The Food Chain3 Heinä 2024

Your taste is unique

Taste, it turns out, is not a matter of opinion. Scientists have discovered that your perception of taste is informed by your genetics.

When we eat or drink something, we may be having an entirely different experience to the person we’re sharing a meal with, or the chef who has prepared it, or the critic who has recommended it.

In this programme Ruth Alexander explores her likes and dislikes and how they might be informed by biology.

Ruth meets Laura Kent of the Yorkshire Wine School in the UK who helps her learn about her sensitivity to acidic and bitter flavours. Ruth speaks to Anne Fadiman, writer and Professor of creative writing at Yale University in the US, who dislikes wine, despite her wine critic father loving it. Danielle Reed, Chief Science Officer at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, US, explains the science. Tim Hanni, Master of Wine, and author of ‘Why You Like The Wine You Like’ argues that the wine industry is not paying enough attention to individual tastes. Where does this new science leave wine competitions? David Kermode, judge at the IWSC, International Wine and Spirits Competition, makes the case for the experts.

If you'd like to contact the programme, please contact thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk.

Presented by Ruth Alexander. Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

(Image: three people tasting wine. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

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