Understanding flavour

Understanding flavour

It’s one of the cornerstones of the restaurant business (along with employee problems and debt). Isn’t it time you got to know it a little better?

We describe our flavour world as being composed of four basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty and bitter. To these, Aristotle added astringent, pungent and harsh. At other times, qualities such as urinous, acrid and putrid were also hypothesized. Scientists continue to debate whether the modern four cover all experiences; a growing body of data suggests that the sweet/sour/salty/bitter paradigm may be an oversimplified model for a process so complex that we are only on the brink of understanding it.

Flavour is perceived by taste “buds”—groups of taste receptor cells that cluster together like the segments of an orange. The average adult has 10,000, although the number varies widely. Taste buds can be found not only on the tongue, but on the soft palate, pharynx, larynx and epiglottis as well.

From the 1940s through the ’90s, virtually every basic biology textbook perpetuated the myth that taste buds were grouped in the mouth according to the specialty. The tongue was “diagrammed” into separate areas where certain tastes were registered: sweetness at the tip; sourness on the sides; and bitterness at the back of the mouth.

In the ’80s and ’90s, research at Yale, Monell Chemical Senses Center, the University of Connecticut and elsewhere demonstrated that the “tongue diagram” explanation of how we taste was false. Instead, leading taste researchers such as Dr. Linda Bartoshuk of the Yale University School of Medicine found that taste buds are not specialized and do not congregate according to specialty. Sweetness, saltiness, bitterness and sourness can be tasted everywhere in the mouth, although they may be perceived at slightly different intensities at different sites on the tongue.

Though taste buds are not specialized, the taste receptor cells that make up taste buds are. A taste receptor cell, in other words, may be specialized for sweetness, another for saltiness and so on.

Taste buds that can sense all taste qualities and that are dispersed throughout the mouth, researchers say, make evolutionary sense. With a taste mechanism thus structured, an individual does not lose the capability to perceive one of the four basic tastes even if a part of the tongue is damaged. The French author and gastronome Brillat-Savarin made the same observation. In his “The Physiology of Taste,” he describes a man whose tongue had been partially amputated as punishment for attempting to escape from prison. In response to Brillat-Savarin’s inquiry, the man wrote that he could still taste fairly well and could, like other men, determine what was pleasant and what was unappetizing.

One of the most intriguing of recent findings is that the tongue is controlled by two major nerves that relay information to the brain ipsilaterally; that is, a taste perceived on one side of the tongue goes up and is interpreted on the same side of the brain. Most nerves work contralaterally, sending their messages to the opposite side of the brain. Why the taste system is wired in this manner is not fully understood, but scientists suspect a complex interdependent network by which one nerve can inhibit another, or take over should one of the nerves be damaged.

Another recent finding suggests that the intensity of bitterness is perceived differently at the front of the tongue than at the back. The front is most sensitive to bitterness; a small amount is readily picked up. Above a certain threshold, however, the back registers bitterness more intensely. This may be due to the way taste buds are arranged and the distance between them.

The fact that taste buds at the back of the tongue register bitterness more intensely helps to explain why tannin is perceived at the back of the throat.

Interestingly, although our sensitivity to sweetness does not decline as we get older, our sensitivity to bitterness may. Most bitter substances are pharmacologically active; they are poisonous in massive quantities. Some evidence suggests that people who expose themselves to large amounts of bitter substances such as coffee and cigarettes, for example, may develop a reduced sensitivity to bitterness as they age.

Defined
Flavour-n 1. the quality of something that affects the sense of taste, 2. the blend of taste and smell sensations evoked by a substance in the mouth, 3. characteristic or predominant quality.

Taste-n 1. one of the special senses which perceives and distinguishes the sweet, sour, bitter or salty quality of a dissolved substance and is mediated by taste buds on the tongue, 2. the objective sweet, sour, bitter or salty quality of a dissolved substance as perceived by the sense of taste, 3. a sensation produced by the stimulation of the sense of taste, in conjunction with that of touch and smell.

Source: Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary

IN?FOOD, PEOPLE RESPOND TO…

Temperature
Texture
Taste
…in that order
The tastes
Sweet
Sour
Salty
Bitter
Umani (savory)

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Exploring World Flavours In The Comfort Of Your Own Backyard

Exploring World Flavours In The Comfort Of Your Own Backyard

Summer is almost here, which means backyard entertaining and patio parties with family and friends. As cross-cultural cuisine continues to gain in popularity, guests will be craving foods with more intense, diverse flavours this season.

The standard fare associated with the much anticipated barbecue season can be easily enhanced by adding Caribbean, Mexican or Asian influences to your summer meals. There are many ways to perk up the flavour of simple favourites such as adding unique spices to a light pasta salad, incorporating mouth-watering marinades to meats and vegetables or utilizing fruits, nuts and dips.

Asian Adventurer. Asian cuisine incorporates a diverse set of flavours, ranging from mild to very hot, and from sweet to savoury. Asian sauces often include sweet, spicy and sour flavours such as: lemongrass, plum paste, sesame oil, chilies and ginger. Asian cooking generally uses small bites of lean cuts of meat, flavourful marinades, quick cooking over high heat and dipping sauce accompaniments.

Caribbean Crusader. Caribbean cooking is the essence of fusion style as the islands were first settled by the Spanish, then the Dutch, French, British and Danish – the combination of these flavours developed the nature of the cuisine. Caribbean flavours tend to combine ingredients such as curry, allspice, lime, thyme, ginger, chilies and tropical fruits. A unique blend of spices and fruit components such as papaya, mango and guava can bring the vibrancy of an island sunset into any kitchen.

Mouth-watering Mexican. Descended from the food of the Mayans, authentic Mexican takes advantage of the varied food sources in Mexico with small meals often served wrapped in a fresh tortilla. Mexican and Central American cuisine incorporates beans, corn, tomatoes, jicama, chocolate, avocado, papaya, vanilla and chili peppers.
Experimenting with presentation, spices and seasonings, and flavourful rubs and marinades can bring a world of flavours to your own backyard:

Create bite-size appetizers. Satays, small wooden skewers threaded with bite-size chunks of meat, are a popular street snack food in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand and make wonderful starters.

Use marinades to infuse flavour. Marinades are fantastic for tenderizing, enhancing flavour and preserving food. New Knorr® Spicy Caribbean Marinade with Papaya Juice or Knorr® Sesame Ginger Marinade with Mandarin Orange Juice spice up meats, vegetables and tofu for a glorious taste experience.

Incorporate spices to traditional offerings. The chili pepper has become the single most widely used spice in the world, except for salt. Chili peppers vary in strength and flavour. Give your barbecue sauce or salsa a little zip by adding chili peppers into the mixture.

Experiment with fruit. Try pairing new and unusual fresh fruits from your supermarket produce aisle such as mango, avocado, star fruit, pineapple, coconut, guava and papaya with your meals. They are full of vitamins and flavour and can be used in entrées or desserts.

Jazz up a family favourite. Dry soup mixes have many uses and have become a widely used ingredient in hundreds of recipes. To attain a delicious, savoury flavour in traditional hamburger recipes, sprinkle a package of Knorr® Onion Soup Mix into the meat mixture.