Mondo Knows Facts
Most of what we call flavour comes from smell
Aromas rising from the mouth to the nose supply the greater part of flavour Taste buds handle only five qualities, while retronasal smell adds the rest of the experience. Holding the nose while eating flattens flavours sharply, which is why food seems bland during a cold. Texture, temperature and irritation from spices complete the picture. It sits in Mondo's human body collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.
Where this comes from
Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.
Go further
More facts like this
Taste buds replace their sensory receptor cells every two weeksGustatory cells undergo rapid turnover to maintain keen taste perceptionTaste resolves into five basic categoriesSweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami are detected by separate receptor mechanismsSmell reaches the cortex without a thalamic stopOlfactory nerve fibres run from the nose straight to the bulb and on to cortexThe human nose can distinguish thousands of distinct scentsOlfactory sensory neurons send direct chemical signals to the brainCrushing garlic creates its sharp pungent aromaDamaging garlic cells allows enzymes to convert alliin into volatile allicinMany aroma compounds dissolve in fatFat carries flavour molecules that water based cooking leaves behind
🫀 Human Bodyfact 128 of 200
← → to keep reading, or swipe
Tags: smell, taste, flavour
Most of what we call flavour comes from smell: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- Aromas rising from the mouth to the nose supply the greater part of flavour. The figure is taken from NIH, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a human body fact?
- Yes. It sits on the Human Body shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
- What else can I read about it?
- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.