Low-fat ice cream is disgusting'and now scientists can back that up.
Traditionally scientists agreed that humans could taste four basic things: sweet, salty, sour and bitter. Recently a fifth taste was added when researchers agreed humans can taste MSG.
Now, thanks to Richard Mattes, professor of foods and nutrition at Purdue University, it appears that humans can also taste fat. Previously it was thought that fat only provided texture and possibly aided in more effectively tasting the five previously known tastes.
\I wonder if the less-than-perfect performance of current fat replacers may be due to a lack of understanding of all mechanisms for fat perception,"" Mattes said. ""Failure to account for a taste component may compromise quality.""
Some scientists believed that fat's smell was the most appealing part of the substance, but Mattes had a group of tasters wear nose plugs to eliminate that issue.
