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Call for questions: TASTE (Patreon)

Published:
2023-06-21 18:42:49
Imported:
2026-06

Content

Okay, folks. Native Bees will be up in a few hours! Currently, I am on a tarmac headed to Philly for the ISTE conference and doing some interviews while in town! Including one with Dr. Gary Beauchamp, a world-renowned Gustologist who studies taste and tastebuds. 

TASTING THINGS. Let's learn it all. 

Leave your questions for him below! 

Comments

Allegra Favila

What is the truth about being a “supertaster”?!

Nico Price

Why do some tastes feel like they have taken up residence on my tongue while others are so fleeting?

Leanna Shuster

Different cultures and traditions seem to sort tastes into different categories and different numbers of categories. Is there any real biological basis for there being a certain number of taste varieties?

Evan Davis

Is it true that cats can't taste sweet? I heard that they think cantaloupe tastes like meat to them

Matt Hirschl

Cilantro. What’s the deal. I’ve heard people like/dislike due to genetics. Some think it tastes like toothpaste. What is happening???

Justine Doll

Why did COVID-19 change some people’s sense of taste

Deanna Roberson

What animal has the most taste buds? Is it humans?

Neeko Scraps

Why do tastebuds get so irritated amd painful with sweet and salty food? My friend calls them sugar herpes lol

Allegra Favila

How do our taste buds change as we age?

Clay Mohrman

What’s the deal with Cilantro? Why do some people hate the taste and others love it? Is it really genetic?

Fiona Dobson

Can we have a thorough debunking of that tongue taste map??

Allison P

Cilantro, what is the deal?

Nico Price

Why are some tastes so inherently refreshing and others are so…oppressive? heavy? I don’t have a good descriptor for what I want to convey.

Naomi Jane

Can taste be affected by things like alcohol?

Stephanie Broertjes

How do we handle spicy (like hot wing-type spicy) and why do some folks want more of it?? (hi, I am folks. I love eating spicy food to deal with severe allergies)

Naomi Jane

Why is it so closely linked to smell?!

Justine Doll

Does your taste actually change as you age? When I was younger I didn’t like tomatoes and now I love them. Or does it have more to do with openness to try new things?

Tribecalledchef

How long does it take to develop a taste for something?

Melanie Metzger

Yes! Like where does "umami" fit in now?

J

Why oh why does cilantro taste like soap?!

Allegra Favila

What is the historical debate around umami? I don’t think it was always recognized as a core/basic taste

Kayla Pilcher

What's with the weird genes where some people think cilantro tastes like soap? Can that be fixed?

Paul Smith

What's up with "cleansing the palate" during wine tastings?

Alex Glow

How closely intertwined are smell and taste? Side question: when fish “smell bait” are they not just tasting the water?

Maya Platypus

Do different textures of foods affect the flavor? Also what is the mechanism of "magic berries" that changes foods from sour to sweet

Naomi Jane

I had COVID 8 months ago, and my sense of taste has come and gone in waves ever since. Is there any way to coax it back, or any timeline on completelrecovery of it?

Amanda Galloway

Why are personal tastes so varied? What’s going on to make me love the taste of olives while my husband can’t stand them?

Justine Doll

Why does everything taste 10x better when you’re stoned? Is there an actual scientific reason for it?

Nico Price

Can we train ourselves to love tastes we don’t immediately love? How to do this?

Kayla Pilcher

Is it true that a big percent of our taste is related to smell?

Melanie Metzger

Is there a way to "train" your tastebuds to like or appreciate different flavors?

S-R Patreon Content Dependency

What does “umami” taste like?! I know that MSG is supposed to have an umami taste, but (to me) MSG tastes … sweet??? Is umami a salty-sweet taste??? Are my taste-buds broken?!

Lauren B

How much can my likes and dislikes change when it comes to taste?

Julia Fisher

What is the deal with salt changing flavor?

Gina Woolsey

Why are some people able to taste more things, like some people taste more bitterness in the same foods? Is it just a matter of having different chemoreceptors? On a related note, how do you study a subjective experience, where it's perceived differently for different people, or even at different times of day?

EdNoGG

Have you ever watched Anime? Have you heard of the God Tongue from the show Food Wars? Is this possible? Can someone have such an acute sense of taste they’re god like? https://youtu.be/vmof_6-Y8dM

Audrey Ng

Why do we have cravings? Are they related to nutritional needs? How have they changed with the rise of processed/engineered foods?

Katherine Westfall

Does 100% of taste occur in the tastebuds? How does scent affect taste? Is that our brain combining the 2 senses?

Alex Glow

What are the evolutionary benefits of super tasters versus those with low taste bud counts?

Brittney Corrigan

What's the deal with cilantro and some people loving it while others think it tastes like soap?

Nico Price

What are cultural impacts on taste? I’m thinking about “native hot” versions of things like Indian or Thai food.

Kendall M

Why do our tastes change as we grow? Why is it common for neurodivergent people to be picky eaters (I know for me it’s a texture thing but I’m wondering if there’s like a scientific explanation for it? And do taste and texture go hand in hand?)

WildPackofDogs

Why does smoking marijuana have a flavor enhancing quality but long term tobacco use dulls or eliminate your ability to tastes?

Naomi Jane

Related: my tolerance of spice has increased significantly, is that likely to stay?!

Patricia G

Is taste affected by allergies? I'm allergic to onions and I find that they taste awful to me.

JENN 'Benthopelagic squirrel' ALVAREZ

Any idea why I didn't like Mac and cheese until after I had a stroke, now I love it? Why are some flavors gross to ppl while others love it? Example: I think vanilla is disgusting and stinky. Yet some people like it. Are they all just wrong? 😂

Clifton Albrecht

How are humans able to perceive tastes with which we have no evolutionary history? E.g. if I were to lick a rock formed of minerals that do not exist on Earth on a planet in orbit around some distant star, what mechanism would my tongue use to perceive compounds for which no receptors exist? Also first time question asker! Thanks for the science, dad.

Anna Thompson

Why can some people tolerate spicy foods that other people can't? I have a friend who swears black pepper is too spicy for them

Taylor Faulkner

When I drink something hot and burn my tongue my taste is off. Are you not able to taste anything in that’s area until those tastebuds heal?

Quincey Robisheaux

How connected is sense of taste and sense of smell? I've noticed that what I smell can be different from what I taste, but I also know that people who lose their sense of smell can no longer enjoy the taste of food

Anna Thompson

Why do kids hate broccoli? Is there a gene like cilantro?

Molly Sisson

FTQA - How the heck do inflamed tastebuds happen, and how can we prevent them (or make them heal/go away quickly)? I feel like they just randomly pop up on my tongue and there isn't an obvious trigger like I just ate spicy food or something.

Lindsay Thomas

Have they discovered any more tastes since umami? I listened to another podcast (sorry Alie!) that scientists were looking into whether 'fat' was a taste, has there been any news on that?

Sarah

My husband always jokes that because I love spicy food, that I'm burning away my taste buds. And I do think that maybe I don't have a particularly sensitive or "refined" palate compared to him. But is it true or false that spicy food can damage taste receptors on your tongue?

