Part 3
Host: I’m talking to chef Heston Blumenthal. Now, Heston, most of us think that
the business of eating is pretty simple, don’t we? We eat things and we like the
taste of them or we don’t, but you reckon it’s more complicated than that, don’t
you?
Heston: Yes, eating is a process that involves all the senses. Any notion that
food is simply about taste is misguided. Try eating a beautifully cooked piece of
fish off a paper plate with a plastic knife and fork – it is not the same. [15]
Host: So how does taste operate then?
Heston: The sense of taste can be broken down into five basic categories, all of
which happen in the mouth and nowhere else. These categories are: salt, sweet,
sour, bitter and umami – the most recently identified taste. There is a current
theory that fat is a taste but this has yet to be proved. We have up to 10,000
taste buds on the tongue and in the mouth. These regenerate, so the receptors
we use today will not be the same as were used a couple of days ago. When we
eat, taste buds on our tongue pick up taste but not flavour. The molecules in food
that provide flavour pass up into the olfactory bulb situated between the eyes at
the front of the brain. It contains hundreds of receptors that register molecules
contained in everything that we eat and smell. This is where the flavour of the
food is registered. [16]
Host: OK, so our sense of smell is connected with flavour rather than taste? Is
that what you’re saying?
Heston: That’s right. Smell and taste are registered in different parts of the head.
There is a simple but effective and enjoyable way of demonstrating this. Have
ready some table salt and biscuits, fruits or anything easy to eat. Squeeze your
nostrils tightly enough to prevent breathing through them, but not so tight as to
hurt. Take a good bite of biscuit or fruit and start chomping, making sure the
nostrils remain clenched. You’ll notice that it is impossible to perceive the flavour
or smell of the food being eaten. Now, with nostrils still squeezed and food still in
the mouth, lick some salt. Although it was impossible to detect the flavour of the
food that was being eaten with clenched nostrils, the taste of the salt is
unhindered. Finally, let go of your nostrils and notice the flavour of the food come
rushing into your headspace. [17]
Host: I’ll definitely try that some time. So what you’re saying is that all the senses
can affect your experience when you eat?
Heston: Yes, the brain has to process information given to it by other senses
while we are eating, sometimes with surprising results. Here’s another example.
A few years ago at a sommelier school in France, trainee wine waiters were put
through a routine wine tasting. Unknown to them, a white wine that they had just
tasted had been dyed red with a non-flavoured food dye, then brought back out
to taste and evaluate. Something very interesting happened. They all made notes
on the assumption that the wine was what it looked like – red. In this case, the
eyes totally influenced taste perception. [18]
Host: OK, so it’s not just about taste, all the senses are coming into play in
different ways.
Heston: Yes, and as well as allowing us to enjoy food, the senses act as warning
systems, taste being the last of the sensory barriers, and bitterness the last of the
taste barriers. A natural aversion to bitterness can prevent us from eating foods
that could be harmful, although it appears that we have the ability to modify such
basic likes and dislikes. For example, we generally grow to like bitter foods such
as tea, coffee and beer as we grow older. [19]
Host: What got you interested in this business of the role played by various
senses in the experience of eating? Was it just professional curiosity?
Heston: Well, I began thinking about this whole subject a couple of years ago
when I noticed that more and more customers at my restaurant were
commenting on the fact that the red cabbage with grain-mustard ice cream
served as an appetiser just got better each time they ate it. This was the only
dish on the menu whose recipe had not changed over the past year. It seemed
that the barrier being presented with this dish was the vivid purple colour of the
cabbage, a colour not normally associated with food. [20] To some diners, the
initial difficulty of accepting this colour interfered with the appreciation of the dish,
but as they got used to it, they lost their inhibition and simply enjoyed its flavour.
Host: I see. Now, of course the sense of smell must com e…
