The Sense of Taste

The Sense of Taste
In physiological terms, the sense of taste can be describe as the sensations perceive in the mouth when a food and drink is consumed.

This is basically accomplished by chemical interaction of food components with taste sensory tissues in the tongue and other areas in the mouth. Commonly can be called these the “taste buds”.

However, the overall sensory impact experienced when food is tasted involves more than just the actual individual taste sense.

It is often more of a combination of taste with several additional senses – olfactory (smell), visual, touch and sometimes, even sound.

Would freshly squeezed orange juice taste like orange without the aromatic impact of the volatile citrus oils in the peel and the juice itself on sense of smell?

Would it taste like orange if, for some absurd reason, it was deep purple in color?

Would we not think something was wrong if we did not feel and sort of “hear” the small little juice sacs pop in our mouth as we swirl the liquid around our tongues?

Food technologists tend to think in terms of a drink’s “sensory properties” when evaluating it for taste.

These are the different sensory perception factors that impact on our brain: sweetness, sourness, flavor, mouthfeel, color, clarity, etc.

In a carbonated soft drink the gas content or its “fizziness” is a critical factor as well.

In addition to the sensory factors the temperature and presentation of the tested product would also play a significant part in the test results.

Therefore, a “taste test” would not only mean how does it taste but would also refer to a general evaluation of its sensory properties.
The Sense of Taste