Cat Lady

I'm 33 and I've had an eating disorder since I was 13. Throughout the years, I've heard (and read from research) that having an eating disorder affects taste and taste buds. For example, I've learned that people with ED "can't really taste" foods that are seasoned "normally" for "normal people" and that we have to heavily salt or spice our food in order to really taste it. I can totally attest to this. On the rare occasions I eat around "normal" people (when I'm not binging or restricting), I always add extra salt and/or hot sauce because everything tastes so bland. The "normal" people who eat with me say the food tastes properly seasoned. I'm sure there is a mental/emotional aspect to this, because whenever I try to eat like a "normal" person, I get so excited that I'm finally tasting tacos, for example, for the first time in 20 years. And, when I binge, I eat so mindlessly that I don't really taste anything. I'm curious what really is going on.

Megan Younce

I'd love to hear if they have any insight into the covid/loss of taste and smell correlation that occurred with some folks (my bf, but not me for ex) I also would like to hear about the cilantro thing so I can tell my niece to stop being a dick to my sister about not liking it ;) Also, just generally looking forward to hearing about why some people like certain things and other's don't.

Ketta

Why are taste and smell so connected? I lost my sense of smell after a few bouts of chronic bronchitis, and like a year later noticed that my sense of taste is really messed up too.

Kayla Pilcher

My husband (first time question asker for him!) wants to know why beer tastes better cold. Or why any food/beverage needs a certain temperature to taste "right"

Molly Sisson

I second this question! What is the science behind your high taste??

UltraCheese

What's up with taste buds getting swollen and painful? And what's the best way to deal with them, bcuz cutting them off with nail clippers hurts

Andrea Devlin

What causes people's taste buds to differ? Some foods that taste great to me may taste terrible to other people and visa versa.

Molly Sisson

I would like to know this too. I don't like foods I used to love, and I love food I used to hate.

Kelli Brockington

Came here to ask this: Is there any correlation between taste & texture of what is being eaten? I know there are issues with folks that are neurodivergent that have issues with texture and may only eat certain items due to the texture - not necessarily the taste.

Matt Ceccato

How often are our taste buds replaced? Do they grow and shed like skin?

Amanda

Will I ever be able to eat spicy food without pain?

Katie Sharp

When I lost my sense of taste after having covid, I got different tastes back slowly one after the other (first sweet, the salty, that kind of thing). Is this similar to how a baby's sense of taste develops? Or are they able to taste everything from birth?

Michelle Boyle

Why did the COVID virus deactivate taste receptors, with the big exception of salt? (At least to me, all I could taste for nearly a month was salt.)

Megan Younce

oh also! Has he read Gulp by Mary Roach? :)

UltraCheese

I hear the reason for this is that unseasoned broccoli is usually served to kids? And that adding garlic or some other seasoning fixed it

Emily Hean

Is it inherent that humans and some animals prefer the taste of cooked meat/food?

Justine Doll

What is the neurochemical pathway for taste? Like how are the actual food “tastes” translated to “taste signals” in the brain?

JJ

Is there a reason why people have inclinations towards some tastes, broadly speaking? Some people have a sweet tooth, some people like bitter things or spicy things, etc.

Feye

Can you train to become a better taster? How?

Megan

It does? I feel like good beer is better at room temp and assumed that the reason why so many big beer companies encourage ice cold temps is because it numbs the taste buds, so you can't taste how bad it is 😅

Justine Doll

What area of the brain is responsible for taste and can a brain injury change your taste?

Amber

Is the thing where different parts of your tongue is responsible for different tastes true? If so, is it pretty consistent for everyone or do some people experience certain flavors on different parts of the tongue than others?

UltraCheese

Adding to this, why can I handle east Asian spicy food but central American spicy food kills me?

shizzamX

What's up with that flavor map? Is there any truth to it?

Katie Sharp

Ooh, also, I read somewhere that the reason babies and kids don't like your typical healthy green vegetables, is because things that taste mildly bitter to adults taste SUPER bitter to small humans. Is this true, or is my two year old just being a winey little bitch?

Quincey Robisheaux

My husband has a question: Are there multiple kinds of bitterness, like how there's 3 different spicy chemicals, or is there just the presence of a specific chemical that always triggers bitter flavor?

Molly Sisson

I wonder about taste vs texture too! I am ND too & would not consider myself picky but DO very much have a thing about certain food textures. Cannot eat slimy foods (e.g. oysters) or rubbery foods (e.g. tofu or scallops) to save my life. How does the perception of texture work??

Will

Also, if this isn’t true where did that story come from?

Scott Hanley

Mucho Gusto. Obvious question in light of Covid side effects is this: How does the virus knock out taste and smell, and what does it take for a body to recover these senses after Covid. My 93 year old mother-in-law was in hospital for 45 days following a stroke, and on day 28 was diagnosed with a case of Covid. They moved her quickly to a medical unit where remdesivir was given to kill the virus. But now a month after discharge from hospital she still has not regained lost senses.

Lene Olszeth

I've never been able to smell, but as far as I can tell, I have the same sense of taste as "normal" people. What's wrong with me? Stuff never tastes different when I have a cold or am in an airplane, but apparently it does for normal humans?

Average_pi

Why does coffee taste like bitter trash to me and like actual food to my parents

Kelli Brockington

Also - why do I get 1 rouge tastebud that swells up after eating certain things - Tahini or anything with lots of Lime Juice...

Stacy Litwin

I'd love to hear about taste and it's relationship with those who have ARFID (like myself)

Megan Lynch

How is taste studied in other species? We can look at their genetics, what they have similar receptors for, but can we say we know what their taste experience is?

Jess Loeffler

How are taste and smell so connected if taste buds do the tasting? Do our taste buds also "smell" and taste things via the air?

Megan

Related but not relevant: I crave chocolate when I'm dehydrated. It's weird.

Lisa

What causes there to be such a difference in phases of taste? I get the layered food products, but what about a chip or drink that may taste good at first, then horrible, and then has a different after taste?

Kelsey lore

What is with the cravings and taste changes with pregnancy?

Lazer Introlegator

What is the deal with everyone having different taste preferences? Are there different taste buds for people who like a food vs people who don't like the same food or is something else?

Adam Foote

I think I'm a supertaster - lots of foods taste like poison to me that most people don't notice (examples: cauliflower is the WORST and beer tastes almost exactly like a handful of pennies). Why are there so many different bitter taste receptors? Is there a hypothesis about why supertasting evolved? What can I do to actually enjoy a salad once in a while?

phinn markson

I am SOOOOOO busy right now, but I must attend to this.I am so excited about this episode. Please, oh please, as them to go into detail about how taste and smell work in concert and to what degree taste requires smell. And I do mean down to the molecular level :) if possible. This has been such a long conversation between my partner, and I would love to add more fuel to the fire. Thank you!!!!!!!

Will

I once saw a documentary about ice cream, and the ice cream company had an official tester who used a special golden spoon that was supposed to not contaminate the taste of the ice cream. Is there any truth to this or did he just want an excuse to use a super bougie spoon?

Annette DeSouza

FTQA: Can you desensitize your taste buds to certain flavors? I love cinnamon creamer in my coffee, but after a while, I can't taste it anymore. Is that a normal thing?

Yngvi

Is there any difference in taste buds if we would compare humans before few thousand years ago and now? what do you think in which direction will it evolve further

Megan

What's up with those "magic berries" that change how we perceive flavor? Are there any applications in which those could be used as more than a party trick?

zombot

Explain “acquired” taste. Examples: Kids’ cereals do not appeal to me as an adult, but I do like things like Guinness stout, martinis, medium-cooked steak, and black coffee.

Sher Kelz

Why do some foods taste different to people after their taste comes back from COVID? I have family members who now hate peanut butter and/or fish sauce when they liked it before!

NanoNaturalist

I'm a supertaster and can't do any amount of coffee, grapefruit, beer, or wine but my favorite foods are EXTREMELY sour (I would live on pickles and vinegar if I could). Is there a tendency for supertasters to have strong preferences for certain flavors or am I just weird?

Deacon Raid

I’ve been relistening to episodes of Bugs Need Heroes podcast this morning so I’m excited for Native Bees. In one episode (bug basics) they talk about how insects taste things with their feet! My question would be about how our buttholes can taste things? Or our lips? And how much is smell? I’m sure the “five taste” diagrams from kindergarten decades ago weren’t accurate.

zombot

Butterflies taste with their feet, is this true?

Deacon Raid

Also vampire bats lost their sense of taste for most flavors since they just drink blood and I’ve heard cats can’t taste sweet things (but mine still love ice cream)

BeckytheSassySeagrassScientist

So what does it actually mean to be a super taster? I have a friend who is incredibly sensitive to spicy and bitter foods (aka is a food weenie jkjk she's great) and blames this on being a super taster. The thing is, I've done norther blot lab tests and licked the paper etc and I'M a super taster! And I love spicy and bitter foods! What gives?

Audrey Pearson

Why did my mouth taste horrible the whole time I was pregnant? Chewing gum only layered on another flavor on top of the yucky flavor.

Erin Unson

Where did that myth of having different areas for different tastes come from? How did it get debunked?

Melanie Lee

Are there animals that have superior tasting abilities? What about inferior? I know for instance dogs don't seem to taste much, they just inhale any object on the floor.

Stephanie

My husband has been on a journey to increase his spice tolerance, and it's working! He can now eat way spicier things than he could just a few years ago. What's actually happening though? Is he killing off taste buds or just learning to love the pain?

zombot

I love spicy foods, but my heat tolerance is not as high. Is this a genetic thing? Can I “train” myself to increase it?

BeckytheSassySeagrassScientist

Why have we evolved to enjoy the taste of foods that are bad for us? Sugar is pretty much only terrible for us, but oh so delicious! I know some foods are engineered to overload our little brains and make us keep buying them (lookin at you Doritos!) but sugar is sort of relatively natural.

Connor they them

I was recently listening to a podcast where the hosts are from the UK and they mentioned that lots of people there think that Hershey's chocolate tastes like vomit. What causes geographical taste preferences like that? Can genetics play a factor in what something tastes like? Also what's up with when people give up soda and then try it again after a long time and it tastes different to them? Is their memory faulty or has an actual change occurred in the way they perceived the taste?

Rebecca Roehm

Why did COVID mess with people’s taste?

Cierra

Is there any sort of evolutionary benefit to different individuals liking different food flavors? Is there any benefit to not liking mundane/not dangerous food flavors?

Alex Glow

Please help me solve this debate with my husband: is a dislike of cilantro genetic or personal. Can you learn to love it?

BeckytheSassySeagrassScientist

What's the deal with pika? Only a brain mix up or is it a taste bud mix up too? Is there even a difference???

zombot

Why do I sweat when I eat spicy foods? What does capsaicin have to do with raising my body temperature?

Jonathan Slowey

Is spicy food actually causing us pain/damage or is it psychosomatic? Can you train yourself to tolerate super spicy things?

Kristen Alberty

* I have tasted the strip that help you determine if you're a supertaster and found that I am in fact a supertaster! My sense of smell is by far my weakest sense, and I feel like it actively impedes my ability to taste. How closely are the two senses linked?

Maggie

Is there any validity to the claims that milk/soda/etc taste better out of a glass bottle than a plastic one? Can we actually taste the container or is this some sort of placebo thing

Olivia Welsh

Is it true that your taste buds change every 7 years? also what’s up with not being able to tolerate spicy foods? I’ve been trying spicy foods for YEARS and nothing has changed. Will I always be a wimp when it comes to spicy foods? Am I doomed to eat bland forever or should I keep trying to build a tolerance?

Nathan-Andrew

If the 4 basic tastes (or 5, or 6, or…) are the tongue’s way of measuring chemical composition, why do we all seem to experience them so differently? Is it a difference in our physical capabilities for detection? Is it psychological preferences? Other?

zombot

Why do we perceive mint/ mint oil & menthol as “cool” and cinnamon as “hot”? Thinking of breath mints and gum.

Sarah Love

Do people who taste extreme bitterness in broccoli really have a certain gene that causes it? Or is that nonsense?

Riikka Puttonen

How is it possible that something can smell rank yet taste very delicate and mild at the same time? Like some cheeses for example. It seems like it goes against the idea that taste and smell are linked. (pronounced REEK-kah POOT-toh-nen)

Diana Teeter

Why do I think cilantro tastes like soap?

Brad Morgan

How do miracle berries work and what's the latest medical uses for them?

fullmetalknee

What do people like and not like different tastes?

fullmetalknee

Why do I think cilantro tastes like soap sometimes but not other times??

Nico Price

Why does my one sister steal steal bullion cubes out of my pantry to suck on & my entire eyeball shrivels up at the thought?

Amanda

This! *How* does the virus knock out your sense of smell/taste when there is nothing [read: snot] blocking my sniffer?

Alia Myers

Ok what the fuck is up with the cilantro thing?

Donoiw

Finally, a whole science That supports my monkey-brain urge to lick everything I see what it tastes like. Why for my Monkey-brain want to do the thing?

Alia Myers

Why do we *feel* differently about how things taste? Are we actually tasting different things chemically.or is that just perception?

Alia Myers

Is taste genetic? I stg me and my mom hate all the same foods but maybe thats just bc i was told from a young age theyre disgusting so i internalized that

Alia Myers

Do our tastebuds actuallt change as we get older or do we just become more accustomed to certain things?

Alia Myers

How related are taste and smell really?

Alia Myers

Tips for eating things i dont like , say, when i dont want to be rude at a dinner party?

Alia Myers

Tips for learning to like things ?

Alia Myers

Is spicy food actually harming me or do i just feel like my mouth is on fire?

Alia Myers

Can eating too much spicy food damage taste buds?

