Tastebuds alone can detect only sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Probably 80 percent of what you eat, you appreciate through your sense of smell. That's why if you have a cold, you could mistake a bite of onion for apple.
Authorities agree that tastebuds have high survival value.
Kneeling, he crams berries into his mouth. Sweetness marks glucose, a good source of energy. Ten feet away, Foremother makes a face and spits. The root she just sampled tastes bitter, a characteristic of many poisons. She moves over to the berries.