Training the Taste Buds
Taste is one of the senses that food technologists use in their daily work to assess product quality and other parameters. “First, we look with our eyes, then come taste, structure and consistency. For example, if we are fermenting bread that contains sourdough, a professional — a specialist with years of accumulated experience — can tell what its acidity level will be simply by smelling it and tasting it a little,” Straumīte said.
Of course, to be able to do this, training and experience are important. Food technologists train their taste buds constantly — both at work and often also in their own kitchens.
“For professionals, this is daily training. For example, we have sommeliers who, starting with the raw materials, are able to describe a wine and know what will later emerge from them in its taste. It is similar in other sectors as well, and it really is a kind of everyday work,” the professor explained.
First Comes the Smell
Sometimes this developed sense and the ability to taste even the most hidden nuances can also interfere with food technologists in everyday life, she revealed: “Because you know that it could have been prepared better, and you know where the mistake is. But it should be taken into account that this is not only about taste — it is also about aroma, because aroma and taste very often go together. Moreover, the first thing we always perceive is aroma. Especially when we talk about food, smell and taste cannot be separated.”
Thus, in sequence, we first perceive the aroma or smell. Then, when the food product enters our mouth, various substances are released that create taste and, at the same time, still also aroma. Finally, the consistency and structure of the food also have their place in the assessment and play their own role.
Where Does That Taste Come From?
Food technologists are able to distinguish and assess each of these parameters, as well as, potentially, determine where it comes from, Straumīte explained: “If those who do not train can only say that it is sweet, then someone who has trained can say whether that sweetness comes from vanilla or strawberries, or whether there are sweet-and-sour nuances that resemble jasmine, or whether it is the aroma of dried plums, with sweet-bitter taste nuances. They simply learn to describe what they taste more specifically and in greater depth, because in the production process it is not enough to say only whether I like it or not.”
While we as consumers often assess products quite simply — whether they taste good or not, whether they are sour or sweet — food technologists must be able to point to specific nuances and flaws.
“In production, it is necessary to be able to say in a nuanced way that today the fermentation has gone in the wrong direction — we no longer have pleasant lactic acid, but already slightly sharp acetic acid, and the product has over-fermented. We learn to describe all of this better and to understand our sensations,” the professor explained.
How Was the Cow Fed?
Food technologists assess products not only at the development stage, providing advice on how to improve various taste nuances, but also on a daily basis, when the products are already being produced, because then comes the next, no less important task — ensuring their consistent quality. “Food, however much we may not want to say so, is nevertheless alive, and it contains both various bacteria — good and bad — and various enzymes that are actively at work.
The task of food technologists is to ensure consistency, and this is daily work that requires concentration, knowledge and the accumulation of experience,” Straumīte emphasised.
Ensuring a consistent taste year after year is not at all simple. To achieve this, it is necessary to strictly adhere to specific raw materials and technologies, while also taking into account that raw materials themselves may change slightly each year due to various external conditions.
“For example, if it is milk, it can change depending on how the cows have been fed, what the season is like and what the grain is like — whether it has already been stored for some time or is newly harvested. Experience and knowledge are needed there so that we can apply small technological tricks to ensure that the product really turns out exactly as it should,” the professor acknowledged.
