10 Surprising Facts About Your Taste
Scientists are learning a lot about how your sense of taste works. For example, they know that your taste buds can detect sweet, salty, bitter and umami flavors.
But what really influences flavor? We talked to Abbott’s Dan Schmitz to find out. He says the most important factor is culture.
1. You can’t see your taste buds
The bumps you see on the tip and sides of your tongue are called papillae, and most of them contain taste buds. These buds have extremely sensitive microscopic hairs that detect flavor molecules and send them to the brain. Taste buds can register sweet, salty, bitter and umami—a savory taste that’s found in foods like tomatoes, soy sauce and cheese.
You probably have about 10,000 taste buds, and they’re constantly regenerating. That’s why you can still taste even when your lips are dry!
2. Your taste preferences aren’t set in stone
There is a window of time during the first two years of life when children’s taste preferences are influenced most significantly. This is because they are beginning to eat actual food (as opposed to amniotic fluid and breast milk), their brains are growing like crazy, and they’re more open to exploring the world with their senses.
Then there are the genetic factors that influence your tastes. For instance, if you’re a supertaster, it’s likely because you have extra papillae on your tongue. Then there’s your cultural background and the cooking you grew up with.
All of these factors combine to create a unique flavor profile for each person. That’s why you can hate cilantro and still enjoy a KFC Double Down. It’s just a matter of learning to appreciate it over time. The same goes for foods you think taste like soap or like the smell of burning tires.
3. Your taste buds are constantly regenerating
The taste buds on your tongue are responsible for five different tastes: sweet, salty, bitter, and umami. Each taste bud has about 50 to 100 receptor cells that check out the food chemicals in your saliva before sending a signal to your brain.
These signals don’t just go to the mouth; they also travel through the middle ear, which can trigger areas in the brain that control emotions and memories. That’s why some food flavors evoke particular feelings or memories.
It’s not known why your taste buds change, but it could have to do with things like pregnancy or personal experiences. For example, a person who used to hate broccoli might suddenly start craving it after eating it roasted instead of steamed. That could be because their taste buds are changing, or because the brain is being triggered by new experience with the food.
4. Your taste buds are designed to keep you alive
Your taste buds sit on pegs of epithelium called papillae on the surface of your tongue. They send chemical signals to receptors in your nose that help you experience the full flavor of food.
Scientists have identified five basic tastes: sweet, salty, bitter and umami. Sweet foods contain natural sugars, such as honey or fruit. Salty foods contain table salt (sodium chloride) or mineral salts, such as magnesium and potassium. Bitter foods have acidic compounds like acetic, citric or lactic acids. Umami foods have a meaty, rich or savory flavor caused by glutamate.
Researchers are also discovering that our tastes aren’t limited to the five basic flavors. They may also sense fatty, alkaline and metallic tastes. Fatty tastes are probably due to enzymes that split triglycerides from fatty foods, and a new discovery shows there is also a fatty taste receptor.
5. Your taste preferences aren’t set in stone
While genetics can help explain why you prefer one type of food over another, your taste preferences aren’t completely set in stone. The most influential factor when it comes to taste is your cultural background, especially the cooking you grew up with.
In fact, researchers have honed in on a critical window of time when it comes to shaping your taste and flavor preferences: the first roughly two years. It’s during this period that babies start to actually eat foods, they’re learning about flavors from their parents, and are generally more open to trying new things.
So, don’t give up on that eggplant or cilantro! You might be able to learn to love it. You just need to be willing to try something different. And don’t forget: your nose knows. It influences your taste more than you think.
6. Your taste preferences aren’t set in stone
Your taste preferences aren’t set in stone, and they can change over time. Researchers have honed in on the first two years of life as a critical window for developing your taste preferences. That’s because babies actually start tasting foods during this time, and they’re exposed to a variety of different flavors through their mother’s amniotic fluid and breast milk.
Plus, your innate tastes may be shaped by your genetics. For example, some people are “supertasters,” meaning they have extra papillae on their tongue and therefore more taste receptors. And, finally, your taste preferences are influenced by the culture you grow up in and the cuisines that you’re exposed to. In fact, there are some foods I didn’t like when I was 25 that I learned to eat, enjoy and even love by the time I was 40.
7. Your taste preferences aren’t set in stone
There’s code in our DNA that influences our taste preferences, but the way we respond to food isn’t set in stone. The biggest influence on your taste is the food you eat as a child, says one expert. For example, a baby who experiences sweet flavors in the womb may grow up liking them more than other babies. It’s also important to consider your culture and the cooking you grew up with. That’s why Abbott recently launched PediaSure in India in kesar bedam, a saffron almond flavor that reflects traditional Indian cooking and tastes familiar to many children.
And don’t be discouraged if you’re not a natural fan of eggplant or cilantro—you can learn to love these foods with practice. But you’ll always have your genetic tendency to think that cilantro tastes like soap. (Thanks, chromosome 2.) (Image via iStockphoto)
8. Your taste preferences aren’t set in stone
Taste is a complex sense that involves more than just your tongue. It also includes your genes, your environment, and a fifth taste called umami that is triggered by glutamate molecules.
In addition, your preferences for foods and flavors can change over time. For example, you may have grown up thinking that cilantro tastes like soap, but you could learn to enjoy it over time. And it’s possible that there is code in your DNA that accounts for your preference for certain foods, such as the sweetness of a KFC Double Down or lobster ice cream.
From an evolutionary standpoint, it makes sense that humans prefer sweet foods because they are often more energy-dense than other foods. But it’s interesting that this innate taste preference isn’t necessarily a universal one. Some people don’t even perceive the sweetness of a chocolate bar.
9. Your taste preferences aren’t set in stone
There is no predicting what your taste preferences will be like in the future. They’re constantly changing. This is partly due to innate tastes, which are preferences that have evolved from our ancestors’ experiences with different foods. For example, we tend to prefer sweeter foods because they are more energy-dense and would have been easier to obtain in the past when food was scarce. However, your taste preferences also depend on learning and experience. There are some foods that you might have hated at age 25 that you’ll learn to love by the time you’re 40. You might also develop a new preference for certain flavors because of genetic variations in your taste receptors. This is what makes science so exciting! Keep reading to find out more fascinating facts about your sense of taste.
10. Your taste preferences aren’t set in stone
Taste preferences are highly complicated and can change over time. For example, in the past, our innate preference for sweeter foods made sense—they tend to be high-energy and easy to digest, which would have been advantageous in times when food was scarce and required a lot of energy to obtain. But now, that innate preference doesn’t serve us well, which is why it’s important to try new things and expand your palate. Genetics also influence your flavor preferences.
