Why do we taste acids and how do we do this?

Answer

Dear Mathias,

Before we can taste acids, there must of course be acids present. for example, an apple can be very sour and then we experience it that way, but you also have sweet apples that we do not associate with sour.

We always find other things, such as lemon, sour.

we can taste the sour taste because we have taste buds on the tongue. we have those for sweet, sour, salty and bitter (and a few others). so we will taste the basic tastes, including sour, when the acidic food comes into contact with the tongue.

Basically, those taste buds work well. However, you can also get situations in which they work less well, for example in older people or in people who smoke or have to take certain medicines. In general, we need to add more flavorings here before they really taste anything.

Smell and taste are strongly linked. So a good nose and a healthy tongue ensure that you will taste everything optimally.