Activity 1- "Name that Taste"

When you think of taste you rarely think your nose contributes to your perception of taste.  However, you would be surprised at how much your nose affects your perception of taste. 

Supplies needed:  Blindfold and Jelly Beans                    

1.  First your vision will be occluded, you will be asked to eat a jelly bean while holding your nose and identifying its flavor.

2.  Next, you take the same flavor jelly bean and eat it regularly.  You will notice that it is easier to perceive flavor with your gustatory system in conjunction with the help of your olfactory and visual systems.


Questions to be raised:

• Was it harder to distinguish the flavors without the use of your olfactory and visual systems?
• How accurate were you able to distinguish the flavor jelly bean without the use of your olfactory and visual systems?
• With the use of all three senses, were you able to accurately determine jelly bean flavor?

For more information, check this site out:
The Nose Knows

Taste and Smell

---

Activity 2- "Are you a taster or non-taster?"

I bet you never thought about how each person tastes things differently, but there are certain dominant traits, even when it comes to taste.  It is true that some people are super-tasters, while other people can't recognize the taste at all.  Which are you?

Supplies needed:  Taste papers, cup of water, paper and pencil

1.  Sip water in order to cleanse palate.

2.  Stick the taste paper on your tongue and record what it tastes like.  (Ex.  salty, sweet, bitter, hot, or nothing). 

3.  Compare how well you tasted to the rest of the group.


Questions to be raised:

• After looking at the data, do you feel certain taste perceptions are better recognized by some people compared to others?
• Do the tasters or the non-tasters have the dominant traits?
• How do you compare to the rest of the group?

For more information, check this site out:
Taster or Non-Taster?

---