Slashdot Mirror
Scientists Identify Sixth Taste: Fat
New submitter shuheng writes with news that a study out of Purdue claims to have identified the sixth distinct taste known to humans: fat. The scientists say it should be called oleogustus which means "fatty taste" in Latin (abstract). Professor Richard Mattes said, Most of the fat we eat is in the form of triglycerides, which are molecules comprised of three fatty acids. Triglycerides often impart appealing textures to foods like creaminess. However, triglycerides are not a taste stimulus. Fatty acids that are cleaved off the triglyceride in the food or during chewing in the mouth stimulate the sensation of fat. The taste component of fat is often described as bitter or sour because it is unpleasant, but new evidence reveals fatty acids evoke a unique sensation satisfying another element of the criteria for what constitutes a basic taste, just like sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami.
Didn't taste like anything. I call BS.
He was my fave.
That was when they "found" Savory, or, Umami
But as anyone who has taken a bite of medium rare, Prime Ribeye knows, fat is where all the taste is.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
I was about to ask where the receptors were located, then found https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... was a mistranslation debunked in the 70s :/
Umami says you taste fat!
"Ones and zeros were everywhere. I even think I saw a two!" - Bender
Ribeye Cream Soda!
I'd buy it.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
Why did it take so long anyway? Skimmed milk and fat free yogurt has existed for how many decades, and it's only NOW that the people in lab coats are figuring out neither taste as good as the real thing?
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
MSG
I always figured "fat" triggered the sweet sense, but this makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. A primitive creature has to deal with food scarcity, and that means when you find something to eat, you have to make a quick decision on whether this food is going to be nutritious. Sweet tastes are full of glucose/fructose, that provide quick pick-me-up energy. Bitter and sour are good for detecting spoiled food, if eating this thing is going to make you sick. Salty and umami are like a measure of, will this food provide the vitamins that the body needs? Many cellular functions require salts (Sodium, Potassium, etc).
So, a sense of "fatty" gives a fast feedback to the brain that the food will give long-lasting energy. I say fast, because a sense on the tongue is faster than eating and waiting for the digestive system to break down the material, then have the stomach give a signal that the food was good to eat. I've heard that its about 20 minutes for the brain to catch up to the "stomach is full" sense, so digestion sense is not quick. So when you are hungry and something is in front of you, your body needs a fast sense that the food is good to eat, so eat lots of it now.
scientists say it should be called oleogustus
Yeah, that rolls right off the tongue, just like "sweet" or "sour".
You're about a century out. Umami was discovered at the start of the 20th century, and the name has been adopted internationally since the mid-1980s.
It's long been believed that are five distinct things that your sense of taste can detect (sweet, sour, bitter, salty umami.
That's only four. Oxford Comma-Man, AWAaay!
The greasy texture of milk was known. It was just belived that fat, like some spices, activates the primary tastes, not that it had a separate taste. Just because it didn't have its separate category (sensors) doesn't mean they thought it had no taste.
Learn to love Alaska
For those too lazy to educate themselves, Umami is the "savory" taste. It's somewhat of a meaty/fishy flavor and is found in tomatoes (that's probably why many people like ketchup), mushrooms (especially dried), green tea, soy sauce, fish, and other food items. In high concentrations, it crates that "asian food taste" that many people enjoy. MSG is an artificial glutimate which attempts to emulate the umami taste of the traditional Japanese Dashi stock. However, it happens to be a little easier to prepare (and cheaper).
"No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session." -- Judge Gideon J. Tucker