Experimentbeginnerdraft
With your nose pinched, you only taste sweet
Also searched as: nose pinch taste test, jelly bean experiment
In short: A gummy bear eaten with your nose pinched only tastes sweet. Let go, and suddenly the fruit is there.
Picture it
Like a film without sound: you can see something happening, but only the sound tells the story.
You need · 5 minutes
- gummy bears in different colours
- a second person who chooses the colour
How it’s done
Sequence · Step 1 of 4
Close your eyes and pinch your nose firmly.
All steps as a list
- Close your eyes and pinch your nose firmly.
- The second person puts a gummy bear in your mouth.
- Chew and guess which flavour it is.
- Then let go of your nose and keep chewing.
What you see
With your nose pinched you only taste sweet and a little sour. As soon as your nose is free, you recognise strawberry, lemon or raspberry.
Why it happens
The tongue only recognises basic tastes such as sweet and sour. The fruit flavour is a scent. It rises into the nose from the back while you chew, but only if air can flow there.
Flavour is mostly smell
How tastes change one another
Sweet: why warm tastes sweeterSomething not right, or a question about it? Write to me →
Sources · 1
- Harold McGee: On Food and Cooking (2004), Kapitel Geschmack und Aroma