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Taste, texture, spice, and alcohol
Jul. 13th, 2014 12:17 amI just read this really interesting article that sums up a bit of research into the biology and culture of the perception of the taste of alcohol.
http://sciencefare.org/2011/11/16/why-people-hate-drinking/
His conclusion, that people who are supertasters (defined here as being sensitive to a particular compound, 6-n-propylthiouracil) will often intensely dislike alcohol due to perceived bitterness.
The terms 'supertaster' and 'nontaster' have been bandied about with regard to me in the past. However, while I find alcohol to be vile, vile stuff nearly without exception, people who watch me eat have decided that I must be a non-taster. I'm inclined to agree. I often eat for texture rather than flavor. There are flavors I appreciate and flavors I dislike, but in many cases texture is actually of greater importance to me. And there are many instances where I just don't notice flavors that other people do. In the way these terms (supertaster/nontaster) are used in popular discussion, I'm a non-taster. But do those terms mean the same things? Or is sensitivity to 6-n-propylthiouracil unrelated to the other taste insensitivities that I seem to have that lead people to categorize me as a nontaster?
Anyway, another fascinating part of the discussion I linked to is the note that ethanol activates the same receptors that capsaicin does. I love hot food. No, really; I can't find restaurants that will make food as hot as I would like it to be, and know no one personally who has a similar tolerance. I've wondered if it's because I don't taste the heat as strongly as others, though I know there are other factors at work too. (Part of it is that I enjoy experiencing pain in a controlled situation.) But alcohol, which in theory has similar effects, is not enjoyable to me. Most of it tastes like really vile cough medicine. Super-mechanic Juan offered me a sip of some "really good" vodka once; that was less cough medicine and more engine degreaser. I can't imagine ever wanting to experience that taste again.
The discussion I linked to posits that super tasters dislike alcohol due to a perception of bitterness related to 6-n-propylthiouracil. Does alcohol taste bitter to me? I'm not quite sure. Though the experiences have been intense enough that it's hard to recall any details of the flavor, I think bitterness has been a significant part of it. Next time I taste any alcohol, I'll try to analyze it more consciously. That will probably be ice wine, which is the only alcoholic beverage I have yet tried that I actually enjoy. I suspect it's because it's so sweet.
But sweetness is only the way it's described to me; it doesn't actually fit my own perception of the drink. In fact, I don't really know how I'd describe it, since it's a singular sensation in my gustatorial life. It burns a bit (the capsaicin receptors triggering?), and I think there's some bitterness (the super-taster genetics?), and there's more to it as well. Is there sweetness? I'm actually not sure. Maybe I can sort through some of that the next time I have some.
But if I'm a super-taster, I don't know why I taste so little of so many other things. There does seem to be some kind of genetic taste-related abnormality in my family. My youngest brother also thinks all alcohol is vile. He does not make an exception for ice wine, which he says does not taste sweet in the slightest. He also says that not only does chicken not have any flavor, but that, like some kind of anti-flavor, it makes anything he eats with it have no taste. He won't eat anything with chicken in it due to this effect. I do not feel that way about chicken, but I also don't seem to experience meat flavors the way other people do. I can't taste the difference between different kinds of fish in sushi for instance, and I'd much rather eat well-done ground beef hamburgers than steak because the ground beef has a uniform texture and less-cooked meat, or meat that hasn't been ground up into mush first can feel gross.
Some day, I'd like to figure out some set of empirical taste and texture perception testing to do on myself in a way that lets me compare the findings meaningfully with other people. I'd be extremely interested in the results.
---ETA---
Well, here. I guess I need to do this.
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/nutrition/supertaster-test-0607
http://sciencefare.org/2011/11/16/why-people-hate-drinking/
His conclusion, that people who are supertasters (defined here as being sensitive to a particular compound, 6-n-propylthiouracil) will often intensely dislike alcohol due to perceived bitterness.
The terms 'supertaster' and 'nontaster' have been bandied about with regard to me in the past. However, while I find alcohol to be vile, vile stuff nearly without exception, people who watch me eat have decided that I must be a non-taster. I'm inclined to agree. I often eat for texture rather than flavor. There are flavors I appreciate and flavors I dislike, but in many cases texture is actually of greater importance to me. And there are many instances where I just don't notice flavors that other people do. In the way these terms (supertaster/nontaster) are used in popular discussion, I'm a non-taster. But do those terms mean the same things? Or is sensitivity to 6-n-propylthiouracil unrelated to the other taste insensitivities that I seem to have that lead people to categorize me as a nontaster?
Anyway, another fascinating part of the discussion I linked to is the note that ethanol activates the same receptors that capsaicin does. I love hot food. No, really; I can't find restaurants that will make food as hot as I would like it to be, and know no one personally who has a similar tolerance. I've wondered if it's because I don't taste the heat as strongly as others, though I know there are other factors at work too. (Part of it is that I enjoy experiencing pain in a controlled situation.) But alcohol, which in theory has similar effects, is not enjoyable to me. Most of it tastes like really vile cough medicine. Super-mechanic Juan offered me a sip of some "really good" vodka once; that was less cough medicine and more engine degreaser. I can't imagine ever wanting to experience that taste again.
The discussion I linked to posits that super tasters dislike alcohol due to a perception of bitterness related to 6-n-propylthiouracil. Does alcohol taste bitter to me? I'm not quite sure. Though the experiences have been intense enough that it's hard to recall any details of the flavor, I think bitterness has been a significant part of it. Next time I taste any alcohol, I'll try to analyze it more consciously. That will probably be ice wine, which is the only alcoholic beverage I have yet tried that I actually enjoy. I suspect it's because it's so sweet.
But sweetness is only the way it's described to me; it doesn't actually fit my own perception of the drink. In fact, I don't really know how I'd describe it, since it's a singular sensation in my gustatorial life. It burns a bit (the capsaicin receptors triggering?), and I think there's some bitterness (the super-taster genetics?), and there's more to it as well. Is there sweetness? I'm actually not sure. Maybe I can sort through some of that the next time I have some.
But if I'm a super-taster, I don't know why I taste so little of so many other things. There does seem to be some kind of genetic taste-related abnormality in my family. My youngest brother also thinks all alcohol is vile. He does not make an exception for ice wine, which he says does not taste sweet in the slightest. He also says that not only does chicken not have any flavor, but that, like some kind of anti-flavor, it makes anything he eats with it have no taste. He won't eat anything with chicken in it due to this effect. I do not feel that way about chicken, but I also don't seem to experience meat flavors the way other people do. I can't taste the difference between different kinds of fish in sushi for instance, and I'd much rather eat well-done ground beef hamburgers than steak because the ground beef has a uniform texture and less-cooked meat, or meat that hasn't been ground up into mush first can feel gross.
Some day, I'd like to figure out some set of empirical taste and texture perception testing to do on myself in a way that lets me compare the findings meaningfully with other people. I'd be extremely interested in the results.
---ETA---
Well, here. I guess I need to do this.
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/nutrition/supertaster-test-0607
