Food & Taste, Texture, Smell

The factor which has the most influence on taste is the sense of smell. It is believed that the sense of smell is responsible for roughly 90 percent of our ability to taste flavor (Alterra, 2002). Often we smell food long before we see it or taste it, and are attracted by the smell. Food can smell appetizing, and tempt us to eat even when we are not hungry, for example when you pass a hamburger stand and smell the burgers and fries cooking. The aromas which emanate from a fresh bakery are always appealing. These types of aromas can be smelled from afar and tempt us even before we see the food itself or taste it.

The sense of smell is at its peak during the 30s, 40s, and 50s, and after age 60, both the sense of taste and the sense of smell gradually begin to decline in most people as part of the normal aging process (Alterra, 2002). Factors such as smoking, infections (colds, flu, and sinus infections), illness (Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease) radiation therapy, head trauma, brain tumors, chemical exposure, and drugs all diminish the sense of smell (Alterra, 2002; Taste, 2004). Taking several drugs at the same time has been shown to diminish the senses of taste. Research has shown that patients who are taking several medications at the same time may need almost 12 times as much salt and three times as much sugar to get the same taste sensation as someone not taking any

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ntense and sapid. They are inviting and satisfying once in the mouth. The grease is liquified and flows through the food as it is eaten, and is soaked up by the bun, and is pleasant to taste, keeping the food moist. The flavor of meat is lipid-soluble therefore the liquid fat in meat when it is cooked contains most of the flavor. When the hamburger is cold, the grease sets, and is unappetizing. Thirdly, because it is cold and greasy, the hamburger does not have a pleasant texture the way it did when it was hot off the grill. The fat has set into cold grease which is unpleasant on the tongue and in the mouth. It does not dissolve readily in the saliva so cannot be tasted (the taste buds are only sensitive to chemical flavors in solution). A cold bun with grease hardened on it is not appetizing in texture either. A cold, greasy hamburger is not tempting to any of the senses which normally make food tempting. It does not offer a tempting aroma, a pleasant taste, or an enjoyable texture when eaten. It does not even look appetizing, so gets no input from the sense of vision either. A baby not only has taste buds on the tongue and back of the throat, and palate, but also has them on the sides and roof of the mouth t
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Approximate Word count = 1402
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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