pleasure, and reward, 42
pleasure palace, 105
poblano peppers, 90
polyphenols, 208
polyunsaturated fats, 235–36
potassium, 32, 100, 216
potato chips, 104, 111
potatoes, 221–22
Prescott, John, 110
Pringles potato chips, 111
propionic acid, 241
propylthiouracil (PROP), 14, 34, 37, 38, 41
protein molecules, 52
proteins, 16, 22, 34, 184, 207, 238, 266
Proust, Marcel, 5, 77
pseudogenes, 53
“pure compounds,” 198
putrid (caprylic or goaty), 50
quantum tunneling, 48–49
quinine, 38, 41
radicchio, bitterness of, 25
rancidity, 35–36
rattlesnakes, 89
Red Bull, 193, 199
Reed, Danielle, 25, 39–42, 43
reinforcement, intermittent, 139
repulsive odor, 61
research:
on coffee, 111–12, 224
creating flavors, 164–201
GWAS, 152
on how to grill a steak, 238–40
meta-analyses, 222–23
olfaction, 44–61
Pavlov and, 135
placebos in, 27, 28
on rodents, 35, 36, 134–35, 150–51, 162
on satiety, 147–48, 150–51, 162
on wine grapes, 215–19
resiniferatoxin, 90
respiratory passages, taste receptors in, 33–34
retronasal olfaction, 68–71, 176
ripeness, 115, 205, 208, 212
Rolls, Edmund, 122–23, 127–29, 146
Roosevelt, Franklin D., 228
root beer, 175–76
Roquet, Laurence, 178
rose scent, 45–46
rotten odor, 62
Rozin, Paul, 8, 96
Rutgers University, 42
Saarinen, Eero, 252
saccharin, 29, 30
safrole, 175
saliva, 40
salt, 25, 28
and blood pressure, 31
as flavor enhancer, 31, 266
reducing sodium in, 31–32
salt substitutes, 31–33
salty taste, 8, 16, 22, 34, 115, 247
sanshool, 100, 102
sassafras root, 175
satiety signals, 162
sausages, 32–33
savor, use of term, 8
Scent of Mystery (movie), 81
Schatzker, Mark, 196
Sclafani, Anthony, 134–35
Scoville, Wilbur, 89
Scoville heat units, 89–90, 93, 97
scratch-and-sniff cards, 81
sea lions, 17
seasonal ingredients, 242
seasoning, 4–5
secondary compounds, 223
secondary metabolites, 207
seeds:
dropping, 208
poisons in, 209
sensation seekers, 98
senses:
and cultures, 109, 241
interplay of, 2–3, 5, 9
purposes of, 47–48
sensitivity to reward, 98
sensory integration, 117–21
sensory neuroscience, 122
sensory-specific satiety, 129, 145–46, 150
sensory template, 160
Serer-Ndut people of Senegal, 62
serrano peppers, 90
shaking hands, 66
“shapists,” 49
Shepherd, Gordon, 56–57, 68, 71, 121
Neurogastronomy, 57
Silver Palate Cookbook, The (Rosso and Lukins), 264
Simons, Chris, 99–100
sinus infections, 34
skatole, 235
Slow Food movement, 264–65, 267–68
Small, Dana, 132, 136–38, 162, 208
small plates, 145–46
smell:
artificially reproduced sensations of, 80–85
deconstructing, 60–61, 63
information gleaned from, 5, 8, 15
loss of sense of, 151, 152–61
as process, 68
“sense of,” 68–70
as synthetic sense, 55
testing, 63–64
triangle test, 51–52
see also olfaction
Smell-O-Vision, 81
snack foods, pairings, 246
sniffing, 68, 69
Sobel, Bob, 164–66, 168, 169, 176, 183–84, 266
Sobel, Noam, 57–58, 64, 66, 67, 71, 164
sodium, 22, 26, 31–32, 34
sodium chloride, 28
sodium citrate, 76
soils:
effects on flavor, 219
unique microbial ecosystems in, 218, 220
vineyard, 216–17
solubility, 232–33
somatosensation, 87, 104
sorbet, 102
sound:
flavor affected by, 111–13
frequency of vibration, 61
sour taste, 8, 16, 17, 22, 28, 34
