does "taste" has anything to deal with solubility?

[doublel]

Hi, I'm new around here.

Yesterday in biology lesson at school, when my teacher was teaching carbohydrates, lipids, and so on, she mentioned that carbohydrates can only have taste if they can dissolve.

And she further went on and said all substances need to be soluble in order to have taste.

I'm very uncertain about this; in fact i disagree with it. I believe that smell can trick our brains to "feel" tastes or flavors.

I had a check on the web, but i couldn't find anything useful.

If my teacher is correct, then I would like to know if this works the other way round as well? I mean, does solubility guarantee taste?

Please answer my questions, I really want to know. Thanks.

[david23]

yeah she is kind of correct. Your taste receptor is just a protein which only has room to bind to like very specific and I guess in way small molecules. If something doesnt get dissolved, it is essentially a huge molecule. But of course if a big thing touches your receptor, you should get some reaction. But if u want to know specific flavors, sweet, spicy, those things, they have to dissolve.

[fscottdahlgren]

No, your teacher is incorrect. I can taste gas, solid, and liquid. The mechanism of taste is insanely complicated, and anyone who tells you they understand how the sense of taste works is confused or a liar.

Just roll with it, your teacher is right until you leave the class.

[dr. dugmore]

i agree,


question your teacher, he may respect you more for it.......or get really pissed off,

[david23]

You taste gas and solids because they have dissolved in liquid portion inside your mouth and has made contact with the receptors on your taste buds. It's complicated in a neurological sense, but we dont really care about that because we are at the tongue right now.

[mith]

Let's not be splitting hairs unnecessarily, the question should be defined as whether taste is just a function of the taste buds or an overall sensory experience.