The Senses That Make Us Hungry:

The Importance Of Taste And Smell Of The Food

By
Warattaya Deesomlert
Mahidol University International Demonstration School
May 30, 2014















Section 1: What I know about Thai food

Ice cream is the perfect food ever!
Ice cream is the food that make we feel good when we eat. It can make
we relieve from hot weather. Even the weather is cold I also want to eat it
more and more. Someday that I feel sad, If I have some ice cream, it will make
me feel much more better. Im the one who love to make ice cream because
ice cream is my favorite dessert and I try to make vanilla and green tea ice
cream last year. The texture of ice cream is smooth and it has many flavors
but I like sweet ice cream the most. When we smell it, some time it smell like
milk and some time smell like fruit depending on mixture that we use to
make. Some kind of ice cream have sound when we chew it but some kind
are not. It have many different shape and colorful to attract the people.

Issues, Problems & Concerns about food in Thailand
In the super market, we see many foods that put some additives to
keep it look fresh and make food more attractive or taste better. For example,
in supermarket they put some chemicals to pork and beef to keep it look red
and fresh but in fact the meat the keep in refrigeration it become brown,
some people are allergic, when they eat that food its too dangerous, they can
probably die. If we want to eat real fresh food, we can choose organic food
that safe from put chemicals. It not looks yummy as food that put chemical
but the organic food is a lot of harmless.

Taste & Odor
Taste is the sensations experienced when we eating a food or drinking
a beverage so that taste refers to the sensations elicited by stimulation of the
taste receptor cells. It has many flavors such as sweet, sour, salty, spicy and
bitter.
Smell is the main determinant of a food items flavors that perceives
the odor or scent. We can power of perceiving odors or scents by means of
the organs in the nose.
Most of Thai people like to eat tasty food especially spicy food because
spice is a Thailand national vegetable and we put spice in every menu. For
Example, Papaya pok pok, in Thai we called Som-tum. Its a Thai native food
but it very famous because all of Thai people like it. It has many flavor in one,
its mellow with sweet, salty, sour and spicy. In which part of Thailand, people
like different taste and smell. In central part of Thailand, most of people like a
little bit sweet and


Term: taste My Understanding 1 2 3 4
Describe: Taste is the sensations experienced when we eating a food or
drinking a beverage so that taste refers to the sensations elicited by
stimulation of the taste receptor cells. It has many flavors such as sweet, sour,
salty, spicy and bitter.
Draw:











This picture is a sandwich
chocolate cake that has a
smooth whipping cream in the
middle. The taste is a little bit
cocoa bitter and a chocolate
source on top is very sweet.


Term: Smell My Understanding 1 2 3 4
Describe: Smell is the main determinant of a food items flavors that
perceives the odor or scent. We can power of perceiving odors or
scents by means of the organs in the nose.

Draw:










Durian is the best known for its
pungent smell, variously
compared to sewage, rotting
flesh or, at best, ripe cheese.
But in Thailand is very famous
because Thai people like it.
What I dont know I dont know what taste and smell that people in other
country like or unlike.
Question I have-
How taste and smell are related to each other?
How does smell affect taste?
Why is the taste sense is so important?
Section2: The Search for Answers

What I do to find information about my topic?

My topic is about taste and odor. I think its not to hard topic and easy
to find an information but when I start to find the information, I know that its
to hard to find an information that related to my topic and this essay I will tell
how I find my information.

Many weeks ago, I went to MU center library to learn how to use a
library. In the library, they have much kind of books such as magazines, news,
thesis, and everything. K. Mai, a librarian of MU library make an orientation
and teach us how to use an e-books and databases to research on Internet. I
search my topic in Discovery service for Mahidol, UNIV because books in
library are too old but if we use an Internet; we can specific the years of the
book for not too old.

I look for secondary source but its a lot of primary sources that have a
scientific vocab and hard to read. So, I think I should choose magazine type
because most of magazines articles are secondary sources. I think magazine
is easy to find and it has many magazines to choose but it was not successful
because it has too much, some of them are primary sources that I didnt want
and the words that they use in magazine is too hard to understand.

So, I decided to find in Google, now I found more books. I read and its a
lot easier to understand. So, I choose one that relate and precise to my topic.
And then I have an interview with my classmate that have the same topic and
I got lot of knowledge from them. I think to consult with people who study in
same topic is helpful because we can discuss and help each other.

I learned about persuasion in writing and I know how to use an
Internet to find a book. Its my first time, I think whenever its too hard to find
an information if we try and try, and we will found the best one. And I think
cooperation is helpful too because when we consult with classmate that have
same topic, we will have more idea to find an information.






