Why does smell affect taste?

Asked by: Jason Webb, Tennessee


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:

undefined