You will need
- 1 lemon
- 1 piece of chicken
- 1 kiwi
- 1 pretzel
- 1 piece of broccoli
- 1 bandana
- paper towel
- a partner
- glass of water
Procedure:
- In order to complete the activity, one parter must cover the other partner's eyes with the bandana and then prepare each of the five foods to the side, far enough away to be smelt by the blinded folded individual.
- The second partner must then feed the blind folded partner a bite of each food. The purpose is for the partner consuming the food to categorize the primary taste of each of the foods as being either bitter, sour, sweet, salty our umami. As well, they must attempt to name the food that they are eating. If you are the one eating the food, be sure to wait enough time in between biting each food to allow for the taste of the prior food to disappear. Before moving on to the next step, have the partner eating the food plug their nose to see how their ability to taste compares without their sense of smell.
- Now, try to complete the activity a second time, except rather than putting the piece of food into your mouth, you must stick you tongue out, allow it to completely dry by patting it with a piece of paper towel, and then set the food on the surface of your tongue. Make sure that when the blindfolded individual is trying to classify the taste of the food that their tongue remains sticking out. Be sure to take the time to dry the tongue again, in between the time that each piece of food is placed on its surface.
- Following, mix the roles of the partners, so that both partners get a chance to match the foods with their tastes.
* After completing the activity, it should be noted that given the opportunity to close your mouth around the food and chew it up while mixed in your saliva, the foods can easily be tasted and differentiated among each other. However, when placing a piece of food on the surface of your dry tongue, its taste is not so easily distinguishable. Why? As explained before, in order for the food to be tasted, saliva is needed to dissolve and break up the food molecules into their individual chemical compounds. That way, each chemical compound can fit into a taste receptor or its specific ion channel to stimulate a taste. Hence the reason why food cannot be tasted in the absence of water or saliva.