The article by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Murat Doğan, Deputy Dean of Istanbul Gelişim University (IGU), Faculty of Fine Arts (FFA), and faculty member of the Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts, was published in Yemek Zevki Journal. The article that appeared in the November issue of the magazine, “Can There Be a Science of Flavor” was included with the title. The text of the relevant article is given below.
While there is a science of physics, chemistry, and biology, which are considered basic sciences, isn't there also a science of flavor? I think there is a science to the taste that human beings have been indispensable for tens of thousands of years. I will try to give you scientific evidence about this. Of course, without boring or rambling...
Among the foods that human beings have sought and found in nature since ancient times, the ones that are beneficial to them have exploded with flavor on their palate, that is, they are very delicious. But why?
Flavor Explosion
Like all living things, humans are also coded to survive. Thousands of years ago, our ancestors collected and ate wild fruits and plants for food. Even today, this habit continues in the form of collecting mushrooms, honey, and wild herbs. Our ancestors realized that bitter things are usually poisonous, and sweet things are usually non-poisonous. This learning, that is, the acquired knowledge, has been encoded in our genes for thousands of years. Things that are beneficial to our health and nutrition seem delicious to us. By the way, I can guess that you are asking me this question.
“So why do today's experts insist that sweet foods are not good for your health?”
The explanation is very simple. A few centuries ago, human beings could not easily access today's sugar and sugary foods. In those days, people worked with manual and physical strength and had to walk from one place to another. People were consuming some honey they found in the forest with an appetite and savoring its flavor. If you want, let us experience what our ancestors did. Let's not eat sugary foods for a week. Afterwards, we have a golden baklava with plenty of pistachios. Let's imagine how the baklava dissolves in our mouth and how we feel its flavor components. Then we can say that everything related to taste happens in our brain.
Our Brain and the Perception of Flavor
The effects of each person's tongue, nose, and other senses, which are part of the sense of taste when eating and drinking, are different from each other. Therefore, the factors affecting sensory experiences are unique for each person. In short, the food that is delicious for me may not be so delicious for my friend next to me.
Formation of Flavor
There are also biological and mnemonic factors that affect the formation of flavor. So, it is a matter of learning. While raw meatballs may not be bitter to a child from Urfa, they may be bitter to a child from Manisa. By the way, I would like to give an example that reflects the change in taste perception well. An airline company started serving baklava with lots of sherbet and lots of pistachios to passengers on flights between Tokyo and Istanbul. Baklava was served to both Turkish and Japanese passengers on flights. However, this service did not last very long. The reason is very interesting. While the Japanese passengers could not even finish the first slice of baklava, the Turkish passengers wanted more. What is happening is nothing more than the Japanese being exposed to a taste they are not accustomed to in terms of biological and mnemonic factors. For this reason, our world-famous and truly delicious baklava did not seem delicious to the Japanese.
Emotional Inputs and Reactions in the Brain
When we consume food and beverages, the taste received by the taste buds on our tongue and the smell received by the yellow area in our nose are reflected in the form of electrical signals to the region of our brain called the "orbitofrontal cortex" located just behind the eyeball cavity and are interpreted here. What I've described here seems like a very simple process. Like the reaction to the effect and the resulting perception. We cannot explain the taste so easily. Psychologists and neuroscientists step in and say:
“Flavor has multiple emotional inputs such as smell, taste, and touch. OK, that's true. But taste is a phenomenon created by our brain and has a constant connection from birth to old age. For example, it can easily be argued that the transmission of the food eaten by the mother to the fetus through the amniotic fluid in the womb affects even future taste preferences. "As in the example, the process of perceiving flavor may involve hundreds of different parameters."
To give an example of one of hundreds of different parameters, some experts suggest that the human brain reacts differently to the same food in terms of taste depending on hunger and satiety. It is stated that the brain of overweight people reacts differently than the brain of normal-weight people.
Science of Flavor
As a result, a field has emerged that examines how flavor is perceived through complex processes in the human brain. This new branch of science was named Neurogastronomy by neuroscientist Gordon M. Shepherd. This branch of science briefly focuses on examining the brain's adventure that begins with eating and how sensory experiences develop. Additionally, Neurogastronomy studies flavor perception and how it affects cognition* and memory. Neurogastronomy has positioned itself as an interdisciplinary branch of science and draws on the psychology and neuroscience of sensation, learning, satiety, and decision-making. His areas of interest include understanding how the sense of smell contributes to taste, taste preferences, defining taste, food addiction, and the problem of obesity.
*Perception is all of the processes that the mind performs to understand the world, such as attention, memory, emotions, language, decision-making, thinking, and reasoning.
Stay healthy…
