Human Genes and Taste

**carolyn137** · November 21, 2015

I decided to put this thread here instead of the OFF Topic Forum since only registered Tville members can post on the latter/

Substances, foods, etc., taste different to different people. Using tomatoes as an example, what a surprise, someone will taste variety X and say it's the BEST tasting variety they ever grew while another person tasting variety X will put it on a spitter list.

So I'm not comparing two different varieties since they would have different genes that synthesize different taste components

I think most know that there are MANY variables that can and do affect taste of tomatoes, such as where grown geographically,how grown as in sprawled, staked, containers. etc, as well as amendments used,if so which ones,how much and when and always the variable of weather in any one season since no two seasons are the same.

The following study was done by Yale University, I found it at another message site and asked permission to transfer it here and there.

The video is named Supertasters.Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fhc0t_QNhs

Carolyn

bower · November 21, 2015

Well the wiki makes it perfectly clear, I personally am not a supertaster!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supertaster
Some of my favourite things are bitter - bring on the coffee, hoppy beers, tonic, olives etc etc.

Dandelion greens are the first thing edible in spring, we are well served to enjoy them here.

Not that I adore everything on the list, but certain bitter things are downright favourites for me. Although i do also like lots of things that aren't bitter.

As regards tomato taste, I think though that experiencing so many new tomatoes in recent years, has changed what I like or think of as the perfect tomato.

This year the sweet ones were so outstanding, they blew the others out of the water. I don't know if my taste has changed, or if that trend will continue...
Next year, maybe something else. I may never be able to settle on the 'best' most 'favourite' tomato!

PaulF · November 21, 2015

I think age has to be part of the equation. In my younger years I liked sweet wine, now dryer is better, I have never been a coffee drinker, but now a cup every once in a while hits the spot. While I still like sweet tomatoes the best, a full bodied old fashioned variety tastes pretty good sometimes. The only beer I like is a very dark ale and some called "bitter". I eat things now I had no intention of ever enjoying....but I draw the line at greens, brussels sprouts or okra.

Gardeneer · November 21, 2015

I am of the similar opinions as BOWER.
I think part of our LIKES and DISLIKES about taste , in general, are cultural psychological and LEARNED things.
Just talking about BITTERNESS, Chinese, Indians .. consumes something called "Bitter Mellon" that dandelion cannot hold a candle for it in bitterness. I have tried it couple of time, I know how it. So how come Chinese and E.Indians like it ? I asked once an oriental person in the super market : " how do you get rid of its bitterness ?" He said, we don't. We like its as it is .

On tomatoes: Some , when asked "Why you don't like this or that tomato ?" he/she would answer " Well, I just don't like it ..". But some will offer a reason like" Its too tart, too sweet, too mushy, too bland, taste like mud." .. This is more of a personal subjective thing. I , myself, for example have never came to like strawberries and pineapple. And I know why . They are too acidic and almost burn my tongue .
That was my personal opinion.

Gardeneer

**carolyn137** · November 21, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by bower

Well the wiki makes it perfectly clear, I personally am not a supertaster!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supertaster
Some of my favourite things are bitter - bring on the coffee, hoppy beers, tonic, olives etc etc.

Dandelion greens are the first thing edible in spring, we are well served to enjoy them here.

Not that I adore everything on the list, but certain bitter things are downright favourites for me. Although i do also like lots of things that aren't bitter.

As regards tomato taste, I think though that experiencing so many new tomatoes in recent years, has changed what I like or think of as the perfect tomato.

This year the sweet ones were so outstanding, they blew the others out of the water. I don't know if my taste has changed, or if that trend will continue...
Next year, maybe something else. I may never be able to settle on the 'best' most 'favourite' tomato!

The link is a good one but doesn't give you the thrill, ahem, of looking at actual tongue pappilae and connecting the shapes of those papilliae to differences in tastes due to human genes.

Carolyn , and now to Vet Ranch in TX to see which critters they have helped rather than looking at the local weather report.

Gerardo · November 21, 2015

I'd love to see the neuroimaging of supertasters vs baseline folks.

Ed of Somis · November 21, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulF

I think age has to be part of the equation. In my younger years I liked sweet wine, now dryer is better, I have never been a coffee drinker, but now a cup every once in a while hits the spot. While I still like sweet tomatoes the best, a full bodied old fashioned variety tastes pretty good sometimes. The only beer I like is a very dark ale and some called "bitter". I eat things now I had no intention of ever enjoying....but I draw the line at greens, brussels sprouts or okra.

