Bartender 101 - tools tequniques and cocktails - Flipbook - Page 18
THE FIVE TYPES OF TASTE RECEPTORS
Taste is one of our basic senses and is used for chemical
analysis of food composition. There are 5 types of taste
receptors, corresponding to important groups of chemical
substances found in the consumed food.
•
Sweet – carbohydrates, mainly
monosaccharides and disaccharides.
•
Salty – salts of sodium and potassium.
•
Acid – organic and inorganic acids.
•
Bitter – alkaloids and many inorganic salts.
•
Umami – glutamic acid.
In order to ensure that our food or drink (such as a cocktail) is
palatable we need to strike a balance between different flavours.
When creating a cocktail we should focus on a balance between
the sweet and sour or the sweet and bitter flavours. In addition,
what is equally important is the balance between alcoholic and
non-alcoholic ingredients.
•
The sense of taste is closely lined to the sense of smell - it is
believed that only 10 % of an overall taste sensation is perceived
by the taste buds (the basic 5 tastes).
•
Our sense of smell accounts for the remaining 90%. Our taste
buds are ten thousand times less sensitive than our noses to the
concentration of chemical molecules in the food.
