Module 4: Sense
This week you’ll explore your 5 senses and how they impact flavour.
Goal 3: Yum!
Your third and final goal is how to make ice cream yum. Its creaminess and scoopability play a big part. But what about its flavour? Or how it smells and looks?
E hoa mā, let’s get the scoop on your five senses.
Flavour sense-ation
Sight, smell, sound, taste, touch. These are your five senses. They’re also the secret ingredient to unlocking flavour. Some of them play a bigger role than you may think.
Flavour factor 1: Taste
Your tongue is like a taste detective. It contains tastebuds with special cells that receive messages from your food – like whether it’s sweet, salty, sour, bitter or savoury.
Your tastebuds send these messages to your brain through nerves. Then, your brain figures out what the flavour is, and how you feel about it.
Flavour factor 2: Smell
Your nose does a lot of the “tasting” too.
When you eat ice cream, tiny particles travel up your throat and into your nose. Your brain then mixes these smell signals with your taste signals to figure out the flavour.
Your tongue might tell you the ice cream is sweet. But it’s your nose that will tell you if it’s strawberry or chocolate.
Eat with your eyes
Flavour factor 3: Sight
If your dinner looks grey and sloppy, what’s your first thought? Is it “yuck”? That’s because when you look at food, your brain makes guesses about its flavour before you taste it.
You might look at a green ice cream and expect it to taste like mint. Or, you might see nuts and expect a crunch!
So, even though your eyes don’t do any tasting themselves, they make an important first impression.
Activity 4.2: Sensing flavour
Create your own flavour-filled water to explore how sight unlocks flavour.
Mouthfeel
Flavour factors 4 and 5: Sound and touch
Sound and touch don’t have as much impact on flavour as taste and smell. But they still give you clues!
Some STEM superstars think that loud noise can distract your brain and make it harder to detect flavours. And, that eating to a relaxing soundtrack makes the food more enjoyable.
For touch, ice cream experts use the word “mouthfeel” which means.. you guessed it… how something feels in your mouth! Is it smooth or icy? Does it melt or stay solid? Your brain uses mouthfeel to help decide how yum something is!
Update your sticker chart
Completed all your activities for this module? Don’t forget to put a sticker on your chart!
Module 4 checklist
Mīharo. Today you:
- Unpacked ice cream goal 3: yum!
- Learned about your five senses
- Explored how your senses impact flavour
- Tested how flavour is impacted by sight and smell