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How many different things can you taste?


How many different things can you taste?
The Five Senses


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by Mya Kagan (whyzz writer) >> more about the author

Mmmmm-mmmm! The reason you can taste is because of the combination of the work done by your taste buds and your nose. When you eat something, it’s the job of these two body parts to send messages to your brain about the flavors in your food!

The main things people taste are usually broken down into the categories of sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. Recently, a fifth category has also been recognized. It’s known as “umami,” and it describes special flavors that are savory and deep, such as soy sauce, mushrooms, tomatoes, and certain cheeses and meats. 

Certain flavors that we can taste are often said to be strongest on certain parts of the tongue. According to this idea, sweet and salty are tasted closer to the front of your tongue, while sour is on the sides and bitter is in the back! 




Taste Test!

You can experiment at home with the different main kinds of tastes, and what part of your tongue helps you to taste them!

Gather up foods that fall into each of the categories -- sour, sweet, bitter, salty, and umami. Put on a blindfold, and have someone hand you one of the foods from each category.

Think about what part of your tongue is tasting each of the foods. Trying drawing a picture of where on your tongue you tasted each of the foods that you ate!