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I understand that flavours are basically molecules that stimulate taste receptors and that some flavours are water soluble while others are fat soluble.

Does solubility enhance or diminish perception of that flavour? Why?

Thanks!

Zaph Brox
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  • All you experience with your tongue is the classic sweet, sour, salt, bitter, umami. Flavour itself is a result of interaction of chemicals with receptors on nerves in the back of the nasal cavity (which is linked to the mouth). – bob1 Oct 30 '22 at 07:37
  • This reminds me of the classic "What do I drink if my curry is too hot?" question. – Tetsujin Oct 30 '22 at 17:01
  • Welcome to SA! However, you're asking multiple different questions here. Can you edit your question to narrow down what you're asking to one specific question? – FuzzyChef Oct 31 '22 at 00:16
  • @FuzzyChef : Edited and simplified. Cheers – Zaph Brox Nov 01 '22 at 04:48
  • It's not a complete answer to your question, but [my answer to *When a recipe asks to add spices to the oil, can you add the spices directly to the sauce for the same effect?*](https://cooking.stackexchange.com/a/87362/20413) might be of interest here – Chris H Nov 01 '22 at 07:00
  • @ChrisH Thanks for the link. Indeed an interesting read. FWIW, my conclusion is that once a solvent is added, the flavours *change* ... Can't say whether it is enhanced or diminished because the solvent itself can overpower the flavour. – Zaph Brox Nov 01 '22 at 13:31
  • @ZaphBrox a neutral solvent won't overpower the flavour, but fats change the mouthfeel which is a closely related part of the perception. Changing the balance of flavour compounds that are delivered when eating makes a huge difference, and the solvent changes that – Chris H Nov 01 '22 at 14:15
  • Thanks, that makes it answerable! It's also been asked before: https://cooking.stackexchange.com/q/89433/7180 Check the answer there, it's your question exactly. – FuzzyChef Nov 01 '22 at 22:33
  • @FuzzyChef Thanks for the link ... Quoting a portion of your answer from the link : "some spices spread their flavor much better in fat that in water". How about a beverage like coffee? The molecules are already in a supension ... so adding milk/cream to coffee doesn't change the mobility of the molecules so much. Yet the flavours change significantly. The taste of milk does come through also, but I wonder if there is a good experiment for this. Non-fat milk vs whole milk perhaps? But then again we may be back to "mouthfeel" rather than actual flavour. – Zaph Brox Nov 02 '22 at 05:28
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    Coffee would be water-soluble. So water spreads the flavor (compare drinking a cup of coffee vs. chewing some beans). But other things (e.g. the fat and protein in milk) do not, and may even mask it. – FuzzyChef Nov 02 '22 at 17:43
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    And yeah, mouthfeel is completely different and for that matter unaswerable; it's completely subjective unless within very narrow parameters (e.g. "how do I make the mouthfeel of this recipe less gritty"). – FuzzyChef Nov 02 '22 at 17:45
  • @FuzzyChef If I'm not mistaken, some organic compounds in coffee are fat soluble. – Zaph Brox Nov 03 '22 at 05:14

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Just in case more clarification is needed: "soluble" means that the flavor will disperse in that medium, which enhances the flavor of the spice, food, or herb, because more of it can be tasted.

I don't know if there's a word for substances which diminish, or mask, the flavor of certain things (like milk with hot peppers), but that would be the opposite of solubility.

FuzzyChef
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