Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner has spent over a decade working as a writer in New York City. She currently covers all aspects of food, dining, travel and lifestyle trends and the intersection of culture, ...

The perception of taste is remarkably complex, not only on the tongue but in organs throughout the body. By Joanne Silberner Think for a minute about the little bumps on your tongue. You probably saw ...

How does our sense of taste work, and why did it evolve? What are taste buds, and how do they register the five basic sensations of sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami (a Japanese word describing ...

Scholars have discovered evidence of a sixth basic taste. The tongue responds to ammonium chloride, a popular ingredient in some Scandinavian candies. The OTOP1 protein receptor, previously linked to ...