others are synthetic. Even a simple flavor, like the strawberry taste of a milkshake, may have 50 chemicals in it. 

Slimy Pink Blob

Slimy Pink Blob


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Check out your tongue in a mirror. That slimy pink blob is a tool for detecting flavor. You have thousands of taste buds in your cheeks and on your tongue. They can sense at least five different flavors. These flavors are sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savory.

But it takes more than just our tongues to detect flavor. We also use our sense of smell! We rely on both taste and smell to tell our brain whether that ice cream we’re eating is chocolate or vanilla. In fact, we owe over half of what we can taste to our noses.

Look in a mirror. Stick out your tongue. It looks like a slimy pink
blob. Your body uses this “blob” for detecting flavor. You have taste buds in your cheeks and on your tongue. They can taste five different flavors: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savory.

But we use more than our tongues to notice flavor. We also use our sense of smell! That’s how we know if ice cream is chocolate or vanilla. Most of what we taste is because of our noses. 

From Fresh to Tasteless

Today’s flavor industry got its start in the 1950s. At that time, eating habits in the U.S. changed. It used to be that if you wanted some cookies, you had to bake them or go to the bakery. To get fruits or veggies, you had to grow them yourself or buy them fresh from a nearby farm. 

But processed food changed all that. Food that has been processed has been frozen, canned, or treated with chemicals called preservatives. These chemicals keep food fresh for days—or months—on store shelves. Processing started in the 1800s. In the 1940s, companies began to use preservatives in a big way. With new highways and refrigerated trucks, companies could send their foods to stores around the country. But most foods lost their flavor as they sat in trucks and on shelves. The goal of the first food flavorists was to make processed foods taste even halfway as good as fresh. 

Today, nearly 60 percent of the foods we eat are processed. Flavorists still work to make these foods taste good. They also invent new flavors. They search the world for new tastes to bring to the U.S., like chipotle peppers from Mexico and acai berries from Brazil. And they dream up new flavors for well-known snacks. (Have you tried Lay’s Dill Pickle potato chips? Neither have we!) 

Burst of Flavor

Burst of Flavor


Flavorists know how to make food taste great. But many of the foods we love the most are the least healthy. We love chips that are full of fat and salt. We love cookies, yogurts, and drinks packed with sugar. Some experts say food companies make us want to eat too much of our favorite foods on purpose. Companies found that the best-selling products “pop” in the mouth. That burst of flavor quickly fades—leaving us wanting more.

So we keep eating. That means more money for food companies—and more health problems for us.

Most food companies say they’re just doing their job, though. They make foods that taste great. Isn’t it up to us to know when we’ve had enough?

Of course it is.

Those chips we’ve been munching on? We know we’ve had too many. But they taste so good. Maybe we’ll have just a few more.

Flavorists know how to make food taste great. But some of these tasty foods aren’t healthy. We love chips that are full of fat and salt. We love cookies and drinks that are full of sugar.

Some experts say that food companies want us to eat a lot of these foods—more than we should. Companies know which foods sell best: the ones that “pop” in our mouths. We get a burst of flavor when we bite into the food. But the flavor fades quickly. This leaves us wanting more.

So we keep eating. Food companies make more money. And we have more health problems.

Most food companies say they’re just doing their job. They make foods that taste great. And it’s our job to know when to stop, right?

Of course it is.

Those chips we’ve been eating? We know we’ve had too many. But they taste so good. Maybe we’ll have just a few more.  

Slimy Pink Blob

It can take years to perfect a new taste. A successful flavor—a tangy citrus for gum, a zesty spice for chips—can earn millions of dollars. No wonder flavor companies guard their formulas with such care.

But what makes a flavor “good”? Why do we love some tastes and not others? 

Check out your tongue in a mirror. That slimy pink blob is a great flavor-detecting tool. You have 10,000 taste buds on the insides of your cheeks and on your tongue. They can sense five different flavors. These flavors are sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami, which is a rich flavor, like meat or cheese.

