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COVER STORY: Tasty, isn’t it?
As soon as Atta returned from college that day, he shouted, “Madiha, Madiha where are you?”
“Atta bhai, I am here,” came a short reply from Madiha who was arranging plates on the dining table.
“You must better be quick, sis, because I have brought haleem, kebabs and gulab jamuns for you today.”
“Yum, yum, come on but what about the food which has been already cooked?”
“Leave it! That’s not tasty. Just smell the aroma of these kebabs and then look at those vegetables. I can bet you won’t look twice.”
They both knew that the food being cooked at home was hygienic and the stuff from the market may have been unhealthy but they could not withstand the temptation. And were finished with their lunch within half an hour.
The sensation of taste can be explained as a sense which is felt in the tongue when it comes in contact with some substances and flavours.
The analysis of taste is divided into four general categories called the primary sensations of taste. They are sour, sweet, bitter and salty. Other secondary taste sensations perceived by us are basically the various combinations of these four primary sensations.
Tongue is the main organ of the body, which senses taste. It is amazing how the different parts of the tongue sense different taste sensations. The tip of the tongue senses the sweet taste, while the back of the tongue detects bitter taste, which includes poisons too. Its importance is that the bitter taste causes the person to reject poisonous food immediately.
Similarly anterior half of each side of the tongue detects salty taste, while posterior half of each side of the tongue detects sour taste like that of vinegar.
Taste buds are located at different locations on the tongue and also scattered in the mouth and help in taste detection.
Sense of taste is in close relation with sense of smell. That’s why aroma of some delicious food may make you feel hungry! And you start salivation too.
The sense of taste varies from place to place and from person to person. You would find that people residing in Malaysia or Indonesia like spicy dishes. Americans are famous for their junk food. Similarly Lahoris and Punjabis are famous for their food culture. Many of their popular dishes are mostly rich in calories, hydrogenated oil (ghee) and pure milk. These calorie rich foods do taste good, but are usually harmful to our health. Most of the children, teenagers and youngsters dislike vegetables and fruits, instead unhealthy stuff is appreciated more by them, starting from junk food to soft drinks, snacks and chocolates. A balanced diet is an alien concept to them.
As there are colour-blind people in this world, similarly there are taste blind people too. Around 25 per cent of all the people are said to be taste blind; it is determined by the presence of a gene called phenylthiocarbamide. Other thiourea compounds are also used in determining the taste blindness of a person.
Just think for a moment what would happen if you wouldn’t have any taste sensations. No food would appeal much to you. Maybe its smell or colour would. Mothers wouldn’t be scolding their children to finish their veggies or they won’t get any puddings. Instead, there are more chances that children would come to their mother saying, “Please give us some more vegetables, they are so colourful. And keep that pale yellow coloured pudding with you. It makes us feel sick!”
There wouldn’t have been any importance of Sabri’s Nehari, Bundoo Khan’s Tikka, sandwiches, burgers or ice creams from famous outlets. Maybe we would all end up grazing grass or eating leaves from the trees and then enjoyed every bit of it!
And wasn’t it just the urge to taste the forbidden fruit, which resulted in Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Had he not tasted it and instead listened to God, we would all be residing in paradise today! So you can see the sensation of taste is very important to the human beings and has remained so throughout history.
Life is said to be like a box of sweet and sour bonbons in which you get sweet and bitter experiences. One after the other you pick up a bonbon hoping that it would taste sweet. Sometimes your experience encourages you to go further and sometimes you back out. This goes on and on until one day the box is empty as there are no more bonbons left and so is the end of life.
The sense of taste is a blessing to us, which has been taken for granted. We must always thank God for His blessings, which He has showered on us. They are not one or two, but unlimited. Doesn’t Surah Rehman tell you the same, too? “Then which of the Blessings of your Lord will you both (jinns and men) deny?” And surely we can never deny His blessings, and we can never give enough thanks for His blessings.
Terms related to taste
Ageusia: Absence of taste detection is called taste blindness or ageusia.
Taster: Person employed to judge different samples of tea, wine, etc. by tasting them.
P-4000: It is the sweetest substance. It is 5000 times sweeter than sucrose (common sugar). P-4000 cannot be used as a sweetening agent as it is toxic.
Saccharin: Sweetening agent used mostly by diabetics or weight conscious people. It is 675 times sweeter than common sugar. It tastes sweet but has a bitter aftertaste.
Flavour: The combination of different qualities of food other than taste. Flavour includes smell, temperature and texture of food.
Brackish: Of a saline taste. Partly fresh, partly saline.
Bitter-cup: A cup made of quassia wood, which imparts a bitter taste to water poured into it.
Empyreuma: The disagreeable smell and taste produced when animal or vegetable substances in closed vessels are submitted to considerable heat.
Gourmandize: To eat food greedily. Taste in the provision and appreciation of table delicacies.
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