The human tongue has somewhere up to eight thousand taste buds to inform us when something is sweet, salty, sour, or bitter—or as we usually think of it—delicious or revolting. Tastes differ from one region to the next, and no two people’s seem to be the same. But why is it that some people think maple syrup is too sweet, while others can’t get enough?What makes certain people love Roquefort cheese and others think it smells like feet?
Why do some people think cilantro tastes like soap?
John Prescott tackles this conundrum in Taste Matters, an absorbing exploration of why we eat and seek out the foods that we do.
Why We Like the Foods We Do
by John Prescott
Reaktion Books, 2012
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Science Writing
Second Nature
