【轻松英文阅读】第五种味觉

 Everybody knows these four tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. But did you know there was a fifth one? Well, don’t feel too bad; it wasn’t even recognized by the scientific community until the eighties. The fifth taste is called umami, which is a Japanese word meaning something like “delicious taste.”

 

Inside of our mouths we have the ability to perceive five different tastes. Each of these tastes has a reason for being there. Essentially¹, tongues have evolved to make us want the things we need to survive and not like the things we need to avoid. For instance, when you are eating something sweet, the sensation is telling your brain that you are getting energy. If you are eating something bitter, it is transmitting the message that you may need to be careful to your brain. However, through social training we can learn to like some bitter things like coffee or tea. Umami is made up of glutamic acid, one of the amino acids, which is part of blocks of protein. Our taste for umami is our body’s way of perceiving protein, which of course is very necessary for our survival.

 

If we understand umami better, we can better understand why we crave² certain things. It also helps explain why we like to put tomato paste in our stew³ or soy sauce in a marinade. Moreover, having a good knowledge of umami can make you a better cook.

 

1 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

2 crave   

vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求

参考例句：

• Many young children crave attention.许多小孩子渴望得到关心。
• You may be craving for some fresh air.你可能很想呼吸呼吸新鲜空气。

3 stew   

n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑

参考例句：

• The stew must be boiled up before serving.炖肉必须煮熟才能上桌。
• There's no need to get in a stew.没有必要烦恼。