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SIGHT | TOUCH | SMELL | HEARING | TASTE | AFTERTASTE | REPORTS


The English verb TASTE, meaning “to sample by mouth; enjoy,” is derived from Old French *taster, but before that from Vulgar Latin *tastare, which was apparently an alteration (perhaps by influence of *gustare) of *taxtare. Source: https://www.etymonline.com

What can our mouth/tongue tell us about food?

At TASIS, science students have offered a number of answers to this question and their answers have been converted to a series of questions for use in taste-dependent food investigations…

  1. Identification: What is it? (e.g., It is a strawberry.)
  2. What basic tastes are present? (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami)
  3. What other tastes are present? (starchy? fatty…aka. oleogustus?)
  4. What memory does the taste evoke for you?
  5. What emotion does the taste evoke in you? (e.g., sadness, happiness, nostalgia, etc.)

Can you think of other food-related questions that can be answered by taste?

Some ‘tasty’ resources for students…


Last updated: September 2019