system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How do artificial flavorings taste so much like the intended flavor?
gpt
"Artificial" just means that it was produced by chemical processes in a lab, not extracted from a naturally occurring source. Usually, the exact same chemical substances are created (that give the real object its perceived taste), or ones that at least interact the same way with your taste receptors, and aren't toxic, obviously.

"Natural" flavor also doesn't necessarily mean it comes from the food it's intended to replicate the flavor of, but simply that it's extracted from any natural source. In the industry this will obviously be the cheapest source available.