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…
17
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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…