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The Science Behind Taste |
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| The science of taste is actually much more complicated than the average person may think. Not only does tasting include the taste buds, but the sensory information from the nose as well. Texture of foods also plays a very large roll in whether or not someone will enjoy a food. Also, some people will have a better sense of taste and will usually be very "picky" due to a high multitude of taste buds and nerves, while others will have nearly no taste at all and will eat almost anything that is put in front of them. Please remember that this is an overview, and does not go into extreme detail. Thank you! Pura Vida. |
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Tongue Papillae/Taste Buds Probably the most important part of the process of tasting, the tongue, and the taste buds that it houses, is the key to our sense of taste. The tongue is covered in small raised papillae, known more commonly as taste buds. Most of these papillae house the actual taste receptors that convert chemical messages into nerve impulses that give us the sensation of taste. There are four types of these papillae and each has its own specialized function. The four different types are filiform, fungiform, circumvallate, and foliate. Filiform papillae are the most abundant and common of all the other types of papillae, but strangely, are the only ones that do not house taste receptors. These papillae are on the flat part of the tongue, more towards the front. Their function is to create friction and to help grip the food. Also, the filiform papillae help provide a sense of texture in the food that is being eaten. Fungiform papillae are the small red dots that most people think of when thinking of taste buds. Scattered around the tongue, but mostly concentrated in the center, these papillae house many taste receptors that allow us to perceive taste. Though not nearly as abundant as the filiform papillae, these 'taste buds' are much more important when it comes to the actual taste of food. Circumvallate papillae are much less prevalent on the tongue than any other type. These are found on the very back of the tongue in a 'V' shaped pattern. Though these papillae do in fact house taste receptors, they are not as sensitive as the fungiform papillae or the foliate papillae. It is believed that the purpose they serve is to provide a final 'safe guard' against swallowing something that could be harmful or unhealthy for the body. These also factor into the gag reflex, however slightly. Foliate papillae are the most sensitive of all the
above papillae. Located on the sides of the tongue near the back, these
papillae and their taste receptors provide the most intense sensations of
all.
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Different Taste Sensations Our tongue can perceive a multitude of flavors and different taste combinations that can be either very good or very bad. But, our tongue actually forms the flavors and taste combinations using only five different sensations; sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami. All foods trigger different combinations of the five different sensations. Though most of us can identify the following flavors, I feel obliged to explain with examples. Sweet- concentrated sugar. Sour- concentrated lemon juice or a warhead candy. Bitter- uncooked broccoli Salty- well, salt. Umami- Glutamate (MSG). A meaty flavor associated with unspiced, unflavored meat. A common myth about these sensations is that they are felt on different areas of the tongue. This is completely false!!! The five sensations are felt on all areas of the tongue, not just on a certain spot. Though certain areas of the tongue are much more receptive to flavor due to the high concentration of taste receptors. Also, our tongue registers two other sensations that are not considered tastes. These are the hot and cool sensations. Scattered about the tongue are specialized receptors called nociceptors, or pain receptors. To find out more about nociceptors and how we perceive hot and cold, click here.
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Super-tasters and Non-tasters Though everyone can perceive taste (not including those with a genetic disorder), not everyone tastes foods to the same degree. There are those among us who in fact can barely perceive flavor in foods and think of most foods as bland and will most likely be much less 'picky' when it comes to food choice. On the complete opposite side, there are those who have an extremely intense sense of taste. These people will find almost all foods to be extremely flavorful and, because of intensity of foods, will tend to be very 'picky' when eating. Of course, there is a nice middle-ground where most people fall, enjoying foods but not to the extreme and being able to eat most, if not all, foods. The first group I mentioned were Non-tasters. Non-tasters have much fewer taste buds, and therefore taste receptors, than the average person. Due to the lack of taste receptors, these non-tasters will not taste food in the same way that those with the average amount of taste buds would. This would cause a person to enjoy a multitude of foods and be less reactive to spices. Roughly 25% of the population of the world are believed to be non-tasters. The next group of tasters are known as Super-tasters. Super-tasters are the polar opposite of non-tasters. Instead of having a diminished amount of taste receptors, super-tasters have almost double the amount of receptors. Super-tasters generally do not enjoy foods that are known to have an extremely strong flavor due to the fact that their increased amount of taste receptors will amplify that flavor considerably. Some foods that super-tasters usually avoid are fish, strong coffee, overly sweet or sour fruits such as lemons. Another 25% of the population of the world are believed to be super-tasters. The final group of tasters are, well, just the average between super-tasters and non-tasters. The average tasting person will be at an average in between the super and non-tasters. Finding most foods enjoyable, but not all, these average tasters make up 50% of the global population. Also, average tasters can land higher up on the scale with a slightly increased number of taste buds but not quite make the cut as a super-taster. On the flip side, an average taster may fall slightly short on the number of taste buds, but not quite qualify to be a non-taster.
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Smell and How it Affects Taste Along with the sense of taste that is sent to our brains from our tongues, our sense of smell assists how we perceive all types of food. Remember the last time that you had a cold and you tried to eat some of your favorite food, but sadly, you cannot taste it correctly. You know that it has been prepared correctly, and you know that there is nothing wrong with the food, so why can't you taste it correctly? Since your nose is probably plugged, and you are unable to smell the food, you find it difficult to taste the food correctly. Tasting a food with a plugged nose is the equivalent of trying to listen to music under water. When our nose is functioning correctly, however, we are able to smell over 10,000 different smells and are able to perceive the taste of food correctly. When a steaming pizza is being brought to your table by the waiter, the first sense (not including sight) that begins to identify the food is the nose. By gathering particles of the food that are given off naturally, the nose interprets and then changes the chemical message into a neural impulse that is sent to the brain. The brain then decides that the smell of hot pizza is a good smell, and triggers a physical response in the body of hunger, and also the mouth will begin to salivate. Once the food has arrived, the nose continues to play a key role. Along with allowing us to breathe while chewing, the nose continues to amplify the sense of taste by constantly smelling and sampling the different smells that are released as the food is chewed. Now, just for fun, try the same piece of pizza and purposely plug your nose. What happens? Almost instantly, the wonderful flavor of the pizza evaporates, leaving only a shadow of the true taste behind. After chewing several times, unplug your nose. You will be almost overwhelmed with a massive wall of flavor. This little experiment will show you how important the sense of smell is to the sense of taste. Have fun and enjoy.
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| Links... Home
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| Sources... http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/00386/taste/papillae.htm
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