Taste: From the science behind it to the culture of developing it

In a busy life, eating and drinking can seem to be time consuming tasks. In our quest for culinary convenience, we have developed a range of foods that appeal to as many people as possible, and satisfy our more basic instincts; the result is food that is bland, salty, fatty and/or sweet.

We should respect what we put in our mouths. Discriminate between tastes, challenge our taste buds and explore new sensations. Part of this is understanding what our taste mechanisms are, from the tip of the tongue to the way we process tastes in the brain. What is the relationship between smell and taste? And what roles do memory and emotion play in whether we determine if we ‘like’ a taste or not?

Shell Grayson is the senior editor of supplements for Nature Publishing Group and a real ale connoisseur.