Our power to sense flavors is a survival tool. Thousands of years ago, when people hunted and gathered food in the wild, a quick taste could tell them whether a food was edible or deadly. A bitter berry? It will kill you! That sour hunk of buffalo meat? Bleh, it’s rotten! 

Yet our tongues play only a small role in how we sense flavor. Ever wonder why food tastes bland when your nose is stuffed up? It’s because your tongue is pretty lost without your nose. The tongue knows whether a food is sweet or bitter. But it takes both taste and smell to tell your brain whether that ice cream you’re eating is chocolate or vanilla. 

Burst of Flavor

Flavorists know how taste works. And food companies know which tastes will sell best. How do they know? They spend big bucks to study us. They research our diets. They ask us questions. They chart our buying habits. They have found that the best-selling products “pop” in the mouth, with a burst of flavor that quickly fades, leaving the brain wanting more. Food companies know how we like most foods. They know how crunchy we like our chips. They know how thick we want our doughnut glaze. They know how to make food taste great—maybe too great. 

Many of the foods we love most are the least healthy. We love chips that are full of fat and salt. We love cookies, yogurts, and drinks packed with sugar. Some experts believe food companies deliberately make foods that are almost impossible to resist. Studies show that certain textures matched with just the right flavor confuse our body’s system for knowing when we’re full. So we just keep eating. This means more money for food companies. And it means more health problems for us—like obesity or illnesses such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Most food companies say they’re just doing their job. They make foods that taste great. Isn’t it up to us to know when we’ve had enough? 

Of course it is. 

Those chips we’ve been munching on? We know we need to stop. We’ve had way too many.

But they taste so good. Maybe we’ll have just a few more.

The Sweetest Job 

Find out what it’s like to invent ice cream flavors.

By Anna Starecheski

COURTESY OF BEN & JERRY

COURTESY OF BEN & JERRY

Imagine creating and tasting delicious new ice creams. That’s what Natalia Butler does for her job! She answered our questions about being a food scientist at Ben & Jerry’s.

Natalia Butler’s job is inventing ice cream flavors. She’s a food scientist at Ben & Jerry’s. Natalia answered our questions about her amazing job. 

Imagine having a job that’s all about ice cream. You have to think up new flavors and taste them. Does that sound like the best job ever? For Natalia Butler—a Flavor Guru at Ben & Jerry’s—it sure is!

Flavor Gurus are the people who formulate delicious new flavors. Some are food scientists, like Natalia, and others are chefs. They travel the world looking for new ingredients. They spend hours figuring out the right amount of caramel or chocolate chunks to make every bite perfect. We asked Natalia about her sweet job!

How long does it take to create a flavor?

How long does it take to create a flavor?

How did you decide to become a food scientist? 

It takes about 18 to 24 months. We have to be thinking way into the future: What are people going to be eating a year from now?

It takes about 18 to 24 months. We have to be thinking way into the future. What are people going to be eating in a year? 

I actually started college to become a doctor. I was walking around campus one day, and I saw that one of the buildings said “food science.” I couldn’t believe that was a real thing! I knew it was what I wanted to do. 

Did you ever invent a flavor that didn’t end up getting sold? 

Did you ever invent a flavor that didn’t end up getting sold? 

How long does it take to create a flavor?

I made a flavor based on a dessert I loved as a kid: baked pears. It was a pear ice cream with caramel and nuts. But other people didn’t like it as much as I did. So we never made it in the factory. Oh well!

I made a flavor based on a dessert I loved as a kid: baked pears. But other people didn’t like it as much as I did. So we never made it in the factory. Oh well! 

It takes about 18 to 24 months. We have to be thinking way into the future: What are people going to be eating a year from now?    

What’s the best part of your job?

What’s the best part of your job?

What’s the best part of your job?

I get to be myself! Everyone on our team likes food just as much as I do. I love that I get to cook and play with food at work.

I get to be myself! Everyone on our team likes food just as much as I do. I love that I get to cook and play with food. 

I get to be myself! Everyone on our team likes food just as much as I do, so we bond over that. I love that I get to cook and play with food at work.

