In this episode, we ask: Why do some foods taste better to adults than kids? And what happens to food once you’re done tasting it?
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SPEAKER 1: Is it time yet?
SPEAKER 2: Any second now. Almost here.
SPEAKER 1: Prepare yourselves.
SPEAKER 2: Oh, we can't wait.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
IAN ROBERTS: Hi, you're listening to Brains On!
MOLLY BLOOM: A show featuring awesome kids and the stuff that makes kids awesome. So, do you know why some foods taste better to adults than they do to kids?
IAN ROBERTS: And vise versa?
MOLLY BLOOM: Do you know what happens to food once you're done tasting it?
IAN ROBERTS: Do you know how to make a spring roll?
MOLLY BLOOM: We'll cover all that right now. Keep listening.
[THEME MUSIC]
You're listening to Brains On! I'm Molly Bloom. And here with me today is-- why don't you introduce yourself?
IAN ROBERTS: OK, I'm Ian Roberts, and I'm in the sixth grade.
MOLLY BLOOM: Ian will be here sharing hosting duties with me. And we're going to start the show today in the kitchen.
IAN ROBERTS: You want wrap it up.
KIRSTEN: I'm Kirsten, and I'm 12 years old.
EMILY: I'm Emily, and I'm six and a 1/2. I love making these. It's really fun.
MOLLY BLOOM: So those are the Emerson sisters, and they were kind enough to invite us over to show us how to make spring rolls.
KIRSTEN: We are taking spring roll wrappers and putting them into warm water for a couple of seconds. And then let me do one. And what you want?
EMILY: We put some cucumbers, then we have some--
KIRSTEN: Shrimp.
EMILY: Shrimp.
KIRSTEN: Mint and cilantro.
MOLLY BLOOM: They said spring rolls are fun because you can put, really, anything in them-- vegetables, meat, herbs, and then you get to dip them in delicious sauces.
KIRSTEN: We're folding and wrapping it up. First, you roll kind of like half of it, then fold in the sides, then fold in the rest of the way.
MOLLY BLOOM: These girls love to cook.
KIRSTEN: Would you like to make, Emmy?
EMILY: I like to make my peanut butter breakfast. It's where you get granola, and you put bananas and peanut butter and mix them all together. It's really good.
MOLLY BLOOM: And that makes some pretty adventurous eaters, too.
EMILY: I like every-- well, pretty much everything I try. But everybody likes chocolate cake. I like chocolate cake, too.
MOLLY BLOOM: And they told us that they use all their senses when they cook.
KIRSTEN: Taste.
EMILY: Smell. I use it a lot to make sure that I like it.
MOLLY BLOOM: We're going to get back to some of those senses like taste and smell in a second. But first, we're going to go to a different sense. We're going to listen. So Ian, are you ready for the mystery sound?
[WHOOSH]
OK. Hear it one more time.
[WHOOSH]
Of course, do you have any guesses?
IAN ROBERTS: It sounds sort of like an explosion of some sort.
MOLLY BLOOM: That's a pretty good guess. And so it has to do with cooking.
IAN ROBERTS: Oh, I think maybe a kind of a stir fry?
MOLLY BLOOM: Interesting. Interesting guess. So while you're puzzling over the mystery sound, we're going to find out all about tasting. Our friend Sanden Totten spoke with seventh grade science teacher John Iverson.
IAN ROBERTS: Let's start with the first question. What is taste?
JOHN IVERSON: Taste would be when your tongue hits upon a chemical. The chemical is then sent as a message to your brain, and your brain says, hmm, that's sweet, or that's sour. So how many tastes are there? Five that most scientists currently say we all have.
SANDEN TOTTEN: So there are five tastes. We
JOHN IVERSON: Have salt, bitter, sweet, sour, and umami.
SANDEN TOTTEN: Uh, what's that last one?
JOHN IVERSON: That last one is a Japanese word that means savory or hearty. It's a flavor that most people in the United States and Europe didn't recognize until just recently.
SANDEN TOTTEN: So it's a new taste?
JOHN IVERSON: Yeah, it's a new taste that we've always had all along.
SANDEN TOTTEN: Umami. OK. So tell me a little bit how the tongue works?
JOHN IVERSON: The tongue, a muscle underneath-- but there's a thin layer of skin that has many different cells that are taste receptors. We do have taste receptors all over the tongue a little bit inside the mouth and a little bit in the very first part of your throat as well.
SANDEN TOTTEN: Can we see the taste receptors?
JOHN IVERSON: Yes, you can see the taste buds. If you actually take a blue popsicle, and you just put it right on your tongue for a number of minutes-- get your tongue all blue-- when you stick your tongue out, look in the mirror, you can see all these little white dots. Those are your taste buds.
SANDEN TOTTEN: How many does the mouth have?
JOHN IVERSON: It depends on the person. Some people would say we have anywhere from 3,000. And some people would say up to 10,000.
SANDEN TOTTEN: 10,000 taste buds in my mouth?
JOHN IVERSON: Oh, that's nothing. Catfish have close to 15,000 themselves. And not only do they taste with their tongue, but they also have these barbells, these whiskers. That's what they're called catfish. Those are used to sense taste as well.
SANDEN TOTTEN: So they have taste buds on their whiskers?
JOHN IVERSON: Yes. Some fish actually taste with their fins and parts of their scales as well.
SANDEN TOTTEN: What are some other animals that taste in different ways?
JOHN IVERSON: Some butterflies taste sensors on their feet. Ants as well have parts of their jaw that have taste buds on them. There's also things like cockroaches will sense taste with their antenna. Some butterflies taste with sensors on their feet.
MOLLY BLOOM: How do you think it would be to taste with your feet?
IAN ROBERTS: I think it would be pretty gross. You'd taste your socks every morning when you put them on.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, that probably wouldn't be good.
IAN ROBERTS: Yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: And did any of that surprise you in that interview or anything interesting to you?
