What is the proof that different food tastes different?

[jaxwired]

Just kidding....

Although, an analogy can be made that people say that different cooking surfaces (teflon versus cast iron for instance) will result in the same food tasting different. Rather hard to prove this as well...

 

[nads]

its a bit like the forum banner. we all would say it is red. but do we see the same colour?

 

[Anonymous]

In fact its easy to tell with different cooking surfaces - try a good steak on a cast iron and a teflon - you'll see! Heat dissipates differently resulting in more/less moisture & taste loss!

(How is that for a 'serious' answer!)

 

[Simon Lucas]

If you blindfold yourself and put Q-Tips up your nose (thus avoiding any extraneous sensory input), all food tastes the same. Any fule kno that.

 

[John Duncan]

Yeah but what does a pear taste like to you?

 

[professorhat]

Surely everyone knows that the universe is effectively made up of the basic element of chicken (which is still to be recognised on the periodic table). Hence why everything tastes of chicken.

Except pork, of course.

 

[Anonymous]

professorhat:
Surely everyone knows that the universe is effectively made up of the basic element of chicken (which is still to be recognised on the periodic table). Hence why everything tastes of chicken.

Except pork, of course.

Whale meat again, don't know where, don't know when.........

 

[Anonymous]

ok.
So most of taste is smell, right (hence why you taste less with a cold).

Well, for a while they've been able to smell with synthetic noses (things like plastic explosives at airports and they even hunt for truffles with them). This proves that all things smell the same in reality.

So really we are all tasting the same thing.

Colour is harder to prove.

 

[Anonymous]

Who are they? Are they from this planet? Are dogs and pigs actually super-intelligent beings conning us lesser mortals into playing with hifis while they snuffle and snaffle our truffles?

 

[JoelSim]

Well Coca Cola tastes different out of a glass than it does from a plastic bottle

 

[The_Lhc]

ashworth_rich:ok.
So most of taste is smell, right (hence why you taste less with a cold).

Well, for a while they've been able to smell with synthetic noses (things like plastic explosives at airports and they even hunt for truffles with them). This proves that all things smell the same in reality.

So really we are all tasting the same thing.

I don't think that goes at all, all that proves is that molecular samplers (which is what the sniffers are actually) register molecules in the same way, which isn't that surprising as the devices are probably all made by the same company. That certainly doesn't mean that humans all react in the same way to any given molecule that enters the nose. I mean personally speaking I know that I can barely smell, errr, human effluence, at all; we had to open up one of our drains a few years back because it was blocked, everyone else recoiled in horror, I never even noticed anything, and yet in general I have an excellent sense of smell, just not where that particular smell is concerned.

We can't even be sure that everyone's olfactory organs can detect the same molecules, let alone work out whether the brain interprets the signals coming from that organ in the same way.

 

[True Blue]

JoelSim:Well Coca Cola tastes different out of a glass than it does from a plastic bottle

No, thats the Jack Daniels you put in first!!

 

[True Blue]

professorhat:
Surely everyone knows that the universe is effectively made up of the basic element of chicken (which is still to be recognised on the periodic table). Hence why everything tastes of chicken.

Except pork, of course.

And chicken pot noodles, not sure what they taste of, any takers??

 

[Anonymous]

jaxwired:
Just kidding....

Although, an analogy can be made that people say that different cooking surfaces (teflon versus cast iron for instance) will result in the same food tasting different. Rather hard to prove this as well...

Actually it's very easy. Set up a Sensory Analysis session, in a controlled lab environment, take a set of calibrated tasters (calibrated so that they reflect the thresholds of the general population - not Super-tasters), run the tests, crunch the numbers et voil…, you can statistically prove what level of the general population will be able to tell a difference.

You can do the same with colour, texture and sound.

 

[PJPro]

the_lhc:
ashworth_rich:ok.
So most of taste is smell, right (hence why you taste less with a cold).

Well, for a while they've been able to smell with synthetic noses (things like plastic explosives at airports and they even hunt for truffles with them). This proves that all things smell the same in reality.

So really we are all tasting the same thing.

I don't think that goes at all, all that proves is that molecular samplers (which is what the sniffers are actually) register molecules in the same way, which isn't that surprising as the devices are probably all made by the same company. That certainly doesn't mean that humans all react in the same way to any given molecule that enters the nose. I mean personally speaking I know that I can barely smell, errr, human effluence, at all; we had to open up one of our drains a few years back because it was blocked, everyone else recoiled in horror, I never even noticed anything, and yet in general I have an excellent sense of smell, just not where that particular smell is concerned.

We can't even be sure that everyone's olfactory organs can detect the same molecules, let alone work out whether the brain interprets the signals coming from that organ in the same way.

The human nose has receptors which are activated when a corresponding molecule plugs into it. After a short period of time, once these receptors are fully populated the net result is you can't smell the smell.

I gave up smoking for a bit and I was surprised just how smelly smokers are. When I was smoking, I can't smell the smoke on me at all.

So, if you are unable to smell faeces, I can only assume.....