Nom Nom Nom. Food is delicious, but does it always taste delicious? How can you tell if food is delicious without your tongue? And do you really need your tongue in order to taste?
Gustation, also known as the ability to taste, is caused by a set of nerves and receptors called gustatory receptors commonly known as taste buds. Taste buds help you taste the different flavors of your food.
Tastes are somewhat limited for the human tongue and can be classified into 5 categories: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. These different tastes are evolutionary traits that developed to help us judge what is nutritious, and what is poisonous.
So how sensitive are we to taste? Well, it all depends on the number of taste receptors you have on your tongue. Supertasters, such as those who judge food at restaurants, have a higher number of taste receptors and have a higher sensitivity to tastes. But the big question still remains, how much can you taste?
In this lab, you will examine the taste sensitivity, or taste threshold, of yourself and other individuals.