IAN ROBERTS: Yeah, I was interested by the catfish. It has more taste buds than we do.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, I wonder-- sometimes I wonder what we're missing when we're tasting.
IAN ROBERTS: Yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: But the guy was saying, too, that actually, kids-- and we'll get to this in a little bit-- have more taste buds than adults do, and that's actually why you might not like all the same foods that your parents like. They taste stronger to you. So we'll hear even more about tasting in a little bit, and we'll get to do some tasting ourselves. But let's go back to that mystery sound.
So your previous guesses were an explosion or a stir fry. But this is actually Jessica Bartel's favorite cooking sound. She's a professional chef, and she has a clue for you.
JESSICA BARTEL: Well, it's a tall cylinder with a little threaded connector. And then the top of it is a nice, convenient handle that'll hold on. You can grab it, hold on to it. There's a knob that opens and closes the gas and a little trigger.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, many more guesses after that?
IAN ROBERTS: No, I think that made me a little more lost than before.
MOLLY BLOOM: So it's a tool that she uses for baking, but it's not necessarily something that you might think of right away. It's-- you ready? Ready? We're going to hear the sound one more time.
IAN ROBERTS: Sure.
[WHOOSH]
MOLLY BLOOM: Any last guesses?
IAN ROBERTS: Maybe something using pressurized air that sounds--
MOLLY BLOOM: Yes. It's a blowtorch.
IAN ROBERTS: What? A blowtorch?
MOLLY BLOOM: I know. What would you imagine you would use that for in baking?
IAN ROBERTS: Hmm. maybe like, trying to correct something open. We have a walnut tree in our back yard, and I was trying to crack the nuts open. It was impossible.
MOLLY BLOOM: So what did you do?
IAN ROBERTS: I eventually soaked them in water for like a day or two, then let them dry. So the shells were really brittle. And then I could crack it open and get the nut.
MOLLY BLOOM: That's very smart. OK. Well, let's hear from Jessica how she uses it with her baking.
JESSICA BARTEL: Brulees and cakes and caramelizing and softening and melting and helping things stick and glue.
MOLLY BLOOM: So she uses it for like everything.
IAN ROBERTS: Wow.
MOLLY BLOOM: You know like when you see those little creme brulees. They're little puddings with the top. It's all hard. So when you take sugar and you put an open flame on it, it gets kind of hard and crunchy like that well.
IAN ROBERTS: Huh, I'm blown away.
MOLLY BLOOM: It's a blow torch. High five. That was great.
KIDS: Brains on!
MOLLY BLOOM: So, all right, so we're going to go back to Sanden and John Iverson. So if you want to taste along with them, like Ian and I are going to do, you will need to get your hands on a few different kinds of foods.
IAN ROBERTS: Something salty.
MOLLY BLOOM: So that would be like chips or pretzels.
IAN ROBERTS: Or maybe something sweet.
MOLLY BLOOM: And that would be like dried fruit or cookies or candy.
IAN ROBERTS: Maybe something bitter, too.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, that would be like spinach, parsley, stuff like that.
IAN ROBERTS: Something sour.
MOLLY BLOOM: So lemon, lime.
IAN ROBERTS: And last but not least, savory.
MOLLY BLOOM: So that could be beef jerky or mushrooms or even cheese. So let's get started with the tasting. Here we go.
SANDEN TOTTEN: So John, how many tastes are there?
JOHN IVERSON: Five tastes.
SANDEN TOTTEN: And let's talk about them. So let's start with sour. What have we got in front of us?
JOHN IVERSON: We have a lime. And not only can I see it, which is another part of our taste sensations, is looking at different foods; but also, I can smell it. I can already smell it. It is really-- I can just anticipate that it's going to be sour, just from the smell.
SANDEN TOTTEN: And what happens when you can anticipate food?
JOHN IVERSON: Your saliva starts to run out of your salivary glands in your mouth. In this case, I can already feel my cheeks tightening up, knowing that they're going to be doing that in a second.
SANDEN TOTTEN: OK, so we're going to talk about the taste, sour. Let's do it.
JOHN IVERSON: All right.
SANDEN TOTTEN: So we're taking the lime here. I'm just going to take a little bite.
MOLLY BLOOM: All right, let's do it. Ready?
IAN ROBERTS: OK.
JOHN IVERSON: Mm.
IAN ROBERTS: Woo.
MOLLY BLOOM: Woo.
JOHN IVERSON: I can feel it already.
SANDEN TOTTEN: What happened?
JOHN IVERSON: The back muscles in my cheeks just start to tighten up so much.
IAN ROBERTS: Ooh, boy, I like it.
MOLLY BLOOM: You like it?
IAN ROBERTS: Yeah.
JOHN IVERSON: And my salivary glands start to pump out more and more saliva to make sure that my mouth doesn't have the sour taste in it anymore.
SANDEN TOTTEN: So what have we got here?
JOHN IVERSON: We have some spinach greens.
SANDEN TOTTEN: And these taste what?
JOHN IVERSON: These are bitter, very bitter. And you get the sensation with bitter food sometimes that this isn't something that you should be eating. And it seems, to most scientists, reasonable that, before we had labels that said this is food, this is not food, that this was our bodies' way of saying what you're eating isn't going to be good for you.
SANDEN TOTTEN: Maybe that's why today kids don't like eating their vegetables. They're thinking maybe this is poison. I'm sure I've heard kids say that before.
JOHN IVERSON: I've heard my own kids say that. And believe me, as a parent, I'll tell you, you're not going to get away with it. You still should eat your greens.
SANDEN TOTTEN: All right, let's eat some greens.
JOHN IVERSON: OK.
MOLLY BLOOM: I'm not a huge fan of spinach, are you?
IAN ROBERTS: I'm not either.
MOLLY BLOOM: Should we do it anyway?
IAN ROBERTS: Sure.
MOLLY BLOOM: All right, ready? 1, 2, 3.
