This week we are going to explore the relationship between our senses and food, or more specifically, flavors. Make sure you wash your hands before this experiment!
What you will need:
Some different flavored candies (fruit ones work well)
A blindfold
A friend
A notepad
A pen
A glass of water
★ Blindfold your friend.
★ Ask your friend to hold her nose firmly.
★ Give your friend a piece of candy. Note the flavor.
★ Ask your friend to guess the flavor when she first tries it. Ask her to keep sucking the candy.
★ Ask her again a couple of moments later. Write down her description.
★ When she has finished, give her some water.
★ Now try giving her a different flavor.
★ Can she tell the new flavor?
(CATHERINE THOMAS, STAFF WRITER)
本週我們要來探索我們的感官和食物間的關聯,更精準地說,就是我們的味覺。實驗開始前,你得先把雙手洗乾淨喔!
所需材料︰
一些不同口味的糖果(水果口味效果最佳)
一個眼罩
一本筆記本
一枝筆
一杯水
★ 幫你的朋友戴上眼罩。
★ 請你的朋友緊緊捏住自己的鼻子。
★ 給你朋友一顆糖,你要記下口味。
★ 她把糖放入口中後,問她這是什麼口味,並請她不斷吸含這顆糖果。
★ 過幾分鐘後,再問她一次,並記下她的描述。
★ 當她吃完後,讓她喝一點水。
★ 再給她另一種口味試試看。
★ 她能分辨出這顆糖果的口味嗎? (翻譯:袁星塵)
There are only four types of true taste: sweet, sour, bitter and salty. Some of our taste buds respond to sweetness, some to saltiness and so on. The taste buds for bitterness are at the back of our tongues, and this helps us to vomit substances which are too bitter (which is why bitter agents are added to dangerous household chemicals). The rest of the "taste" from food comes from our other senses, the most important of which is smell. As the candy dissolves some smell travels up through the passage between the back of the throat and the nose. This means that some people might be able to identify the flavor after a couple of moments.
我們的味覺只能分辨甜、酸、苦和鹹四種味道。我們某部分的味蕾對甜味特別敏感,有些則是對鹹味等等;感受苦味的味蕾在舌根部,這讓我們能吐出太苦的食物(所以有危險性的家用化學產品中會加入苦劑)。我們對食物的其他感受來自我們其他的感官,其中最重要的是嗅覺。當糖果在我們口中溶化時,有些氣味會傳到後面的喉嚨和鼻子間,這就表示有些人也許能在幾分鐘後分辨出正確的口味。