Cate Muenker

How can I learn how to eat spicy food? I’m a super taster and I really can’t even eat Tabasco sauce. Do I just keep suffering through the pain till I get used to it? {I own a spicy peanut company (Hot Monkey Nuts), but I can’t handle the heat! I’d like to be able to eat my own products!}

Alia Myers

Why do i have such a sweet tooth and how do i stop craving chocolate at midnight?

Alia Myers

What the fuck IS a taste bud?

Benjamin N DuBow

I've heard human vision is better than say, dogs', but far worse than mantis shrimp (or dolphins & hearing, e.g.). Where do we fall in the taste-superpower spectrum? And do insects have taste buds??

Jean Caruso

Is there such a thing as too spicy?

Jean Caruso

Where does the term "umami" come from

Monica Sweet

My twin sister and I are constantly teased by the rest of our family for saying that “plain food” is spicy - biggest culprit forever has been black pepper. (I.e. this Caesar salad is spicy today isn’t it?) Are we actually just super tasters and our lil buds work better than theirs?! THANKS POD DAD !

Jean Caruso

I'm so curious why my taste buds have changed from thinking cilantro is soap to a very delicate spice. Why did this change?

Sam

How do we even taste stuff? In a molecular level.

Jean Caruso

What is the best flavor combo in your opinion?

Megan Dawe

Do our taste buds really change/renew every 7 years? Does this actually impact whether we enjoy different foods or is it just getting new tools to do the same job?

Sam

Is there a reason why we can taste different things like sweet, sour, bitter, ect?

Megan Dawe

Am I damaging my tastebuds when I take a sip of too hot tea?

Mandie Viscusi

Why did some Covid sufferers loose taste? Why were oranges somewhat tastable, and why have some folks gotten taste back, while others haven’t? Why did taste change upon return- just being without it for that brief period of time?

Gordon Haas

I'd like to know about the links between taste & genetics. Like why do some folks hate cilantro, and what is PTC (Phenylthiourea Phenylithiocarbamide) test paper, and what does the ability to taste it tell us about somebody's genetics?

JLilz

First time question asker! Thoughts on how the movie Ratatouille depicts different flavors (each flavor has a color/shape and sound, and some fit together and some do not)? Is that more of an artistic representation of how we perceive tastes, or can synesthesia also cause people to sense flavors in that way? Thanks!

Michelle Chick

why can your brain make you think you're tasting something different than what you are? like if you think you're sipping some lemonade, but it's really water, it doesn't quite taste like either...

Trevor Hagedorn

Also, I have heard that spicy is sensed just like touch. Can you confirm or deny this?

Maren Prophit

What do you think of certain foods being a "developed taste" over crowd pleasers, and could that be changed depending on someone's diet and a child vs when they get older?

Calla Turnbull

Can I get better at picking out tastes or flavours?! It seems like some people are really good at this and I'd love to be someone who can pick up on and name specific components

Mandii Smith

I did a dna geneology test that include other things. Of which, based on my genes they said I’m likely to have a high sensitivity to bitter taste. How much of our taste is learned vs genetic?

Mandii Smith

For the record- I do feel like I’m really sensitive to bitter taste.

Handrea

Why does my mouth demand chocolate almost all day everyday?

S Bartfast

Are there any effective techniques to improving our overall sensitivity to flavor?

Rozelyn Hesby

I’ve heard that apples, onions, & potatoes are all the same but the smell they produce makes them taste different. Sounds sketchy to me - fact or flim flam?

Linda Wenker

First time question asker. Why do some people taste soap when they eat cilantro? Also, is it true that people who flat out HATE vegetables are experiencing a different flavor than veggie lovers? Is there an enzyme in our mouths that makes this the case?

TJ Mckenna

Why are taste and smell so connected to memory? And why does thinking about a certain taste or smell sometimes trigger a physiological response? For example, when i think about how sour warheads are, my mouth instantly starts watering.

Sadie Vipond

How do we learn to appreciate food in a way that isn't just getting nutrients in our body but in taking time to taste our food?

Spencer Parks

Is it only the brain that decides whether something tastes good or bad? Or do we all have different taste buds and tongues? I find it fascinating that some people love certain things (like coffee) but other people hate certain things (like coffee).

curly fry

What’s the deal with cilantro and genetics?

curly fry

Why do some people like spicy things and some don’t? Why do I literally feel like there is fire in my mouth when I eat a grain of pepper?

curly fry

What determines people’s individual tastes?

Sonja S

What’s the deal with super tasters? And are perimenopausal middle aged women more likely to be super tasters? (Or is it super smellers?)

Savannah Glenn

why does everyone have such a unique taste palette and preferences?

Brooke Hicks

Why do flavors affect the way we feel? Is that just me? X)

Mark Calonico

Fist timer. Wine tasting room employee and home wine maker. Super tasters: myth? Is the palate sequential: sweet, sour, dry or everything all at once? Does it make sense for individuals to come up with a schema that makes sense to them for wine tasting?

Madelynn D

First time question asker, LOOOONG time listener ☺️ I’m vegan and I haven’t eaten cheese in 7 years. I’m not the biggest fan of vegan cheese (for obvious reasons), but I do eat it sometimes and think that the good vegan cheese can taste good. It tastes awful to my non-vegan loved ones. I KNOW that if I were to have eaten the vegan cheese back when I was still eating dairy, I would have hated it! Now I don’t care, and it tastes fine! Why?! Do our tastebuds adjust?! Can we train ourselves to like the taste of anything? How?! Can hack it and just train my tastebuds to hate the taste of candy and go bonkers for kale?!

Holden A. Goose

Does pregnancy affect the taste buds? Is that why pregnant ladies have weird cravings?

Holden A. Goose

Can people be born with different tolerances for different tastes or is taste purely an acquired thing?

Gwen H

First time question asker -- super excited for this episode as a huge fan of all things food. My mom is a "supertaster" which if I understand correctly means she has a larger number of tastebuds and therefore (in her case) she's super sensitive to bitter and sour flavours, and only enjoys eating things that are salty / sweet / cheesy. She's also very sensitive to stronger food smells. My question is : I'd heard things like hypnotherapy can have surprising results in situations like this. I'm a bit skeptic but very curious -- could something like hypnotherapy help people overcome taste aversions, even if those aversions could be due to something physical, like having more tastebuds?

Lee Wang

I've read that while we have to learn what smells good/bad, our sense of taste is in-born, like for bitterness (probably as a way to detect toxic/spoiled food). So why is it that I enjoy dark chocolate so much? And why do other people enjoy bitter booze?

Heathcliff the Cat

How, exactly, are taste and smell linked? I don’t remember ever having a sense of smell but I do taste. A lot of people that first learn of my anosmia ask me if I taste food and are seemingly shocked when I say that I do…

Christine Fisher

First time question asker! One fateful night a few years ago I had a pad thai while I was out for dinner and it was horrible but I couldn't put my finger on why. After a few more meals out I realised that the common factor in the meals I disliked was cilantro (or coriander as we call it in the UK!) I really struggled to eat a meal if there was any cilantro up in there, but I had never noticed before this one pad thai?! And there's no way I tasted cilantro for the first time at the age of 26. Now I find the taste genuinely offensive and I can wholeheartedly say it is my most hated food. Is there some kind of cilantro switch?! How can such a strong aversion to a certain taste happen almost overnight?!

