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Chapter 3 Sensory Evaluation: The Human Factor
Sour foods are evaluated in terms of their astringency. Astringency
is the ability of a substance to draw up the muscles in the mouth. You
could look at astringency as the mouth-puckering power of a food.
Tea, lemons, and sour balls are very astringent.
Your ability to taste foods is related to the temperatures of the
foods. Flavors of some foods become more intense as the foods become
warmer. However, some foods that are heated to high temperatures
may lose some of their fl avors.
Europeans serve cheese at room temperature rather than chilled
to bring out the fl avor of the cheese. Try this yourself. Taste fruit
and cheese that are chilled. Then try a
bite of each after keeping them at room
temperature for 20 to 30 minutes. Which
has the stronger fl avor?
Smell Impacts Flavor
The second component of fl avor
is aroma. The aroma is the odor of a
food. The senses of taste and smell work
The Fifth Taste
In 2006, researchers
confi rmed that each taste bud
has 50 to 100 receptors for every
taste. Taste buds are found on the
tongue, palate, and epiglottis (the fl ap that
blocks food from the windpipe). All fi ve
tastes are recognized by all taste buds.
A Japanese scientist isolated umami
over 100 years ago. He fi rst identifi ed it in
soy-based foods, calling the compound
glutamate. Umami is Japanese for delicious or
savory. Some people have described this taste
as brothy or meaty. Flavor enhancers such as
monosodium glutamate (MSC) increase the
savory fl avor in foods.
In 2000, a University of Miami study found
the receptors that respond only to glutamate.
Glutamates are compounds formed during
the aging and breakdown of proteins.
Foods high in glutamates, and therefore
the savory taste, include
parmesan cheese, aged beef,
bacon, anchovies, and mushrooms.
The scientifi c community offi cially
recognized savory (umami) as the fi fth taste
in 2002.
Researchers have identifi ed the mechanism
by which taste occurs. The compounds that
cause taste messages to be sent to the brain
have been isolated. Researchers are using
this information to work on ways to enhance
or block taste. It is projected that within a few
years, researchers will fi nd a way to increase
the sweet taste response. The benefi t would
be the sensing of sweetness after consuming
far less sugar. For example, soft drinks would
need 1⁄5 the sugar to taste as sweet as they
do today.
Scientists are now exploring the
possibility of a sixth taste for fat.
STEM
Mushrooms are a natural fl avor
enhancer. Add small amounts of fi nely minced
mushrooms to soups, casseroles, sauces, and
gravies for richer fl avor.