IAN ROBERTS: Bottoms up.
[CRUNCHING]
JOHN IVERSON: Mm-hmm. Right in the back of my mouth, I get the taste. On the tip of my tongue, I don't really taste the spinach very much at all.
IAN ROBERTS: I have to say dandelions are worse. Have you ever eaten a dandelion?
MOLLY BLOOM: No, what do they taste like?
IAN ROBERTS: It's just like bitter beyond belief. It's like coffee without the taste of coffee. It's just essence of bitter.
MOLLY BLOOM: Ish!
SANDEN TOTTEN: Let's move on to everybody's favorite, sweet. So you know what these are?
JOHN IVERSON: Dried pineapple.
SANDEN TOTTEN: And this tastes--
JOHN IVERSON: Very sweet.
SANDEN TOTTEN: Well, let's just jump right into it.
MOLLY BLOOM: Where are you tasting it?
IAN ROBERTS: The very middle of my tongue.
JOHN IVERSON: I like this taste a lot.
IAN ROBERTS: How about you?
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, me, too.
SANDEN TOTTEN: What happens when we eat sweet things?
JOHN IVERSON: You feel happy. You feel happy. Your tongue just, I would say, just erupts in this great, joyous, ah, I have sugar. I have things that I want in my mouth. I notice that you at much more of the pineapple than the spinach.
SANDEN TOTTEN: Well, you know, we all have our favorites.
MOLLY BLOOM: So what's your favorite sweet, usually?
IAN ROBERTS: Hmm. My favorite sweet thing. Well, being a kid, I'd have to say candy, now that Halloween was just over, you know? Sweet craving.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah. Did you eat all your Halloween candy already?
IAN ROBERTS: Oh, no.
MOLLY BLOOM: How long--
IAN ROBERTS: I usually, like, ration it, and it lasts me until January.
MOLLY BLOOM: That's pretty good.
IAN ROBERTS: Mm-hmm.
MOLLY BLOOM: Do you eat certain ones first?
IAN ROBERTS: Yeah, I usually like the tart things. I eat them first. And then I slowly work down to like a chocolate covered raisins that some crazy parent hands out.
MOLLY BLOOM: So you're not a fan of those?
IAN ROBERTS: No.
MOLLY BLOOM: But you eat them anyway?
IAN ROBERTS: Yeah.
JOHN IVERSON: Sweets are something that most children prefer. And as you get older, your sense of desire or wanting for sweet foods becomes less and less. As you get older, your tastes change. Why is that? Why do they change?
As you grow older, your body continually replaces cells, skin cells that die, also taste buds or taste cells that die. And some scientists believe that you don't replace as many as you get older. So you're not so concerned about the bitterness of foods. That's why more adults handle coffee than children. And also, perhaps, some of the sweet taste buds don't get replaced. And that would make sense that the adults don't crave the sweets as much as children do.
SANDEN TOTTEN: So kids and adults might actually have different tongues. That's why we like to eat different foods. Well, let's move on to salty.
JOHN IVERSON: We crave salt at times.
SANDEN TOTTEN: Why is that?
JOHN IVERSON: Our body loses salt every time we go out for a run and we sweat.
SANDEN TOTTEN: So our sweat is salty because it's full of salt?
JOHN IVERSON: Yeah. For our bodies to do all the things we want it to do-- to think, to jump, to sleep, We. Need salt in ourselves.
SANDEN TOTTEN: Let's try getting some salt back in ourselves. I got some chips here.
JOHN IVERSON: I can smell it, and I already know it's going to be salty.
[CRUNCHING]
MOLLY BLOOM: So you're a salty guy.
IAN ROBERTS: Oh, yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, I wonder if you like salt more because maybe you're, like, active. Because, like you was saying, you kind of lose a lot of salt--
IAN ROBERTS: Yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: --when you exercise?
IAN ROBERTS: I do actually jog. That's a hobby.
MOLLY BLOOM: So there you go. Maybe that's why you crave salt.
IAN ROBERTS: Mm-hmm.
SANDEN TOTTEN: What's the connection between saltiness and thirstiness?
JOHN IVERSON: Salt actually removes moisture from things. Salt dries things out so much that we want to replace the water in our mouth. We can't always do it with the saliva we have, and that's why we get thirsty.
SANDEN TOTTEN: Now, let's go on to the last taste here-- umami or savory.
JOHN IVERSON: Oh, looks like you brought some beef jerky for us for the savory taste.
SANDEN TOTTEN: Yeah, let's try it out.
IAN ROBERTS: Oh, very chewy.
MOLLY BLOOM: [GIGGLES]
IAN ROBERTS: That's good.
MOLLY BLOOM: While we're chewing, we'll hear what they say about it.
IAN ROBERTS: Sure.
JOHN IVERSON: I can know that this is nourishing, that it's something my body really does need.
SANDEN TOTTEN: Why does your body need beef jerky?
JOHN IVERSON: It doesn't necessarily need beef jerky. But the meat itself, the protein, this is the building block of a lot of our body. Our muscles in particular need the protein to keep doing what they're doing and to grow and grow bigger and stronger.
SANDEN TOTTEN: So if our bodies were a LEGO machine, the beef has proteins, which are like the little LEGO pieces we use to build a bigger and better machine.
JOHN IVERSON: That'd be correct, yeah.
KIDS: Brains on! [GIGGLING]
SUBJECT 1: Woo!
JOHN IVERSON: Brains On! Tasting.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, next, the Brains On! Players are here to tell us what happens to all this food once it's eaten.
IAN ROBERTS: Microphones, headphones, action.
MOLLY BLOOM: When you eat something, your body digests it. Digestion is how your body turns food like salads, sandwiches, and smoothies into vitamins, minerals, and proteins to help you grow. The first step in digestion is eating. So, time to eat.
SANDWICH: Uh-oh, here I go.
[CHEWING]
MOUTH: The sandwich is awesome!
SANDWICH: Hey, ouch! Ow, ow! Who are you? What's going on?
MOUTH: Me? I'm a mouth, and you are a delicious sandwich. So I'm chewing you up.
SANDWICH: Ow. Oof, hey. Why's gotta to be so hard when you chew and I'm all wet?
MOUTH: Ha! I see you are new to being eaten. Chewing is the first step in digestion. I use my teeth to mash you up into [CHEWING] little bits. Then I mixed you up with saliva to make you soft.
SANDWICH: Hey, watch it.
MOUTH: And when I've made you all nice and mushy, I can pass you off to the next stage of digestion by simply swallowing.
MOLLY BLOOM: Step two of the digestion process, swallowing. Swallowing is when the food you chewed goes down your throat.
SANDWICH: Oh, I'm falling!
ESOPHAGUS: Huah! Don't cry, little sandwich man. I've got you in my muscular grip.
SANDWICH: Who are you?
ESOPHAGUS: I am the esophagus. I'm a muscular tube in your throat, and I'm going to carry you from the mouth to the stomach.
SANDWICH: Where's that wind coming from?
ESOPHAGUS: That's the windpipe, but you don't want to go down there. You'll choke the body. And the body will cough you out. But don't worry, little sandwich man, the epiglottis will cover the windpipe hole so you will be safe on your way.
EPIGLOTTIS: Hey, yo, let me just cover that up. And you're good to go.
ESOPHAGUS: Thank you, epiglottis. OK, sandwich man, you ready to go down to the stomach?
SANDWICH: I guess so. I mean--
ESOPHAGUS: Have a nice swim. Ha, ha, ha. Huah!
MOLLY BLOOM: Step three in digestion, the stomach. The stomach is a sac inside your belly where food gets broken down into a messy liquid.
[WATER SPLASHING]
SANDWICH: It's all wet and warm in here.
STOMACH: Well, hello. Welcome to the stomach, baby. Relax, kick back, and enjoy the soothing vibes of my gastric hot tube.
SANDWICH: Oh, the water tingles.
STOMACH: Oh, yeah. That's because it's acid, baby-- stomach acid. And it's going to gently break you down into even smaller pieces. So just enjoy the ride.
SANDWICH: Ah! I feel like I'm melting.
STOMACH: It's nice, right? These acids are pretty powerful. And by swishing you around, I'm going to make you all loosey goosey. Well, it's time you be moving along, little fella. Next stop for you, the small intestine. Stay groovy.
SANDWICH: You, too, stomach.
MOLLY BLOOM: Step four, the small intestine. At this point, your sandwich has turned into a soup-like goo. In the small intestine, your body picks the vitamins and minerals it needs from that goop.
SANDWICH: Huh, it's dark in here.
SUBJECT 2: Pinch, pinch, pinch.
SANDWICH: Ow. Hey, ouch!
SUBJECT 2: Pinch pinch pinch.
SMALL INTESTINE: Hey, sorry, I'm just picking you dry.
SANDWICH: Ouch! Ouch! What?
SMALL INTESTINE: [GIGGLES] Yeah, I'm the small intestine, which is a funny name for me because I'm 22 feet long. I'm a tube coiled up inside the body. And my job is to pick all your nutrients and vitamins.
SUBJECT 2: Pinch pinch, pinch.
SMALL INTESTINE: Oh, and and look at all this protein you've got. You were once a chicken sandwich, weren't you?
SANDWICH: Yeah, I was a chicken sandwich. What are you doing with all my vitamins and proteins and stuff?
SMALL INTESTINE: Oh, it goes all over the place-- to the muscles, to the brain, to the whole body, actually.
SUBJECT 2: Pinch pinch, pinch.
We're going to build a better body using these parts from you.
SANDWICH: You're taking my everything. There'll be nothing left.
SUBJECT 2: Pinch.
SMALL INTESTINE: Oh, don't worry. There will be something left. And actually, it's time you head off to the next step of digestion-- my big brother, the large intestine.
MOLLY BLOOM: Step five, the large intestine. This is the body's last chance to soak up what it needs from food.
LARGE INTESTINE: Hey.
SANDWICH: Um, hey?
LARGE INTESTINE: I'm the large intestine. I'm also a long tube.
SANDWICH: OK, so what happens here?
LARGE INTESTINE: You're kind of a liquid mess at this point. I'm just going to absorb some of that water. And this might be kind of awkward.
SANDWICH: Awkward?
[SUCKING]
Hey, whoa! You're taking all the water away. I'm drying out.
LARGE INTESTINE: Yeah, the body needs your liquids. Come on, now. I'm going to leave you in the colon. That's the last part of the body you'll see.
MOLLY BLOOM: Step six, getting rid of waste. Some parts of the food you eat the body doesn't need, so it gets rid of it.
SANDWICH: The colon? You're just going to leave me here in the colon just like that?
LARGE INTESTINE: Not for long. Just wait. Door's about to open. Bombs away.
SANDWICH: Bombs away? What-- wait? What's that smell? Hold on, it's me. I'm a poooooo! And that, my dear is how digestion works.
MOLLY BLOOM: So all this food is making me hungry. Should we wrap this up?
IAN ROBERTS: Thanks for listening to Brains On!
MOLLY BLOOM: This episode was produced with help from Ian Roberts.
IAN ROBERTS: Chris Roberts.
MOLLY BLOOM: Mark Sanchez, Jackie Fuller.
IAN ROBERTS: Sanden Totten.
MOLLY BLOOM: Anna Weigel.
IAN ROBERTS: Jeff Horowitz.
MOLLY BLOOM: Derek Stevens.
IAN ROBERTS: Bucky Emerson.
MOLLY BLOOM: Greg Keenan.
IAN ROBERTS: Sam Keenan.
MOLLY BLOOM: Thanks, Ian. Thanks for coming in.
IAN ROBERTS: Yeah, I had fun.
