Flavor

by Bob Holmes

  58 straight to a neurologist: The colleague is Jay Gottfried of Northwestern University. See Greg Miller, “What’s Up with That: Why Are Smells So Difficult to Describe in Words?” Wired, November 11, 2014, http://www.wired.com/2014/11/whats-up-with-that-smells-language/.

  59 “Big Red gum”: This quote is from Asifa Majid and Niclas Burenhult, “Odors Are Expressible in Language, as Long as You Speak the Right Language,” Cognition 130 (2014): 266–270.

  59 quick and consistent: Ibid.

  60 wine experts’ noses are no better: Wendy V. Parr, David Heatherbell, and K. Geoffrey White, “Demystifying Wine Expertise: Olfactory Threshold, Perceptual Skill and Semantic Memory in Expert and Novice Wine Judges,” Chemical Senses 27 (2002): 747–755.

  60 fell off dramatically: D. G. Laing and G. W. Francis, “The Capacity of Humans to Identify Odors in Mixtures,” Physiology & Behavior 46 (1989): 809–814.

  60 Later studies have confirmed: Anthony Jinks and David G. Laing, “A Limit in the Processing of Components in Odour Mixtures,” Perception 28 (1999): 395–404.

  61 ambrosial and stench: Stanley Finger, Origins of Neuroscience: A History of Explorations into Brain Function (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2001), 178.

  61 The Suya: Constance Classen, David Howes, and Anthony Synnott, Aroma: The Cultural History of Smell (London: Routledge, 1994), 100–101.

  62 The Serer-Ndut: Ibid., 102–104.

  64 chocolate-tracking experiment: Jess Porter et al., “Mechanisms of Scent-Tracking in Humans,” Nature Neuroscience 10 (2007): 27–29.

  66 don’t get any better: Lee Sela and Noam Sobel, “Human Olfaction: A Constant State of Change-Blindness,” Experimental Brain Research 205 (2010): 13–29.

  66 smell your hand: Idan Frumin et al., “A Social Chemosignaling Function for Human Handshaking,” eLife 4 (2015): e05154, doi:10.7554/eLife.05154.

  66 Sobel told a reporter: Catherine de Lange, “After Handshakes, We Sniff People’s Scent on Our Hand,” New Scientist, March 3, 2015, https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27070-after-handshakes-we-sniff-peoples-scent-on-our-hand/.

  67 one famous experiment: Daniel J. Simons and Daniel T. Levin, “Failure to Detect Changes to People During a Real-World Interaction,” Psychonomic Bulletin and Review 5 (1998): 644–649.

  67 change blindness: Sela and Sobel, “Human Olfaction.”

  68 forms an air curtain: Rui Ni et al., “Optimal Directional Volatile Transport in Retronasal Olfaction,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112 (2015): 14700–14704.

  68 according to Shepherd: Shepherd, Neurogastronomy, 19–27.

  70 thresholds tend to be lower: Viola Bojanowski and Thomas Hummel, “Retronasal Perception of Odors,” Physiology & Behavior 107 (2012): 484–487.

  71 smells different to each nostril: Noam Sobel et al., “The World Smells Different to Each Nostril,” Nature 402 (1999): 35.

  72 30 percent of our odor receptors: Joel D. Mainland et al., “The Missense of Smell: Functional Variability in the Human Odorant Receptor Repertoire,” Nature Neuroscience 17 (2014): 114–120.

  74 genes help determine: Charles J. Wysocki and Gary K. Beauchamp, “Ability to Smell Androstenone Is Genetically Determined,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 81 (1984), 4899–4902.

  76 can vary many thousandfold: Andreas Keller et al., “An Olfactory Demography of a Diverse Metropolitan Population,” BMC Neuroscience 13 (2012): 122, doi:10.1186/1471-2202-13-122.

  76 nothing special: For example, Parr, Heatherbell, and White, “Demystifying Wine Expertise.”

  77 easier to detect: David E. Hornung et al., “Effect of Nasal Dilators on Nasal Structures, Sniffing Strategies, and Olfactory Ability,” Rhinology 39 (2001): 84–87.

  77 More than a thousand other genes: Ifat Keydar et al., “General Olfactory Sensitivity Database (GOSdb): Candidate Genes and Their Genomic Variations,” Human Mutation 34 (2012): 32–41.

  77 “transforms my chamber pot”: Quoted in Marcia Levin Pelchat et al., “Excretion and Perception of a Characteristic Odor in Urine after Asparagus Ingestion: A Psychophysical and Genetic Study,” Chemical Senses 36 (2011): 9–17.

  77 a pound of canned asparagus: M. Lison, S. H. Blondheim, and R. N. Melmed, “A Polymorphism of the Ability to Smell Urinary Metabolites of Asparagus,” British Medical Journal 281 (1980): 20–27.

  78 OR2M7: Nicholas Eriksson et al., “Web-Based, Participant-Driven Studies Yield Novel Genetic Associations for Common Traits,” PLoS Genetics 6 (2010): e1000993, doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1000993.

  78 who really do produce odorless urine: Marcia Pelchat et al., “Excretion and Perception of a Characteristic Odor in Urine after Asparagus Ingestion: A Psychophysical and Genetic Study,” Chemical Senses 36 (2010): 9–17.

  78 OR6A2 gene: Nicholas Eriksson et al., “A Genetic Variant near Olfactory Receptor Genes Influences Cilantro Preference,” Flavour 1 (2012): 22, doi:10.1186/2044-7248-1-22.

  81 Smell-O-Vision: See Gilbert, What the Nose Knows: 155–163.

  83 recent German study: Andreas Dunkel et al., “Nature’s Chemical Signatures in Human Olfaction: A Foodborne Perspective for Future Biotechnology,” Angewandte Reviews 53 (2014): 7124–7143.

  CHAPTER 3: THE PURSUIT OF PAIN

  87 the receptor for capsaicin: Michael J. Caterina et al., “The Capsaicin Receptor: A Heat-Activated Ion Channel in the Pain Pathway,” Nature 389 (1997): 816–824.

  88 extra-virgin olive oil: Catherine Peyrot des Gachons et al., “Unusual Pungency from Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Is Attributable to Restricted Spatial Expression of the Receptor of Oleocanthal,” Journal of Neuroscience 31 (2011): 999–1009.

  95 report less burn: Pamela Dalton and Nadia Byrnes, “The Psychology of Chemesthesis: Why Would Anyone Want to Be in Pain?,” in Shane T. McDonald, David Bolliet, and John Hayes, eds., Chemesthesis: Chemical Touch in Food and Eating (Chichester, UK: Wiley, 2016), 8–31.

  96 58 percent of our liking: Outi Tornwall et al., “Why Do Some Like It Hot? Genetic and Environmental Contributions to the Pleasantness of Oral Pungency,” Physiology & Behavior 107 (2012): 381–389.

  96 “benign masochism”: Paul Rozin and Deborah Schiller, “The Nature and Acquisition of a Preference for Chili Pepper by Humans,” Motivation and Emotion 4 (1980): 77–101.

  98 more likely to be sensation seekers: Nadia K. Byrnes and John E. Hayes, “Personality Factors Predict Spicy Food Liking and Intake,” Food Quality and Preference 28 (2013): 213–221.

  98 an interesting pattern emerged: Nadia K. Byrnes and John E. Hayes, “Gender Differences in the Influence of Personality Traits on Spicy Food Liking and Intake,” Food Quality and Preference 42 (2015): 12–19.

  99 fifty-hertz vibration: Nobuhiro Hagura, Harry Barber, and Patrick Haggard, “Food Vibrations: Asian Spice Sets Lips Trembling,” Proceedings of the Royal Society B 280 (2013): 1680, doi:10.1098/rspb.2013.1680.

  100 blocks the flow of potassium: Kristin A. Gerhold and Diana M. Bautista, “Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Trigeminal Chemosensation,” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1170 (2009): 184–189.

  100 high-altitude climber: Mark Graber and Stephen Kelleher, “Side Effects of Acetazolamide: The Champagne Blues,” American Journal of Medicine 84 (1988): 979–980.

