According to food scientist Dr. Guy Crosby, humans are able to identify approximately 10,000 individual odors. There are receptors for smells in the nose, of course, but we also have smell receptors along the back of the mouth and into the sinuses; the fusion of information from physical taste and orthonasal (nose) and retronasal (sinus) receptors create the overall sense of flavor. This allows our palate to expand beyond the flavors physically detected by the tastebuds on our tongues.