Reply
Mon 5 Dec, 2011 11:57 pm
Hi all,
My husband is telling me that because you cannot (or in this case, he) taste a banana when you have plugged nose due to a cold, it therefore hasn't any real taste only taste associated with smell. Because apparently, he can taste other foods, somewhat dully, in similar circumstance.
So, do our taste buds actually NOT register banana flavour?
@animamea,
That sounds like nonsense to me. When I have a bad cold, I can barely
smell anything. But a head cold seldom affects by taste-buds. I can still taste the banana although I can't get much of an aroma from it.
@animamea,
I've heard it said that if you feed someone a piece of raw potato when they are blindfolded and pinch their nose they will think it's apple.
And smell is a big factor in taste - but I think ripe banana is tasty enough (maybe green not so) to taste without smell. Time for an experiment!
@animamea,
Like almost everything else, humans vary on physiological level and that includes the sensitivity on ones taste buds as well.
http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/digestion/pregastric/taste.html
There a five classes of food taste:
Quote:Sweet - usually indicates energy rich nutrients
Umami - the taste of amino acids (e.g. meat broth or aged cheese)
Salty - allows modulating diet for electrolyte balance
Sour - typically the taste of acids
Bitter - allows sensing of diverse natural toxins
Maybe you're husband's taste receptors are more sensitive to the other groups and less sensitive to sweets?
@animamea,
Quote:Do Bananas just smell and not taste?
NO. Lacking noses, thay cannot smell.
Lacking mouths or tongues, thay cannot taste.
@OmSigDAVID,
Brilliant asnwer!
You deserve the red answer ribbon Sir David!
@animamea,
Banana is one of my favorite fruit and it has both taste and smell. There is nothing like that it has no taste. It doesn't make any sense.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace