0 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000 Now turn to part 3. 1 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:12,000 You will hear a radio interview with a chef about the process of eating. 2 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:23,000 For questions 15 to 20, choose the answer A, B, C or D which fits best according to what you hear. 3 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:29,000 You now have 70 seconds to look at part 3. 4 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,000 You have 30 seconds to look at part 3. 5 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:45,000 I'm talking to chef Heston Blumenthal. 6 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:49,000 Now Heston, most of us think that the business of eating is pretty simple, don't we? 7 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:53,000 We eat things and we like the taste of them or we don't. 8 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:56,000 But you reckon it's more complicated than that, don't you? 9 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:00,000 Yes, eating is a process that involves all the senses. 10 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:04,000 Any notion that food is simply about taste is misguided. 11 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:10,000 Try eating a beautifully cooked piece of fish off a paper plate with a plastic knife and fork. 12 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:11,000 It is not the same. 13 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:14,000 So how does taste operate then? 14 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:18,000 The sense of taste can be broken down into five basic categories. 15 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:22,000 All of which happen in the mouth and nowhere else. 16 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:30,000 These categories are salt, sweet, sour, bitter and umami, the most recently identified taste. 17 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:35,000 There is a current theory that fat is a taste but this has yet to be proved. 18 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:40,000 We have up to 10,000 taste buds on the tongue and in the mouth. 19 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:47,000 These regenerate so the receptors we use today will not be the same as were used a couple of days ago. 20 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:52,000 When we eat, taste buds on our tongue pick up taste but not flavour. 21 00:02:52,000 --> 00:03:00,000 The molecules in food that provide flavour pass up into the olfactory bulb situated between the eyes at the front of the brain. 22 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:06,000 It contains hundreds of receptors that register molecules contained in everything that we eat and smell. 23 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:09,000 This is where the flavour of the food is registered. 24 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:15,000 OK, so our sense of smell is connected with flavour rather than taste? Is that what you're saying? 25 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:20,000 That's right. Smell and taste are registered in different parts of the head. 26 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:24,000 There is a simple but effective and enjoyable way of demonstrating this. 27 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:30,000 Have ready some table salt and biscuits, fruits or anything easy to eat. 28 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:35,000 Squeeze your nostrils tightly enough to prevent breathing through them but not so tight as to hurt. 29 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:42,000 Take a good bite of biscuit or fruit and start chomping, making sure the nostrils remain clenched. 30 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:47,000 You will notice that it is impossible to perceive the flavour or smell of the food being eaten. 31 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:53,000 Now, with nostrils still squeezed and food still in the mouth, lick some salt. 32 00:03:53,000 --> 00:04:02,000 Although it was impossible to detect the flavour of the food that was being eaten with clenched nostrils, the taste of the salt is unhindered. 33 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:08,000 Finally, let go of your nostrils and notice the flavour of the food come rushing into your headspace. 34 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:16,000 I'll definitely try that sometime. So what you're saying is that all the senses can affect your experience when you eat? 35 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:23,000 Yes. The brain has to process information given to it by other senses while we are eating, sometimes with surprising results. 36 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:28,000 Here's another example. A few years ago at a sommelier school in France, 37 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,000 trainee wine waiters were put through a routine wine tasting. 38 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:39,000 Unknown to them, a white wine that they had just tasted had been dyed red with a non-flavoured food dye, then brought back out to taste and evaluate. 39 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:46,000 Something very interesting happened. They all made notes on the assumption that the wine was what it looked like – red. 40 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:50,000 In this case, the eyes totally influenced taste perception. 41 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:56,000 OK, so it's not just about taste. All the senses are coming into play in different ways. 42 00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:02,000 Yes. And as well as allowing us to enjoy food, the senses act as warning systems, 43 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:08,000 taste being the last of the sensory barriers and bitterness the last of the taste barriers. 44 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:13,000 A natural aversion to bitterness can prevent us from eating foods that could be harmful, 45 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:19,000 although it appears that we have the ability to modify such basic likes and dislikes. 46 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:26,000 For example, we generally grow to like bitter foods such as tea, coffee and beer as we grow older. 47 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:33,000 What got you interested in this business of the role played by various senses in the experience of eating? 48 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:36,000 Or was it just professional curiosity? 49 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:43,000 Well, I began thinking about this whole subject a couple of years ago when I noticed that more and more customers at my restaurant 50 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:51,000 were commenting on the fact that the red cabbage with grain mustard ice cream served as an appetizer just got better each time they ate it. 51 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:57,000 This was the only dish on the menu whose recipe had not changed over the past year. 52 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:03,000 It seemed that the barrier being presented with this dish was the vivid purple colour of the cabbage, 53 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:06,000 a colour not normally associated with food. 54 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:12,000 To some diners, the initial difficulty of accepting this colour interfered with the appreciation of the dish, 55 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:17,000 but as they got used to it, they lost their inhibition and simply enjoyed its flavour. 56 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:22,000 I see. Now, of course, the sense of smell must come into play. 57 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:34,000 Now you will hear part three again. 