Paul Hoffman

Why did it take so long to discover umami? Or was it quasi-discovered earlier and forgotten or dismissed?

Amelia Heins

Does water have a taste, in your opinion? I am someone who hated the taste of water since I was a kid so I add a little splash of juice to make it more palatable. Why do I not like the taste of something my body needs so desperately?!

Scarlet P

Heat and cold seem to affect how things taste - why is this?

Greg Walloch

How many taste qualities are there? Is it true if you hit them all in a meal you will reach satiety sooner regardless of how much you've actually eaten? Like the idea of a Thali in South Asian cooking.

Erin Burbidge

How sensitive are human taste buds compared to other animals? Does it correlate with how good your sense of smell is, or is it more complex than that?

Zac Klenske

is “Supertasting” related to taste bud number? Can you count taste buds? What are taste buds?

Zac Klenske

Is tasting the main aspects (sweet salty bitter sour) related to tongue location? Is that flim flam?

Dae

Why is my sense of spicy so much more “tolerant” than others? I can’t tell others things aren’t spicy because my “This isn’t spicy at all” is higher than most people can tolerate.

Katie Hultman

I have this question too! My neighbor was hit by a car while riding his bike and had extensive brain trauma including losing his ability to taste anything. Can loss of taste be indicative of brain injury?

Bre Snodgrass

How objective (or genetic) is taste, really? Seems to me like a pretty subjective/learned/cultural thing…esp considering how much taste can change over the course of a person’s life.

Isabelle Brooks

How do those ‘miracle berry’ sour to sweet tablets work? Does hot sauce kill your tastebuds?

Bre Snodgrass

How does someone get into your line of work…? 😅 Asking as someone who would love to learn more about the ins/outs of taste & smell, but with no idea where to do that or what a “career” tract would look like.

Kai Kishimoto

Does Covid19 only affect the olfactory nerves, or can it directly affect the taste buds?

Jenna Congdon

Why can I pick out individual smells and tastes so much better than my husband? I don't think I'm a super taster, and I'm not a picky eater. But to me tastes are like a huge rainbow of flavors and he just can't sense it as well. What's up with the variation between people? How and why does it vary?

Katie Hultman

What is the deal with geographic tongue and why do acidic foods make it hurt so much? Also, how does chemo affect your taste buds?

Jenna Congdon

I think I know! When something is cold, you can't smell it as much- something about the particles being left able to fly around in cold air (physics!). So the taste is diminished too. I'd love to know if I'm right on that!

Michael Heiker

best and worst tasting experience yet ?

Julia Taylor

Same question!! My boyfriend hates cilantro but I love it, gotta know the deal with cilantro

Michael Heiker

are there any new tastes discovered or is it all kinda ‚well known‘ territory ?

Nicole Kleinman

Do different taste buds really pick up different sensation on different parts of the tongue or what is going on there?

Nicole Kleinman

How come some people love spice and some cannot even have a little?

Amelia Frank

Why do taste buds occasional hurt and die off? Like, so much pain for such a minuscule thing!

Amelia Frank

Also, does pregnancy change your tastebuds at all? (Asking for a friend, who is 30 weeks pregnant and annoyed that their tongue hurts…it is me. I am the friend)

Isabella

Why do some things taste like one thing to one person, but different to another? Also, why do brains either like the thing they’re tasting or hate it? And how does it vary from person to person?

Kate Georgia

What makes certain beverages - particularly thinking of wine or beer - go better with different foods?

wendy Forman

My husband has lost much of his sense of smell and therefore taste (not from Covid but from serious sinus surgery). Is there anything he can do? Is it worth going to the Monell Center- we live near there in center city Philly. He can taste very sweet and very spicy. He can probably taste salty but he is on a serious cardiac lowsalt diet.

wendy Forman

P.S. What's the deal with cilantro?

Aaron Cooper Swor

My whole family has geographic tongues. What's up with those and is there any good remedy? because it can be painful

Scarlet P

How much do genetics impact sense of taste, as opposed to what foods you are raised on or accustomed to?

Olivia Eliasson

Does what you eat when you are pregnant affect the child's taste?

Patricia Evans

Why do some people love cilantro and others (like me) are certain it tastes like soap?

Mel Shay

My question is the same as Patricia's. I love cilantro but my daughter says it tastes like soap. Wondering why?

Nik Smith

Is it true that your tastes change? For example most of my life I HATED ketchup, but a few years ago, suddenly - delicious.

Alannah Wood

Is taste genetic? My whole dad's family HATES honey and even I don't really like it? Also is it true that airplane food tastes so terrible because of the altitude? Also love the show! You should do a feild trip to Australia Ali!

Juno

Hey! First time question asker, extremely long time listener here! Very excited about this one! Is there a correlation between texture and perceived taste - for example do crunchier/crispier things seem saltier, and softer foods seem sweeter? I suppose water content might have a lot to do with this, but curious to see what you think!

Jean Pompeo

Is it true that the things that we enjoy tasting are linked to the memories we associate with them? Is it harder to discover/enjoy/crave new flavors as one gets older?

Kathleen Deyling

What’s up with super tasters? I heard they have more tastebuds. And that’s partly why some people can only handle mildly spicy food while others can eat hot that would put more sensitive folks in the hospital.

Stephanie Leské

Ooooooo tongues! 👅 OK, my question is, how do our taste buds change in some ways then in others never? For example I'm 34 & cannot stand ainseed/liquorice tasting things. Up until 30... I would have said the same for coffee.... now I cannot live without coffee & the stronger the better with no sugar! And please tell us EVERYTHING about the 6 taste profiles! sweetness, sourness, saltiness, bitterness, and savoriness (also known as savory or umami)!!!! What's the difference between savory and salty?

Annmarie Everhart

Why is taste so strongly impacted by sense of smell?

Kheyd

Don’t know if this has to do with tastebuds, but why does spicy food affect some people more than others and why do some peoples’ throats burn and not just their mouths?

kim w.

Why do our tongues automatically know the texture of something even if we're not actively licking said object? (e.g. if you imagine licking a carpet or a brick wall you know the exact texture and feel of it even without doing it)

Erin Gunderson

Cilantro tastes like soap to some. "Smoke" in mezcal or scotch like burnt plastic to others. Is it a physical structure difference or a neurological/perception thing?

Madison Hunter

I learned in culinary school that genetics can play a factor in what you find tasty and what foods you are repelled by, for example I know a lot of people think cilantro tastes like soap but I don't associate it with that at all and think it's delicious, but I cannot eat cruciferous vegetables like cabbage or brussel sprouts because all I can taste is yucky bitterness 😝 How much do genes play a role in determining what we find delicious?

Madison Hunter

Also I've heard that food will taste more delicious when it is prepared for you versus when you make it yourself, is that true?

