{"id":57,"date":"2022-04-28T11:07:11","date_gmt":"2022-04-28T09:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/5senses4kids.org\/en\/?page_id=57"},"modified":"2022-07-29T11:28:51","modified_gmt":"2022-07-29T09:28:51","slug":"taste","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/5senses4kids.org\/en\/taste\/","title":{"rendered":"Taste"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/span>
\n
\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Taste<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Do you know that <\/em>the mouth of a foetus<\/em><\/strong> can already have taste sensations ? Do you know the relationship between the taste system and the sense of smell ?<\/em><\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

“5 senses for kids Foundation” takes you through the different stages of <\/em>the development of taste in children<\/em><\/strong>. At the bottom of the page, you will also find fun activities to accompany your little one’s discovery of taste.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Taste perception<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

First of all, we need to clarify what we mean by “taste”. We often think that the taste of food<\/strong> is perceived in the mouth. Try the following experiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Practical exercise: Pinch your nose and bite (for example) a piece of chocolate for a few seconds. Observe the sensation, then open your nose to swallow. Notice the difference: a pinched nose has no “taste” ; when an open nose has taste !<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

As Brillat-Savarin wrote in 1825: “without the sense of smell, there is no complete tasting”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we chew some food, we release sapid (i.e. “tasty”) and volatile products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sapid products are perceived in the mouth. These are the “basic tastes” : <\/strong> sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami (protein taste). Umami means “essence of deliciousness” in Japanese, and its taste is often described as the meaty, salty deliciousness that deepens the flavour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The volatile odorants travel up the back of the throat (pharynx) and are perceived by the olfactory system in the nose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
Olfaction<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

If we close the “chimney” of the nose, we suppress the olfactory dimension. It is the whole of these perceptions that we call “taste”. This is why in the following we will use “gustation” for sensations in the mouth. It should be pointed out that the nerve pathways of smell and taste are different. The perception of taste is only formed in the brain when these two sensory pathways come together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The sense of taste : what do we perceive in the mouth ?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

We have talked about “basic tastes”. In fact, this is a far too simplistic notion. Let’s take the example of sweetness. It can be provided by sugar, which is practically pure sucrose. But many products are sweet substances, with varying degrees of sweetness, without sucrose: for example, sweeteners or fructose (the sugar found in fruit).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

Taste : a multi-sensory experience<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

So there are countless products to stimulate our taste system<\/strong>. Moreover, as we eat mostly complex foods, made up of mixtures of palatable products, the resulting mouthfeel is ultimately much richer than the four ‘basic tastes’ would suggest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forget also about the supposed distribution of tastes on the tongue (e.g. sweet at the tip). These recent years research has shown that taste sensors<\/strong> are distributed in taste buds all over the surface of the tongue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with smell, the trigeminal nerve plays a role in taste. Its nerve endings detect temperature, texture, pungency (pepper), irritation (garlic), and the bubbles of soft drinks. And let’s not forget our auditory sense which “listens” to the sounds of chewing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Taste during intrauterine life<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

How is the organ of taste <\/strong>formed in the foetus ? The taste sensors (receptors) are located on the surface of taste cells, which are themselves embedded in the taste buds, which are themselves assembled inside the papillae. A bit like a set of Russian dolls !<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The taste buds <\/strong>appear to be functional from 3-4 months of gestation. Dutch researchers have been able to use ultrasound to observe some 19-week-old foetuses swallowing amniotic fluid. This movement becomes more widespread afterwards. It is therefore certain that the foetus can accumulate taste experience before birth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A baby therefore comes into the world with olfacto-gustatory references that will evolve during breastfeeding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The advantages of breastfeeding : a diet that adapts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

There are three phases of lactation : colostrum, transitional milk and mature milk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colostrum is produced for 2-3 days after the birth. It is highly concentrated in proteins (23 g\/litre) and oligosaccharides (12 g\/litre) which, in addition to their nutritional contribution<\/strong>, act as probiotics favouring the implantation of the microbiota, largely inherited from the mother, which she has in a way “tamed”. Other components promote the baby’s immunity : antibodies and white blood cells. Colostrum is coloured yellow-orange by beta-carotene (or provitamin A). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then comes the transitional milk; the composition changes and the volume increases to reach mature milk after about fifteen days. On average, each woman then produces 0.75 litres of milk per day and the baby takes 0.15-0.2 litres at each feeding. This milk is relatively dilute in protein (1%) but rich in carbohydrates (7%) and fat (4%), plus micronutrients (such as vitamins and growth factors).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As described in “Olfaction” in the part “For parents”<\/a>, the olfacto-gustatory experience of breastfeeding<\/strong>, practised in the safe maternal environment, promotes both growth and learning. It will form the basis of the child<\/strong>‘s, and even the adult’s, food preferences and diversification<\/strong>. It is here that food traditions are anchored; when we eat, we also eat culture. For, until about the age of two, children experience the “golden age of taste buds”, when they have two essential abilities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n