58 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:41,000 I'm talking to chef Heston Blumenthal. 59 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:46,000 Now, Heston, most of us think that the business of eating is pretty simple, don't we? 60 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:49,000 We eat things and we like the taste of them or we don't. 61 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:52,000 But you reckon it's more complicated than that, don't you? 62 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:56,000 Yes. Eating is a process that involves all the senses. 63 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:00,000 Any notion that food is simply about taste is misguided. 64 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:06,000 Try eating a beautifully cooked piece of fish off a paper plate with a plastic knife and fork. 65 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:08,000 It is not the same. 66 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:11,000 So how does taste operate then? 67 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:15,000 The sense of taste can be broken down into five basic categories, 68 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:18,000 all of which happen in the mouth and nowhere else. 69 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:26,000 These categories are salt, sweet, sour, bitter and umami, the most recently identified taste. 70 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:31,000 There is a current theory that fat is a taste, but this has yet to be proved. 71 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:36,000 We have up to 10,000 taste buds on the tongue and in the mouth. 72 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:43,000 These regenerate, so the receptors we use today will not be the same as we used a couple of days ago. 73 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:48,000 When we eat, taste buds on our tongue pick up taste but not flavour. 74 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:53,000 The molecules in food that provide flavour pass up into the olfactory bulb 75 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:56,000 situated between the eyes at the front of the brain. 76 00:07:56,000 --> 00:08:02,000 It contains hundreds of receptors that register molecules contained in everything that we eat and smell. 77 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:05,000 This is where the flavour of the food is registered. 78 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:11,000 OK, so our sense of smell is connected with flavour rather than taste? Is that what you're saying? 79 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:16,000 That's right. Smell and taste are registered in different parts of the head. 80 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:20,000 There is a simple but effective and enjoyable way of demonstrating this. 81 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:26,000 Have ready some table salt and biscuits, fruit or anything easy to eat. 82 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:31,000 Squeeze your nostrils tightly enough to prevent breathing through them, but not so tight as to hurt. 83 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:38,000 Take a good bite of biscuit or fruit and start chomping, making sure the nostrils remain clenched. 84 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:44,000 You will notice that it is impossible to perceive the flavour or smell of the food being eaten. 85 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:49,000 Now, with nostrils still squeezed and food still in the mouth, lick some salt. 86 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:55,000 Although it was impossible to detect the flavour of the food that was being eaten with clenched nostrils, 87 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:58,000 the taste of the salt is unhindered. 88 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:04,000 Finally, let go of your nostrils and notice the flavour of the food come rushing into your headspace. 89 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:07,000 I'll definitely try that sometime. 90 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:12,000 So what you're saying is that all the senses can affect your experience when you eat? 91 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:17,000 Yes. The brain has to process information given to it by other senses while we are eating, 92 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:19,000 sometimes with surprising results. 93 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:21,000 Here's another example. 94 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:24,000 A few years ago at a sommelier school in France, 95 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:27,000 trainee wine waiters were put through a routine wine tasting. 96 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:33,000 Unknown to them, a white wine that they had just tasted had been dyed red with a non-flavoured food dye, 97 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:35,000 then brought back out to taste and evaluate. 98 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:37,000 Something very interesting happened. 99 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:42,000 They all made notes on the assumption that the wine was what it looked like, red. 100 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:46,000 In this case, the eyes totally influenced taste perception. 101 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:49,000 OK. So it's not just about taste. 102 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:52,000 All the senses are coming into play in different ways. 103 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:58,000 Yes. And as well as allowing us to enjoy food, the senses act as warning systems, 104 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:04,000 taste being the last of the sensory barriers and bitterness the last of the taste barriers. 105 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:10,000 A natural aversion to bitterness can prevent us from eating foods that could be harmful, 106 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:16,000 although it appears that we have the ability to modify such basic likes and dislikes. 107 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:23,000 For example, we generally grow to like bitter foods such as tea, coffee and beer as we grow older. 108 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:30,000 What got you interested in this business of the role played by various senses in the experience of eating? 109 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:33,000 Or was it just professional curiosity? 110 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:37,000 Well, I began thinking about this whole subject a couple of years ago 111 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:42,000 when I noticed that more and more customers at my restaurant were commenting on the fact that the red cabbage 112 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:48,000 with grain mustard ice cream served as an appetizer just got better each time they ate it. 113 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:54,000 This was the only dish on the menu whose recipe had not changed over the past year. 114 00:10:54,000 --> 00:11:00,000 It seemed that the barrier being presented with this dish was the vivid purple colour of the cabbage, 115 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:03,000 a colour not normally associated with food. 116 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:09,000 To some diners, the initial difficulty of accepting this colour interfered with the appreciation of the dish, 117 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:14,000 but as they got used to it, they lost their inhibition and simply enjoyed its flavour. 118 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:19,000 I see. Now, of course, the sense of smell must come into play. 119 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:27,000 That is the end of part three.