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Eg. Travel much?? Ate out much (At different restaurants in different regions & countries... Not fast foods only please)??? Cook much??? Smell much (sensory is part of cooking tool too)??? etc... all adds to "exposure" of that "tastebuds" / "senses".
That's not what makes a supertaster. You don't get more papillae that way.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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I suspect I may well be. There are foods I find the taste of simply too overwhelming - in a bad way, while I find good tastes extremely pleasurable. I was a fussy kid, but I love trying dishes with subtle tastes.
Oh, how I hate this thread. Why? Because the more the phenomenon is publicized the more people who'll justify being nothing more than picky eaters:
My friend: I can't eat that, no way.
Me: Why not?
My friend: Because I read something and I'm pretty sure I'm a supertaster.
Me: You haven't even tasted it.
My friend: Doesn't matter. I'm a supertaster. I can smell it.
Me: But it's just a photograph...!
Oh, how I hate this thread. Why? Because the more the phenomenon is publicized the more people who'll justify being nothing more than picky eaters:
My friend: I can't eat that, no way.
Me: Why not?
My friend: Because I read something and I'm pretty sure I'm a supertaster.
Me: You haven't even tasted it.
My friend: Doesn't matter. I'm a supertaster. I can smell it.
Me: But it's just a photograph...!
Yeah, but supertaster doesn't always mean a negative thing. It could also mean that you are even more sensitive and thus get more enjoyment out of foods because you can taste more than others.
Also just because people make it up as a reason to justify things it might not really do or cause doesn't mean it's not real (it actually is a thing you're born with and been studied) -- just like people can fake or use other types of excuses for things in life generally (such as personality traits).
The thing is, funny enough, though I started this thread I don't even know if I am or not (maybe I should have paid attention in class or whenever I got a chance to do the experiment thing at the science fair/presentation I should have done it as a kid).
The thing is I fit a lot of criteria that both argue for and against being a supertaster for me.
Supertasters are supposed to, according to some claims, have refined tastes in mildly/subtly flavoured things like sweets and so find too richly sweet things overwhelming (eg. some were complaining about the Indian desserts like the gulab jamun, the sticky syrup balls being too much like that). Yet, I really love the richness of those things over blander desserts and so that kind of goes against being a supertaster.
Another thing is that supertasters are supposed to be more sensitive to not liking some vegetables with hints of slight bitterness and being a fussy eater as a kid. I was indeed a fussy eater a bit as a kid (but only as a young kid), so that kind of does argue for it.
Another thing is, I am sensitive to bitter and claims by adults to me as a young child, that I will grow into liking coffee, beer or tea more than say a mango shake or soda pop wasn't true -- I prefer the latter to the former (argues for supertaster for me).
I can't distinguish fine wines etc. and a lot of alcoholic beverages just make me taste the alcohol and nothing much appealing to me, even though they should have subtle or slight differences (argues against? supertaster for me).
I am moderately tolerant to hot spicy food but easily lose tolerance to it if I haven't eaten it in a while, and then after I try even bland food with a bit of chili pepper, I'm aware of its presence -- once I get into eating it again after a while, I am less sensitive (? for or against supertaster? -- or totally unrelated)
I love gamey meats like lamb or duck, oily fish like salmon, herring and sardines over blander things like white fish fillets (I can not get into eating something like that plain -- it's just so tasteless).
So, am I a supertaster or not? I should just do the test...lol
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,037,872 times
Reputation: 11862
I'd like to do the test to. I've definitely gotten more used to alcohol over time. I actually enjoy a good beer nowadays, while I didn't like it when I first tried it.
I've fairly tolerant of spicy foods - not like a native of those countries, but more so than the average Westerner. But then I still grew up eating spicy foods as a kid, usually moderately spicy curries and stuff. I actually think my tolerance has increased I remember finding Vindaloo and stuff almost unbearably hot but now it's no problem.
I actually had barfi last night: it's a little TOO sweet for me. I'd rather if it was just a tad less sweet. I find the same with most fudge. I tend to prefer to eat fudge in small amounts, because I just find it's too sweet. Chocolate too. I can appreciate the subtle flavours of mildly sweet foods.
Was a pretty fussy eater as a kid. Not as bad as some. I mean I still ate my greens. But for instance, I did not like pork, lamb, turkey - generally only ate beef or chicken. Generally did not like certain ethnic foods. Anything with a strong/gamey taste like say mushroom. I despised celery, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts. Would not touch seafood, hated the smell of it.
Anything with a strong/gamey taste like say mushroom.
Hmm.. does mushroom have a strong or gamey taste to you? It actually tastes bland to me.
lol... that's another hit for me not being possibly a supertaster.
But on the other hand, in another thread you said you found tomato not strong in flavour while I said I disliked it if raw.
I actually find tomato distasteful in a large amount such as if I was given a big slice like an apple or orange (and only mildly distasteful if it is a small slice in a sandwich like a sub, drowned out by sauces and mixed with cheese, meat and other veggies' tastes, it's okay). If you told me to bite into a tomato like an apple and eat it like that, I feel like it's disgusting but then people don't usually eat it that way, so I rarely get to eat tomato in a way of tasting full intensity that I "hate" it.
It's interesting that different foods trigger different sensitivities. If I based my finesse in palate on only one food, it would give a different answer of how delicate my tastebuds are relative to if I used another, perhaps very differently tasting food.
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