Bubbles on your Tongue

How taste works is somewhat unclear, and a lot of work remains to be done in order to really figure it out.  There are hints however, and we keep finding out new things.  For example, this recent study suggests that carbonation - the fizzy bubbles found in many drinks - has a taste.  It's not just the sensation of the bubbles popping on your tongue, it's a flavor.  And that flavor?  Most akin to sour.

Here's something even stranger.  For years people have worked on how to restore sight to the blind.  In this new technique, special sunglasses attached to a "lollipop" are used to transduce visual signals into electrical stimulation on the tongue.  Users report a sensation similar to champagne bubbles on the tongue, and with some practice, can start to interpret some limited visual information.

And we're all familiar with the idea that we have certain taste receptors - including sweet, salty, sour and bitter. But there's a more recently identified taste (in addition to the new work on carbonation).  There is a savory flavor called umami. It's found in soups, cheese, seafood and meat.  It's a naturally occurring flavor, however a form of it (MSG) is often used as an additive in foods.




And then to end with, an essay on food and flavor by one of my favorite authors, Michael Pollan.  He writes about the health value of food and agriculture and the shared history of humans and plants.  And in this short article, about how we should be enjoying food, and how so much of what is sold in the supermarkets today really isn't food anymore.