---
title: Lessons in Flavoring
date: 2023-10-13T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/lessons-in-flavoring"
section: Articles
---
# Lessons in Flavoring

*October 13, 2023* — by [Chris Carroll](/author/chris-carroll)


> Food Scientist Melds Chemistry, Culinary Passion at McCormick

*MT lisabird 1920x1080 — Lisa Bird ’89, M.S. ’98 is one of about 300 “savory chemists” worldwide. She specializes in recreating the umami-rich flavors of roasted onion, grilled chicken and more in her Baltimore lab.*

A visitor to the lab that Lisa Bird ’89, M.S. ’98 runs at McCormick and Co. experiences a moment of aromatic disorientation; it smells like a vast banquet—a ginger- and garlic-infused stir fry, a coconut cookie, a bratwurst—but all this alchemy is contained in several glass vials lined up on the kitchen-like counter.

She’s a senior principal process flavorist at the herbs and spices giant famous for seasoning mixes like Old Bay and Montreal Steak Seasoning, but she’s not powdering paprika. Instead, Bird, a [chemistry major](https://chem.umd.edu/) who started with the company in 1991 and returned to College Park for her master’s in food science, strives to understand at the molecular level what makes taste buds sing.


*headshot of Lisa Bird — Lisa Bird*



**Sidebar note:**

This story is featured in the Fall 2023 issue of *Terp* magazine. Find all the stories online at [terp.umd.edu](https://terp.umd.edu/).





**Topics:** [People](https://today.umd.edu/tags/people)


**Tags:** [Chemistry and Biochemistry](https://today.umd.edu/topic/chemistry-and-biochemistry)


**Units:** [College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-computer-mathematical-and-natural-sciences)