MOLLY BLOOM: Awesome.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
KIDS: Brains on!
[CHEERS]
SPEAKER 2: Any second now. Almost here.
SPEAKER 1: Prepare yourselves.
SPEAKER 2: Oh, we can't wait.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
IAN ROBERTS: Hi, you're listening to Brains On!
MOLLY BLOOM: A show featuring awesome kids and the stuff that makes kids awesome. So, do you know why some foods taste better to adults than they do to kids?
IAN ROBERTS: And vise versa?
MOLLY BLOOM: Do you know what happens to food once you're done tasting it?
IAN ROBERTS: Do you know how to make a spring roll?
MOLLY BLOOM: We'll cover all that right now. Keep listening.
[THEME MUSIC]
You're listening to Brains On! I'm Molly Bloom. And here with me today is-- why don't you introduce yourself?
IAN ROBERTS: OK, I'm Ian Roberts, and I'm in the sixth grade.
MOLLY BLOOM: Ian will be here sharing hosting duties with me. And we're going to start the show today in the kitchen.
IAN ROBERTS: You want wrap it up.
KIRSTEN: I'm Kirsten, and I'm 12 years old.
EMILY: I'm Emily, and I'm six and a 1/2. I love making these. It's really fun.
MOLLY BLOOM: So those are the Emerson sisters, and they were kind enough to invite us over to show us how to make spring rolls.
KIRSTEN: We are taking spring roll wrappers and putting them into warm water for a couple of seconds. And then let me do one. And what you want?
EMILY: We put some cucumbers, then we have some--
KIRSTEN: Shrimp.
EMILY: Shrimp.
KIRSTEN: Mint and cilantro.
MOLLY BLOOM: They said spring rolls are fun because you can put, really, anything in them-- vegetables, meat, herbs, and then you get to dip them in delicious sauces.
KIRSTEN: We're folding and wrapping it up. First, you roll kind of like half of it, then fold in the sides, then fold in the rest of the way.
MOLLY BLOOM: These girls love to cook.
KIRSTEN: Would you like to make, Emmy?
EMILY: I like to make my peanut butter breakfast. It's where you get granola, and you put bananas and peanut butter and mix them all together. It's really good.
MOLLY BLOOM: And that makes some pretty adventurous eaters, too.
EMILY: I like every-- well, pretty much everything I try. But everybody likes chocolate cake. I like chocolate cake, too.
MOLLY BLOOM: And they told us that they use all their senses when they cook.
KIRSTEN: Taste.
EMILY: Smell. I use it a lot to make sure that I like it.
MOLLY BLOOM: We're going to get back to some of those senses like taste and smell in a second. But first, we're going to go to a different sense. We're going to listen. So Ian, are you ready for the mystery sound?
[WHOOSH]
OK. Hear it one more time.
[WHOOSH]
Of course, do you have any guesses?
IAN ROBERTS: It sounds sort of like an explosion of some sort.
MOLLY BLOOM: That's a pretty good guess. And so it has to do with cooking.
IAN ROBERTS: Oh, I think maybe a kind of a stir fry?
MOLLY BLOOM: Interesting. Interesting guess. So while you're puzzling over the mystery sound, we're going to find out all about tasting. Our friend Sanden Totten spoke with seventh grade science teacher John Iverson.
IAN ROBERTS: Let's start with the first question. What is taste?
JOHN IVERSON: Taste would be when your tongue hits upon a chemical. The chemical is then sent as a message to your brain, and your brain says, hmm, that's sweet, or that's sour. So how many tastes are there? Five that most scientists currently say we all have.
SANDEN TOTTEN: So there are five tastes. We
JOHN IVERSON: Have salt, bitter, sweet, sour, and umami.
SANDEN TOTTEN: Uh, what's that last one?
JOHN IVERSON: That last one is a Japanese word that means savory or hearty. It's a flavor that most people in the United States and Europe didn't recognize until just recently.
SANDEN TOTTEN: So it's a new taste?
JOHN IVERSON: Yeah, it's a new taste that we've always had all along.
SANDEN TOTTEN: Umami. OK. So tell me a little bit how the tongue works?
JOHN IVERSON: The tongue, a muscle underneath-- but there's a thin layer of skin that has many different cells that are taste receptors. We do have taste receptors all over the tongue a little bit inside the mouth and a little bit in the very first part of your throat as well.
SANDEN TOTTEN: Can we see the taste receptors?
JOHN IVERSON: Yes, you can see the taste buds. If you actually take a blue popsicle, and you just put it right on your tongue for a number of minutes-- get your tongue all blue-- when you stick your tongue out, look in the mirror, you can see all these little white dots. Those are your taste buds.
SANDEN TOTTEN: How many does the mouth have?
JOHN IVERSON: It depends on the person. Some people would say we have anywhere from 3,000. And some people would say up to 10,000.
SANDEN TOTTEN: 10,000 taste buds in my mouth?
JOHN IVERSON: Oh, that's nothing. Catfish have close to 15,000 themselves. And not only do they taste with their tongue, but they also have these barbells, these whiskers. That's what they're called catfish. Those are used to sense taste as well.
SANDEN TOTTEN: So they have taste buds on their whiskers?
JOHN IVERSON: Yes. Some fish actually taste with their fins and parts of their scales as well.
SANDEN TOTTEN: What are some other animals that taste in different ways?
JOHN IVERSON: Some butterflies taste sensors on their feet. Ants as well have parts of their jaw that have taste buds on them. There's also things like cockroaches will sense taste with their antenna. Some butterflies taste with sensors on their feet.
MOLLY BLOOM: How do you think it would be to taste with your feet?
IAN ROBERTS: I think it would be pretty gross. You'd taste your socks every morning when you put them on.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, that probably wouldn't be good.
IAN ROBERTS: Yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: And did any of that surprise you in that interview or anything interesting to you?
