014 // 015 The Science of Taste and Flavor

How do we
TASTE?
Taste is a surprisingly complex process. Taste signals are relayed to the
thalamus, which passes signals
to other regions of the brain.
A multisensory experience, taste involves
aroma, texture, and heat, all combining to create
an overall impression. As you inhale, airborne
molecules of food are
As you lift food to your lips, before any food
vacuumed up into the nose.
actually reaches the tongue, aromas flood
the nostrils. Teeth then break down food,
releasing more aromas, and the food’s When signals reach the frontal
lobe, we become aware of what
texture, or “mouthfeel,” becomes
we are smelling and tasting.
critical to its appreciation. In the
mouth, more flavor-carrying
particles waft to the back of
FRONTAL
the oral cavity, up to the smell THALAMUS
LOBE
receptors, but now they are
experienced as if coming from the
tongue. Sweet, salty, bitter, sour,
umami, and fatty taste receptors
(see opposite) are stimulated, and
a cascade of messages filters to the
brain. As you chew, hot food cools,
increasing taste intensity: at 86–95ºF
(30–35ºC), taste receptors are most active. TONGUE

MYTH BU STER

Myth
Taste receptors on the
DIFFERENT TONGUE REGIONS DETECT DIFFERENT TASTES tongue register basic tastes.

Truth
In 1901, German scientist D. P. Hänig promoted the idea Nerves carry taste
that different tastes were stronger in different parts of the messages to the brain.
tongue. This research was later used to create a “taste map.”
Now, we know that all tastes are sensed across the tongue Aroma molecules pass to the smell sensors
and difference in sensitivity across the tongue is negligible. NERVE PATHWAYS at the back of the nose. Here the brain
FOR TASTE interprets them as taste from the mouth.