It happens to all of us but don’t worry it’s completely natural. When food smells waft into our nostrils a host of physiological reactions occurs. We almost immediately begin to salivate (if not drool) and our stomach roars beckoning you to get a taste. These reactions are innate physiological properties of your digestive system that … Continue reading
Tag Archives: physiology
Sanshool Seduction: The Science of Spiciness
One of the most aggressive flavors we can experience is spiciness. Imagine a bright red chili pepper whose color gives us fair warning of its propensity to ignite a fire. In fact, a common physiological response to eating spicy food is analogous to the way our body responds to an elevation in internal body temperature. … Continue reading
Meat: where physiology meets flavor
A charcuterie board is the perfect accompaniment to any gathering and rivals a cheese plate as a crowd-pleaser. It’s low maintenance, delicious, and will almost certainly have a taste or texture to appeal to the pickiest of palates. Meat comes in an array of textures, fat content, and flavors, which vary species to species and … Continue reading
Physiology of Foie Gras
Decadent, diseased, silky, sinful. The adjectives that follow foie gras range from the disgusting to the luxurious. The fattened liver of a duck or goose polarizes people, and there seems to be no middle ground wherein a person can both enjoy foie gras and ethically question it. Because it is such a controversial food, the … Continue reading
Thanksgiving, Turkeys, and Tryptophan
Turkey is the star of the most famous dinner of the year; it is also the victim of a myth that persists every holiday season. At the end of Thanksgiving dinner, there’s a good chance that someone will mention that a molecule called tryptophan is the culprit for the post-feast drowsiness. The science seems sound … Continue reading