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The gustatory system is the part of your sensory system responsible for taste. The combination of taste receptors on your tongue and nerves in your brain contribute to the success of the gustatory system in humans.
The gustatory system is the part of your sensory system responsible for taste. The combination of taste receptors on your tongue and nerves in your brain contribute to the success of the gustatory system in humans.The sense of taste is what allows you to identify different flavors in the foods you eat.
The sensory receptors on the human tongue can recognize five different flavors: sour, sweet, salty, bitter, and umami. Although humans have the same sensory receptors, we all have different sensitivity levels to each taste.
The tiny bumps on your tongue, called papillae, contain taste buds with microscopic hairs that act as sensory receptors. These sensory receptors send messages to your brain about how something tastes, allowing you to detect flavors and distinguish whether something is sweet or sour!
Ever wonder why you like the taste of a certain food but your friend doesn’t? Or why you can’t keep that sour warhead in your mouth longer than a second but your friend doesn’t even seem phased? Or may-be you have a friend that is very picky about what they eat and only likes certain foods. Today we are going to explore which of your taste buds are more sensitive than others!
Taste Bud Sensitivity Challenge
By: Sam Nowinski
The sensory receptors on the human tongue can recognize five different flavors. However, these sensory receptors are not evenly distributed into sections, they are scattered randomly all over the tongue. Although humans have the same sensory receptors, we all have different sensitivity levels to each taste. In this activity, you will create your own tongue map to track the unique taste sensitivity levels on your tongue.
Before You Begin:
Before you begin, it is important to know the five basic flavors that the tongue is sensitive to:
1. Salty
2. Sweet
3. Bitter
4. Sour
5. Umami/Savory
Suggested Materials:
• Salty - pretzels, potato chips, salt water, or saltine crackers
• Sweet - frosting, jam, sugar water, or gummy worms
• Bitter - cocoa, tonic water, raw broccoli, or coffee
• Sour - lemons, limes, or oranges
• Umami - gravy, broth, soy sauce, cheddar cheese
*Please note that these are suggestions, and you should feel free to come up with your own foods to test your taste buds!
• Before starting this challenge, you will also need to draw a large tongue on a piece of paper to map where you’re most sensitive to each flavor.
• Last but not least, have a glass of water handy for cleansing your palate in between flavors. Water works well for this because it essentially has no taste and clears your taste buds of any leftover sensitivity!
Procedure:
Take a drink of water
Next, taste the salty food, working slowly to really feel the area of your tongue that is most sensitive to the salt taste. To make sure all your taste buds have a chance to taste the flavor, carefully use a popsicle stick or spoon to apply the flavor to different sections of your tongue.
Apply it just to the tip
Then to the sides
Then again only on the very back
NOTE: You may do this a few times until you have a clear idea of which taste buds are your salt receptors!
On your tongue map, label the area where you were most sensitive to salt.
Repeat the process for the sweet, sour, umami, and bitter. Make sure to thoroughly rinse your mouth with water in between!
After completing your tongue map, you will have a concept of your taste receptor locations. Did your results make sense with the type of foods you enjoy? Challenge your friends and family to complete this taste bud challenge and compare results!
For an extra challenge, try the experiment again while plugging your nose and see if you still taste each flavor as strongly. Your results should be slightly different due to the fact your sense of smell and taste are closely linked!When you chew food, that food releases chemicals that travel up into your nose and trigger your olfactory receptors. Olfactory receptors are special organs in the nose that work together with your brain to detect an odor. Your olfactory organs and taste buds work together simultaneously to give you an accurate flavor on what you are eating.
additional cool resources
Edible Activities for Kids to Create and Eat!
Click to see a great visual of the movement of water and sugar through plants.
Miracle Fruit chews are made from a plant that when eaten, causes sour foods to taste sweet!
Purchase them here to try for yourself.
The Biology Behind Scent and Taste!
Explained for kids!
Click to learn how scientists are using new technology to trick you into thinking you are eating something.