  101 eliminating the bubbles: Paul M. Wise et al., “The Influence of Bubbles on the Perception Carbonation Bite,” PLoS One 8 (2013): e71488, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0071488.

  103 astringency built up: Catherine Peyrot des Gachons et al., “Opponency of Astringent and Fat Sensations,” Current Biology 22 (2012): R829–R830.

  103 reported the first hints: Nicole Schöbel et al., “Astringency Is a Trigeminal Sensation That Involves the Activation of G Protein-Coupled Signaling by Phenolic Compounds,” Chemical Senses 39 (2014): 471–487.

  CHAPTER 4: THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON WINE

  109 sugar tasted sweeter: Richard J. Stevenson, John Prescott, and Robert A. Boakes, “Confusing Tastes and Smells: How Odours Can Influence the P
erception of Sweet and Sour Tastes,” Chemical Senses 24 (1999): 627–635.

  109 host of similar studies: For an overview of these, see Malika Auvray and Charles Spence, “The Multisensory Perception of Flavor,” Consciousness and Cognition 17 (2008): 1016–1031.

  111 Pringles potato chips: Massimiliano Zampini and Charles Spence, “The Role of Auditory Cues in Modulating the Perceived Crispness and Staleness of Potato Chips,” Journal of Sensory Studies 19 (2004): 347–363.

  111 sounds of a coffee maker: Klemens Michael Knöferle, “Acoustic Influences on Consumer Behavior: Empirical Studies on the Effects of In-Store Music and Product Sound,” (PhD dissertation, University of St. Gallen, 2011), 36, http://www1.unisg.ch/www/edis.nsf/SysLkpByIdentifier/3964/$FILE/dis3964.pdf.

  112 when accompanied by the sea sounds: Charles Spence, Maya U. Shankar, and Heston Blumenthal, “‘Sound Bites’: Auditory Contributions to the Perception and Consumption of Food and Drink,” in Francesca Bacci and David Melcher, eds., Art and the Senses (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2011), 225–226.

  113 words like kiki: Alberto Gallace, Erica Boschin, and Charles Spence, “On the Taste of ‘Bouba’ and ‘Kiki’: An Exploration of Word-Food Associations in Neurologically Normal Participants,” Cognitive Neuroscience 2 (2011): 34–46.

  113 ice cream called “Frosh”: Eric Yorkston and Geeta Menon, “A Sound Idea: Phonetic Effects of Brand Names on Consumer Judgments,” Journal of Consumer Research 31 (2004): 43–51.

  114 the crockery: This aspect is discussed extensively in Charles Spence and Betina Piqueras-Fiszman, The Perfect Meal: The Multisensory Science of Food and Dining (Chichester, UK: Wiley, 2014): 109–143.

  115 sweetness, but not its saltiness: J. A. Maga, “Influence of Color on Taste Thresholds,” Chemical Senses 1 (1974): 115–119.

  115 had tinted it red: Gil Morrot, Frédéric Brochet, and Denis Dubourdieu, “The Color of Odors,” Brain and Language 79 (2001): 309–320.

  116 three different rooms: Carlos Velasco et al., “Assessing the Influence of the Multisensory Environment on the Whisky Drinking Experience,” Flavour 2 (2013): 23, doi:10.1186/2044-7248-2-23.

  116 ice hockey games: Corinna Noel and Robin Dando, “The Effect of Emotional State on Taste Perception,” Appetite 95 (2015): 89–95.

  119 squirm-inducing experiment: Dana M. Small et al., “Differential Neural Responses Evoked by Orthonasal versus Retronasal Odorant Perception in Humans,” Neuron 47 (2005): 593–605.

  121 Shepherd puts it best: Gordon M. Shepherd, Neurogastronomy (New York: Columbia University Press, 2012), ix (emphasis in original).

  123 labeled as “body odor”: Ivan E. de Araujo et al., “Cognitive Modulation of Olfactory Processing,” Neuron 46 (2005): 671–679.

  125 results were shocking: Robert T. Hodgson, “An Examination of Judge Reliability at a Major U.S. Wine Competition,” Journal of Wine Economics 3 (2008): 105–113.

