off-flavor
Something tastes wrong
An off-flavor is an unpleasant or unintended taste in food or drink, suggesting something has gone wrong—spoilage, contamination, or poor processing.
The term appears frequently in brewing, winemaking, and food science: The batch had an off-flavor from the infected yeast.
Sometimes hyphenated as an adjective: an off-flavor note in the cheese.
Make impure
- rancidityDecomposition of fats
- oxidationLosing electrons chemically
- mustinessStale, damp odor
- stalenessLoss of freshness
sourness · bitterness · metallic · fishiness · skunky · astringency · acridity · funkiness
Decomposed fat's quality
putrid · turned · curdled · fermented · decomposed · overripe · oxidized · deteriorated
Make impure
- adulterationCorrupting by foreign substances
- residueMatter left behind
- leachingDissolving out by liquid
- migrationMovement to new territory
chlorine · petroleum · plastic · solvent · disinfectant · pesticide · chemical · industrial
taint
Make impure
staleness · sourness · bitterness · metallic · fishiness · skunky · astringency · acridity · funkiness · flatness
rancid
Decomposed fat's quality
sour · putrid · turned · curdled · fermented · decomposed · overripe · oxidized · deteriorated · rank
taint
Make impure
- adulterationCorrupting by foreign substances
- residueMatter left behind
- leachingDissolving out by liquid
migration · chlorine · petroleum · plastic · solvent · disinfectant · pesticide · chemical · industrial · packaging