Do spicy foods taste especially hot? Do bitter or tart flavors make you wince? If so, you may be a supertaster. With more papillae, you taste more intensely.
Fact is, we do taste the same foods differently. Age and genes affect how many taste buds (found in papillae) we have on our tongue, throat, and mouth lining. Kids have more; older adults, less. Health problems may also diminish sensory ability. Because we eat foods that taste good to us, taste perception affects our food choices, nutrition, even health.
Whether you’re a supertaster or not, prepare food well; enjoy it at its peak freshness for the most flavor. Savor food slowly; chew well to release food’s full taste, aroma, and mouth feel. Eat a variety of foods to stimulate your taste buds. (Tip: Your senses are more acute when you’re hungry.)
Are you a supertaster?
- With a hole puncher, punch a hole in a small piece of wax paper.
- Put the hole on the tip of your tongue; wipe it with blue food coloring.
- With a mirror, magnifying glass, and flashlight, count the papillae. Nontasters only have five or six; supertasters have dozens of them!
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