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Scientific discoveries tend to go in one of three directions as they penetrate the public consciousness: fascinating the hell out of people (pictures of Pluto), eliciting a big “duh” because the research merely confirmed what anyone with common sense already knew (people buy more fresh produce when it’s cheaper), or generating a fair amount of skepticism (vaccines are essential public health tools).
The discovery that there may be a sixth taste seems like it could fall into that last category. In a study marvelously titled “
Oleogustus: The Unique Taste of Fat,” researchers from Purdue University claim that the human tongue can differentiate sweet, salty, sour, bitter, savory — and also fat. And just when you were done convincing your mom that there was such a thing as umami, too.
Although the findings note some overlap between fat and umami/savory, the nutritionists demonstrated that medium- and long-chain nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) cause a taste that is distinct from the others, and that any overlap in tastes is “likely due to unfamiliarity with umami sensations rather than true similarity.”
To determine the “physiology of oral fat detection,” study participants were given nose clips so they wouldn’t mix up taste and aroma. Almost two-thirds of them were able to discern the fattier foods from other samples.
The tendency for people to hate fat-free versions of snack foods seems to lend some duh credence to this theory, but because different fatty acids cause people to eat more, others created an adverse reaction, discouraging people from pigging out. Either way, it’s time to update those maps of the tongue’s taste buds we all saw in junior high science class.
[Via Salon]
