Flavor science: taste
6 short explainers. Read them in order, or jump to the question you have right now.
- 169Why a stuffy nose makes food taste flatYour tongue detects five tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami. Most of the rest, like strawberry, coffee or basil, is aroma that rides from your…
- 170Taming bitter with sugar and saltCoffee, dark chocolate, grapefruit and kale contain bitter compounds, and your tongue has about 25 types of bitter receptor to catch them. Many toxic plant…
- 171Why desserts need a pinch of saltA little salt makes sweet foods taste rounder and sweeter. One reason: salt turns down the bitter notes in chocolate and caramel that hold sweetness back.…
- 172Why cold food needs more seasoningFridge-cold food gives off fewer aroma compounds, and cold also dulls how sweet food tastes. Melted ice cream tastes sweeter than the same ice cream…
- 173Why umami pairs multiplyGlutamate is in kombu, tomatoes, parmesan and soy sauce. Pair it with a nucleotide like inosinate (meat, bonito) or guanylate (dried shiitake) and the…
- 174Different acids taste differentAll acids taste sour, but each has a personality. Citric acid in lemon is bright. Acetic acid in vinegar is volatile, so it smells sharp. Lactic acid in…
