THE SENSE OF

TASTE

Ana Girnita1st grade

Ayer Elementary School

DID YOU EVER WONDER WHY YOUR FAVORITE FOODS TASTE SO GOOD?

OUR TONGUE Humans use their

tongue to taste different foods

See all those bumps?

Those are called PAPILLAE and most of them contain TASTE BUDS.

Taste buds are receptors that allow us to experience the taste of food.

THERE ARE FIVE BASIC TASTES

SWEET SOUR

SALTY BITTER

THE FIFTH SENSE IS CALLED “UMAMI”

Umami = Japanese word for “yummy”, such as fish, cheese or tomatoes

TASTE BUDS

A person has about 10,000 taste buds

They are replaced every 2 weeks

As we get older, taste buds don't get replaced

That's why certain foods may taste stronger to you than they do to adults

THE ‘TASTE’ MAP MYTH

It was thought that our tongue has different zones for the four tastes.

It is a MYTH!

In fact, all taste buds detect all tastes.

But before you give taste buds all the credit for your favorite food, it's important to thank your nose!!!

Both taste and smell work together to help us detect what food are we eating.

TASTE AND SMELL TOGETHER GIVE THE “FLAVOR”

Inside our nose we have special cells called olfactory receptors

These receptors help us smell and they send a message to our brain

HOW IT WORKS?

While we are chewing, the food releases chemicals that immediately travel up into our nose.

These chemicals trigger the cells inside the nose and send a message to our brain!

The brain will warn us about what are we eating or smelling!!

Let’s thank to our tongue and nose for all the wonderful flavors that we know…..

Also let’s thank them for protecting us from the bad chemicals by recognizing the bad flavors!!

ENJOY YOUR

FAVORITE FLAVORS!

THANK YOU!!