Most people believe that the flavor of food is made up of four taste components: salty, sweet, sour and bitter. Actually, a fifth taste, called "umami," the Japanese word for savory, was discovered in 1908 by a professor at the Imperial University of Tokyo, Kikunae Ikeda, but has only recently achieved widespread acceptance along side the big four. Umami is best known as the flavor of MSG (Monosodium-glutamate).
The jury is still out as to whether a taste sensation called piquance, that burning sensation you get from chili peppers, for example, should make the list of primaries.
Some scientists don't hold to the idea of primaries at all, in fact, preferring to think of our taste pallet as more of a spectrum, like light and color.
Be that as it may, researchers at Australia's Deakin University in Geelong (near Melbourne) believe they've uncovered evidence of yet another long-suspected primary taste: fat.
Not only have they discovered the flavor, says Deakin's Russell Keast to Reuters, they've found that people who are better able to taste it tend to eat less of it, and tend to be less fat themselves.
The variation in sensitivity may be a case of desensitization, says Keast, from overeating fatty foods. He thinks the discovery of the taste, with more research, could lead to reductions in obesity levels.
The findings are detailed in the 03 March 2010 issue of The British Journal of Nutrition.
Photo credit: my.1club.fm
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