Taste Senses

Almost everyone has experienced food differently when they are sick, or have been affected by their senses when a food looks unappealing. It’s almost like having a stuffy nose can make food seem more bland or unenjoyable, or like a certain appearance of a food can influence the way one perceives its taste. This actually does occur, because our senses do in fact influence one another. Smell and taste are both identified by a chemical sensation system, with smell being processed by the olfactory cells in the brain, and taste processed by gustatory cells in the brain. Other senses also influence others as well, like the way eating in a crowded or noisy environment can influence they way one perceives their food (Yan & Dando, 2015). To test to …show more content…
The first food I chose was green melon, but after conducting the experiment, I did not think that the results that I got were accurate because the melon was not ripe enough, making it hard and bland. For the second trial of the experiment, I chose garlic knots. I chose these because I thought the garlic flavor would be pretty strong, and I was interested in seeing how the perception of garlic flavor changed as the use of certain senses were added or taken away. After my friend tried each food with certain senses, I asked her questions about the taste, and I recorded them. The results from both of my trials are included in the following …show more content…
The first problem that I had was my choice of food. Overall, I think I made poor choices in food, which resulted in a situation that made getting accurate results more challenging. Because I chose food from the dining hall, I was somewhat limited with my choices. Many things that were listed on the assignment sheet that would have worked well were either not offered, or had run out—which I knew was at risk of happening by going there. Also, the foods that I chose were either not ripe enough, or not well prepared—another risk I took in going to the dining hall. The melon was hard and under ripe, resulting in a less flavorful piece of fruit, and the garlic knots were very hard and crunchy, making it hard to eat for my blindfolded friend. Another problem that was my fault was the size of the foods. I should have either chosen smaller sized items, or cut them before I gave them to my friend to taste. While it was funny to watch my friend try to eat these foods, I think it made it difficult to distinguish each flavor, as she was probably distracted by the texture of the