Shannon O'Grady

My mom has a geographic tongue and supposedly that affects taste. What is up with that?

Shannon O'Grady

Some foods are impacted by smell and others not (like jelly beans I heard) is that true?

Daniel J McDonald

What is taste for? I always assumed it was to help us eat safely, but people get food poisoning all the time. There are plenty of naturally toxic things that taste good, (poke berries, nightshades, mushrooms, lead...). And plenty of harmless or beneficial things that taste plain gross (cantaloupe, asparagus, fish oil...) . What's going on here?

Shannon O'Grady

How did covid make us lose our sense of taste?

Amy Copler

When I had a perforated eardrum I lost some taste on that same side of my tongue, but only in the front half portion. What's the deal? I think I got some of it back, but also, perception is weird and maybe I just got used to it. Can you explain?

Katie Wilkinson

I have wondered this for MONTHS - I’ve noticed that when I “partake”, I become WAY more sensitive to spicy foods. Is this a thing? Am I just over sensitive due to the high? Am I imagining it? Is it strain specific? Sorry I’m too curious!!

Rik

I wonder this all the time - well, too much time! My sister got that and her descriptions of it lost my appetite for a while there...

Pseudonym Jones IV

Umami? Why do the Japanese get it, but not European-esque cultures?

Pseudonym Jones IV

Anecdotally, yes: Until around the age of 35, the only 'ethnic' cuisines I could stand were Chinese-for Americans and Italian-for-Americans. Now I would be hard pressed to choose between Ethiopian, Indian, Vietnamese, and Ecuadorean as my favorite...

Amy Narimatsu

Why do tastes change over time? Ex. I used to despise green beans for the taste but now I love them😅

Will Clark

Can one learn to experience taste differently? Can you train your taste?

Lisa St

olives, aren't they umami?

Lisa St

Have you had salmiakki? that ammonia salty super strong licorice that nordic countries are so fond of? I've only tried it once, and pretty much it didn't stay in, but I'd sure try it again even though I don't much like black licorice... but I do like absinthe, so I dunno... https://www.saveur.com/scandinavian-salt-licorice-salmiak/

Lisa St

I lost my sense of smell and also taste long before covid, at the height of it all, bitter and sour were the things that were most appealing, and salty. Sweet was a waste (chocolate and turkey tasted about the same). Thankfully it got better, partly because of OTC allergy meds. Still not the super smeller I was, but at least everything doesn't smell like smoky old fish bait...

Krystal Symons

How does taste differ for neurodiverse people? When you suddenly lose interest in a loved food, is it the Chicken or the egg? Interest waining vs taste perception changed - Krystal Symons (sigh-mons 🇦🇺)

Krystal Symons

Why do some people have cucumber so much? - Krystal Symons (sigh-mons 🇦🇺)

Lisa St

Your question brings to mind Isabella Rossellini's Green P0rn0 series, she did one about shrimp. I love them (artistic, creative, scientifically accurate, educational), and her... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-CA9CNk_Xc

Lisa St

I adore cilantro but have this experience as well... I think when the cilantro bolts it tasts soapy. Maybe somebody else actually knows?

Elie Zwiebel

Swollen tastebuds: Are they actually a thing? If so, how? Why? How to address please?

Lisa St

I swear the water out of my copper pipe tastes better than the water out of the PEX (plastic) pipes.

Hannah Riedl

How can babies suck on lemons no prob?

Lisa St

WHOA WHAT? hahahaha... had to look that one up. Apparently it was discovered while researching fertility in rats. Who knew?

Taylor Clinton

My mom was born without a sense of smell and I just recently found out that for her, starbursts all taste the SAME. Regardless of color/flavor on the packaging 🤯 For example, the pink starburst and the yellow starburst taste exactly the same to her. WILD RIGHT?! They all just tastes sweet and fruity to her 😮 Same with skittles, gummy bears, etc. So my main question is: how much do we know about how our sense of smell affects our taste? Obviously it affects it quite a bit, but I wanted to know if there were any fancy science specifics that explain exactly HOW it happens, especially with certain flavors and such 🤔

Gemma

CAN BALLS TASTE ?????????

Gemma

What’s the correlation between sex and taste reception? Do people AFAB have more taste buds?

Parks

If someone looses some sense of smell, how is taste impacted? Can it be improved or restored? Especially in the long covid era! -Parks

Steven Jeffrey Lee

Is it true that as we age our bitter taste buds diminish, and therefore older people enjoy bitter foods more than younger folk?

Jason Lowenthal

Is there REALLY such a thing as "Super-tasters"? Also... Taste buds are in the head. How quickly/directly do they affect different parts of the brain?

Madeline DLC

Is there a way to heal damaged taste buds?

Sharika Elahi

Why does our taste change as we age? What are the mechanisms in our bodies that cause these changes?

Madeline DLC

When we remember a taste what is going on in the brain? Are we actually “tasting” the memory of a favorite food. For me it’s my mom’s chocolate coffee cake ;p

Emily Staw-fur

So I'm actually at a materials conference right now and one of the things I was discussing was somebody today was about using a different ceramic material for coffee cups that's breakable. But they raised the point that certain materials could actually change the taste of coffee. And it got me thinking about how there is actually a slight taste variation in my coffee when I drink it from a mug versus a thermos versus a paper cup. Is this all due to the relationship between smell and taste or is there something different here?

Emily Staw-fur

I had Covid back in 2021 and like many others I lost taste and smell. During that time the only taste I had was saltiness and to this day I feel like I have a low tolerance for salt. Can you provide any insight on what happened here?

Emily Staw-fur

Growing up I remember my mom having a strong distaste for sweet things and I could never understand that. But I feel like within the last year or so I suddenly have a low tolerance for sweet things. Why can kids handle sweet things so much better than adults?

wendy Forman

Thank you SO much for your reply

wendy Forman

I read it to my husband and he thinks he noticed that since he’s been taking Claritin and Zyrtec recently he has had some improvement

wendy Forman

With your response he will start using it regularly Thanks again

Storm

how on earth does it work?!

Storm

why does my tastes change as i get older? I used to hate tomatoes and onions and now i can’t get enough

Storm

*first time asker*

Jessica Beard

Why do certain drugs cause a weird, persistent taste in your mouth? I'm thinking of, for example, how many people (myself included) had a gross taste in their mouth the entire time while taking Paxlovid

Olivier Calas

Do you absolutely lose taste once you’ve lost your sense of smell?

Nathan Marion

I love olives. My partner hates olives. Are we tasting the same thing? Why are there some foods where people love it and others hate it? Is it mental? Chemical? Taste buds?

JD

i think i'm a super-taster - i'd love to know more about super-tasting/super-smelling.

Emily Yoshida

(first time question asker) I know that certain cultures note texture in a lot more detail than others - are there conversely cultures that pay a lot more attention to taste in comparison to the rest of the world?

Emily Yoshida

side note, enjoy philly! avoid all the mess on 95 if you can

Caitlyn Powell

Whats with that plant that makes sour things taste sweet? What's happening there?

