How we taste

11 January, 2017

How we taste

 Did you know that butterflies taste through their feet? An earthworm’s body is entirely covered in taste receptors? and a pig has twice as many taste buds as humans?

 Taste is one of those senses that we humans take for granted – until we get a cold. Then, it seems that we can’t taste anything and that should seem really strange at first. . . but once we’ve gone through this lesson, you’ll understand why its hard to taste when you have a cold.

who nose what the future holds?

 So, first off, remember this: taste is a complicated chemical process, and, it is very closely linked to your sense of smell, how a food feels in your mouth and the temperature of that food. 


 When we talk about the flavor that something has, we’re talking about how our brain is processing particular stimulants which makes it somewhat complicated to isolate.
In this quick lesson, we’re going to talk about what our tongue, taste buds and nose are all doing to allow us to make distinctions between flavors.



What Happens When We Taste?First, we must smell – whether as a deep sniff before eating, or just as scents waft up our nasal passages. Smell triggers saliva production in the mouth and an increase in digestive acid in the stomach. This prepares us to taste and digest our food. To taste anything at all, foods must be dissolved. Try putting a bit of food on your dry tongue. You won’t taste a thing.
Once food enters the mouth, its chemical components find their way to the taste buds, we register if it is sweet, salty, sour, bitter, or umami, then based on the temperature of the food, we determine what it is.

Taste Versus Smell
Now, remember this, humans only recognize five tastes, but we can recognize thousands of smells. It is the way the brain puts together the tastes with the smells, temperature and mouth feel that creates our perception of “flavor.” As much as 85% of the perception of taste comes from the sense of smell. Let me say that again, as much as 85% of the perception of taste comes from the sense of smell. Smells travel to the brain in two ways, up through the nostrils as you bring food to your mouth, and again through the “back door” once food is in the mouth, through the pharynx.




Joohee Lee