McGee's documentation of volatile aromatic compounds — the specific molecules responsible for the flavour of cooked food — provides the scientific foundation for understanding why certain techniques produce certain flavours and why ingredients combine the way they do. His mapping of pyrazines (roasting), terpenes (herbs and citrus), aldehydes (fat oxidation), and esters (fruit) forms the chemical basis of the Flavour Thesaurus's affinity principles.
A framework for the major classes of volatile aromatic compounds produced by cooking — each class associated with specific cooking techniques and ingredient types.
JOSH NILAND: THE WHOLE FISH COOKBOOK + HAROLD McGEE: ON FOOD AND COOKING