"taster" news and stories

Being a professional ice cream taster, like John Harrison, who works for Dryer's (Edys), probably sounds like a dream job. And it is, but it is also a lifestyle, as Harrison told the Seattle Times in an interview.

Ice cream ran in Harrison's family, as his grandfather, father and uncle all worked in the industry, so he learned all about it at an early age. He even learned how to taste it properly and applies a method similar to the one wine and coffee tasters use, swirling the bite in his mouth and spitting it out. Each bite is scooped with a gold spoon and Harrison works from lighter flavors, like vanilla (his favorite), to the more dominating flavors, such as chocolate or mint.

During the week, he says that he refrains from eating foods with strong flavors that could adversely affect his tasting ability, including peppers, onions and garlic, but he will indulge on Friday nights. Harrison also drinks only tea, never coffee.

A job like Harrison's is not all fun and games, and a degree in food -science is a great first step towards getting the position. Of course, it's not all work, either. Harrison says he never gets tired of quality ice cream, and that is something that could reassure every ice cream lover.

Who said that it's possible to have too much of a good thing?

Source

Scientists who research the sense of taste divide people into three categories: nontasters, medium tasters and supertasters. These classifications are based on the perception of a compound known as 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP, for short), which has a bitter taste that is perceptable to some, but not all, people. 25% of people, the nontasters, will register nothing when they taste the compound. To 50% of the population, the medium tasters, PROP will taste bitter, but not overly so. The remaining 25% of people are classified as supertasters and to them, the compound will taste intensely bitter. The classification of "super taster" does not mean that one's sense of taste is superior to another's, but that there is an increased level of sensitivity to various tastes on the tongue.

Supertasters have a much higher density of papillae, the small mushroom-like structures on the tongue that house taste buds, than medium and nontasters. Women are more likely to be supertasters than men are.