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Taste Buddies: Short Wave Explores The Science Of Flavor Short Wave explores the five tastes commonly recognized ... and the frontiers of the science beyond those five.
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Taste Buddies: Short Wave Explores The Science Of Flavor

TASTE BUDDIES: The Controversial World Of Taste Science
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Short Wave

TASTE BUDDIES: The Controversial World Of Taste Science

Not much is known about why people experience tastes differently and why some people can detect certain tastes and not others. There also might be other tastes out there to add to the list beyond the five known ones now. In this finale to Short Wave's Taste Buddies series, we're tackling the science of the five tastes, and in this episode, we look at why there is so much more research to be done.

TASTE BUDDIES: The Controversial World Of Taste Science

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TASTE BUDDIES: No Sugarcoating How Sweet Affects The Brain

Computer graphics of a pink human brain looking forward to a plate with doughnuts. OsakaWayne Studios/Getty Images hide caption

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Short Wave

TASTE BUDDIES: No Sugarcoating How Sweet Affects The Brain

Our ancestors evolved the ability to taste the sweet goodness of foods like pastries and creamy chocolates. They were enticed to consume quick calories that might only be available sporadically. What does that mean today for our brains and bodies in a world where sugar is much more abundant? Host Aaron Scott talks to taste and smell researcher Paule Joseph about the sticky science of sugar and how we can have too much of a good thing.

TASTE BUDDIES: No Sugarcoating How Sweet Affects The Brain

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TASTE BUDDIES: Feeling Salty?

Natural, organic, sea, white salt, poured from a fallen salt shaker, on a black table or background. The concept of cooking healthy food, cosmetology. Aleksandr Zubkov/Getty Images hide caption

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Short Wave

TASTE BUDDIES: Feeling Salty?

Today, we're getting salty as we continue our series "Taste Buddies" — Short Wave's ode to taste buds. In this encore episode, Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber goes on a salty flavor journey with scientist Julie Yu. Along the way, Julie explains salt's essential role in our daily lives and how it affects our perception of food. Follow Regina on Twitter @ScienceRegina. Reach the show by sending an email to ShortWave@NPR.org.

TASTE BUDDIES: Feeling Salty?

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TASTE BUDDIES: Pucker Up! It's The Science Of Sour
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Short Wave

TASTE BUDDIES: Pucker Up! It's The Science Of Sour

This week Short Wave is celebrating our sense of taste with an entire week of themed episodes, covering everything from sugar and spice to what's beyond our classic ideas of taste. It's a series we're calling, "Taste Buddies."

TASTE BUDDIES: Pucker Up! It's The Science Of Sour

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TASTE BUDDIES: Why Bitter Tastes Better For Some

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Short Wave

TASTE BUDDIES: Why Bitter Tastes Better For Some

Love the bitter bite of dark chocolate, leafy greens or black licorice? Your genetics may be the reason why. Today on the show, host Aaron Scott talks to scientist Masha Niv about how our bitter taste buds work and how a simple taste test can predict your tolerance for some bitter things. Plus, what bitter receptors elsewhere in the body have to do with your health.

TASTE BUDDIES: Why Bitter Tastes Better For Some

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TASTE BUDDIES: Y U Salty?
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Short Wave

TASTE BUDDIES: Y U Salty?

Salt has such a rich history that it was once (and is perhaps still) a sign of wealth. In this latest installment of our series on flavor and taste, "Taste Buddies," Scientist-in-Residence Regina G. Barber goes on a salty flavor journey with scientist Julie Yu. Along the way, Julie explains salt's essential role in our daily lives and how it affects our perception of food.

TASTE BUDDIES: Y U Salty?

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TASTE BUDDIES: The Origins Of Umami

Miso soup is one dish made with dashi, a Japanese broth packed with umami flavor. Yagi-Studio/Getty Images hide caption

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Short Wave

TASTE BUDDIES: The Origins Of Umami

A Japanese chemist identified umami in the early 1900s, but it took a century for his work to be translated into English. Short Wave host Emily Kwong talks with producer Chloee Weiner about why it took so long for umami to be recognized as the fifth taste.

TASTE BUDDIES: The Origins Of Umami

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TASTE BUDDIES: Science of Sour

Boxes of lemons are packaged for sale at the New Covent Garden fruit and vegetable wholesale market, Nine Elms on February 4, 2017 in London, England. Jack Taylor/Getty Images hide caption

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Short Wave

TASTE BUDDIES: Science of Sour

Pucker up, duderinos! Short Wave's kicking off a series on taste we're calling, "Taste Buddies." In today's episode, we meet Atlantic science writer Katherine Wu and together, we take a tour through the mysteries of sourness — complete with a fun taste test. Along the way, Katie serves up some hypotheses for the evolution of sour taste because, as Katie explains in her article, "The Paradox of Sour," researchers still have a lot to learn about this weird taste.

TASTE BUDDIES: Science of Sour

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