How It's Used

"Many scientists argued that umami was not a separate sense, but simply a combination of the other four tastes - salty, sweet, bitter and sour."

—Frank Urquhart, "Is umami the secret to help potatoes pass the taste test?" The Scotsman, December 27, 2007.

"You probably have encountered the 'tongue map,' that illustration detailing how different parts of the tongue experience taste in distinctive ways. If you remember anything about the map, dismiss it all. Scientists say the map is fiction.

"'We've known it was wrong for 40 years,' said Bartoshuk. 'It's actually a litmus test about whether people know anything about taste at all.'

"Instead, the entire tongue detects taste. Bartoshuk says there are only four tastes: sweet, sour, bitter and salt."

—Douglas Brown, "Sweet & Sour Bacon ice cream? How about black pepper and strawberries? Chefs are going to crazy new lengths to create novel flavors," The Denver Post, March 29, 2009.

Also Known As (AKA)

The Four Tastes

Links

Related on eAlmanac
Second Sight
The Fifth Flavor
The Five Senses
Sixth Sense

Beyond eAlmanac
Wikipedia article on Taste

Product Links
Food: The History of Taste by Paul Freedman