Kristen Rosenblum

What is the evolutionary advantage to having tastebuds? Also- I heard some fish have tastebuds on the outside of their body?? Is that true and why???

Sydney Koenig

Question from my sister, an avid listener as well. Are there any other foods besides cilantro that people are genetically predisposed to like or dislike? Or taste completely differently?

princefancypants

(first time asker!) How connected are taste and smell for us anyway, and do we know why? Is that true for other animals, too?

mary de voe

(first time asker)My pontificating mind thinks it understands things but it really has no idea, please help?! Why does volume sometimes effect taste? Like, only shaved onion on liver pate, please - more oxidizing of the onion? M&Ms taste way better when you eat a bunch at once, why? - Because it means my sister is having less and that is oh-so sweet!? But also, ice cream just tastes creamier when it is hard packed and then ever so slightly softened - why?! Have I just shown my crazy cards? Thank you! (I also hope you love Philly - the Institute is a wonderful world for enquiring minds - do they still have the huge heart you can walk through?)

zombot

Please address the fact or flimflam that a male human has taste receptors in his scrotum, and that dipping one's balls into soy sauce actually allows said ball-haver to perceive the flavor of said Kikkoman.

zombot

There is a substance called DMSO, sold over the counter in pharmacies (in some states?), which is used as a topical pain reliever, but whose properties allow it to penetrate tissues and enter the bloodstream rapidly enough such that the user will experience a funny taste in their mouth. Explain please?

zombot

Is it true that when exposed to dangerously high doses of radiation, the subject will, air quotes, taste metal? How does this happen?

zombot

I think they're called M-berries or "miracle berries."

zombot

Why does aspartame cause an aftertaste? What even happens when we experience aftertaste? What are we? What is consciousness? WHY IS??

zombot

Talk about "notes" in tasting. Top notes, bottom notes, other notes? How are we supposed to taste pencil shavings in wine? Is it good to have a "refined palette"? Why?

zombot

I've never had Taster's Choice, Sanka, or any freeze-dried instant coffee. I have a feeling that Tasters would prefer coffee brewed with hot water and ground roasted coffee beans, given the Choice. What really is missing between instant and real gourmet shit?

zombot

Among the U.S. Armed Forces, it's been said that the Navy has the best-tasting food. Is it the cooks? The ships? The supplies? I mean, who has spent time in enough different branches to make an honest comparison anyway?

zombot

It's been proven that olfactory or gustatory sensory deprivation has led to decrease in calorie consumption in people. Is it a good idea to "turn off" (or maybe turn down) one's sense of smell or taste in order to try to lose weight? Are there drugs or other agents that can achieve this effect? Temporarily, of course.

Kim C

I love the sense of taste! So many questions! 1) How much does texture affect taste? Does that play into the whole substitute foods acceptance/non-acceptance? 2) How can you figure out if you're a super-taster? (I think I might be?) 3) Can I handle slightly spicier things now b/c my tastebuds are actually dying? What's the average turnover time of tastebuds, and does that slow down as we get older? 4) Is there anything genetic to why some people are picky eaters? 5) Geographic tongues - why? Is there an evolutionary advantage or something? 6) Umami: where did this extra taste description come from? It wasn't around when I was growing up.

rikspieks

How and why does taste change with age? (Does it actually or am I just weird?)

Edward Mills

How much ‘taste’ can someone still have without taste buds purely from olfaction? Is having no taste buds a hack for eating healthily?

Ryan Brubaker

Have you heard of the "miracle berry"? (turns sweet things sour and sweet things sour) how does that work?? is it witchcraft? placebo? Factory resetting my tastebuds??

Marvette Fudge

Have you studied taste from an Ayurvedic medicine perspective: the different taste we perceive being on certain parts of the tongue, and where in, what parts of the body to which they correlate and affect? Also why we evolved to taste certain things? And when we crave certain things it's our bodies sending a message of what we need nutritionally?

Philip Dunsdon

Why does one lose the sense of taste with COVID? Would the regaining of the taste buds after change food preferences?

Mimz

Is your sense of taste based on what you are fed from birth so quite cultural? Does that shape the formation of your palate in your brain? Does that make sense?

Cece Tincknell

I loooove food and drinks and trying/tasting new things but I want to get better at identifying and mixing flavors. Any tips on how to refine your pallet and focus on individual flavors?

Julia Vollmer

When I had covid none of the symptoms bothered me except for the fact that I lost taste and smell. I felt like I was living in an alternate reality! What causes this loss of taste, and how is it connected to smell?

Simran

Why do your tastebuds change so much even as an adult? Sometimes I'll re-try things I used to hate maybe three or four years ago and suddenly it starts tasting nice again. What is going on with my taste when that happens and is there any evolutionary reason why people go through this?

Amanda Lee

Why does chicken set the bar for taste? Why are so many things compared to the taste of chicken?

anthony willis

do your tastebuds really turn over and change every 7 years or is the a myth?

Mike Weichel

Is there such a thing as over tasters? Able to taste things in food others can’t or don’t?

Nathalie Jones

Uhhhhh so what's with covid taking away taste sometimes?

Mikayla Humiston

Why do your taste buds enlarge or become raised from the rest of your tongue when you burn your tongue? What happens when you burn your tongue, does your taste change? Does anyone else enjoy the slight twinge of pain when ripping raised/popped buds out with their teeth?

Sam and Katie

Is there a reason so many people enjoy carbonation besides the flavor of the drink? I cannot stand it (I don't like my drinks angry at me), but I don't know if that's because my family didn't drink much of it growing up so I only tried it as an adult and just don't have the acquired taste for it.

Nicole Kleinman

My husband and I hate cheese (and always get an audible gasp when we tell people). We are pretty sure it’s the texture and not the taste - but is there a way to tell?

Hannah Boyd

What's up with capsaicin and mint? I know their is some cool thing about them by chance being ligands for temperature receptors

Jenny Loome

Why do Americans like the taste of Hershey's chocolate (I love it) when the rest of the world apparently thinks it tastes like vomit?

Justin

This! I recently heard two people discussing the taste of celery in this context.

Justin

What’s up with the temperature of a food/drink affecting how it tastes? How is that difference interacting with our sense of taste?

Earl of Greymalkin

1) How many different taste receptors are actually there and how are they distributed on the tongue? How variable is this between people? (Are supertasters and undertasters real?) Comparing my descriptions and preferences for foods to my friend, I'm suspicious we have different sets of receptors and pick up on different things hahaha. 2) How does olfaction factor into how we taste foods? 3) How does temperature affect perception of taste? (Black tea hot should not have sugar, but iced tea absolutely needs it.) 4) What are sommeliers actually doing? How can they taste so many things when all I get is "eh, tastes like wine but is fruitier than the other one"? 5) How does tolerance for spicy stuff work? Do people who eat spicy a lot make their spicy receptors downregulate over time? If they stop eating spicy food for a while will they become more susceptible to it again? 6) How does the visual experience of food affect taste? What about texture? 7) Can you influence what someone tastes by telling them what to expect? Is this what good marketing will do? 8) Where are the top 5 places to eat where you live?

