Archive for August 1, 2017

Can we taste water after all?

Whether water has a taste of its own or is merely a flavor carrier has long divided the scientific community. Some scientists have proposed that its flavor depends on your saliva and what you were eating previously, while others have argued that it has its own, albeit undefined, taste that can be sensed by the brain. A new study by Caltech researchers could help advance this debate: according to their findings, not only does such a sense exist, but it’s located in an unexpected place.

Water has been described as “tasteless” since the time of Aristotle but a new Caltech study shows that it might actually have a taste of its own that our tongue can sense

Tastants are chemical molecules that stimulate the sensory cells in our taste buds that can detect the five basic tastes: sweetness, sourness, bitterness, saltiness and umami. For example, when we eat foods with ingredients such as cheese or tomatoes, the glutamate they contain elicits the taste known as umami. So exactly which of the five basic taste receptor cells does water stimulate – or is there a sixth that we don’t know about? Read more