Page 145 - The Miracles of Smell and Taste

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product of Man’s creation. The taste system, many times more complex
than these, is also the product of a Creation that belongs to God, the Lord
of the worlds.

Basic Tastes
The prevailing scientific view is that there are five basic tastes: sweet,
salty, bitter, sour and umami. 126 Everyone is familiar with the first four,
though the fifth may be a new concept to some. Umami is a taste stem-
ming from glutamate, one of the 20 amino acids in the structure of pro-
teins, which is found in meat, fish and leguminous plants. (Monosodium
glutamate, used to enhance flavor in ready-to-eat meals, also imparts this
flavor.)
Some scientists do not agree that the foods we eat and drink consists

of combinations of only these five tastes. Some researchers, such as
Professor Andrew L. Spielman (New York University, College of
Dentistry), Professor Joseph G. Brand (Monell Chemical Senses Center),
and Dr. Wentao Yan (New York University, College of Dentistry), think
that other tastes, such as fat, water and metallic tastes, may constitute
fundamental flavors. 127

The taste perception sys-
tem is an exceedingly
complex design that ex-
hibits the sublimity of
God’s creation.