For a long time, scientists thought that humans had only four basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Then, a Japanese scientist discovered a fifth basic taste — umami, an elusive savory and pungent taste that is often associated with truffles, parmesan cheese, and anchovies. And now, scientists believe there may be a sixth basic taste that's been hiding in plenty of foods we've eaten all along — fat.
In a new study, scientists discovered that fat interacts with our taste buds in ways that make it capable of changing the way we perceive a food. Like the five other basic tastes — which The Washington Post explains can be likened to the primary colors in the way they mix and match to create other tastes — the basic taste of fat seems to stand on its own as a taste that doesn't share characteristics with the other basic tastes.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
El Salvador scraps term limits, boosting Nayib BukeleSpeed Read New constitutional changes will allow presidents to seek reelection an indefinite number of times
-
Trump assigns tariffs, delays all except on CanadaSpeed Read A 35% tariff on many Canadian goods has gone into effect
-
'Crony capitalism is a sharp break from free market ideals'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
'Thriving' ecosystem found 30,000 feet underseaSpeed Read Researchers discovered communities of creatures living in frigid, pitch-black waters under high pressure
-
New York plans first nuclear plant in 36 yearsSpeed Read The plant, to be constructed somewhere in upstate New York, will produce enough energy to power a million homes
-
Dehorning rhinos sharply cuts poaching, study findsSpeed Read The painless procedure may be an effective way to reduce the widespread poaching of rhinoceroses
-
Breakthrough gene-editing treatment saves babyspeed read KJ Muldoon was healed from a rare genetic condition
-
Sea lion proves animals can keep a beatspeed read A sea lion named Ronan beat a group of college students in a rhythmic dance-off, says new study
-
Humans heal much slower than other mammalsSpeed Read Slower healing may have been an evolutionary trade-off when we shed fur for sweat glands
-
Novel 'bone collector' caterpillar wears its preySpeed Read Hawaiian scientists discover a carnivorous caterpillar that decorates its shell with the body parts of dead insects
-
Scientists find hint of alien life on distant worldSpeed Read NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected a possible signature of life on planet K2-18b