  125 other major wine competitions: Robert T. Hodgson, “An Analysis of the Concordance Among 13 U.S. Wine Competitions,” Journal of Wine Economics 4 (2009): 1–9.

  126 not humanly possible to judge wines objectively: I owe this idea to Anna Katharine Mansfield, a wine researcher at Cornell University.

  126 prefer cheaper wines: Robin Goldstein et al., “Do More Expensive Wines Taste Better? Evidence from a Large Sample of Blind Tastings,” Journal of Wine Economics 3 (2008): 1–9.

  127 wines of varying price: Hilke Plassmann et al., “Marketing Actions Can Modulate Neural Representations of Experienced Pleasantness,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105 (2008): 1050–1054.

  128 The frontal operculum: Janina Seubert et al., “Superadditive Opercular Activation to Food Flavor Is Mediated by Enhanced Temporal and Limbic Coupling,” Human Brain Mapping 36 (2015): 1662–1676.

  129 in monkey brains: Edmund T. Rolls et al., “Sensory-Specific Satiety: Food-Specific Reduction in Responsiveness of Ventral Forebrain Neurons after Feeding in the Monkey,” Brain Research 368 (1986): 79–86.

  129 gradually switch their responses: Edmund T. Rolls et al., “Orbitofrontal Cortex Neurons: Role in Olfactory and Visual Association Learning,” Journal of Neurophysiology 75 (1996): 1970–1981.

  131 smell more accurately: Jahan B. Jadauji et al., “Modulation of Olfactory Perception by Visual Cortex Stimulation,” Journal of Neuroscience 32 (2012): 3095–3100.

  CHAPTER 5: FEEDING YOUR HUNGER

  134 Sclafani offered rats: Catalina Pérez, François Lucas, and Anthony Sclafani, “Increased Flavor Acceptance and Preference Conditioned by the Postingestive Actions of Glucose,” Physiology & Behavior 64 (1998): 483–492.

  136 learned which flavor delivered: Ivan E. de Araujo et al., “Metabolic Regulation of Brain Response to Food Cues,” Current Biology 23 (2013): 878–883.

  137 An old study from the 1950s: James Olds and Peter Milner, “Positive Reinforcement Produced by Electrical Stimulation of Septal Area and Other Regions of Rat Brain,” Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology 47 (1954): 419–427.

  138 conscious and unconscious valuations: Deborah W. Tang, Lesley K. Fellows, and Alain Dagher, “Behavioral and Neural Valuation of Foods Is Driven by Implicit Knowledge of Caloric Content,” Psychological Science 25 (2014): 2168–2176.

  141 a glass of carrot juice: Julie A. Mennella, Coren P. Jagnow, and Gary K. Beauchamp, “Prenatal and Postnatal Flavor Learning by Human Infants,” Pediatrics 107 (2001): E88, http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/107/6/e88.

  142 as infants liked it better: R. Haller et al., “The Influence of Early Experience with Vanillin on Food Preference Later in Life,” Chemical Senses 24 (1999): 465–467.

  142 more accepting of vegetable flavors: Julie A. Mennella, “Ontogeny of Taste Preferences: Basic Biology and Implications for Health,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 99 (2014): 704S–711S.

  143 “you are turning green”: Carol Zane Jolles, Faith, Food, and Family in a Yupik Whaling Community (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2002), 284; cited in Sveta Yamin-Pasternak et al., “The Rotten Renaissance in the Bering Strait: Loving, Loathing, and Washing the Smell of Foods with a (Re)acquired Taste,” Current Anthropology 55 (2014): 619–646.

  144 wearing latex gloves: Yamin-Pasternak et al., “Rotten Renaissance.”

  144 didn’t respond the same way: Paul M. Wise et al., “Reduced Dietary Intake of Simple Sugars Alters Perceived Sweet Taste Intensity but Not Perceived Pleasantness,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 103 (2016): 50–60.

  146 the renowned French Laundry: Thomas Keller, The French Laundry Cookbook (New York: Artisan, 1999): 14.