Really like the above ideas! Without mentioning these words...Paul talked some about "acquired tastes". I remember the first time I drank coffee. ugh! When I was young...sweets were OK but nothing special. Give me my apple pie alamode!

Worth1 · November 21, 2015

I have no idea what I am it changes from day to day.
I will eat just about anything but hate bitter beer even though I like bitter food.
Now I want a cup of coffee I never drink coffee at night.

Worth

Gardeneer · November 22, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

I have no idea what I am it changes from day to day.
I will eat just about anything but hate bitter beer even though I like bitter food.
Now I want a cup of coffee I never drink coffee at night.

Worth

I can and do drink coffee anytime. Right know it is midnight and I am drinking coffee. I like it mostly black @ sweet.
I keep trying strawberries and pineapple. They always look tempting but anytime I try them, it does not change what I don't like about them.
Over the years I have acquired taste for raw shell fish. Most in my family cannot stand them. That is , I think, the psychological factor.
Well there is of course genetics

Gardeneer

mrdoitall · November 22, 2015

Gardeneer, Try some salt on your pineapple.

Worth1 · November 22, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrdoitall

Gardeneer, Try some salt on your pineapple.

Ham is even better.

The problem with pineapple and other fruit like strawberries is if you haven't had them grown right and ripened correctly on the plant they aren't any good.
Sort of like saying you cant stand the taste of tomatoes if all you have had is store bought.
Not saying that anyone here hasn't had the real ones.
Most of the fruit we buy just looks like the fruit but doesn't taste like it.

**carolyn137** · November 22, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gerardo

I'd love to see the neuroimaging of supertasters vs baseline folks.

Excellent suggestion I agree with as well as comparing identical and fraternal twins.

Yes, there are cultural differences, why not since most folks in Asia in Alaska in parts of Africa and many other places have different genes than others, so why shouldn't there be different taste genes for the Inuits, the Chinese, the Japanese, and on and on.

And it might be a good idea to look at parental and grandparental parentages as well, to see what they might have brought to the gene pool.

I linked to this video, as you know, to help explain why two people tasting the same variety could get such divergent results, one saying it was the BEST, another saying it was a spitter and then went the extra mile to list all the variables involved and how to negate some of those variables.

For many years I organized taste testing events, and that was my first time to see how different folks tasting a single variety got different results from usually 1-2 fruits cut up on a single plate. They had to fill out a sheet rating quite a few things and then we tallied the results and anounced the results.

Oh yes, there were crakers and water to be used to clear the palate when going from one variety to the next.

How I loved those taste testings.

Carolyn

PaulF · November 22, 2015

Having been a part in twenty or more tomato taste tests (not so very many compared to many other groups) there is complete agreement that there is almost no agreement on which tomato tastes best. If fifty people taste fifty tomatoes usually to top vote getter receives only a handful of #1 votes. Like the saying goes,"There is no accounting for taste."

Worth1 · November 22, 2015

There is also another thing that hasn't been talked about and that is smell.
I read an article on super tasters several years ago.
If I remember correctly some people have more receptors to pick up smell than others.
So it isn't just taste it is also smell.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olfact...s_of_olfaction

My father was this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperosmia

He not only could smell things the rest of us couldn't he could tell you what it was.

He would also get madder than a wet hen when my Mom and I would eat garlic before we got in the car.
I mean mad not play mad.
He could not only smell a snake when the rest of us couldn't he would tell you what kind it was.
Then there is the work environment and where you live that comes into play.
It can wipe out your sense of smell and taste for quite some time.
When I worked in a chemical plant I made sure I lived well away from it.
The place stunk to high heaven but the the people that lived in Lake Jackson Texas couldn't smell it.
Smokers have a messed up sense of smell and taste.
As for me when I taste a tomato or anything I taste it by exhaling through my nose.
I do this in the morning before any coffee or smokes.

Worth

cloz · November 23, 2015

Growing up in Finland I used to love Salmiak (still do). It is a salty licorice. There is also a double salt licorice. My 2 kids both love it but my wife hates it. Guess my kids inherited something from me. Most people I've had try it spit it out.
Growing up, I could not eat fresh tomatoes. If you hid a small piece in a hamburger it would make me gag. I could eat pizza and pasta sauce with no problem. Now I love a good tomato. I guess tastes do change.

