Taste

An extraordinary study has recorded the first evidence of babies in the womb reacting to flavors of foods, showing fetuses crumpling up their faces in disgust after a mother consumes kale or smiling with glee in the presence of carrot flavors.

How many times have you been presented with food you dislike only to be told it’s an acquired taste and eventually you’ll come to enjoy it? A study has found genetics play a larger role than thought in determining the foods you do and don’t like.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have been tinkering away on a robotic chef and developed a machine with an ability to "taste test" food as it goes, making sure the balance of flavors is just the way it should be.

Scientists have discovered bitter taste receptors in the walls of blood vessels in the lungs. The unexpected find could be an important new drug target to treat acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a dangerous complication of many diseases.

A food that's subtly sweet to one person may be very sweet to another, so how can food and beverage companies objectively determine just how sweet something actually is? Well, an experimental new "bioelectronic tongue" may one day do the job.

Australian researchers have found the bacteria in your mouth can react with certain compounds in Brassica vegetables to generate a sulfurous odor that may explain some people’s strong dislike of foods such as brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower.

Scientists at the University of Buffalo have made a discovery that could shake up what we know about the sense of smell in humans, with the breakthrough focusing on a new type of taste cell with the ability to respond to different stimuli.

Not all maple syrups are created equal. There are actually over 60 taste categories that syrups fall into, as determined by human taste-testers. Soon, though, a solution containing gold nanoparticles could save those people some work.

New research has found the bitter characteristics of coffee can make a person more sensitive to sweetness. The study found this effect was independent of caffeine and helps explain why many people enjoy the experience of dark chocolate with coffee.

Some medical experts around the world are suggesting a loss of the sense of smell may be an early indication of COVID-19. The preliminary, and still anecdotal, observation is not officially recognized as a COVID-19 symptom by the WHO at this stage.

A study is suggesting people with high self-control regarding what they eat are likely to consume more food if they touch it directly with their hands. The findings reveal food can taste better when we touch it as opposed to eating it with utensils.

​If you worked as a taste-tester of spicy foods, you'd only be able to try a few samples at a time – after that, your taste buds would become desensitized and need a rest. A newly-developed "electronic tongue," however, can accurately measure the spiciness of multiple foods for hours at a time.