Wednesday, 08 April 2020
A new study has shown that people of Asian ethnicity experience taste more intensely, and contrary to popular belief it’s men who have the sweetest tooth.
The research carried out at the University of Nottingham’s Sensory Science Centre is the first to explore the association between ethnicity (Caucasian vs Asian) and different observed variations in taste perception, known as taste phenotypes.
The Sensory Science Centre has done extensive research looking into the impact of taste phenotypes on perceived taste intensity, including PROP taster status, Thermal Taster Status and Sweet Liking Status.
A supertaster is someone who have the ability to perceive a bitter taste from a compound called ‘6-n-propylthiouracil’ (known as PROP), which is linked to our genetic profile. A thermal taster is someone who can perceive a taste sensation when their tongue is heated or cooled, when no taste stimulus is actually present. A high sweet liker is someone who prefers super sweet foods.
The results published in Food Quality and Preference show that people of Asian ethnicity are not only more likely to be ‘supertasters’, they are also more likely to be thermal tasters and low sweet likers. Interestingly, this study also found that men are more likely to be high sweet likers, who prefer sweeter foods.
Qian Yang, Lecturer in Food Science at the University of Nottingham led the study and said: “There is a lack of research comparing Asian and Caucasian populations, so these findings are significant as this is the first study to investigate the association between ethnicity and these taste phenotypes and how that affects perceived taste intensity.
Perceived intensity of taste and other oral sensations has been shown to vary greatly among individuals and may be one of the most important determinants of food preference and consumption affecting nutritional and health status. The findings from our study could help inform new product development to appeal directly to people’s taste buds.”
Tickling the taste buds
The human tongue is wrapped in taste buds (papillae). The small, mushroom-shaped bumps are fungiform papillae located on the anterior tip of tongue, contain taste receptors that bind to the molecules from your food and your brain can identify what you’re eating.
Taste perception occurs when certain compounds released from food dissolve in saliva and interact with taste receptor cells within taste buds. Most mammals are able to detect five different types of taste: sweet, bitter, sour, salty and umami, whilst some other sensations have also been identified as potential tastes including fatty acid, metallic, kokumi and calcium.
For this study 223 volunteers were invited to determine their taste phenotypes, as well as their ethnicity and gender, and understand how these factors played a part in their experience of taste. Their perceived taste intensity were measured by asking participants to indicate how intense are the taste solutions.
Asians were found to be more sensitive to sour and metallic taste than Caucasians. This is an interesting finding, as it indicates that how consumers perceive taste intensity from food and beverages can be different across different ethnic groups.
Finding new products to bring to the market requires a great deal of insight and investment. With current competitive global food market, by understanding there are differences in how they perceive taste in different ethnic groups could help food manufacturers to develop new products or tailor product design to meet different consumer’s needs more effectively.
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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