ARE YOU A SUPER-TASTER?

For each question, select the option that describes you best.

1. How do you take your coffee?
A. With milk and a bit of sugar.
B. Black. Or—at the other extreme–with cream and three packets of sugar.

2. A bottle of cabernet with dinner?
A. Just a glass; I probably won't finish it.
B. Sure. And I'll probably drink more than my share of it.

3. How about a stiff drink?
A. No thanks—that stuff tastes worse than medicine?
B. Yes–and neat.

4. What do you prefer as a side of vegetables?
A. Corn.
B. Brussels sprouts.

5. Health concerns aside, which are you likelier to devour in its entirety: grilled chicken or steak?
A. The chicken; I don’t like the fatty texture of marbled meat.
B. The steak. There’s nothing like a thick juicy cut.

6. Which describes you most?
A. I'm pretty trim.
B. I could lose several pounds.

7. Did you suffer severe ear infections as a child?
A. No.
B. Yes.

8. Diet regimen aside, what's your dessert preference?
A. Lemon cake with vanilla frozen yogurt
B. Fudge brownie sundae with Rocky Road ice cream


ANSWERS
If you answered mostly A, then you may be a super-taster.
If you answered mostly B, then chances are, you're a non-taster.
Equal numbers of A and B suggest that you're a medium taster.

Super-tasters have more taste buds than nontasters, and because of this physical difference, sweetness and bitterness can seem more intense. Medium tasters have taste-bud counts (and therefore taste experiences) that fall somewhere between that of  supertasters and nontasters. Non-tasters are more likely than tasters and supertasters to enjoy extremely sweet or bitter foods, as well as fattier textures.

Researchers have detected a link between overweight subjects and non-tasting tendencies. Severe ear infections may also cause less intense taste experiences.

Of course, biology isn’t destiny, and much of what we eat results from culture and learning. So while the quiz offers a good idea of your taste profile, sensory specialists can provide a better assessment by running taste tests, analyzing your tongue, and counting your taste buds. To read more about their work, check out Chapters 1 and 2 in The Taste of Sweet: Our Complicated Love Affair With Our Favorite Treats.


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