A Matter of Taste (Suzanne Forster)

Confession time. I’m a sucker for those instant personality quizzes that you find online and in magazines. You know the ones that tell you which one of the Gilmore Girls you’re most like. So, of course when I saw a new quiz on AOL News the other day, I had to stop and check it out. But as it turned out this one wasn’t about personality. It was about taste buds. Yep, taste buds are the latest way to separate the foodie haves from the have nots—and in this case it’s how many taste buds you have that makes you special.

The privileged among us who were born with mega taste buds are Supertasters and the unfortunates who are taste bud-challenged are Non-tasters. Anyone in between is a Medium Taster—but really, who wants to be medium? Sounds too much like average to me. However, initially I wasn’t as interested in my taste bud designation as I was in the luscious piece of lemon cake that was pictured alongside the description of the quiz. The way I was salivating over that cake, I had to be a Supertaster. And I was just eight questions away from finding out.

Here’s the quiz. (The key’s at the bottom, but don’t peek!)

1 - Setting diet regimen aside, what’s your dessert preference?
A. Lemon cake with vanilla frozen yogurt
B. Fudge brownie sundae with rocky road ice cream

2 - A bottle of cabernet with dinner?
A. Sure, and I probably drink more than my share.
B. Just one glass and I probably won’t finish it.

3 - How about a stiff drink?
A. Yes, and make it neat.
B. No, thanks, that stuff tastes worse than medicine.

4 - What do you prefer as a side of vegetables?
A. Corn
B. Brussel sprouts

5 - Health concerns aside, which are you more likely to devour in its entirety, grilled chicken or steak?
A. Chicken, I don’t like the fatty texture of marbled meat.
B. The steak, there’s nothing like a thick, juicy cut.

6 - What describes you most?
A. I could lose several pounds
B. I’m pretty thin.

7 - Did you suffer severe ear infections as a child?
A. No.
B. Yes.

8 - How do you take your coffee?
A. With milk and a bit of sugar.
B. Black—or at the other extreme, with cream and 3 packets of sugar.

Here’s the key: 1A, 2B, 3B, 4A, 5A, 6B, 7A, 8A

All eight correct? You may be a Supertaster. Supertasters have more taste buds than Non-tasters, and because of this physical difference, sweetness and bitterness can seem more intense.

Three to seven correct? You may be a Medium taster. Medium tasters have taste bud counts (and therefore taste experiences) that fall somewhere between super and non-tasters.

One to none correct? You may be a Non-taster. Non-tasters are more likely than Medium and Super-tasters to like foods that are extremely sweet, as well as fattier textures.

Joanne Chen, the author of the quiz and a book entitled The Taste of Sweet, offers a bit of insight into the quiz and what the results might mean. She says that “researchers have detected a link between overweight subjects and non-tasting tendencies. They also found that severe ear infections may cause less intense taste experiences.”

Chen also adds that “biology isn't destiny, and much of what we eat results from culture and learning. So while the quiz offers a good idea of your taste profile, sensory specialists can provide a better assessment by running taste tests, analyzing your tongue, and counting your taste buds."

So, how did you do? I took the quiz twice and changed one answer after I thought about it. The first time I got six out of eight. The second time seven. Both times I was a Medium taster. Apparently you have to get all eight correct to be a Supertaster. With the veggies question I got my first INCORRECT when I chose Brussels sprouts over corn. I love sprouts! And with the drink question, I got my second INCORRECT. I chose martinis over medicine. My actual answer was: “Yes, and make mine neat” as opposed to “No thanks, that stuff tastes worse than medicine.”

To digress for a moment, I must admit that I really did dive in off the deep end when it came to drinking. I remember when I turned twenty-one, two girlfriends took me to a local pub and I ordered a stinger. I’m not sure how many I had, but suffice it to say, I’ve never had another stinger since. I can’t even think about them without risking a stomach ache.

For my next foray with spirits, I tried a martini, and medicine would be a complimentary way to describe it. Kerosene is more apt. Martinis are really just dreadful, but I’m living proof that it’s possible to develop a taste for them, if you’re very very determined. You’re probably wondering why anyone would want to. In my case, it’s a strange story. Since childhood I’ve had a fixation with green olives, the kind with pimentos inside. My girlfriend Johanna and I exchanged gifts at Christmas, and I always got her the biggest bottle of maraschino cherries I could find. She returned the favor with green olives.

As an adult, given my penchant, it followed that anything with a green olive in it had to be good. This didn’t prove out with martinis, but so great was my passion for olives that I kept trying. In the beginning I would order up to four olives and leave the drink, but eventually the heady combination of kerosene fumes and the rich tang of the olives worked its magic, and to this day, I still enjoy the occasional martini.

What do you bet Supertasters don’t like olives any more than they like martinis, or medicine?

For me the real test of taste bud strength came this weekend when the dh and I went out to dinner on Sunday night. We had Italian food, and I decided to forgo lemon cake for dessert and just have coffee. My taste buds were pretty satiated with the rich pasta and Italian sausage dish I’d had. So, I ordered coffee, which came in one of those lovely thermal containers that’s equivalent to a small pot.

I was happy. I love coffee, and the first rich black cup I poured looked wonderful. Unfortunately it didn’t smell quite right. I tasted it and got the distinct flavor of tea. But how could that be? It had come in a coffee pot and it looked exactly like coffee, not at all like tea. I took several more sips and then doctored it with cream and sugar. It was still too much like tea for my taste. Actually it was ghastly. I asked Allan if it tasted like coffee, and he took a sip. “Yeah, bitter,” he said, making a face. He’s not a coffee lover, but he’s had enough to know it when he drinks it, or so I thought.

Allan hadn’t taken the Supertaster quiz, but for several reasons I harbored suspicions that he might be a Non-taster. Now, this strange brew was making me wonder about the taste-worthiness of both of our buds. I continued to try and convince myself that I could drink it, but finally I called the waitress over, and feeling foolish told her that my coffee tasted weird, almost like tea. “Oh!” she exclaimed, “I’ll bet they put in the wrong pod.”

Pod? I’m still not sure what that meant, but when she came back with the next pot, it tasted exactly like coffee, and was I glad I hadn’t forced myself to suffer through any more tea as thick as crank case oil and black enough to be coffee. Apparently they brew coffee and tea in the same machine, but changed the pods accordingly?

Allan, the Non-taster would have drunk the entire cup and taken it as proof that he really didn’t like coffee. He didn’t distinguish the tea flavor that my medium-sized plethora of taste buds was able to recognize. I wonder what a Supertaster would have tasted. Please, if you are one, speak up. Some of us would love to know what life is like for a Supertaster.

Meanwhile, score one for the Medium tasters!

Suz