Taste: Surprising Stories and Science About Why Food Tastes Good by Barb Stuckey
Authors: Barb Stuckey
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people learn about taster types, they seem to want their type to explain why they eat what they eat. But we are complex creatures, each of us living in our own individual sensory world, each of which is colored by a combination of anatomy, medical history, genetics, culture, and life experience. The best way to describe the type of taster I am is that I am a Barb Taster. And Roger is a Roger Taster. That makes you a [insert your name here] Taster.
The bottom line is that your taster type is just one factor among many in why you make the food choices you do.
Smell, See, Hear, Touch
Everything you’ve just read is barely the tip of the iceberg of what we casually refer to as taste .
Taste, taste buds, and the tongue represent a tiny amount of what you experience when you eat food. A smidgeon. An itsy bit. Not a whole heck of a lot.
This is because of the fact that your tongue can taste only a few things, namely sweet, sour, bitter, salt, and savory. There’s absolutely no way to prove how much information the tongue contributes. Many professionals I talked to gave me their own estimates for how much input our sense of taste provides. Some say that only about 5 percent of what we experience when eating is input from our sense of taste. They think that the remaining sensory input—the vast majority—is aroma, which we detect with our nose. Yes, most of what you think you taste is actually smell.
I think 10 percent for taste and 90 percent for smell is a better estimate, but only if you’re dividing the entire experience of eating between just the two senses of taste and smell. What about the other three? When you add the influence of touch, hearing, and sight, things get really interesting. Our experience with food—which we simply call taste —is actually a multisensory adventure.
First, I’m going to teach you how the senses work. From there we’ll explore each of the Basic Tastes, the nuances of flavor, and finally, how everything comes together. Deliciously.
Taste What You’re Missing: Your Taster Type
YOU WILL NEED
Blue food coloring ( Caution: The blue dye stains fabrics, including carpets and towels! )
Small nonporous cup
Paper towels
Cotton swabs
1 paper or plastic reinforcement ring for each person
Magnifying glass
Mirror
DIRECTIONS
1. Pour a bit of blue food coloring into a nonporous cup.
2. Using a paper towel, blot your tongue to remove as much saliva as possible.
3. Dip the swab into the food coloring and apply the dye to your tongue. Let it saturate your tongue and dry out before you apply the reinforcement ring. Try to keep your tongue out while you’re doing this, or the ring will get wet and messy!
4. Apply a reinforcement ring to your blue tongue.
5. Using the magnifying glass and mirror, count the number of round taste buds inside the inner circle.
RESULTS 3
0–15 = Tolerant Taster
16–39 = Taster
40 or more = HyperTaster
Part One
The Workings of the Senses
1
Taste
I was in Philadelphia in a minivan heading to the restaurant Buddakan with five researchers from Monell, a nonprofit research institution focused on uncovering the scientific mysteries of taste and smell. Seated behind me was Marci Pelchat, whose expertise includes food cravings and food addiction. One of the chattier scientists from Monell, she pointed out landmarks during our quick ride. Reading Terminal Market, Pelchat told me, houses downtown Philly’s version of a farmers’ market, although it has become a tourist destination.
“But I think you can still get pickled tongue there,” she said.
“Beef tongue?” I asked, remembering it from the Jewish delis of my youth, where the sight of a five-pound cow’s tongue would make me squeal.
“Kosher tongue?” inquired Bob Margolskee, a Monellian who studies taste at the molecular level.
“Yes, you know, cow tongue that’s been cured like corned beef. You slice it to make sandwiches,” said Pelchat. “I bought a whole one there to
The bottom line is that your taster type is just one factor among many in why you make the food choices you do.
Smell, See, Hear, Touch
Everything you’ve just read is barely the tip of the iceberg of what we casually refer to as taste .
Taste, taste buds, and the tongue represent a tiny amount of what you experience when you eat food. A smidgeon. An itsy bit. Not a whole heck of a lot.
This is because of the fact that your tongue can taste only a few things, namely sweet, sour, bitter, salt, and savory. There’s absolutely no way to prove how much information the tongue contributes. Many professionals I talked to gave me their own estimates for how much input our sense of taste provides. Some say that only about 5 percent of what we experience when eating is input from our sense of taste. They think that the remaining sensory input—the vast majority—is aroma, which we detect with our nose. Yes, most of what you think you taste is actually smell.
I think 10 percent for taste and 90 percent for smell is a better estimate, but only if you’re dividing the entire experience of eating between just the two senses of taste and smell. What about the other three? When you add the influence of touch, hearing, and sight, things get really interesting. Our experience with food—which we simply call taste —is actually a multisensory adventure.
First, I’m going to teach you how the senses work. From there we’ll explore each of the Basic Tastes, the nuances of flavor, and finally, how everything comes together. Deliciously.
Taste What You’re Missing: Your Taster Type
YOU WILL NEED
Blue food coloring ( Caution: The blue dye stains fabrics, including carpets and towels! )
Small nonporous cup
Paper towels
Cotton swabs
1 paper or plastic reinforcement ring for each person
Magnifying glass
Mirror
DIRECTIONS
1. Pour a bit of blue food coloring into a nonporous cup.
2. Using a paper towel, blot your tongue to remove as much saliva as possible.
3. Dip the swab into the food coloring and apply the dye to your tongue. Let it saturate your tongue and dry out before you apply the reinforcement ring. Try to keep your tongue out while you’re doing this, or the ring will get wet and messy!
4. Apply a reinforcement ring to your blue tongue.
5. Using the magnifying glass and mirror, count the number of round taste buds inside the inner circle.
RESULTS 3
0–15 = Tolerant Taster
16–39 = Taster
40 or more = HyperTaster
Part One
The Workings of the Senses
1
Taste
I was in Philadelphia in a minivan heading to the restaurant Buddakan with five researchers from Monell, a nonprofit research institution focused on uncovering the scientific mysteries of taste and smell. Seated behind me was Marci Pelchat, whose expertise includes food cravings and food addiction. One of the chattier scientists from Monell, she pointed out landmarks during our quick ride. Reading Terminal Market, Pelchat told me, houses downtown Philly’s version of a farmers’ market, although it has become a tourist destination.
“But I think you can still get pickled tongue there,” she said.
“Beef tongue?” I asked, remembering it from the Jewish delis of my youth, where the sight of a five-pound cow’s tongue would make me squeal.
“Kosher tongue?” inquired Bob Margolskee, a Monellian who studies taste at the molecular level.
“Yes, you know, cow tongue that’s been cured like corned beef. You slice it to make sandwiches,” said Pelchat. “I bought a whole one there to
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