SciCafe - Flavor labs - Science of Taste in American Museum of Natural History

This is not my usual type of blog.  No, I did not go to any restaurant nor any food-tasting event.

I actually learned something about myself at the SciCafe event at the American Museum of Natural History.

This is a monthly event that happens at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), but it is not available during the summer months of July and August.

It occurs during the first Wednesday evening of every month.

I confess that I sometimes do fall asleep - just too tired since this event takes place at 7 pm and sometimes it is just too dark in the room or exhibit area.

This event already took place on May 1, 2013.  The lecturer was Barb Stuckey, who is the professional flavor developer and author of TASTE: Surprising Stories and Science about Why Food Tastes So Good.

She discussed the five senses: touch, smell, see, hear, and of course, taste.

Then she talked about the 5 different tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, and umami.  Huh?  What is umami, you may ask?  I wondered about that too since she did not give a very good explanation.

So, I did some research.  This is from the following link: http://www.edinformatics.com/math_science/science_of_cooking/about_taste.htm

"Umami is a Japanese word meaning "savory" or "meaty" and thus applies to the sensation of savoriness -- specifically, to the detection of glutamates, which are especially common in meats, cheese and other protein-heavy foods. The action of umami receptors explains why foods treated with monosodium glutamate often taste fuller or just better."    Ahhh, so this is MSG.....never knew that was a taste.

I also found out that I am a SUPERTASTER.  We all did an experiment.  There was litmus paper in a cup that was given to all attendees.  We were told to put that on our tongue.  YIKES!!!!!  THAT TASTED SO BITTER as I exclaimed in my seat.  Barb apologized to the Supertasters in our group and told us to eat the two crackers, which I wolfed down immediately.  That is on the extreme end of tasters.  There are also tasters, who cannot taste anything and they will eat anything since they cannot really tell the difference.  Most people are in the middle and can taste the bitterness, but it does not bother them like it did to me.  Now, I understand why some food affect me more than others.

Finally, try this at home.  Get a jelly belly or jelly bean.  Hold it in your hand and hold your nose with the other hand.  Pinch your nostrils shut - no cheating.  Let me wait.  Ready?  Okay, put the jelly belly or jelly bean in your mouth.  Chew on it with your nostrils pinched tightly closed.  Interesting, right?  Some flavor, but you cannot tell what exactly.  Okay, now release your nose and taste the difference.  Wow - can you taste that?  The smell affects your taste bud.  When I first did this experiment, it reminded me of that animated cartoon - Ratatouille and pictures of the bursts came in my head.  Such flavors and why one must need their sense of smell to enjoy what we eat sometimes.

The sense of sight is not really necessary except to make sure you are not eating sloppily.  When experiments were done with people tasting beer in the dark versus tasting beer in the light, they usually get it wrong when the lights are on.

Lesson learned - trust your sense of smell, don't trust your sense of sight too much, and I am a supertaster and can taste the flavors very well, especially bitter stuff.  AVOID MSG at all costs!!!

Bon Appetit!!!!