What advice would you give a kid who wants to be a food scientist?

What advice would you give a kid who wants to be a food scientist?

Did you ever invent a flavor that didn’t end up getting sold?

Don’t give up or get discouraged. Every challenge gets you ready for the next one.

Don’t give up or get discouraged. Every challenge gets you ready for the next one. 

I made a flavor based on a dessert I loved as a kid: baked pears. It was a pear ice cream with caramel and nuts. The small batch I made was delicious. But other people didn’t like it as much as I did, so we never made it in the factory. Oh well!

Do you ever get sick of ice cream?

Do you ever get sick of ice cream?

 What advice would you give a kid who wants to be a food scientist?

No!

No!

Don’t get discouraged. No class is hard enough to stop you. For me, chemistry was really difficult, but I’m so happy that I didn’t quit. I learned that every challenge gets you ready for the next one. 



Do you ever get sick of ice cream?



No!

THINK AND WRITE

Imagine you are a food scientist. Using what you learned from both texts, write a journal entry about a new flavor you are inventing.

THINK AND WRITE

Imagine you are a food scientist. Using what you learned from both texts, write a journal entry about a new flavor you are inventing.

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Can't Miss Teaching Extras
From the Storyworks 3 Archives

We know that too often the foods we find most tasty are the worst for us. Keep students engaged with this topic by sharing two past debates from Storyworks 3 issues: “Should Chocolate Milk Be Banned From Your School?” and “Should Sweets Be Banned From School Parties?” Which sides are your students on?

Watch This

Your students will love learning more about how flavors get created at Ben & Jerry’s in this 3-minute video.

Make the Connection

This issue features another food scientist. Ask your students to think about the characters and people featured in the other articles in the magazine. Can they identify which character is a flavorist without knowing it? (Answer: Liz, from “A Recipe for Disaster”)

More About the Article

Content-Area Connections

Science: food science, nutrition

Key Skills

synthesizing, text features, vocabulary, main idea, author’s craft, inference, key idea, key details, cause and effect, text to self, narrative writing

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

1. PREPARING TO READ

Preview Text Features/ Set a Purpose for Reading (15 minutes)

  • Look at page 10 with the class. Point out the labels “Paired Texts” and “One topic, two stories.” Have a volunteer read aloud the title and subtitle on pages 10-11 and on page 12. Point out the images that accompany the texts. Then ask students to identify the topic of both stories. (The first explains how food companies make snack foods so appealing, and the second is an interview with a person who creates ice cream flavors.)

  • Call on volunteers to read aloud the Think and Read box on page 10 and the Think and Write box on page 12. As students read both articles, remind them to look for details that show how the two texts are related.

Preview Vocabulary (15 minutes)

  • We have highlighted in bold four words that may be challenging and defined them on the page: tangy, zesty, detecting, and savory. 

  • Preview these terms by projecting or distributing our Vocabulary Skill Builder (available in your Resources tab) and completing it as a class. You may also play our Vocabulary Slideshow, where images help students with comprehension.

2. CLOSE READING

Reading and Unpacking the Text

  • First read: Students should read each article one time for general comprehension. 

  • Second Read: Project, distribute, or assign the Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions (available in your Resources tab) to the class. Preview them together. Ask students to read the articles again and answer the questions as a class or in pairs. (Alternatively, assign all or part of the Learning Journey Slideshow, which contains the questions—along with other activities from this lesson plan and a link to the stories.)

