It has long been thought that our tongues register a small number of primary tastes: salty, sweet, sour and bitter. Umami – the savoury taste often associated with monosodium glutamate – was added to this list seven years ago…However, this list misses a major component of our diets, says Juyun Lim….
…
The finding adds to growing evidence that human taste is more complex than thought.
…
But before any new flavours can be enshrined as primary tastes, they must meet a strict list of criteria. Tastes need to be recognisable, have their own set of tongue receptors, and trigger some kind of useful physiological response.
…
One criterion is that a flavour must be useful to us. There’s a strong case to be made for starch here, which is a valuable slow-release energy source that is worth detecting.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: There is now a sixth taste – and it explains why we love carbs