Dear readers,

We all know what we like to eat — and what we dislike. Most often, we just accept our tastes without analyzing them much, but if we think about it a little, we might realize that our preferences are based on texture or temperature (mouth feel), while other times, we’d say taste is a bigger factor.

Recently, Linda Ziedrich explored some of these concepts in her review of Gordon Shepherd’s book, Neurogastronomy.

“According to Shepherd,” she writes, “flavor begins with the five tastes, the aromas, the touch sensations, and even the look and sound of food. But the whole flavor experience is actually created from all these sensations by the brain.”

I found it interesting that, according to Shepherd, food preferences are based on odor even more than taste or mouth feel (which includes texture, temperature, and pungency) — and that we smell our food in two ways: through the nose and via our mouths (or retronasally, as Linda writes, “as vaporized molecules travel through the back of your mouth into your nasal cavity”).

There’s a lot to learn about how we appreciate food — and after reading Linda’s review, I was perhaps a bit closer to understanding why I prefer medium-spiced food at our local Thai spot, while my husband goes for the “fiery” dishes. It’s all in our minds — if first in our mouths.

Kim Carlson
Editorial Director