I think the base is vanilla ice cream. So I'm definitely getting vanillin. - Yeah. - It's that a thing?

我想底部应该是香草冰淇淋。所以我一定吃到了香草醛。- 是的。- 有这东西吗？

The main flavor component of vanilla—and the one we recognize as having that sweet, characteristic taste—is a chemical called vanillin.

香草主要的香，也就是大众认为甜甜的、有特别的味道的物质，在化学上称为香草醛。

Because while synthetic vanillin is the same molecule you'll find in the stuff from vanilla beans, real vanilla has hundreds of other compounds that subtly change the flavor.

因为人工合成的香草醛，和香草荚的分子一样，真的香草含有许多混合物可以微妙的改变味道。

Take vanillin, for instance, the compound that gives vanilla its taste and smell and one of the first flavors ever to be made in the lab.

以香草醛为例，它是赋予香草味道和气味的化合物， 也是实验室制造的香料之一。

Natural vanilla, which comes from the vanilla bean, contains hundreds of chemicals, but the only really important one for taste and smell is an aldehyde called vanillin.

来自香草的天然香草含有数百种化学物质，但唯一对味道和气味真正重要的是一种叫做香兰素的醛。

Plus, aldehydes usually have strong smells, and vanillin also contains a ring of six carbon atoms, known as a benzene ring, that tends to make chemicals even smellier.

此外，醛通常具有强烈的气味，而香草醛还含有一个由六个碳原子组成的环， 称为苯环，这往往会使化学物质更臭。

Synthetic vanillin, on the other hand, is way cheaper, and can mostly keep up with the demand -- about 10,000 metric tons of it is produced each year.

另一方面，合成香兰素要便宜得多，而且基本上可以满足需求——每年生产约 10, 000 公吨。

Back in 1874, a group of German scientists figured out what vanillin looked like and started making it out of a chemical in pine bark called coniferin that smells and tastes like cloves.

在 1874 年，一群德国科学家就弄清楚了香兰素的样子， 并开始用松树皮一种叫做针叶树素的化学物质制造它， 这种化学物质闻起来和尝起来都像丁香。

Over the years, vanillin has been made in lots of different ways, like from apple seeds, for example, but these days, it mostly comes from reactions with compounds that start out as petroleum.

多年来，香兰素以多种不同的方式制成，例如从苹果种子提取， 但如今，它主要来自与初为石油的化合物的反应。