  147 tomato soup aroma: Mariëlle Ramaekers et al., “Aroma Exposure Time and Aroma Concentration in Relation to Satiation,” British Journal of Nutrition 111(2014): 554–562.

  147 some other young Dutch men: Anne G. M. Wijlens et al., “Effects of Oral and Gastric Stimulation on Appetite and Energy Intake,” Obesity 20 (2012): 2226–2232.

  148 big squirts separated: Dieuwerke P. Bolhuis et al., “Both Longer Oral Sensory Exposure to and Higher Intensity of Saltiness Decrease Ad Libitum Food Intake in Healthy Normal-Weight Men,” Journal of Nutrition 141 (2011): 2242–2248.

  149 eating pasta with a small spoon: Ana M. Andrade et al., “Does Eating Slowly Influence Appetite and Energy Intake When Water Intake Is Controlled?” International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 9 (2012): 135, doi:10.1186/1479-5868-9-135.

  149 playing with texture: K. McCrickerd and C. G. Forde, “Sensory Influences on Food Intake Control: Moving beyond Palatability,” Obesity Reviews 17 (2015): 18–29.

  149 soup more filling: Mieke J. I. Martens and Margriet S. Westerterp-Plantenga, “Mode of Consumption Plays a Role in Alleviating Hunger and Thirst,” Obesity 20 (2012): 517–524.

  150 highly flavored vanilla custard: René A. de Wijk et al., “Food Aroma Affects Bite Size,” Flavour 1 (2012): 3, doi:10.1186/2044-7248-1-3.

  150 saltier tomato soup: Bolhuis et al.,
“Longer Oral Sensory Exposure.”

  150 a dozen rat-friendly flavors: Michael Naim et al., “Energy Intake, Weight Gain, and Fat Deposition in Rats Fed Flavored, Nutritionally Controlled Diets in a Multichoice (‘Cafeteria‘) Design,” Journal of Nutrition 115 (1985): 1447–1458.

  151 scarf the stuff down anyway: Israel Ramirez, “Influence of Experience on Response to Bitter Taste,” Physiology & Behavior 49 (1991): 387–391.

  152 any taste receptor or odor receptor genes: Adam E. Locke et al., “Genetic Studies of Body Mass Index Yield New Insights for Obesity Biology,” Nature 518 (2015): 197–206.

  156 tells you nothing useful: Chih-Hung Shu et al., “The Proportion of Self-Rated Olfactory Dysfunction Does Not Change across the Life Span,” American Journal of Rhinology & Allergy 23 (2009): 413–416.

  156 impairments of their sense of smell: Claire Murphy et al., “Prevalence of Olfactory Impairment in Older Adults,” JAMA 288 (2002): 2307–2312.

  156 scratch-and-sniff smell survey: Charles J. Wysocki and Avery N. Gilbert, “National Geographic Smell Survey: Effects of Age Are Heterogeneous,” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 561 (1989): 12–28.

  158 responded to both: Nancy E. Rawson et al., “Age-Associated Loss of Selectivity in Human Olfactory Sensory Neurons,” Neurobiology of Aging 33 (2012): 1913–1919.

  158 four times as likely to die: Jayant M. Pinto et al., “Olfactory Dysfunction Predicts 5-Year Mortality in Older Adults,” PLoS One 9 (2014): e107541, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0107541.

  159 depression and anxiety: Carl M. Philpott and Duncan Boak, “The Impact of Olfactory Disorder in the United Kingdom,” Chemical Senses 39 (2014): 711–718.

  159 linked to other health problems: Nicole Toussaint et al., “Loss of Olfactory Function and Nutritional Status in Vital Older Adults and Geriatric Patients,” Chemical Senses 40 (2015): 197–203.

  160 might improve with practice: Thomas Hummel et al., “Effects of Olfactory Training in Patients with Olfactory Loss,” Laryngoscope 119 (2009): 496–499.

  161 Mark Friedman thinks: David S. Ludwig and Mark I. Friedman, “Increasing Adiposity: Cause or Consequence of Overeating?” Journal of the American Medical Association 311 (2014): 2167–2168.