Close-Reading Questions (30 minutes)

  1. Read the first section of “Why Are These Chips Sooo Delicious?” What do flavorists do? (main idea) Flavorists are scientists who work to make our food taste great. They also invent new food flavors.
  2. Why do you think the author ends this section with two questions? (author’s craft/inference) The author wants to get readers interested in finding out the answers by reading the rest of the article.
  3. Read “Slimy Pink Blob.” How do we tell the flavor of the foods we eat? (key idea) We use the taste buds in our cheeks and on our tongue to sense some flavors. We also depend on our sense of smell.
  4. Read “Burst of Flavor.” Why are many of our favorite foods unhealthy to eat? (key details) These foods are full of fat, salt, and sugar.
  5. Why do we keep eating these unhealthy foods? (cause and effect) These foods create a burst of flavor in our mouths. When that flavor quickly fades, we want to eat more of the food to have the burst of flavor again.
  6. Read “The Sweetest Job.” What is Natalia Butler’s job? (main idea) She is a food scientist who invents ice cream flavors at Ben & Jerry’s.
  7. How did Natalia Butler feel when a flavor she invented wasn’t sold? (key idea) She didn’t become discouraged or upset. Instead, she accepted that other people didn’t like her idea as much as she did.

Critical-Thinking Question (10 minutes)

  1. Look at both texts. What skills do you think flavorists need to do their jobs well? Use examples from the texts in your answer. (synthesizing) Answers will vary. Sample answer: An important part of the flavorist’s job is to invent new food flavors that customers will want to buy. This means that a flavorist needs to be creative.  In “Why Are These Chips Sooo Delicious?,” you learn that it can take years to get a new flavor just right. In “The Sweetest Job,” Natalia Butler says that it can take 18 to 24 months to create a new ice cream flavor. She also mentions that sometimes the flavor you worked on doesn’t end up being sold. This shows you that flavorists need to stay focused and be willing to work on something for a long time. Also, they need to not give up or be discouraged if something doesn’t work out. 

  2. Would you like to be a food scientist? Why or why not? (text to self) Answers may vary. Some students may say it would be fun to invent new food flavors. Others may say that they wouldn’t want to work for food companies that purposely want us to eat too much of our favorite, unhealthy foods.

3. SEL FOCUS

Perseverance

At the end of her interview, Natalia Butler offers some advice: “Don’t give up or get discouraged. Every challenge gets you ready for the next one.” Ask: Was there a time when you wanted to give up on something but chose not to? What made you keep trying?

4. SKILL BUILDING AND WRITING

Featured Skill: Synthesizing

  • Distribute our Connecting Texts Skill Builder (available in your Resources tab) and have students complete it in class or for homework.  

  • Discuss the writing assignment in the Think and Write box on page 12. Remind students to include details from both articles when writing their paragraphs.

GREAT IDEAS FOR REMOTE LEARNING

  • Our new Learning Journey Slideshow (available in your Resources tab) is designed to make your life easier. Have students move through at their own pace or assign smaller chunks for different days. You can also customize the slideshow to your liking.

  • Hold a whole-class or small-group discussion of the close-reading and critical-thinking questions. As in your physical classroom, establish rules for discussion and appropriate ways to respond to one another. You might have students use a “raise hand” emoji in your virtual classroom or ask students to respond to questions in the chat feature.

Differentiate and Customize
For Struggling Readers

Read the lower-Lexile version of the articles while students follow along. As they read, ask them to underline, highlight, or otherwise take note of details that describe how food scientists create food flavors. Remote-learning tip: When students read the articles online in Presentation View, they can use the highlighter tool to mark the text.

For ELL Students

Hold a discussion about the difference between snacks eaten here and snacks from students’ home countries. (If students have mainly grown up in the United States, you might prompt them to ask their parents or grandparents about snacks from their countries.) Invite them to share with the class what some of their favorites are. Write down descriptive words that come up during the discussion, then make them available for students to refer to. Afterward, use an alternative writing prompt for your ELL students. Ask them to write a two-sentence description of a favorite snack. 

For Advanced Readers

Instruct students to read the higher-level Storyworks version of the nonfiction text and the longer interview with Natalia Butler from Action. Afterward, have them complete the Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions and the Thinking About the Paired Texts Skill Builders (available in your Resources tab) based on their reading of these texts. 

For School or at Home

Encourage your students to practice descriptive writing. Ask them to choose three different foods, then write one or two sentences describing each food. Challenge them to use one or more of the vocabulary words in their descriptions.

Text-to-Speech