The "smell" on the tip of the tongue

what senses do the "smells" in food belong to? The answer to the first reaction must be tasted, but it is much more than that. The experience of tasting food is a feeling intertwined with a richer variety of senses.

Real taste: sweet, sour, bitter and salty-and greasy?

"sweet and sour" is a traditional saying, but what belongs to the category of orthodox taste is sour, sweet, bitter, salty, and delicious. In taste buds, each of these five tastes has its corresponding receptors, and after they are activated by specific chemicals, we can feel the taste.

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this is a schematic diagram of five taste receptors:

in which salty and sour receptors detect sodium and hydrogen ions, while the remaining three bind to specific molecules.

the fresh taste is a late taste sensation, which is mainly excited by some amino acids and nucleotides. Fermentation is a long-standing method to stimulate the freshness of food, with the role of bacterial /fungal fermentation, protein decomposition, more small molecular amino acids free out, in this way, the ingredients become more delicious than before.

it is traditionally believed that there are only these five kinds of taste, but in recent years, some studies have put forward new ideas. The new view is that people also have a sixth sense of taste, which is responsible for tasting fatty acids. At present, scientists have determined that the corresponding receptor for fatty acid exists, and people's taste experience is different from other flavors. But now the greasy taste, as a sense of taste, is not so well known (if you want to know more, take a look at the original text).

Pepper and Peppermint: hot pepper is often intertwined with taste, but it is a sense of temperature.

Hot pepper is often intertwined with taste, but it is a sense of temperature. Capsaicin is a combination of thermoreceptors in the sensory nerves that transmit a burning sensation to the central nervous system. At the same time, the burning sensation also makes the body "think" that it is hurt and secrete pain-relieving and euphoric endorphins, which may be why people feel good about eating spicy food.

the cool feeling of mint is also a kind of temperature feeling. Menthol can "deceive" another receptor associated with cold conduction so that it can feel chilly even if the temperature is not low.

because of the wide distribution of thermoreceptors, other parts of the body can also taste the ice and fire of chili and peppermint. The mucous membrane is particularly sensitive to this, so be sure to wash your hands well after cutting chili peppers. Eating too hot can cause "hot chrysanthemums" and cause diarrhea, which is also the irritating effect of capsaicin on the mucous membrane.

Zanthoxylum bungeanum: 50Hz shakes

the action of Zanthoxylum bungeanum on the tip of the tongue actually simulates the feeling of vibration. Some studies have suggested that the "vibration frequency" of this feeling is equivalent to 50 hertz. Of course, the reason for this feeling is that the ingredients in Zanthoxylum bungeanum interfere with the function of the neuroreceptors.

Flavor: the aroma behind the nose

the most abundant change in the flavor of food comes from the smell. It is easy to feel how the food becomes dull and tasteless when the nose is bad, and how the fragrant spices improve the delicacy.

odors associated with food taste are mainly released during chewing, and they are sensed by the brain through the so-called "postnasal pathway". The characteristic flavor of many foods mainly depends on the smell, and if you hold your nose and close your eyes, it will be difficult to distinguish between Coke and Sprite.

eyes, ears, and touch are all part of taste

in addition to direct feelings, vision, hearing and other senses also affect people's feelings about food.

in this respect, humans are quite gullible. For example, some studies have found that as long as the color is dyed with pigment, it is enough to make many students in wine tasting class unable to tell the difference between dry red wine and dry white; change the color of the container, people's evaluation of the sweetness of the same dessert will change.

if you want to have an intuitive concept, you can take a look at this blue Slim Curry:

it is said that the taste is very normal, but there must be a large number of people who can't eat like this.

in addition, people also like crispy food in terms of hearing and touch. There is a view that this preference is evolutionarily meaningful, and it may be helping human ancestors adapt to some relatively less delicious "backup food"-including insects and some plants. These things are not as delicious as big fish and meat, but at least they are crispy. If you like crispy food, you may not feel too bad.

if you want to make a good dish, you should consider all aspects of color, smell, taste, and taste.