Food aroma plays an important role in our overall food experience. It affects our food preference and acceptance, and alarms us about food defects. The aroma is a complex of volatile compounds that are perceived by the olfactory system. In this paper, the basic concepts related to food aroma are addressed: odorants, aroma value and recognition threshold. The mechanism of stimulus formation and its pathway to perception formation are explained, as well as differences that arise depending on stimuli pathyway and the interaction of aroma substances. The methods of laboratory analysis of aroma and the possible difficulties encountered during these procedures are presented. Aromatic compounds form a very diverse group of compounds, with wide variations in chemical structures and physical properties. These compounds can be formed by enzymatic and non-enzymatic reactions, and may also be the product of fermentation of microorganisms. The most famous compounds and their characteristics are analyzed. With today's knowledge in the field of food aroma the technological methods have been developed that provide consumers with products that have minimal possibility to change odor to unwanted or unexpected.