Proving An Elementary Science Lesson Wrong With Two Questions

[Akaria]

EDIT: I looked up "umami" in the dictionary. It's not a word.

/headdesk

I don't know much about it, but damn near everything about the human body can become extremely complex. Onions are a combination of, I believe, all of the senses; however, the varying ratios are up for debate, I'm sure.

[qwertysaur]

If you break it down far enough, sweet salty bitter and sour describe more than you expect.

Sweet is saccarides and the like.

Salty is ionic compounds.

Sour is acids

Bitter is bases.


I think the amount of Protein is texture. Fats is dryness and amount of flavor.

Your taste buds have a lock and key system similar to enzymes, so different shaped particles trigger different buds. Fats also help the particles get into the buds, enhancing flavor.

Different areas of the tongue do have higher amounts of certain receptors, but because of the moist environment, it is difficult to keep food in one place.

[Cyric]

There's a way to figure out the "tastes" of an onion...test the pH of the juice.

Then once the onion is completely dry...take a bite and TA-DA!

[The Ceej]

There are 5 tastes, not four.

Umami, you hoser.

EDIT: I looked up "umami" in the dictionary. It's not a word.

Someone hasn't been paying attention.

[rubah]

You need a better dictionary then.

[Roto13]

Or an encyclopedia.

[Madame Adequate]

Proving The Ceej Wrong With One Question

Are you The Ceej?

[The Ceej]

You need a better dictionary then.

Or an encyclopedia.

Yeah. Wikipedia is a valid source. Because if it can be edited by anyone, that's the only way to make it accurate.

My dictionary is Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary which was the official dictionary of my school when we learned this.

[Momiji]

Okay, this is where you stop resisting.

Just google umami. 519,000 results can't be all wrong. Not only that, it also means your dictionary is old. Upgrade thyself.

[Shlup]

It's a myth anyway.

[Madame Adequate]

You need a better dictionary then.

Or an encyclopedia.

Yeah. Wikipedia is a valid source. Because if it can be edited by anyone, that's the only way to make it accurate.

Actually Wikipedia has been found to contain about the same number of errors as the Brittanica. Concerns about Wikipedia are more valid on stylistic than accuracy issues.

Source: Access : : Nature

[Chemical]

Aren't flavors a combination of taste and smell?

yes.

-------

The word taste comes from the latin word "taxare" meaning "to touch, estimate, or judge."

BASIC ANATOMY:

The taste buds are the sensory unit of the tongue, and the 10,000 + taste buds are mainly found on the tongue's papillae (some are found on the soft palate of the roof of your mouth, inner cheeks, pharynx and epiglottis).

There are two major taste bud cells:
gustatory cells:
have projections known as gustatory hairs that are the sensative portion; they emit signals from a stimulus to the cell which then sends a signal to the brain.
& basal cells.
they act as stem cells, dividing and differentiating into new gustatory cells.


BASIC TASTE SENSATIONS:

Taste can be grouped into 5 basic "qualities":
1. sweet (elicited by sugars, saccharin, alcohols and some amino acids)
2. sour (elicited by acids)
3. salty (elicited by metal ions)
4. bitter (elicited by alkaloids)
5. umami (relatively new. associated with the quality of taste in teas; japanese meaning delcious; elicited by most amino acids)

Taste is a mixture of all the above since most taste buds respond to 2 or more taste qualities.

Understandably, people think that smell is a part of taste. However, semantics, taste is restricted anatomically and physiologically to the tongue where as smell is restricted to the nasal cavity and olfactory bulbs.

Together they create the experience of "taste" or "flavour" but this taste should not be confused with medical terminology taste that is defined as the sensory response to chemicals being dissolved by saliva.

So it all depends on how you're using the word.
If you're out at dinner with friends then it's an all encompassing experience that combines taste and smell ~ however, if you're on a date with a doctor he might call you out on that one and jeez won't your face be red.


[SOURCE:
Hoehn, K., & Marieb, E. (2007). Human anatomy & physiology (7th ed.). San Francisco: Pearson Benjamin Cummings.]

[Shlup]

This thread has inspired me. I'm going to randomly throw in things that are completely wrong when teaching my science class.

[Lawr]

I hope you know Wikipedia usually has citations at the bottom of the page.

Edit
STOP POSTING BEFORE I DO.

[Chemical]

This thread has inspired me. I'm going to randomly throw in things that are completely wrong when teaching my science class.

I'm going to forgive you souly on the basis that you obviously didn't see my post before you responded.
:P