Savor the Moment: The Peculiar Connection Between Taste and Memory
Embark on a fascinating journey exploring the intriguing link between taste and memory. Discover how the flavors savored in a moment can etch themselves into our minds, creating lasting impressions that transcend time and space.
Bryan Voltaggio’s philosophy on cooking routed in brain function
Make original dishes that still carry all of the emotional weight of the classic foods used as inspiration
- The goal is to create a memorable experience that connects the diner to the diner, and also to a time or place or memory
The Biology of Taste and Smell
Taste and smell are both senses that react to chemicals in food, and the oral and nasal cavities are directly connected, so it’s no surprise that the two senses are closely linked
- Flavor is a sensation that uses many senses at once – an amalgam of taste, texture, temperature, and smell
- Humans have 450 different types of smell receptors, each of which can detect slightly different smell molecules
Remembrance of Flavors Past
Smell’s role in flavor is the reason that food has such a strong potential for calling up memories.
- If you become sick after consuming a particular type of food, that flavor can cause disgust or nausea every time you try to eat it again.
- Our brains mitigate this risk through the long storage of emotional memories.