Food and beverage temperature found to affect taste
Published:21-December-2005
By BR staff writer
A new study by researchers at a Belgian university has revealed why our taste perception is enhanced as the temperature of food and beverage products increases, explaining the mechanisms behind why ice cream tastes sweeter and beer more bitter when consumed warm.
Researchers from the department of physiology at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium say that the findings could be used to help manufacturers mask bitter, unwanted tastes that often turn consumers off.
Previous research into taste has revealed that the human tongue has about 10,000 taste buds with five taste sensations: sweet, bitter, salty, sour and umami. The former three work with a signal through a G-protein coupled receptor, while the latter two work with ion channels.
When taste molecules touch the taste buds in our tongue, microscopic channels - termed TRPM5 - open in the cell membrane of the taste buds. This causes an electric signal to arise in the taste buds that travels to the brain via nerve fibers, where it is translated into a specific taste sensation.
According to the study, the reaction of TRPM5 in our taste buds is much more intense when the temperature of food or fluid is increased, sending a stronger electrical signal to the brain and resulting in an enhanced taste.
At 15 degrees Celsius the TRPM5 channel scarcely opens, whereas at 37 degrees Celsius its sensitivity is more than 100 times higher. The warmer the food or fluid in one's mouth, that much stronger will TRPM5 react, and thus that much stronger is the electrical signal sent to the brain.
An example cited by the researchers is the sweet taste of ice cream, which will only be perceived when it melts and heats up in the mouth. If the same ice cream is served warm, then the reaction of TRPM5 in the taste buds is much more intense and the taste of the melted ice cream is much sweeter.
Conversely consumers enjoy a certain bitter taste in some beverages, such as coffee, tea or cocoa, which is why these taste better when hot, while the bitter taste of beverages like beer or wine becomes much more apparent when the products are consumed above the appropriate temperature.
This research into how consumers sense food is crucial for a food industry constantly in search of new food formulations.
