what exactly is taste? Just like vibration or light, what does a thing have or lack to determine taste and how do we process it?

Question

what exactly is taste? Just like vibration or light, what does a thing have or lack to determine taste and how do we process it?

In: 111

Answer 1

I don’t think anyone here has really answered the question. What is taste? Well, light is the wavelength of electromagnetic radiation, within a set range of detection you get sight. Sound is pressure waves. Taste is the shape of molecules. That’s what it is. Same as smell, smell is also the shape of molecules. The receptors bind to molecules that have the correct shape to fit into them. This is how we can manipulate taste with artificial flavors, chemicals that are wildly different in properties but still elicit the same taste.