IAN ROBERTS: Yeah, I was interested by the catfish. It has more taste buds than we do.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, I wonder-- sometimes I wonder what we're missing when we're tasting.
IAN ROBERTS: Yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: But the guy was saying, too, that actually, kids-- and we'll get to this in a little bit-- have more taste buds than adults do, and that's actually why you might not like all the same foods that your parents like. They taste stronger to you. So we'll hear even more about tasting in a little bit, and we'll get to do some tasting ourselves. But let's go back to that mystery sound.
So your previous guesses were an explosion or a stir fry. But this is actually Jessica Bartel's favorite cooking sound. She's a professional chef, and she has a clue for you.
JESSICA BARTEL: Well, it's a tall cylinder with a little threaded connector. And then the top of it is a nice, convenient handle that'll hold on. You can grab it, hold on to it. There's a knob that opens and closes the gas and a little trigger.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, many more guesses after that?
IAN ROBERTS: No, I think that made me a little more lost than before.
MOLLY BLOOM: So it's a tool that she uses for baking, but it's not necessarily something that you might think of right away. It's-- you ready? Ready? We're going to hear the sound one more time.
IAN ROBERTS: Sure.
[WHOOSH]
MOLLY BLOOM: Any last guesses?
IAN ROBERTS: Maybe something using pressurized air that sounds--
MOLLY BLOOM: Yes. It's a blowtorch.
IAN ROBERTS: What? A blowtorch?
MOLLY BLOOM: I know. What would you imagine you would use that for in baking?
IAN ROBERTS: Hmm. maybe like, trying to correct something open. We have a walnut tree in our back yard, and I was trying to crack the nuts open. It was impossible.
MOLLY BLOOM: So what did you do?
IAN ROBERTS: I eventually soaked them in water for like a day or two, then let them dry. So the shells were really brittle. And then I could crack it open and get the nut.
MOLLY BLOOM: That's very smart. OK. Well, let's hear from Jessica how she uses it with her baking.
JESSICA BARTEL: Brulees and cakes and caramelizing and softening and melting and helping things stick and glue.
MOLLY BLOOM: So she uses it for like everything.
IAN ROBERTS: Wow.
MOLLY BLOOM: You know like when you see those little creme brulees. They're little puddings with the top. It's all hard. So when you take sugar and you put an open flame on it, it gets kind of hard and crunchy like that well.
IAN ROBERTS: Huh, I'm blown away.
MOLLY BLOOM: It's a blow torch. High five. That was great.
KIDS: Brains on!
MOLLY BLOOM: So, all right, so we're going to go back to Sanden and John Iverson. So if you want to taste along with them, like Ian and I are going to do, you will need to get your hands on a few different kinds of foods.
IAN ROBERTS: Something salty.
MOLLY BLOOM: So that would be like chips or pretzels.
IAN ROBERTS: Or maybe something sweet.
MOLLY BLOOM: And that would be like dried fruit or cookies or candy.
IAN ROBERTS: Maybe something bitter, too.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, that would be like spinach, parsley, stuff like that.
IAN ROBERTS: Something sour.
MOLLY BLOOM: So lemon, lime.
IAN ROBERTS: And last but not least, savory.
MOLLY BLOOM: So that could be beef jerky or mushrooms or even cheese. So let's get started with the tasting. Here we go.
SANDEN TOTTEN: So John, how many tastes are there?
JOHN IVERSON: Five tastes.
SANDEN TOTTEN: And let's talk about them. So let's start with sour. What have we got in front of us?
JOHN IVERSON: We have a lime. And not only can I see it, which is another part of our taste sensations, is looking at different foods; but also, I can smell it. I can already smell it. It is really-- I can just anticipate that it's going to be sour, just from the smell.
SANDEN TOTTEN: And what happens when you can anticipate food?
JOHN IVERSON: Your saliva starts to run out of your salivary glands in your mouth. In this case, I can already feel my cheeks tightening up, knowing that they're going to be doing that in a second.
SANDEN TOTTEN: OK, so we're going to talk about the taste, sour. Let's do it.
JOHN IVERSON: All right.
SANDEN TOTTEN: So we're taking the lime here. I'm just going to take a little bite.
MOLLY BLOOM: All right, let's do it. Ready?
IAN ROBERTS: OK.
JOHN IVERSON: Mm.
IAN ROBERTS: Woo.
MOLLY BLOOM: Woo.
JOHN IVERSON: I can feel it already.
SANDEN TOTTEN: What happened?
JOHN IVERSON: The back muscles in my cheeks just start to tighten up so much.
IAN ROBERTS: Ooh, boy, I like it.
MOLLY BLOOM: You like it?
IAN ROBERTS: Yeah.
JOHN IVERSON: And my salivary glands start to pump out more and more saliva to make sure that my mouth doesn't have the sour taste in it anymore.
SANDEN TOTTEN: So what have we got here?
JOHN IVERSON: We have some spinach greens.
SANDEN TOTTEN: And these taste what?
JOHN IVERSON: These are bitter, very bitter. And you get the sensation with bitter food sometimes that this isn't something that you should be eating. And it seems, to most scientists, reasonable that, before we had labels that said this is food, this is not food, that this was our bodies' way of saying what you're eating isn't going to be good for you.
SANDEN TOTTEN: Maybe that's why today kids don't like eating their vegetables. They're thinking maybe this is poison. I'm sure I've heard kids say that before.
JOHN IVERSON: I've heard my own kids say that. And believe me, as a parent, I'll tell you, you're not going to get away with it. You still should eat your greens.
SANDEN TOTTEN: All right, let's eat some greens.
JOHN IVERSON: OK.
MOLLY BLOOM: I'm not a huge fan of spinach, are you?
IAN ROBERTS: I'm not either.
MOLLY BLOOM: Should we do it anyway?
IAN ROBERTS: Sure.
MOLLY BLOOM: All right, ready? 1, 2, 3.
IAN ROBERTS: Bottoms up.
