1. © British Nutrition Foundation 2010 Your senses and food

2. © British Nutrition Foundation 2010 Our senses We all like and dislike different food and drinks. Our senses help us decide what we like and dislike. What food and drinks do you like? Why?

3. © British Nutrition Foundation 2010 Our senses smell There are 5 senses that help us: sight hearing taste touch

4. © British Nutrition Foundation 2010 Which sense? smell taste touch Which part of the body helps? sight hearing nose tongue hands and mouth eyes ears

5. © British Nutrition Foundation 2010 Sight Our eyes let us see the size, shape and colour of the food or drink. If it does not look good, you might not eat it!

6. © British Nutrition Foundation 2010 Sight Helpful describing words: stringyfirmdry heavyflakycrumbly flatcrisplumpy fizzyfluffysmooth hardmushy dull cuboidstickyfragile

7. © British Nutrition Foundation 2010 Sight Describe how these foods look.

8. © British Nutrition Foundation 2010 Smell Our nose lets us smell food and drink. Some foods smell strong, like strong Cheddar cheese. Smell and taste work together. This is why people with a blocked nose find it hard to taste food.

9. © British Nutrition Foundation 2010 Smell Helpful describing words aromaticfreshspicy floralblandtainted perfumedbittersavoury rottensweet citrus strong mild fragrant mustyweakscented

10. © British Nutrition Foundation 2010 Smell How would these foods smell?

11. © British Nutrition Foundation 2010 Hearing Our ears let us hear the sound of food being prepared, cooked, served and eaten. Crunch! Sizzle! Slurp! Gulp!

12. © British Nutrition Foundation 2010 Hearing What sounds would these foods make?

13. © British Nutrition Foundation 2010 Taste Our tongue can detect five basic tastes: sour bitter salt umami sweet

14. © British Nutrition Foundation 2010 What is umami? Umami is a savoury taste, often known as the fifth taste. It was discovered by Dr Kikumae Ikeda, from Tokyo Imperial University, Japan, in 1908. Umami has its own distinct savoury taste, often associated with ripe tomatoes and cheese.

15. © British Nutrition Foundation 2010 Basic tastes Food examples of the basic tastes include: sourbittersaltumamisweet

16. © British Nutrition Foundation 2010 Taste Useful describing words: sweetcoolbitter zestywarmhot soursharprich blandrottentart strongcitrusmild umami tangy salty savoury spicy

17. © British Nutrition Foundation 2010 Taste Describe the taste of these foods.

18. © British Nutrition Foundation 2010 Touch The sense of touch tells you about the texture of food, e.g. smooth, rough, crunchy. Your hands, mouth and tongue all help. The mouth also detects temperature of food, e.g. cold icecream, warm bread, hot soup.

19. © British Nutrition Foundation 2010 Touch Useful describing words: brittlerubberyshort stodgybubbly gritty sandymushytender softfirmflaky crispfluffycrumbly lumpysmoothhard sticky chalkygrainy

20. © British Nutrition Foundation 2010 Touch What words would you use to describe these foods?

21. © British Nutrition Foundation 2010 For further information, go to: www.foodafactoflife.org.uk