FOOD SENSATION  INCLUDES FOOD FLAVOUR

AND FOOD FLAVOUR INCLUDES FOOD TASTE

Food sensation is determined by a list of biological, chemical, environmental and psychological factors. Food taste like sweetness, saltiness, bitterness, sourness and umami are the taste determinants and the final outcome of it is a combination of all of them. These are registered by our buds. Each one affects the other taste like bitterness supresses sweetness. In addition, each one has a different result. For example saltiness stimulates our appetite while sweetness offers satiety.

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1.  Greek Gastronomy
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4.  Discover the Taste of Pulses

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 Sweetness adds to savoury dishes and brings out the taste of fruits and herbs. It can go with bitterness, sourness and saltiness. It is accrued to the content of sugars in food ingredients. Salt is very important in cooking. It is a number one flavour enhancer and it makes savoury food delicious. In the second place, sourness is also a flavour enhancer but less important than saltiness for savoury dishes  and sweetness for sweet food. It corresponds to the juice of lemon or vinegar and contributes to food  acidity. Bitterness is the taste that acts as an alarming note to our selves as it is a sign to stop eating something. The taste has no longer this role as most of the food available for consumption in markets is considered safe. Bitterness balances sweetness and bitter food was considered to be a cleaning body food in ancient Greece. Finally umami is the fifth taste recently presented and it is accrued to monosodium glutamate. It is also called meaty taste and it is present in mushrooms, all types of meat, anchovies, green tea and other food.

These are not the only sensations that add to our feelings from eating our food. The touch of our food with our mouth also adds other sensations. The texture and the food temperature are what we call the mouthfeel. Our teeth certainly feel the coldness of ice cream when it is very cold. The crispiness and crunchiness and the produced sound from every bite give a sense of satisfaction in most of the cases. The food temperature affects the taste of food. For example it suppresses sweetness for ice cream. It gives a pleasure when we add cold food during a very hot day during the summer like a cold soup or a cold ice cream. To the opposite it gives another type of pleasure when we eat a hot soup during a cold day of the winter. Therefore, food should be aligned with climatic conditions that affects our mood anyway.

The texture is another sensation provided by food. We see food, like soups, purée and other similar food as cosy food while crispy snacks are stimulating other sense like sight, hearing and touch. In most of the cases this produces pleasure and the inclusion of crispy food ingredients in our food awakes our taste senses as more senses are stimulated from eating them.

Spiciness is another taste produced by the chemical substance called capsaicin that is a component of the white flesh of chili peppers, cayenne peppers or other. Capsaicin is identified by the buds receptors and stimulate blood circulation and metabolism to face hotness. Our brain perceives it as an attack and tries to handle it. Fibers are activated to our noses, causing inflammation, that starts “running” and eyes are tearing to react.

Astringency is our mouth particular feeling of dryness. This is a drying sensation caused primarily by tannins that are present at large in red wine, and strong tea. It can also be met in other types of food like wallnuts.

Aroma is an important part of our feeling perceived through the consumption of food. Aroma is held responsible for the great part of food flavour, saying close to 70% or more. The aromatic ingredients of herbs, spices and fruits, like grated lemon or orange, are used at large to add aroma ad added taste value to a dish. Pungency is the taste and aroma perceived by mustard or horseradish. It is irritating to the nose and to our palate. This is particularly vivid when they are very intense. There is also the chemesthesis, a Greek word used that combines the chemical impact and sensation caused by chemical substances, is the hot or cold sensation caused by the chemical substances contained in certain food. This might be cold in the consumption of mint or hot from the consumption of chili peppers.

The perception of food goes a lot further than the above. Eating a particular food affects ourselves in many more ways than the flavour perception. There is an impact on our body including our internal organs. Emotional, spiritual and mental influence is present. The sight of food is also important on our reaction and reflection about. Concerning visual characteristics, connected with taste and quality, the stronger their presence like a strong colour or shape bring without any doubt a stronger taste reaction. The more yellow vivid are lemons the stronger their juice taste and so on. The opposite of course is also valid. A bad looking fruit, that looks ripen, spoiled with a bad colour, provokes an adverse taste reaction even if the taste is quite good and fine.

 There is also our emotional part of tasting food. Our memories and feelings about a particular recipe, cooked by our mother or our beloved aunt provides a sentimental connection with those persons loved. This emotional part of taste justifies partly the standing and acceptance of traditional cuisines all over the world. Food is part of our culture, the so called culinary culture. This explains why people seek specific recipes at certain moments of their life to cover their emotional feelings and why people eat differently when they are happy and when they are sad. We eat better and our body treats better our food when we are relaxed. A relaxed environment is always in demand when we wish to enjoy a meal. Eating is a mental need and not a simple survival effort. Although we can cover our nutritional needs with special pills this is not a desirable solution to our needs. The whole procedure is a mental need and this is the reason we eat several times a day during the day throughout the whole year. Bulky food is a need that covers many more needs than the nutritional ones. The preparation and eating of food is a sacred procedure. It has to be treated with respect, imagination and encapsulate the spiritual part of a sacred procedure.