Is it possible that non-natural chemical substances become natural without changing their chemical, physical or physiological characteristics? The history of synthetic flavors with a special emphasis on vanillin suggests that yes, it is possible. This process is called naturalization and means in this case the change of status of a synthetic flavor to something natural. In this article the history of vanillin as a frequently used flavor and its transformation into a natural ingredient in the twentieth century will be presented and analyzed. Studying the particular characteristics of vanillin, it seems that known concepts in the history of science like Ersatzstoff (surrogate) or Wirkstoff (active agent) do not constitute the best fit in describing this flavoring agent. Categorizing vanillin as a Konsumstoff (commodity agent) seems more useful in order to classify its characteristics and its historical development. I suggest using Konsumstoff as a new theoretical and methodological approach to study the history of chemical substances. In this article, the concept of Konsumstoff will be outlined and developed using the vanillin case as a paradigmatic example.

中文翻译：

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变得自然：二十世纪合成香料的自然化和 Konsumstoff 的引入

非天然化学物质是否有可能在不改变其化学、物理或生理特性的情况下变得天然？特别强调香草醛的合成香料的历史表明，是的，这是可能的。这个过程称为天然化，在这种情况下意味着合成香料的状态转变为天然香料。本文将介绍和分析香兰素作为常用香料的历史及其在二十世纪转变为天然成分的过程。通过研究香草醛的特殊特性，科学史上的已知概念，如Ersatzstoff（替代品）或Wirkstoff（活性剂），似乎并不最适合描述这种调味剂。将香兰素归类为Konsumstoff（商品代理）似乎更有助于对其特征及其历史发展进行分类。我建议使用Konsumstoff作为研究化学物质历史的新理论和方法论途径。在本文中，将以香兰素案例作为范例来概述和发展Konsumstoff的概念。