[CRUNCHING]
JOHN IVERSON: Mm-hmm. Right in the back of my mouth, I get the taste. On the tip of my tongue, I don't really taste the spinach very much at all.
IAN ROBERTS: I have to say dandelions are worse. Have you ever eaten a dandelion?
MOLLY BLOOM: No, what do they taste like?
IAN ROBERTS: It's just like bitter beyond belief. It's like coffee without the taste of coffee. It's just essence of bitter.
MOLLY BLOOM: Ish!
SANDEN TOTTEN: Let's move on to everybody's favorite, sweet. So you know what these are?
JOHN IVERSON: Dried pineapple.
SANDEN TOTTEN: And this tastes--
JOHN IVERSON: Very sweet.
SANDEN TOTTEN: Well, let's just jump right into it.
MOLLY BLOOM: Where are you tasting it?
IAN ROBERTS: The very middle of my tongue.
JOHN IVERSON: I like this taste a lot.
IAN ROBERTS: How about you?
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, me, too.
SANDEN TOTTEN: What happens when we eat sweet things?
JOHN IVERSON: You feel happy. You feel happy. Your tongue just, I would say, just erupts in this great, joyous, ah, I have sugar. I have things that I want in my mouth. I notice that you at much more of the pineapple than the spinach.
SANDEN TOTTEN: Well, you know, we all have our favorites.
MOLLY BLOOM: So what's your favorite sweet, usually?
IAN ROBERTS: Hmm. My favorite sweet thing. Well, being a kid, I'd have to say candy, now that Halloween was just over, you know? Sweet craving.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah. Did you eat all your Halloween candy already?
IAN ROBERTS: Oh, no.
MOLLY BLOOM: How long--
IAN ROBERTS: I usually, like, ration it, and it lasts me until January.
MOLLY BLOOM: That's pretty good.
IAN ROBERTS: Mm-hmm.
MOLLY BLOOM: Do you eat certain ones first?
IAN ROBERTS: Yeah, I usually like the tart things. I eat them first. And then I slowly work down to like a chocolate covered raisins that some crazy parent hands out.
MOLLY BLOOM: So you're not a fan of those?
IAN ROBERTS: No.
MOLLY BLOOM: But you eat them anyway?
IAN ROBERTS: Yeah.
JOHN IVERSON: Sweets are something that most children prefer. And as you get older, your sense of desire or wanting for sweet foods becomes less and less. As you get older, your tastes change. Why is that? Why do they change?
As you grow older, your body continually replaces cells, skin cells that die, also taste buds or taste cells that die. And some scientists believe that you don't replace as many as you get older. So you're not so concerned about the bitterness of foods. That's why more adults handle coffee than children. And also, perhaps, some of the sweet taste buds don't get replaced. And that would make sense that the adults don't crave the sweets as much as children do.
SANDEN TOTTEN: So kids and adults might actually have different tongues. That's why we like to eat different foods. Well, let's move on to salty.
JOHN IVERSON: We crave salt at times.
SANDEN TOTTEN: Why is that?
JOHN IVERSON: Our body loses salt every time we go out for a run and we sweat.
SANDEN TOTTEN: So our sweat is salty because it's full of salt?
JOHN IVERSON: Yeah. For our bodies to do all the things we want it to do-- to think, to jump, to sleep, We. Need salt in ourselves.
SANDEN TOTTEN: Let's try getting some salt back in ourselves. I got some chips here.
JOHN IVERSON: I can smell it, and I already know it's going to be salty.
[CRUNCHING]
MOLLY BLOOM: So you're a salty guy.
IAN ROBERTS: Oh, yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, I wonder if you like salt more because maybe you're, like, active. Because, like you was saying, you kind of lose a lot of salt--
IAN ROBERTS: Yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: --when you exercise?
IAN ROBERTS: I do actually jog. That's a hobby.
MOLLY BLOOM: So there you go. Maybe that's why you crave salt.
IAN ROBERTS: Mm-hmm.
SANDEN TOTTEN: What's the connection between saltiness and thirstiness?
JOHN IVERSON: Salt actually removes moisture from things. Salt dries things out so much that we want to replace the water in our mouth. We can't always do it with the saliva we have, and that's why we get thirsty.
SANDEN TOTTEN: Now, let's go on to the last taste here-- umami or savory.
JOHN IVERSON: Oh, looks like you brought some beef jerky for us for the savory taste.
SANDEN TOTTEN: Yeah, let's try it out.
IAN ROBERTS: Oh, very chewy.
MOLLY BLOOM: [GIGGLES]
IAN ROBERTS: That's good.
MOLLY BLOOM: While we're chewing, we'll hear what they say about it.
IAN ROBERTS: Sure.
JOHN IVERSON: I can know that this is nourishing, that it's something my body really does need.
SANDEN TOTTEN: Why does your body need beef jerky?
JOHN IVERSON: It doesn't necessarily need beef jerky. But the meat itself, the protein, this is the building block of a lot of our body. Our muscles in particular need the protein to keep doing what they're doing and to grow and grow bigger and stronger.
SANDEN TOTTEN: So if our bodies were a LEGO machine, the beef has proteins, which are like the little LEGO pieces we use to build a bigger and better machine.
JOHN IVERSON: That'd be correct, yeah.
KIDS: Brains on! [GIGGLING]
SUBJECT 1: Woo!
JOHN IVERSON: Brains On! Tasting.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, next, the Brains On! Players are here to tell us what happens to all this food once it's eaten.
IAN ROBERTS: Microphones, headphones, action.
MOLLY BLOOM: When you eat something, your body digests it. Digestion is how your body turns food like salads, sandwiches, and smoothies into vitamins, minerals, and proteins to help you grow. The first step in digestion is eating. So, time to eat.
SANDWICH: Uh-oh, here I go.
[CHEWING]
MOUTH: The sandwich is awesome!
SANDWICH: Hey, ouch! Ow, ow! Who are you? What's going on?
