Taste is an intimate, personalised sense in which part of the object of our analysis must make contact with the specialised cells on our tongue and be able to make an impression on them. It is not an impersonal sense by means of which a physical property or emanation of the emitter perceivable at a distance is captured.
There are few molecules that do not cause a reaction on our papillae,
which means that an infinite number of perceivable flavours exists. However, all of them
are combinations of four primary tastes: sweet, salty, sour and bitter. The respective
sensors for these primary tastes are located on clearly delimited areas of the tongue. ![]()
The sensation of taste is far from being simple in itself, and is enriched by its ability to combine with olfactory sensations.
Taste is a global sensation, resulting from retronasal sensations (from
mouth to nose via interior route) and from contact. ![]()
Gustatory strength is expressed in gusts or units corresponding to the strength of flavour of particular standard solutions.
The tongue is a true taste organ carpeted with thousands of papillae,
which are the taste receiver organs. ![]()
Each of the four basic tastes is located on one part of the tongue. And
the papillae contain hundreds of taste buds. ![]()
When we take food or drink into our mouth, their molecules dissolve in
the buccal cavity with the saliva, penetrating into the pores of the tongue and exciting
the nerve ends of the papillae. ![]()
The distribution of the papillae and the areas sensitive to the different tastes helps to establish a special dynamics in perception which makes the peculiar nature of how we perceive taste.
This information, together with that supplied by the nose, allows us to experience the sensations of taste.
Taste is associated with buccal perceptions and, in particular, with perceptions of food.
Only what is to be consumed as food is tasted. The complex relations that are generated between the basic tastes of different foods has led to the development of a set of techniques for creating new flavours: we call this gastronomy and in it we apply all that we learn about the nature around us.
Thanks to the complexity with which the gustatory character of a substance is established, the sense of taste is the most extensive registers and, at the same time, the most individualisable of all.
Few things distinguish human beings more than what we crave for or loathe with our taste.
We taste when we eat, we eat according to our culture and our convictions, which is like talking about the soul.
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The sensation of taste, not highly sensitive at its thresholds, is not
instantaneous like the other senses. It is perceived progressively in time and does not
usually strike us with the force of other sensations. ![]()
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Language, necessarily free because of its nature, brings us close to natural descriptions, of fruit, vegetables and natural products and is the most literary of the sensorial languages.