Tasty Smells

Have you ever noticed that, when you have a cold and your nose is all stuffed up, food just doesn't taste as good? In fact, it's hard to tell tastes apart. Does the cold do something to your tongue? No - it's just that when you eat something, most of what you think of as taste actually comes from the smell of the food! The odor molecules travel up into your nose through openings in the top of your mouth. When you're all stuffed up, the path to your nose is blocked, and those odor molecules can't get through. So food doesn't taste the way it usually does!

You can do a test with some of your friends to check this out, even if you don't have a cold right now. Cut thin slices of apple and raw potato. Blindfold your friends and have them hold their noses closed (use nose plugs if you don't trust them not to cheat!). Give them a piece of apple or potato to taste, and see if they can tell which is which. Then have them let go of their noses, and try again. You will find that they only know which is the apple, and which is the potato, when they can smell!