Super-tasters

In today’s lab (1/4/13) the class participated in an experiment to which we would find out if there were any super-tasters in the class. Everyone partnered up for a very intimate procedure of rubbing four different liquids on four different spots on the partners tongue. From where the subject tasted the liquid on various spots on the tongue determined what type of liquid it was. For example, tasting the liquid in the back would be bitter, the sides indicate sour or salty and the tip of the tongue tastes sweetness. The class then compiled data on a chart for each liquid and where it could be tasted on their tongue. The group determined liquid A to be salty, liquid B to be bitter, liquid C being sour and liquid D as sweet. The next process was counting the papillae in a 7 mm circle from an index card; this is how one classifies being a super-taster if the papillae count is above 35 in the 7 mm circle. Unfortunately no one in the class was categorized as a super-taster, with results of 4 students having less than 15 papillae, 12 having 15-35 papillae and none having more than 35. Although no one in the class is a super-taster, we have a better understanding of the different flavors and where we sense them on our palettes which will definitely be useful for tasting different French cuisine!