Section3: What I learned

Be known that taste and smell are the important senses to the food
that we eat because its adding some colorful to our life. When we are eating
food, the taste and smell make we more enjoy. Try to think that if you are
eating food without any smell and taste of that food, will you enjoy it? The
taste and the smell relate to each other to make people are enjoyable with
their meals. Smell can tell us what food were eating and also how delicious of
food that we eat. If we cannot feel about the smell of the food, the only thing
we will sense is sweet, sour, salty, spicy and bitter, so we wont know that
what were eating. Taste and smell are important for people because they let
us fully enjoy of food, if people miss some of these systems, they will be
imperfect in this system.

Why is taste sense is so important?
When we eat and feel satisfy in taste of food is called Delicious.
Everybody wants to eat delicious food. From msginfo.com (n.d.), they said
taste sense is important because its helped us to prepare our bodies for
digesting food. Tasting food is stimulated our salivary glands and produce
juices to digest food. This sense can provide information about food. The
author said taste of food tells us that food is fresh or spoiled. People whom
impaired ability to taste food are unhealthy because they dont desire to eat
food as much as everybody usually does. So, their weight is loss and it can
lead to nutrition deficiency and worsen of diseases. If we dont have taste, we
cannot distinguish what food it is. I think if Im sick, I will not want to eat
anything because my tongue cannot taste and when I eat any thing will not
tasty.

Why do we need smell?
Smell is also an important sense because it lets us fully enjoy of food
and beverages. Smell also makes we more interest in food and feels hungry.
From psych.stanford.edu, they said Smell is the most important sense for
animals. It cant survive without smell because its use to prey and remember
places. Smell is also important sense for human. (L. Boroditsky, 1999 (n.p.))
We use smell more than we think to guide behavior. Smell is an important
part of taste. Many qualities of foods that we taste are a function of smell. If
we live without smell, we will not know that foods are fresh or spoiled
because smell tell us a physical of food that smell good or bad. We also can
see or taste the food that we dont know it spoil or not but some time we
cannot see fungus and taste is too dangerous. So, I think smell is the best way
to testify the food.
How do smell and taste relate each other?
Smell is related to taste, from entnet.org (n.d.), they said flavors are
recognized through the smell sense. The author said if we hold our nose while
eating, we couldnt identify the flavor. The familiar flavor is sensed largely by
odor. We can distinguish the flavor of food by smelling. Without smell, there
is no taste. When we cant smell, our ability to taste food is diminishes. We
use tongue to taste and nose to smell. If we cannot smell, we also cannot taste
anything and cannot identify what food is it because we dont know its sweet,
sour, salty, spicy, bitter, or umami. For example, we know an orange juice
smell by nose and we know its sour because of taste. I think if we cannot
smell, we cannot distinguish a smell of orange juice, vinegar, lemon juice, and
lemon tea from each glass. The figure below will show you how smell affects
our food identified.

Figure1
Relation how we identify the food and smell.

Note. Adopted from Taste, Smell, and Touch: Lecture Notes by L. Boroditsky,
1999,
http://www-psych.stanford.edu/~lera/psych115s/notes/lecture11/.

According to the Figure1, it shows about relation how we identify the
food and smell. The beverages, which have the lowest percent correct when
people hold their nose, are chocolate, coffee, and garlic. As I consider, these
because the coffee and sugar have the smooth smell, not as much pungent
likes the other beverages such as vinegar, whisky and wine. For the garlic, I
think it may because normally people will familiar with only the smell of the
garlic but not familiar with the taste so when people are holding their noses
and drink the beverage, they dont know what it is. In the other hand, the
beverages that have a strong smell such as vinegar whisky and wine can make
people know easier. These kinds of beverages also have the specific taste
which people can obviously sense them. For the water, I think because people
cannot feel any tastes from this beverage so they know that this is the water.

In my opinion, I think smell is affect to taste and also affect to our
health because when we sick, our nose lost ability to smell. So, when we eat
food, it and we not feel any delicious make we dont want to eat anything and
it can lead a nutrition deficiency. I think smell is very important for food
because it can make we hungry for 80 percent and 20 percent is taste and
also tell which food we should eat.































Section 4: What this means to me

Have you ever thought that how important of taste and smell is?
Before I do this research, I think another thing. But after I do this research, its
change my thinking, beliefs, and also my action too. I think this research is too
influenced and change my lifestyle. So, I think it good to share this in
formation because it benefit to us. This research make me take more an
interest on taste and smell and know that how taste and smell important to
our daily life. Taste and smell senses are important to us because it make we
feel enjoy of food and also benefit our body.

