Food Unit - Taste

Taste bud layout of a tongue:

Bitter: coco (unsweetened chocolate)

Sour: lemon aid

Salty: chips

Sweet: heresy kisses with caramel

Directions:

  1. Prepare food for students ahead of time.
  2. Give students handout and explain what will happen.
  3. Introduce each food individually. Before distributing the food to the students, have them guess which sensation the food will give off and what area of the tongue will be most sensitive.
  4. Pass out the food to the students and tell them they may eat it.
  5. The students should fill in the results portion of their worksheet.


Taste Bud Lab

Food flavor includes taste sensations perceived by the tongue – sweet, salty, sour, and bitter – and smells perceived by the nose. Often the terms flavor and smell (aroma) are used interchangeably. Food flavor and aroma are difficult to measure and difficult to get people to agree on. A part of food science called sensory science is dedicated to finding ways to help humans accurately describe the flavors and other sensory properties of their food.

~Introduction to Food Science by Rick Parker published by Delmar Thompson Learning

You will be given four different foods by your teacher. After receiving the food you will slowly consume it paying close attention to the portion of your tongue which senses the taste.

Food #1: ______

Hypothesis

Taste sensation: ______

Area of tongue: ______

Results

Taste sensation: ______

Area of tongue: ______

Food #2: ______

Hypothesis

Taste sensation: ______

Area of tongue: ______

Results

Taste sensation: ______

Area of tongue: ______

Food #3: ______

Hypothesis

Taste sensation: ______

Area of tongue: ______

Results

Taste sensation: ______

Area of tongue: ______

Food #4: ______

Hypothesis

Taste sensation: ______

Area of tongue: ______

Results

Taste sensation: ______

Area of tongue: ______

On the back of this paper, write a brief on paragraph reflection about the lab.