Sixth taste discovered

[Kaido]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and...-sixth-taste---and-it-could-explain-our-love/

1. Sweet
2. Salty
3. Sour
4. Bitter
5. Umami (savoriness)
6. Starchy

So originally we only knew of four tastes: sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. Umami (basically MSG) was discovered within the last decade - basically the "yummy" flavor. But now they've found out that we can detect starchy flavors from rice, bread, pasta, etc.

Previously, many scientists believed that humans could only taste the sugar in carbohydrates, as enzymes in our saliva break starch molecules into simple sugars, leaving a sweet taste in our mouths.

...

“Asians would say it was rice-like, while Caucasians described it as bread-like or pasta-like,” she added.

This is interesting & makes a lot of sense, given people's affinity for starchy foods. On a tangent, I've been going through a book called The Flavor Bible for the past year:

https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400

It covers the first five tastes, as well as contributing factors including mouthfeel, temperature, piquancy (spicy, like sharp pepers), and astringency (pucker, like cranberries). Interestingly, smell has an awful lot to do with taste in terms of aroma (estimated to be 80% of flavor), pungency, and chemesthesis (unique sensations like that chill you get from peppermint or the fizzy carbonation kick from soda).

Food gets even more complex once you dig deeper...the book digs into food through the five senses (taste, smell, sight, sound, touch), as well as stuff like emotional, spiritual, and physical interactions & responses to food, plus the "X-factor" & things like cultural & traditional foods. The film Ratatouille highlighted an emotional memory for the food critic when he ate the film's title dish & was transported back to his childhood (which for most of us is probably equivalent to Hot Pockets, haha). Anyway, pretty interesting that we are still learning stuff about food & how our bodies perceive it.

TL;DR: Scientists recently discovered that we can taste pizza.

 

[Exterous]

The film Ratatouille highlighted an emotional memory for the food critic when he ate the film's title dish & was transported back to his childhood (which for most of us is probably equivalent to Hot Pockets, haha).

"Ahh this takes me back to my childhood when I ate things that were both frozen and molten lava at the same time"

 

[Kaido]

"Ahh this takes me back to my childhood when I ate things that were both frozen and molten lava at the same time"

And yet you were somehow self-forced to eat the whole thing anyway, because dangit, you were hungry!

 

[gorcorps]

I thought the whole taste category thing was debunked not that long ago. Or maybe that was the different taste centers of the tongue.

Either way, it hurts my head knowing such trivial things are being researched

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I thought the whole taste category thing was debunked not that long ago. Or maybe that was the different taste centers of the tongue.

Either way, it hurts my head knowing such trivial things are being researched

Take the blue pill and strap your helmet on.

 

[Exterous]

And yet you were somehow self-forced to eat the whole thing anyway, because dangit, you were hungry!

Damnit that thing melted the top of my mouth! *waits 1 second* Its probably cooled off enough to eat now

I thought the whole taste category thing was debunked not that long ago. Or maybe that was the different taste centers of the tongue.

Either way, it hurts my head knowing such trivial things are being researched

Trivial? There is huge money in understanding how taste works so you can sell products. Not to mention the wide ranging positive and negative health benefits

 

[sandorski]

I taste starchy things[/whispering]

 

[ControlD]

I call shens on this.

Beaver isn't listed anywhere on that list.

 

[nakedfrog]

I thought the whole taste category thing was debunked not that long ago. Or maybe that was the different taste centers of the tongue.

Either way, it hurts my head knowing such trivial things are being researched

Yeah, I believe you're thinking of the regions of the tongue being associated with specific flavors.
Otherwise, you're suggesting that "sweet" and "salty" aren't different categories of taste, which seems preposterous.
If it makes you feel any better, I'm sure there are a group of scientists elsewhere in the world on the hunt for the next boner pill.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

This morning I woke up and my tongue felt larger. Now I know why, it added extra taste buds.

 

[Kaido]

Trivial? There is huge money in understanding how taste works so you can sell products. Not to mention the wide ranging positive and negative health benefits

From dealing with food allergies for a decade, I learned a lot about the crazy world of food & edible additives. One of the things that has always amazed me is the versatility of corn. You can stick corn syrup & some artificial & natural flavorings in food and make it taste like annnnnnnnything! Look at the next batch of candy you eat...gummy candy, Starbursts, etc. The core of the flavor is the sugar, which is then manipulated into flavor clones of different fruits. Same thing with stuff like fake maple syrups...Mrs. Butterworths doesn't have any butter in it! HFCS + natural & artificial flavorings. The stuff is like magic!

 

[gorcorps]

Yeah, I believe you're thinking of the regions of the tongue being associated with specific flavors.
Otherwise, you're suggesting that "sweet" and "salty" aren't different categories of taste, which seems preposterous.
If it makes you feel any better, I'm sure there are a group of scientists elsewhere in the world on the hunt for the next boner pill.

I don't mean you can't perceive the taste, but that you can lump everything in a nice discrete category. Seems like there'd be a lot of grey area in some of those tastes.

 

[zinfamous]

I call shens on this.

Beaver isn't listed anywhere on that list.

Are you blind? It could be any of these:

1. Salty
2. Sour
3. Bitter
4. Umami (yummy)

 

[SKORPI0]

I call shens on this.

Beaver isn't listed anywhere on that list.

Are you blind? It could be any of these:

1. Salty
2. Sour
3. Bitter
4. Umami (yummy)

http://simplegoodandtasty.com/2014/03/03/hunting-for-dinner-consider-the-beaver

Early settlers and trappers of the American West enjoyed beaver and treated beaver tail like a fine delicacy because it's so fatty and full of flavor. I never really thought about beaver,
mostly because I don’t trap, but more importantly, I have never had access to the animal. It's not like you can find it at Cub Foods.

 

[OverVolt]

Well... what did scientists think they were tasting all that time while they snacked on saltines and ovaltine in their whit lab coats.