1) Your taste buds tell your brain what food tastes like.
Your tongue has bumps called “papillae,” and each of them is covered by “taste buds.” Each taste bud is made up of 50-100 gustatory receptor cells that send messages to your brain about what your food tastes like. The receptor cells can sense sweet, sour, bitter and umami. These tastes can give us clues for making beneficial food choices, while avoiding substances that could cause harm. Sweet taste identifies high-energy food, while bitter may warn of potential toxins. (Source: Human Biology by Daniel D. Chiras.)

2) Without your saliva, it’s hard to taste foods.
Did you know that without your saliva, it’s very hard to taste?  Saliva is a watery substance secreted by the salivary glands in your mouth. It’s the medium in which chemicals are carried to taste receptor cells on your tongue, or lingual papillae.

But don’t take our word for it – try this quick experiment. All you need is a paper towel and dry food, like a pretzel.  Use the paper towel to dry off your tongue, and then eat the pretzel. Have a drink of water and repeat the experiment, this time letting your saliva do its job. What do you notice?
(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taste)

3) Children experience flavors more intensely than adults.   
Ever wondered why kids like sweets – more so than adults? There are up to 10,000 taste buds on a human tongue, and there are the same number on a child’s tongue as an adult’s. However, because children have smaller tongues, there are more taste receptor cells per square inch. Thus, they experience flavors more intensely. This explains why sugary foods hold a lot more appeal than bitter ones!

(Source: Wall Street Journal, “Doing the Sugar Math for Halloween”)

4) Sound can influence how we taste foods.
Loud noises decrease sense of saltiness or sweetness – remember this the next time you eat at a noisy restaurant. Additionally, the high decibel sounds on an airplane may actually enhance the ability to taste umami.

(Source: Science Friday, “Does sound affect the way we taste?”)

5) Humans taste food differently than animals.
Animals taste food differently than we do. The number of taste buds animals have varies by species, and some animals sense taste using other parts of the body. Humans have 10,000 taste buds. Cats have nearly 500 and cannot taste sweet.  Butterflies taste with their feet, so they can taste anything they land on.

(Source: Scientific American: “Cats cannot taste sweets” and “How might female butterflies gain an advantage: How about having the ability to taste through their feet?”)