Grades K–2 · Organisms
How does your tongue notice a taste?
Food meets the wet surface inside your mouth. Some of its substances dissolve in saliva. Tiny taste cells can respond to those dissolved substances.
In the diagramTaste cells meet substances dissolved in salivaOne greatly enlarged taste budSalivaTaste cellsNerveNo separatetongue zonesSweet is one taste qualityTaste joins smell, temperature and texture in flavor.
Groups of taste cells sit inside taste buds. Many taste buds are in little bumps on the tongue; there are also taste buds elsewhere in the mouth and throat. Taste cells send messages along nerves to the brain.
Sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savory are five basic tastes. Different kinds of taste cells are spread around the tongue. There is no single sweet corner or sour corner. Smell, warmth and texture join taste to make the fuller experience of flavor.
About this explanation
Starting knowledge: Know the everyday meanings of nose, mouth and brain.
Sources
- NIH/NIDCD — Taste Disorders