soy sauce, 240
Spence, Charles, 107–14, 116–17, 121, 257
spices, 4–5
spicy odor, 61
spinach, research in, 214–15
squash, 224–26
how to roast, 225
Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha, 195
starches:
and sugars, 16
taste for, 36
steak:
how to grill, 238–40
sizzle of, 110–11
Stevenson, Richard, 109
stevia, 30
stomach, fullness in, 147–48
strawberries, 108
creating the flavor of, 82–83, 173–75, 176–77, 196
expectation of, 116, 117
flavor in, 212–14, 220
flavor vs. yield in, 212
genotyping, 213
growing temperatures of, 213–14
hydroponic production of, 214
as “nonclimacteric fruit,” 212
volatile chemicals in, 212–13
strawberry aldehyde, 83
sucralose, 29
sucrose, 28, 30, 109
sugars, 23, 25, 181
in diet, 150–51
in fruits, 203, 210, 212, 225, 227
low-sugar diet, 144–45
and Maillard reaction, 236–37
peak sweetness in, 30
in plants, 207
reduction of, 197
in soft drinks, 30
as source of calories, 16
sulfur atoms, 184, 238
supertasters, 13–15, 37–38, 39
food adventurous, 42–43
and pain in chilis, 96
picky eaters, 42
Suya of Brazil, 61–62
sweet taste, 8, 16, 22–23, 28
artificial sweeteners, 29–30, 139
craving for, 144–45
loss of ability to discern, 17
perception of, 210
popularity of, 28–31
sweet taste receptors, 30–31, 33, 34, 40
tagette oil, 168
tannins, 87
tastant, 22
taste:
as analytic sense, 55
and aroma, 109
broad categories of, 16
decisions based on, 17, 48
fading with age, 156
five basic tastes, 8, 10, 16, 22–23, 50, 61
genetic differences in perceptions of, 39–43
intensity of, 38
interactions of, 37
other types of, 36–37, 50
use of term, 8–9
and viscosity, 94
taste buds, 13, 38–39
Taste Buds and Molecules (Chartier), 248
taste cells, 22
taste receptors, 22–23, 24, 28, 72
all over the body,
33
and genetics, 152
loss of, in disease, 20
promiscuous, 23
T1R3, 23, 40–41
T2R19, 41
T2R31, 30
T2R38, 34, 37–38, 41–42, 221
on the tongue, 38–39, 48, 96
taste sensitivity, 39
tasting menus, 145–46
tea, 102–3
Technical University of Munich, 83
Tepper, Beverly, 42–43
terpenes, 232–33
terpinyl propionate, 170
terroir, 218
Texas A&M University, 238
texture, 104, 149
Thai bird’s eye chili, 86, 90, 93
thalamus, 58
thiol, 218, 266
thiourea group, 38, 41–42
This, Hervé, 197–201
thought:
as flavor sense, 123
higher-order, 131
Time-Life, Foods of the World, 264
Tiny Tim, 51–52
Todd, Mike, Jr., 81
Tohono O’odham people, 264–65
Tolstoy, Leo, 22
tomatoes, 202–7
alleles of, 226–27
avoiding refrigeration of, 210–11
commercial traits of, 204
demand for flavor in, 211
flavor sacrificed for yields, 203, 210
heirlooms, 204, 211, 227
nutrients in, 208
red color of, 206–7, 226
sold “on the vine,” 211
supermarket, 202–3
sweetness in, 206–7, 210
volatile odor compounds in, 203, 205–6, 209–10
water in, 203
tomato intensity, 206
tomato stem smell, 210
tongue:
taste buds on, 13, 38–39
taste maps of, 17–18
taste receptors on, 38–39, 48, 96
tonic water, 37, 41
touch receptors, 95
and astringency, 102–4
TRPM8, 89
TRPV1, 88–89, 91, 93, 96
toxins, bitter tastes of, 16–17, 33, 34, 48
transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), 130–31
trial and error, 241, 247
triangle test, 51–52
trigeminal sense, 87