Jasmine Liu

Can you like the smell of something but not the taste?

the ren you know

Why isn't there a magical elixir that I can coat my tongue with that will make tannins not so yucky?

Christine Wenzel

How does taste change throughout one's lifetime? This could be why we get less picky as we become adults but also why do a like some foods I used to hate and dislike foods I used to enjoy?

Christine Wenzel

What's the relationship between taste and control? For instance, kids but also some adults can only eat really simple things (pbj, grilled cheese, plain cheese pizza) and so do more complex foods taste bad to them or is this some kind of response to the need to control?

Kep

is it possible to learn to like more foods/how can i force myself to get past not liking the taste of something in order to "learn" to like it?

Kieran H

Why does alcohol taste good to people who regularly drink but to it tastes like rubbing alcohol?

Brian Linton

Why do I get little sore spots on my tongue after eating some things, particularly sour things like some candies and fruits?

Sharon

Is there a difference in the number or distribution of different taste receptors in people from different areas of the world? Why do some cultures feature really spicy foods and others generally don’t appreciate strong spice? Is this nature or nurture?

Rebecca Morrison

FTQA - My mom had M.S. and would often have a symptom of here "tastebuds being off", why does that happen with auto-immune disorders/meds/etc?

Papa Curry Sauce

FTQA - Why do some people lose their sense of taste after getting covid?

Max G

I know this is anecdotal, but I looove the smell of coffee and think it tastes like dirt 😂

Mathea Graham

Do taste preferences between people have to do with variations in how our brains interpret taste signals or is it in the tastebuds themselves?

The Aerial Mapper

First time question asker! Why are we not biologically programmed to like the taste of things that are good for us? Re: broccoli 🤢

Keely Chavez

My BFF has a son who is autistic, she says in their community it is SO common that they will only eat "tan" food, especially chicken nuggets!

Keely Chavez

From the land of New Mexico where pain is a flavor <3

Specs Owl

Why and how does sick building syndrome affect people's taste? My friend completely lost his sense of taste for over a year, and it was only when he changed workplace that he realised what had caused it. How did that happen?

Cat Kessler

I heard once that taste changes with altitude and the people who select wines for airplanes make different choices than they would for sea-level drinking. Is this true, and how does that work?

Holden A. Goose

(sorry if this sounds incoherent, i'm not native and my english is a little rusty) My mom and I could be eating the same seafood dish, and taste completely different things. I hate seafood, my mom loves it. Most of the time, I'd complain the food tastes too fishy(i'm really sensitive to that fishy, briny seafood smell) while my mom claims the food tastes just fine. What exactly causes the difference between my mom and I? Is it a difference in taste buds or a difference in how our brains perceive flavors?

Joe Wilkie

is it still possible to “taste” food with our sense of smell even if we have defective taste buds?

Jay Miraldi

Why is it that sometimes if we are exposed to a taste enough times we “acquire” a taste for it, even if it initially tasted bad; whiskey, licorice, etc

Emma Fiori

What can I do about my stubbornly picky tastebuds? My super picky eating habits leave me ashamed to eat in public and constantly struggling to get healthy. But I just can't force myself to choke down a salad or much of other "health foods". Please share a magic trick for this desperately disgusted Mama!

Dominique McDermott

Are your tastebuds actually much stronger as babies/kids? And does repeated exposure make strong tastes less intense? I am a first time Mum doing solids and am convinced that my baby has stronger taste buds than me - I also remember the taste of veg etc being so much worse/stronger as a kid! My way around it has been tiny bits of veg over and over to get bub used to it... but not sure if that is how taste works?

Lee Horton

Why can't I distinguish a Starburst flavor with my nose plugged and eyes closed?

Cnidarian Knight

Why do some foods taste and smell mouthwatering to me (like Buffalo sauce and Parmesan cheese) but my partner thinks it is the most horrendous taste? Also, how and why are taste and smell so related?

etherealguppy

First time question asker. I feel like my sense of taste and smell changes depending on where I'm at in my menstrual cycle. It seems like my sense of smell is worse leading up to and during my period, then goes back to "normal" after its over. I also noticed that when I stopped taking birth control, I can actually taste the floral notes everyone was raving over in the Ethiopian coffee my dad gave me. Am I crazy? Because none of my menstruating friends say this is a thing!

Oliver Lacosta

Can we train our tastebuds through repetitive eating? I used to hate tomatoes but forced them down wanting to bond with my mom when she snacked on them, and now it’s one of my favorite foods!

granitestateofmind

I've always been curious how other senses - particularly touch, texture & temperature - seem integrated with taste in the brain, nearly indistinguishable from flavor - almost as if taste is a synthesis of all our sense inputs, with descriptive language from each: crunch is both texture and sound, but can also be associated with taste. I guess my question is, how and why do so many other senses affect and/or seem inseparable from taste? Carbonation is a great example. The "QQ" chewiness in so many Asian cuisines is another. The crunch of potato chips, al dente pasta, the creamy nitrogenation of a Guinness Stout - none are tastes, but all seem linked to flavor...

FizzyFish

First time question asker! Why do warm strawberries taste better & sweeter warm? Do they even taste better warm? Am I imagining things?!?

Madeleine Ash

First time question asker here – is it true that the different flavors (sour, salty, bitter, sweet, umami) are processed by receptors on different parts of the tongue?

Madeleine Ash

How do you train yourself to taste flavors like leather, cherry, etc. in wine or are sommeliers just full of shit?

Annabelle

Parosmia - the long Covid symptom that makes everything taste like garbage. Please talk about it, why it happens, how it happens, are there treatments or cures?

Katie King

How much does smell affect taste? Does texture also affect taste? One of the projects at my son's science fair was on "super tasters" and I participated with a series of test strips and the kid determined I was a super taster (can taste more subtle flavours than some people I guess). Do you think this contributes to why I dislike so many foods (on top of having ARFID which already makes eating hard)?

Ruby Chan-Frey

I think someone already said the wine thing (does it actually taste Oaky etc or are people full of shit) but I wanna +1 that

Ruby Chan-Frey

What makes spicy things different from other spicy things? I feel like jalapeño tastes very different from wasabi which is very different from the sichuan numbing spice which is different from cayenne pepper. What gives?

Heathcliff the Cat

I also don’t have a sense of smell and starbursts are all the same for me as well!! I always tell people, if you watch cooking competition shows, inevitably there will be an episode where the challenge is a ‘taste than make’ and it’s usually a soup or something with a sauce. I can taste, but I would bomb that challenge. Don’t ask me what spices are in something, because I will have no idea 😆

Lee T.

What affects our taste? Environmentally, naturally, hereditarily, habitually. I know that smell plays a significant role (and I can’t WAIT for your episode on the olfactory system), but how do other factors influence our sense of taste? My dad is a life-long smoker who smells and tastes better than anyone in the family, but science indicates that smoking negatively impacts those senses. Can you train your taste sense like you can train your smell sense?

Gemma

Why do people do a little dance when they taste something really good?