Flavor Enhancer

The distinction worth keeping: a flavor adds something, an enhancer makes what is already there taste stronger. In practice they overlap, because most enhancers have a faint character of their own if you use enough.

The main types

• Glutamates — MSG and glutamate-rich extracts. The reference umami enhancer.
• Nucleotides — disodium inosinate and guanylate. They work with glutamate, and the combination is much stronger than either alone.
• Yeast extracts and hydrolyzed proteins — the same compounds delivered from a fermented or hydrolyzed source, often used for a cleaner ingredient list.
• Sweetness and mouthfeel modifiers — a newer group used heavily in sugar and salt reduction.

Where they earn their place

Salt reduction is the clearest case. Taking salt out removes saltiness and a lot of general flavor impact. Enhancers recover some of the second effect, so you need less salt to reach the same acceptability.

Sugar reduction works the same way, where what you lose is sweetness, body and the way sugar rounds off harsh edges.

Enhancers do not fix a flavor that is wrong. They make a flavor that is right read louder.