The Sense Of Taste

Why We Taste We taste because without taste we would not have a desire for food. The reason that we have different types of taste is because we need certain nutrients, and certain toxins are bad for us. For example, we taste salty foods because we need sodium chloride, we like sweets since we need carbohydrates and sugar is a form of carbohydrates. The reason that we taste bitter and sour (which is a negative taste) is because many poisons and toxins taste bitter or sour.

Taste Taste Qualities

Properties Of The Taste System You can taste 5 different reactions: salty, umami ( savory), sour, sweet, bitter. A single taste bud contains taste cells that can taste all 5 taste sensations Smell and taste are related because they are both controlled by the same part of the brain.

Smell and Taste Relationship

Taste The papillae of the tongue Four types: 1) Filiform; entire surface; no taste buds 2) Fungiform; tip and sides 3) Foliate; sides 4) circumvallate; back

Taste The taste bud. All papillae except filiform contain taste buds (n=10,000). No buds in the center of the tongue. Bud is a cluster of taste cells.

Taste Sweet:Na selective channel,or activate AC –cAMP-closing Kselective channel Bitter:IP3-iCa increase- active synapses Salty:amiloride sensitive Na channel Sour:iH increase-block K channel

Taste CNS Pathways

Taste Taste and Smell produce Flavor. Percent correctly recognizing smell with nostrils open (solid) or closed (shaded)

Taste Brain Processing of Flavor

Sour Sourness is the taste that detects acids. The taste of sour is sharp, tart or tangy Some sour food items are whisky, lemon or lime juice and soda water Sour is also a negative taste because rotten food often taste sour

Salty The reason we taste salt is (as stated earlier) because our bodies need sodium chloride which aids in the absorption of other nutrients in the small intestine, regulates blood pressure, and acidic balances in the body. The salty substance we have given you to taste is table salt note how the taste is briny.

Bitter Bitterness may taste sharp, acrid and unpleasant Many people find bitter tastes to be too strong. Bitter is also negative because it resembles toxins or poisons. Some foods that taste bitter are some chocolates, ginger, and olives directly from the tree

Sweet Sweetness is produced by the presence of sugars, some proteins and a few other substances The reason why we taste sweetness is the need for carbohydrates which is present in sugars as previously stated Foods that are sweet are honey, sugars, fruits and any confections

Umami (Savory) Savoriness or umami is the name for the taste sensation produced by the fats commonly found in fermented and aged foods. The additive monosodium glutamate (MSG) often gives a very savory taste. Foods that taste savory are cheeses, soy sauce, meats, walnuts

How We Taste If you were to look at your tongue you would see many small fleshy colored spots these are called papillae, these papillae contain about 252 taste buds, which are the cells that sense taste. Taste all starts when molecules from foods are mixed with saliva this reaction gives the taste buds a signal, which in turn sends a signal to the gustatory nerves, the taste nerves, they send messages to the brain which sends the right response back to the taste buds and so that response is what we taste.

Taste Among Individuals Every persons tastes are different, nobody likes all the same foods. This is because everyone has different experience, certain factors affect likes and dislikes of tastes such as: smoker or non-smoker, age and now as scientists have discovered it can also be hereditary…

Taste Among Individuals cont. As in super-tasters, normal tasters, non-tasters Super-tasters have more taste buds then average and therefore and more sensitive to taste and make up 25% of the population Normal tasters have average amounts of taste buds and make up 50% of the population and this is the dominant trait Non-tasters have less taste buds than average and therefore have less sensitive tastes and things taste bland to them and it is a recessive trait and they make up 25% of the population

Durian Durian is a fruit from the South East Asia. 30 known species of durian They are covered in a very thorny husk and range from inches in diameter and weight around 11 pounds The husk is normally a bright green and the flesh inside is a bright yellow They can be found at many specialty Asian food markets