taste classification

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...are taken into the oral cavity and are present at relatively high concentrations. In humans, five different classes, or modalities, of taste are usually recognized: sweet, salt, sour, bitter, and umami. But this is an anthropocentric view of a system that has evolved to give animals information about the nutrient content and the potential dangers of the foods they eat. The major nutrient...


The integration of odour and taste sensations in the human brain enables the detection of flavour.
Tasting occurs chiefly on the tongue through the taste buds. The taste buds are stimulated by five fundamental taste sensations—sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami. Substances can be tasted only when they are in water solutions, and if a substance is not in solution when taken into the mouth, it must be dissolved in saliva before it can be detected by the taste buds. The taste buds most...

sensation of taste the amino acid L-glutamate, and monosodium glutamate (MSG) became the first flavour enhancer to be used commercially. The rich flavour associated with L-glutamate was called umami. Umami is often considered the fifth basic taste because it is distinctly different from the other basic tastes (sweet, salty, sour, and bitter) and it is believed to activate a separate...
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