taste page 1

taste page 1 by ric gustafson


This story is about taste and we cannot start without the building blocks of taste.
The first building block of taste is Sweet. One simple carbohydrate compound is sucrose or sugar.
Most people describe sweet tastes as pleasant. Other sweet tastes are fruit and dairy products.
The second building block of taste is Sour. Acidity in food make taste sour. Citric and acetic are two kinds of acid. High levels of acid make taste unpleasant. Acids preserve some foods such as pickles.
The third building block of taste is Bitter. Tolerance for bitter foods differs per individual. Coffee, tea and red wine are bitter drinks that can be tolerated. Caffeine is very bitter and can be toxic at a high level.
The fourth building block of taste is Salt. Sodium chloride is added to food as salt. Salt is critical because we cannot store excess sodium so we seek it in food. We need salt to survive.
The fifth building block of taste is Umami. Glutamates are amino acids that are in foods such as beef and mushrooms. MSG is the salt of glutamic acid and is added to food as seasoning. Other things high in umami are cooked tomatoes and Parmesan cheese.



research help: ' Taste what you're missing' by Barb Stuckey


Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric