Mad Science: Flavor vs. Taste, & the Importance of Being Nosey

POV: You’re out to dinner with friends—In any given group, one person probably thinks cilantro tastes like soap, another puts hot sauce on everything, her neighbor is tearing up being the “mild” salsa set her “tongue on fire,” across the table her boyfriend has a “texture thing” and won’t eat anything “slimy” and at the other end there’s an abandoned anchovy on toast because someone’s “just not really a fishy fish person.”

How much of that can be called pickiness versus genetics? Why are some people predisposed to like certain things and other to hate them? What is the scientific difference between flavor and taste?

This morning I was listening to Neil deGrasse Tyson’s podcast, Startalk. On this (very old) episode, Anthony Bourdain and Guy Crosby were talking about all things food science and culture, specifically when it relates to flavor and taste. Here’s the TLDR—

What is taste?

Taste is a sense. It’s basic, primal, straightforward, and there are 5 of them—sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami (a.k.a. savory). Your tongue receptors pick up on them and that’s it. The end.

Babies are born with about 10,000 taste buds and those numbers decrease as we age. This is why baby food has to be so bland, and even that they taste so intensely, and why older people use more salt on their food. 

What is flavor?

Flavor is what happens when your brain gets hold of what your tongue tastes and what your nose smells and creates a cohesive mental image based on your memories, habits, cultural upbringing, and the way your body experiences aroma, texture, temperature, and spice. Scientifically, this happens because when you chew, volatile compounds are released, travel up your retronasal passage, bind to olfactory receptors, and then create a complex sensory experience. 80% of what we perceive as flavor comes from our sense of smell.

What part of liking or disliking food is subjective?

Taste is genetic, but while it varies from person to person, it’s not something that we have control over. Every human has a genetic predisposition to taste things differently and has a different number of taste receptors that determine how strongly you experience the sense. Let me give an example (or rather, let me type out the one Mr. Bourdain (may he rest) shared in the pod)—

Based on culinary creativity, flavor diversity, and more, the Philippines should be a major food superpower on the world stage. They’re not. Due to cultural differences and the Western world’s aversion to bitterness—a popular flavor in many Filipino dishes, so much so that they sometimes use bile in their cooking—the “taste” of many of the dishes can cause tongues that are historically unused to bitterness to recoil.

On the other hand, Americans often don’t gravitate towards food that is chewy, rubbery, or gelatinous, in favor of their natural textural predilections to like things that are crispy. This is subjective and a mere consequence of snacks like boiled chicken or fish skin, tendon, and abalone not being as common here as they are in China.

What does “disgusting” mean?

That being said, if your friend on the far side of the table said “Ew, that’s lichhhhrally disgusting.” They would be both wrong and rude.

“Liking” and “disliking” foods is a result of genetic inheritance, location, ancestry, and what comfort foods you ate growing up, but “disgust” is what happens “literally” out of fear of being harmed. So yes, if you had served up battery acid with a spoon, that would be disgusting. We know that because taste has evolved as a means of survival. We like sweet things because they’re often a source of energy, but we don’t like bitter things because toxic things are bitter.

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ICYMI 👀

Hi! I’m Saanya, the founder of SOIRÉE, a digital publisher and social community dedicated to reviving the “lost art of entertaining” and making food, and the history and culture around it, *fun*…as it should be. I love to learn food, love food, love food lovers, explore the connections that sharing that love can bring, and host a lot of dinner parties. The SOIRÉE newsletter has merged with Dash by Pepper, so you’re now reading SOIRÉE x Pepper. Each week, I’ll explore basic home cooking tips, hosting how to’s, food history and science deep dives, and share some of our favorite recipes, picks to shop, and invitations to fun events. I’m so happy you’re here :)

Food History 101: How Tootsie Rolls saved the nation…kind of

Admittedly, I haven’t had a single thought about Tootsie Rolls since my trick or treating days when I wished my chocolate wasn’t chewy, but recently I read a story that brought them top of mind, and it truly read like the most random fill in the blank Mad Libs.

TLDR: Tootsie rolls played a role in the Korean War.

As the story goes, a division of the Marines ran out of ammo while battling both the enemy and sub-zero temperatures at Chosin mountain reservoir. To re-up, they called in for 60mm mortar ammunition. Sounds routine, right? Well…the code name for this type of ammo was “Tootsie Rolls.” 

Unfortunately, the radio operator on call didn’t know what “Tootsie Rolls” meant (and probably thought that they had lost the plot), but heard the urgency in the Marine’s voice, so went ahead and called in what he heard. Soon, pallets of individually wrapped chocolate candies fell from the sky. Though wildly different from what they had requested and expected, the candies actually ended up being more than just a little helpful. They nourished and energized the troops, and later were warmed to help plug bullet holes in machinery which would fully seal when they refroze.

Over the course of the two week battle, 3,000 died and double that were severely injured and frostbitten, but the mission ended up being a success and the survivors, who called themselves “The Chosin Few,” credited their survival to Tootsie Rolls. 

Breaking News From the Food World

• The Condiment Book comes out this week!—TikTok’s beloved, Condiment Claire (Claire Dinhut) comes out with her first book on September 26th (but it is still available to pre-order from Blackwell’s and ships internationally for free!). From jam recipes to historical deep dives, scientific explanations, pairing charts, and more, the book aims to make the world of flavor fun and accessible.

• Ghia launched a new sparkling non-alcoholic aperitif—Last week, Ghia, the endlessly chic mocktail brand, launched their newest addition: Le Fizz. Though the notes of orange blossom and strawberry are present, the sparkling drink is surprisingly earthy, complex, and not too sweet, making it a great alternative to a classic slow-sip cocktail.

• There’s a new “healthiest vegetable” in town—This week, the CDC declared a new healthiest veg, and it isn’t what I was expecting. Watercress has a nutrient density score of 100 out of 100. Watercress is a crucifer (like kale, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts) that grows in shallow water. Its high nutrient density means that it’s packed with an above average number of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

In Our Carts: Almost Autumn Edition

• Tahmina Saffron Rooibos Tea

• Subscription box of Porter Road’s pasture-raised, antibiotic free, hand cut meat

• Ghia Le Fizz

• Papier Monogrammed Leather Notebook in Navy

• Graza “Grazola” Granola

• Wander Beauty Dual Lipstick and Liner

• Assorted Ginori 1735 Oriente Italiano Malachite Dinner Plates on Tuckernuck (really just every piece on Mary Grace’s dining table because I’m in love)

• Bokksu Japanese Snack Box

• Sam Edelman Sylvia Knee High Boots

See you next week!

Xx,

Saanya