Questions tagged [taste]
14 questions
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Does the tongue have different taste zones?
I've seen quite a few of these "tongue maps", showing discrete borders between taste zones and often conflicting setups, like these two:
Anecdotally, I can feel all tastes all over the tongue, more or less equally well, so I don't really…

Zano
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Does water bring out the flavor and aroma in scotch?
I've often heard that adding just a few drops of filtered, room termperature water to scotch helps to "bring out the flavor and the aroma." The scotch guy at my store told me it involves a chemical reaction; that barley is a tightly wound grain, and…

Big McLargeHuge
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Is umami a real flavor, or a marketing strategy?
I've been watching today's Paul Hollywood's Pies and Puds, and they have just had a shown a segment where they create seaweed dessert to sample a fifth human taste, umami.
Apparently the perception of human taste consists of;
sweet
sour
bitter…

John Smith Optional
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Is 80% of a human's sense of taste in their nose?
According to this article on wine tasting:
Did you know that 80% of our sense of taste is actually in our nose?
It doesn't seem to cite any source, although I've heard similar claims before. I've also experienced first-hand anecdotal evidence…

Flimzy
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Do your taste buds change every seven years?
Twice in the last week I've heard and re-stated the 'fact' that your taste buds change every seven years.
Example of claim: All Expert's Science for Kids
Taste Buds change every 5 to 7 years and during these tansitional (sic) periods (lasting up to…

Mark Mayo
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Does canned beer taste better than bottled beer?
Lately I've been seeing a lot of articles (mostly in local news) that suggest that canned beer is better, but from my own subjective experience I find it worse than beer stored in glass bottles. And the one that comes in plastic bottles is the worst…

Alex
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Do sandwiches taste better when someone else makes them?
I'm a bit skeptical about the claim in this poster:
Click for a larger version.
Studies show that sandwiches actually taste better when other people make them for you. When we make food, we get desensitized to the smell.
It's apparently fairly…

M.A.R.
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Is the taste of champagne preserved by hanging a spoon in the bottle?
This is a story I have been told many times: if you want to preserve the taste and sparkle of an opened bottle of champagne, you just need to hang a (silver) spoon in the bottle's neck.
I always applied this trick but recently somebody told me it's…

mtvec
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Does Coca Cola taste different in glass bottles?
It is a common belief that the Coca Cola drink tastes different in glass bottles:
Why does Coke from a glass bottle taste different?
Why does Coke taste better in a bottle?
Why does glass-bottled Coke taste better than cans or plastic bottles?
Coca…

JonathanReez
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Do transparent beer bottles allow UV rays oxidise the beer faster?
According to the following Facebook post from a Beer fan page:
The ultimate goal of adding a lemon to a beer is to hide beer flaws and defects.
By using a transparent bottle, ultraviolet (UV) rays oxidise the beer very quickly, causing a bad taste…

marcanuy
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Does Indonesian Kopi Luwak coffee have a distinctive taste?
The Indonesian Kopi luwak AKA civet coffee is the world's most expensive coffee at $160 per pound.
Are there any testimonials, considering its premium price, that its taste even distinguishable compared to other premium beans?

KMoraz
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Can you "reset" your taste buds?
Is there any scientific evidence behind the assertion I see on diet websites and in books that restricting a food for a set period of time will allow your tastebuds to be more sensitive to it.
For example, from ehow.com:
Taste buds acclimate to our…

Melissa
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Does the center of the Milky Way galaxy taste of raspberries?
An article (2009) from The Guardian claims that the center of the Milky Way tastes of raspberries:
Astronomers searching for the building blocks of life in a giant dust cloud at the heart of the Milky Way have concluded that it would taste vaguely…
user36356
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Is changing what foods you like a result of changing taste buds?
All of my life, when I have heard people saying that they no longer enjoy a certain food, the phrase "my taste buds changed" is used. Is that really what causes changes in what people like? Is liking particular foods purely psychological, or is it…

Allan Burleson
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