triglycerides, 35–36
trimethylamine, 247
Trought, Mike, 215–17
truffles, 75
TV dinners, 262, 263
2-ethylfenchol (2-EF), 79
Twombly, Cy, 57
umami taste, 8, 16, 17, 22–23, 24–28
and benzaldehyde, 109
foods rich in, 28
and MSG, 25–28
umami taste receptors, 24–25, 33, 34, 40
University of Bordeaux, France, 115
University of California, Davis, 192, 204, 215, 258, 270
University of California, Riverside, 179
University of Copenhagen, 249
University of Florida, Gainesville, 202
University of Pennsylvania, Smell and Taste Center, 153–54
University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT), 46–47, 155
University of Reading, England, 219
urinous odor, 62
U.S. Army, field rations, 244–46
vampire bats, taste loss of, 17
vanillin, 80, 168, 195–96, 201
vegetables:
caramelization of, 238
commodity system for, 224–25
dissuading you from eating them, 208
enzyme activity in, 221
flavor in, 205, 208–9
organic, 222–34
storage of, 221–22
venison, 114
Venter, Craig, 53
ventriloquists, 118
ventromedial prefrontal cortex, 138
“vibrationists,” 49
vinegar, 28, 169
viscosity, 94
vision:
and change blindness, 67
sense of, 55, 56, 130–31
visual rhyme, and expectations, 114–16
viticulturists, 215
voices, sounds of, 51–52
volatile aroma molecules, 203, 205–6, 207–10, 212–13, 221, 227, 232–33, 236
volatility, 51, 52
below-threshold, 210
refrigeration vs., 210–11
Wagstaff, Carol, 219–21
wasabi, 88, 94
wasabi receptor, 88
water:
basic taste for, 36
effect on flavor, 219
in fruit, 203
watermelon, 168
water solubility, 232–33
Watson supercomputer, 252–57
weight control, 145, 146–47, 161
Whitaker, Vance, 211–14, 220
wine:
aroma wheel, 192–93
astringency in, 102–3
competitions of, 124–25
decanting, 258–59
expectation in, 115–16
fermentation phase in, 218, 240
flavor perception of, 123–27, 215
learning about, 270
“minerality” of, 216–17
mouthfeel of, 87
and music, 113
of New Zealand, 215–19, 268
paired with foods, 230–31, 248
presentation of, 257–59
sauvignon blanc, 218–19, 230
and soil, 216–17
and terroir, 218
and yeast, 218, 219
wine experts, noses of, 60–61, 76, 268
wine grapes, research on, 215–19
wintergreen, 175–76
Wise, Paul, 101
words, flavors in, 113
Wrangham, Richard, 4
Wysocki, Charles, 74–75, 79, 157
Yager, Patricia, 153–56, 159, 160–61
yeast, 218, 219, 240, 241
yogurt, 114, 116
Yupik people, 143
Zampini, Max, 111
Zearfoss, Jonathan, 229–32, 242
Zhen, Willa, 265
Copyright © 2017 by Bob Holmes
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The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Names: Holmes, Bob (Evolutionary biologist), author.
Title: Flavor : the science of our most neglected sense / Bob Holmes.
Description: First edition. | New York : W.W. Norton & Company, [2017] |
“Independent Publishers Since 1923.” | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016046897 | ISBN 9780393244427 (hardcover)
Subjects: LCSH: Taste. | Taste buds. | Flavor. | Senses and sensation.
Classification: LCC QP456 .H66 2017 | DDC 612.8/7—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016046897
ISBN 978-0-393-24443-4 (e-book)
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