November 21, 2015	#3
PaulF Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brownville, Ne Posts: 3,296	I think age has to be part of the equation. In my younger years I liked sweet wine, now dryer is better, I have never been a coffee drinker, but now a cup every once in a while hits the spot. While I still like sweet tomatoes the best, a full bodied old fashioned variety tastes pretty good sometimes. The only beer I like is a very dark ale and some called "bitter". I eat things now I had no intention of ever enjoying....but I draw the line at greens, brussels sprouts or okra. __________________ there's two things money can't buy; true love and home grown tomatoes.

November 22, 2015	#13
PaulF Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brownville, Ne Posts: 3,296	Having been a part in twenty or more tomato taste tests (not so very many compared to many other groups) there is complete agreement that there is almost no agreement on which tomato tastes best. If fifty people taste fifty tomatoes usually to top vote getter receives only a handful of #1 votes. Like the saying goes,"There is no accounting for taste." __________________ there's two things money can't buy; true love and home grown tomatoes.

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November 21, 2015	#1
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	Human Genes and Taste I decided to put this thread here instead of the OFF Topic Forum since only registered Tville members can post on the latter/ Substances, foods, etc., taste different to different people. Using tomatoes as an example, what a surprise, someone will taste variety X and say it's the BEST tasting variety they ever grew while another person tasting variety X will put it on a spitter list. So I'm not comparing two different varieties since they would have different genes that synthesize different taste components I think most know that there are MANY variables that can and do affect taste of tomatoes, such as where grown geographically,how grown as in sprawled, staked, containers. etc, as well as amendments used,if so which ones,how much and when and always the variable of weather in any one season since no two seasons are the same. The following study was done by Yale University, I found it at another message site and asked permission to transfer it here and there. The video is named Supertasters.Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fhc0t_QNhs Carolyn __________________ Carolyn

November 21, 2015	#2
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,794	Well the wiki makes it perfectly clear, I personally am not a supertaster! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supertaster Some of my favourite things are bitter - bring on the coffee, hoppy beers, tonic, olives etc etc. Dandelion greens are the first thing edible in spring, we are well served to enjoy them here. Not that I adore everything on the list, but certain bitter things are downright favourites for me. Although i do also like lots of things that aren't bitter. As regards tomato taste, I think though that experiencing so many new tomatoes in recent years, has changed what I like or think of as the perfect tomato. This year the sweet ones were so outstanding, they blew the others out of the water. I don't know if my taste has changed, or if that trend will continue... Next year, maybe something else. I may never be able to settle on the 'best' most 'favourite' tomato!

November 21, 2015	#4
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,918	I am of the similar opinions as BOWER. I think part of our LIKES and DISLIKES about taste , in general, are cultural psychological and LEARNED things. Just talking about BITTERNESS, Chinese, Indians .. consumes something called "Bitter Mellon" that dandelion cannot hold a candle for it in bitterness. I have tried it couple of time, I know how it. So how come Chinese and E.Indians like it ? I asked once an oriental person in the super market : " how do you get rid of its bitterness ?" He said, we don't. We like its as it is . On tomatoes: Some , when asked "Why you don't like this or that tomato ?" he/she would answer " Well, I just don't like it ..". But some will offer a reason like" Its too tart, too sweet, too mushy, too bland, taste like mud." .. This is more of a personal subjective thing. I , myself, for example have never came to like strawberries and pineapple. And I know why . They are too acidic and almost burn my tongue . That was my personal opinion. Gardeneer

November 21, 2015	#6
Gerardo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: San Diego-Tijuana Posts: 2,598	I'd love to see the neuroimaging of supertasters vs baseline folks.

November 21, 2015	#8
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	I have no idea what I am it changes from day to day. I will eat just about anything but hate bitter beer even though I like bitter food. Now I want a cup of coffee I never drink coffee at night. Worth

November 22, 2015	#10
mrdoitall Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Alabama Posts: 185	Gardeneer, Try some salt on your pineapple.

November 23, 2015	#15
cloz Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Southern Connecticut Posts: 435	Growing up in Finland I used to love Salmiak (still do). It is a salty licorice. There is also a double salt licorice. My 2 kids both love it but my wife hates it. Guess my kids inherited something from me. Most people I've had try it spit it out. Growing up, I could not eat fresh tomatoes. If you hid a small piece in a hamburger it would make me gag. I could eat pizza and pasta sauce with no problem. Now I love a good tomato. I guess tastes do change.