How knowledge has grown & changed
Before, I not think that taste and smell are too important to us. I was
not care about how foods that I eat smell or taste like. I just eat when I want
to eat and distinguish the taste of food that sweet, sour, salty, bitter, spicy, or
bitter. But when I do this research, I realize that when I cooking food taste
and smell is too important to made it perfect, have a good taste and smell. I
always try to make it delicious because nobody likes a bad taste and smell.
And I realize that sometime I also choose a food that delicious to eat. Its
because of taste and smell that I like. These senses stay with us since we were
a little baby. So, sometimes we dont know how taste and smell are important
to our daily life. But we always choose a food that smells good and delicious.

How this knowledge changed my thinking & beliefs
Now, I know that taste and smell make we more enjoy of food and also
help us to prepare our bodies to digest food. When I was young, I always
think that taste and smell is only a sense that made me feel hungry but now, I
know that taste and smell are also help us to digest food. Tasting food is
stimulated our salivary glands and produce juices to digest food And These
sense can provide information about food. We can know that foods are fresh
or spoiled by taste and smell because its tell us a physical of food that good or
bad by show a color, taste, and smell. This research has changed my action,
when I cooking taste and smell become the most important thing. I aware
more about taste and smell For example, when I fried an egg I use only fresh
egg and good ingredient to make it have a good smell and delicious for other
people to feel a taste of food and have a good health.

Importance of this knowledge
It makes me realize that taste and smell are important to our daily life.
If we not have taste and smell our life is bored. This research makes me know
that we use taste and smell more than we think in our daily life. And know
about how taste and smell relate to each other. Smell is also an important part
of taste. Many qualities of foods that we taste are a function of smell. Because
the first sense that we can feel of the food are smell and then its pass to taste
sense to taste the foods that sweet, sour, salty, spicy, or bitter. Taste and smell
sense are important to our body, we can notice that the people whom
impaired ability to taste food are unhealthy because they dont desire to eat
food as much as everybody usually does. So, thats why taste and smell is too
important to us.

In my opinion, I think doing research it make us know a lot of thing
about the topic that we want to know. I learn many things about taste and
smell and some thing can change my thinking, beliefs, and also my action. I
know about how taste and smell sense are important and how these sense
relate each other. This research is so helpful to me. Its influence to my
thinking and makes me aware about taste and smell and these senses also
helpful to our body because its help us to prepare our bodies to digest food.
Moreover, taste and smell can tell that food is fresh or spoiled. So, that why
taste and smell is so important and helpful to us. We should take more
interest in these senses.






















Section 5: My grown as a Researcher

Describe the new skill I learned about research
This research makes me learn a lot of things. I know more information
about my topic and also learn how to write a research. I know how different
between writing and research. Because writing is just describe your idea but
research we need to have an evidence and thesis. It also makes me improve
my writing skill. I learn how to write a notecard and it makes me know how
to avoid of plagiarism and I learn how to make a sentence persuasive to other
people. Research can make we know more about things we want to know and
understand clearly but the basis of doing research is writing in our own
words. At the beginning, I felt writing research is too hard and so tried
because I know not well at writing and I took very long time to write an essay.
But almost finish, I realize that my writing skill is better, I type a lot faster,
and I know how to write a research in my own words. I think the most
important thing that I learned about research is to have a good writing skill.
Because if researchers not have a good writing skill, they cannot explain the
information to other people to understand even the research is very interest
but it doesnt mean anything. So, thats why researchers need good writing
skills.





















Section6: Reference list

Boroditsky, L. (1999). Taste, Smell, and Touch. Retrieve from
http://www-psych.stanford.edu/~lera/psych115s/notes/lecture11/

Entnet.org. (2014). Smell & Taste. Retrieve from
https://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/smellTaste.cfm

Fifthsense.org.uk. (2014). Psychology and Smell. Retrieve From
http://www.fifthsense.org.uk/what_is_smell/psychology/

Msginfo.com, (Unknown). The importance of taste. Retrieve from
http://www.msginfo.com/about_taste_imp.asp

Roemburg, J. (2012). Why is smell important? Retrieve From
http://www.air-aroma.com/blog/why-is-smell-important

Smarty. (2011). Know your nose. Retrieve From
https://www.smartlivingnetwork.com/psychology/b/know-your-nose-
the-biological-importance-of-smell/