The Complexities Of Taste
- 11 years ago
Although most people think of taste as one of the five senses, it is actually a complex process that involves not just our mouth and taste buds, but also other parts of the body.
Although most people think of taste as one of the five senses, it is actually a complex process that involves not just our mouth and taste buds, but also other parts of the body.
The reason why some people think certain foods taste good, and others do not has to do with personal conditioning from the interaction of all five senses in relation to the food that is being consumed.
Once food has entered our mouth, the chemical receptors in our taste buds distinguish five distinct flavors namely bitter, sweet, sour, salty, and umami, a Japanese word to express a savory flavor such as roasted meats and soy sauce.
Smell is an essential part of our ability to taste different flavors.
A 2007 study found that there are taste receptors in the small intestine that can sense sugars and release insulin into a person’s bloodstream.
While this explains some of our physiological reactions to food, external factors like the appearance of food and how others perceive it also influences how we taste it.
For example, when researchers put a drop of red food coloring into white wine, even wine connoisseurs reportedly thought it tasted like red wine. It turns out taste is a far more complex relationship than we originally thought.
Although most people think of taste as one of the five senses, it is actually a complex process that involves not just our mouth and taste buds, but also other parts of the body.
The reason why some people think certain foods taste good, and others do not has to do with personal conditioning from the interaction of all five senses in relation to the food that is being consumed.
Once food has entered our mouth, the chemical receptors in our taste buds distinguish five distinct flavors namely bitter, sweet, sour, salty, and umami, a Japanese word to express a savory flavor such as roasted meats and soy sauce.
Smell is an essential part of our ability to taste different flavors.
A 2007 study found that there are taste receptors in the small intestine that can sense sugars and release insulin into a person’s bloodstream.
While this explains some of our physiological reactions to food, external factors like the appearance of food and how others perceive it also influences how we taste it.
For example, when researchers put a drop of red food coloring into white wine, even wine connoisseurs reportedly thought it tasted like red wine. It turns out taste is a far more complex relationship than we originally thought.