The Science of Taste

question 305

Essay

The Science of Taste
Have you ever looked at your tongue in a mirror? If so, you have probably noticed that it is bumpy. The bumps on your tongue are called papillae. Each one of the papillae contains hundreds of taste buds. You also have taste buds on the roof of your mouth and on your epiglottis, which is located at the top of your throat. The taste buds send messages to your brain that tell you about its basic flavor-that is, whether you are eating something salty, sweet, bitter, sour, or umami. Umami is hard to describe, but it is most often called a "meaty" or "savory" flavor. Foods with an umami flavor include meat broth, cheese, and soy sauce.
Your mouth and tongue also have receptors that send information about things besides the basic flavors of food. Your mouth has temperature receptor cells that can tell whether a food is piping hot or ice cold. Other receptors give information about the texture of food or how spicy it is.
But just being able to tell whether what you are eating is sour, cold, crunchy, or spicy is not truly tasting the food. For example, orange soda and root beer are both sweet, cold, and bubbly, but they do not taste the same. In order to get the full flavor of your food, you also need to use your sense of smell. The upper part of your nose contains special cells called olfactory receptors. They send messages about what things smell like to your brain. As you chew your food, chemicals quickly travel to the olfactory receptors in your nose. When your brain gets information from both the olfactory receptors and the taste buds, you experience the full flavor of what you are eating.
Question: Why does the author include the detail "orange soda and root beer are both sweet, cold, and bubbly, but they do not taste the same"?
A)To support the idea that receptors can tell whether a food is sweet.
B)To support the notion that the olfactory receptors also play a part in getting flavor.
C)To provide an example of sending the full flavor to the brain.
D)To support the idea that being able to understand flavor is not truly tasting food.

Definitions:

Energy Conservation

The practice of reducing energy consumption through using less of an energy service and efficient energy usage.

Dishabituation

Increase in responsiveness after presentation of a new stimulus.

Habituation

The method through which a person becomes used to a stimulus by being exposed to it multiple times, resulting in a reduced reaction.

Perceptual Skills

Abilities related to the interpretation of sensory input, such as recognizing patterns, objects, and spatial relationships.