I really don't like the way cilantro tastes. I was never aware of cilantro until I started eating in Mexican restaurants, and then I figured out that the chopped up green stuff in salsa is cilantro. Some restaurants use a little, some a lot. When I eat salsa with cilantro in it, all I can taste is the herb. It literally overpowers everything else. I am also the same way about celery. I have tried to like celery, I really have. I have dieted all my life, and I know that celery is the ultimate diet food. I can't, though. I just can't eat it. In my opinion, it ruins the taste of anything it is added to. I am hesitant to eat chicken salad in restaurants because it might have celery in it. I can't drink V-8 juice because all I taste is the celery. It doesn't matter if I put peanut butter on it, or not. To me, it tastes bad!
I have always been fascinated by the subject of taste. I think how food tastes different to everyone is so interesting. I do not consider myself a picky eater, but I do have a list of foods that I do not like, and will not eat. People say, "It's a texture thing," and I agree that the way it feels in my mouth is part of it. For instance, a piece of gristle in my mouth will cause me to reflexively spit it out; I don't care if the Queen of England is at the table. It absolutely gags me. I won't eat chopped mutton because I manage to bite down on a piece of gristle or bone every single time. I had a bad experience with a piece of chicken just yesterday, and I am not planning to order it in a restaurant again, or at least until I stupidly forget about it. If I were to get a piece of fat in my mouth...oy vey!
Obviously, smell is a huge component of taste. We know this because when we have a bad cold and a stuffed up nose, we can't taste food. My friend is missing her sense of smell. She can't smell anything. This is called anosmia. She thinks she tastes food, but that is just because that is all she knows. She does not eat much, and is very thin. I think because food is literally fuel for her, and not really enjoyable, she doesn't over eat. Perhaps a key to weight control is knocking out the sense of smell?
At one time, I thought that I might be a supertaster. About one third of all Americans are "supertasters," but now I think that I probably am not. The way to test for it is to put a chemical called PROP on a piece of paper, and to put the paper in your mouth. Nonstasters taste nothing, medium tasters will find the taste moderately bitter, and supertasters will find the taste overwhelmingly bitter. This sounds familiar to me, because I think I once heard this about crepe paper. I distinctly remember the first time I tasted crepe paper! I was in elementary school, and we were having a program. We all had white shirts with red crepe paper bows. I went to get a drink of water, and my bow got in my mouth. I was shocked at the taste! It tasted bitter and salty, all at the same time! I couldn't get over it! Weird! I think that I once read that some people think crepe paper tastes that way, and some don't detect a taste at all.
I think that my son Seth may be a supertaster. He is even worse than I am about the taste of foods, and we like and dislike most of the same things. Neither one of us likes anything sweet. We definitely do not like birthday cake. I can tell you exactly the last time I had a piece of cake, and I can tell you what kind it was. It's that rare. Ditto with candy. I like sour things, but not sweet.
Here is an interesting article about supertasters, from Prevention magazine:
http://www.prevention.com/health/nutrition/healthy-eating-tips/supertaster-test-how-to-tell-if-you-re-a-supertaster/article/7d4b323b0b803110VgnVCM20000012281eac____
Let me know what you think about this subject. Like I said, I am fascinated! Print this post
You're a freak.
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