MOUTH: Me? I'm a mouth, and you are a delicious sandwich. So I'm chewing you up.
SANDWICH: Ow. Oof, hey. Why's gotta to be so hard when you chew and I'm all wet?
MOUTH: Ha! I see you are new to being eaten. Chewing is the first step in digestion. I use my teeth to mash you up into [CHEWING] little bits. Then I mixed you up with saliva to make you soft.
SANDWICH: Hey, watch it.
MOUTH: And when I've made you all nice and mushy, I can pass you off to the next stage of digestion by simply swallowing.
MOLLY BLOOM: Step two of the digestion process, swallowing. Swallowing is when the food you chewed goes down your throat.
SANDWICH: Oh, I'm falling!
ESOPHAGUS: Huah! Don't cry, little sandwich man. I've got you in my muscular grip.
SANDWICH: Who are you?
ESOPHAGUS: I am the esophagus. I'm a muscular tube in your throat, and I'm going to carry you from the mouth to the stomach.
SANDWICH: Where's that wind coming from?
ESOPHAGUS: That's the windpipe, but you don't want to go down there. You'll choke the body. And the body will cough you out. But don't worry, little sandwich man, the epiglottis will cover the windpipe hole so you will be safe on your way.
EPIGLOTTIS: Hey, yo, let me just cover that up. And you're good to go.
ESOPHAGUS: Thank you, epiglottis. OK, sandwich man, you ready to go down to the stomach?
SANDWICH: I guess so. I mean--
ESOPHAGUS: Have a nice swim. Ha, ha, ha. Huah!
MOLLY BLOOM: Step three in digestion, the stomach. The stomach is a sac inside your belly where food gets broken down into a messy liquid.
[WATER SPLASHING]
SANDWICH: It's all wet and warm in here.
STOMACH: Well, hello. Welcome to the stomach, baby. Relax, kick back, and enjoy the soothing vibes of my gastric hot tube.
SANDWICH: Oh, the water tingles.
STOMACH: Oh, yeah. That's because it's acid, baby-- stomach acid. And it's going to gently break you down into even smaller pieces. So just enjoy the ride.
SANDWICH: Ah! I feel like I'm melting.
STOMACH: It's nice, right? These acids are pretty powerful. And by swishing you around, I'm going to make you all loosey goosey. Well, it's time you be moving along, little fella. Next stop for you, the small intestine. Stay groovy.
SANDWICH: You, too, stomach.
MOLLY BLOOM: Step four, the small intestine. At this point, your sandwich has turned into a soup-like goo. In the small intestine, your body picks the vitamins and minerals it needs from that goop.
SANDWICH: Huh, it's dark in here.
SUBJECT 2: Pinch, pinch, pinch.
SANDWICH: Ow. Hey, ouch!
SUBJECT 2: Pinch pinch pinch.
SMALL INTESTINE: Hey, sorry, I'm just picking you dry.
SANDWICH: Ouch! Ouch! What?
SMALL INTESTINE: [GIGGLES] Yeah, I'm the small intestine, which is a funny name for me because I'm 22 feet long. I'm a tube coiled up inside the body. And my job is to pick all your nutrients and vitamins.
SUBJECT 2: Pinch pinch, pinch.
SMALL INTESTINE: Oh, and and look at all this protein you've got. You were once a chicken sandwich, weren't you?
SANDWICH: Yeah, I was a chicken sandwich. What are you doing with all my vitamins and proteins and stuff?
SMALL INTESTINE: Oh, it goes all over the place-- to the muscles, to the brain, to the whole body, actually.
SUBJECT 2: Pinch pinch, pinch.
We're going to build a better body using these parts from you.
SANDWICH: You're taking my everything. There'll be nothing left.
SUBJECT 2: Pinch.
SMALL INTESTINE: Oh, don't worry. There will be something left. And actually, it's time you head off to the next step of digestion-- my big brother, the large intestine.
MOLLY BLOOM: Step five, the large intestine. This is the body's last chance to soak up what it needs from food.
LARGE INTESTINE: Hey.
SANDWICH: Um, hey?
LARGE INTESTINE: I'm the large intestine. I'm also a long tube.
SANDWICH: OK, so what happens here?
LARGE INTESTINE: You're kind of a liquid mess at this point. I'm just going to absorb some of that water. And this might be kind of awkward.
SANDWICH: Awkward?
[SUCKING]
Hey, whoa! You're taking all the water away. I'm drying out.
LARGE INTESTINE: Yeah, the body needs your liquids. Come on, now. I'm going to leave you in the colon. That's the last part of the body you'll see.
MOLLY BLOOM: Step six, getting rid of waste. Some parts of the food you eat the body doesn't need, so it gets rid of it.
SANDWICH: The colon? You're just going to leave me here in the colon just like that?
LARGE INTESTINE: Not for long. Just wait. Door's about to open. Bombs away.
SANDWICH: Bombs away? What-- wait? What's that smell? Hold on, it's me. I'm a poooooo! And that, my dear is how digestion works.
MOLLY BLOOM: So all this food is making me hungry. Should we wrap this up?
IAN ROBERTS: Thanks for listening to Brains On!
MOLLY BLOOM: This episode was produced with help from Ian Roberts.
IAN ROBERTS: Chris Roberts.
MOLLY BLOOM: Mark Sanchez, Jackie Fuller.
IAN ROBERTS: Sanden Totten.
MOLLY BLOOM: Anna Weigel.
IAN ROBERTS: Jeff Horowitz.
MOLLY BLOOM: Derek Stevens.
IAN ROBERTS: Bucky Emerson.
MOLLY BLOOM: Greg Keenan.
IAN ROBERTS: Sam Keenan.
MOLLY BLOOM: Thanks, Ian. Thanks for coming in.
IAN ROBERTS: Yeah, I had fun.
MOLLY BLOOM: Awesome.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
KIDS: Brains on!
[CHEERS]
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