You hear and feel the crinkly paper come off the burger, you see the light brown bun and melting cheese, you smell the charbroiled beef, you taste the Whopper. But according to taste expert Sophie Hummer, you're tasting and smelling far less than you could be, and that impairs your ability to enjoy food. She works with experts and novices to coordinate taste evaluations of Brown-Forman products. We're informed mostly by sight, says Hummer. Little children learn about red, blue and green almost as soon as they can talk.
Nobody talks about it, nobody describes it.
If we did, we would enjoy eating a lot more. If we noticed aroma and flavor the way we notice hue, tint, shadows and light, the simplicity of a meal would become a rich aesthetic experience. By helping people learn to think about what they are smelling and tasting, Hummer helps them identify flavor, and ultimately helps them enjoy more what they are eating. Hummer can give us a rainbow palate. And learning to taste and smell better is so much fun, you can do it almost as a party game, at least with good friends or spouses.