• Question: how come we dont like curtain foods that some people do when it tastes the same?

    Asked by anon-233583 to Varun, Sammie, Rebecca, Anna, Alin, Adam on 18 Nov 2019.
    • Photo: Anna Kalorkoti

      Anna Kalorkoti answered on 18 Nov 2019:

      Those foods actually might not taste the same to you as they do to other people! For example, some people can’t stand coriander because they think it tastes like soap. Science has found this is probably linked to our genes, and even identified a specific gene that’s linked to getting this “soapy” taste when you eat coriander. Some people are also more sensitive to strong tastes than others, so something that tastes too spicy to you might taste just right to someone else.

      A lot of what you enjoy in food is probably also based on previous experiences. If you got ill after eating too much chocolate, you might like chocolate less in the future. If you grew up eating a particular food, you might enjoy that food as an adult because it’s familiar & reminds you of your childhood. So there’s lots of reasons why different people have different tastes in food.

    • Photo: Varun Ramaswamy

      Varun Ramaswamy answered on 18 Nov 2019:

      I completely agree with Anna. The way we like or dislike tastes is works the same as allergies, it changes from person to person based on their genetics.

    • Photo: Samantha Firth

      Samantha Firth answered on 19 Nov 2019:

      A great explanation from Anna! We used to do an experiment in my old job with two pieces of paper – one had nothing on it, one had the molecule responsible for the taste of Brussels sprouts on it!🥬We wouldn’t tell people what was on the paper. We’d get them to put the paper on their tongues, on piece at a time, and tell us what they tasted! Some people couldn’t taste any difference between the two – they both tasted of nothing! Others would spit the paper out straight away screaming ‘EW GROSS OMG BLERGHHH’ because it tasted really strongly of gross sprouts to them! 🤮😭Whether you can detect that molecule depends on your genetics! Now you can use science to deny those Christmas sprouts – you’re welcome 😎

    • Photo: Rebecca Shaw

      Rebecca Shaw answered on 19 Nov 2019:

      Yeh Anna is right! Completely depends on the person and your genetics. I thought my boyfriend was off his head one day when he told me his pasta tasted like soap… it wasn’t until I read about coriander having that effect on some people! Oopsies..

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