Strictly speaking, taste only occurs in the mouth, and refers to one of the five basic sensations detected by the taste buds – sweet, salty, sour, bitter and savoury or ‘umami’. Your nose, however, detects aroma, which can identify a much wider range of thousands of volatile compounds.
The sum of these two sensations is what we perceive as flavour, and so both play an important role in our overall experience of food.
Read more:
- What’s in a smell?
- Why do some drinks taste better when they are cold?
- Has our sense of smell evolved based on what is good and bad for us?
- Why does orange juice taste bad after tooth brushing?
