6 ms·

I'm amazed at how often I hear "you can't taste the difference" with something that obviously tastes different. Its like a color blind person saying "you can't

by pawn 12y ago

I'm amazed at how often I hear "you can't taste the difference" with something that obviously tastes different. Its like a color blind person saying "you can't tell the difference between red and green" instead of "I can't tell the difference". I can taste the difference between and specify about a dozen types of animals. How in the world does anyone think I won't be able to tell a veggie patty or insect patty from any of them?

sanderjd 12y ago
I always think this about the soda taste tests, where people say they prefer Coca-Cola, but then prefer Pepsi in the blind taste tests, as if they couldn't taste the difference. They don't taste the same at all...
- zaphar 12y ago
  I've done the Coca-Cola vs Pepsi blind taste test. I could tell the difference. I've also seen other people fail the test when they swore they could tell the difference. The fact is some people can tell the difference and some people can't. Part of it is training if you devote some time to learning the differences in taste then you will gain some skill. I drink both of those colas roughly about the same amount so I've become acquainted with the taste differences. Part of it is genetics some people just have more sensitive palates than other. I do in general have a more sensitive nose than many of the others I know so that may be part of it as well. I would wager though that the majority of the population have neither trained nor have the sensitivity to tell the difference between a lot of things.
  - sanderjd 12y ago
    I meant my comment more as "as someone who can taste the difference between certain things, it's really hard to imagine what it is like for people who can't" than a general "I can't believe some people can't tell the difference between how some things taste!" I don't think people are lying or stupid or anything else, just that it's hard to imagine. The color-blindness analogy in another comment is apt I think - if you can see color differentiation, it's really hard to imagine not being able to.
    - zaphar 12y ago
      Ahhh I totally misread that then. :-)
      - sanderjd 12y ago
        No, I think I actually mis-wrote.
- DanBC 12y ago
  There's a couple of things going on. Those taste trsts normally give small sips of the drink. That changes the way you drink it, and that affects the flavour. They also tend to use colder drinks which also affects flavour.
- ripter 12y ago
  I did the taste test, mine was rigged. The Coca-Cola was warm and flat, the Pepsi was chilled and recently opened. The people who picked pepsi got swag, the people who picked coke did not. They didn't hide this at all, they would yell that pepsi was the winner every time someone picked it, and gave them cool stuff in front of everyone.
- HeyLaughingBoy 12y ago
  I probably couldn't consistently tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi in a blind test either, although I generally prefer Coke. However, I will immediately reject any diet soda as the taste of aspartame, which so many say is tasteless, is obvious and disgusting. Other sugar-free sweeteners are less offending, but I can generally taste the difference between HFCS/sugar and an artificial sweetener on the first sip. I suspect something similar is going on with other taste tests. Different people are sensitive to different flavor profiles.
  - derekp7 12y ago
    Not sure what it is, but I have the same reaction when it comes to diet sodas -- with the exception of Dr. Pepper. Not sure if it is the additional spices in it or not, but a number of times I didn't realize I was drinking the diet version.
    - HeyLaughingBoy 12y ago
      Dr. Pepper seems to have less aspartame. It's the only diet soda I can drink without gagging (though I'd still normally avoid it). I can still taste it, but it doesn't bother me as much. Pretty much a moot point since I don't drink much pop to begin with...
pmoriarty 12y ago
There's a difference between thinking you can tell the difference or convincing others that you can tell the difference, and actually being able to tell the difference. Nowhere is this difference more strikingly demonstrated than in the studies that have been done on wine tasting.[1] An example from the article: Hodgson isn't alone in questioning the science of wine-tasting. French academic Frédéric Brochet tested the effect of labels in 2001. He presented the same Bordeaux superior wine to 57 volunteers a week apart and in two different bottles – one for a table wine, the other for a grand cru. The tasters were fooled. When tasting a supposedly superior wine, their language was more positive – describing it as complex, balanced, long and woody. When the same wine was presented as plonk, the critics were more likely to use negatives such as weak, light and flat. [1] - http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/23/wine-tasting-junk-science-analysis http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/23/wine-tas...
- cryptophreak 12y ago
  I have no knowledge of or interest in the methodology of this particular study, but I can tell you my own experience: I can, under double-blind conditions, be given four different ages of The Macallan whiskey and correctly identify the year by taste.
- waterlesscloud 12y ago
  I keep seeing this kind of thing, but it goes directly against my personal observations. I've seen people blindly identify any number of wines, down to the exact vintage at times. There are people who can do this, I've seen it done.
  - msandford 12y ago
    That is literally what you have to do in order to be a sommelier. That's the whole test! If you can't do it, you don't pass. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sommelier http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sommelier http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2204371/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2204371/
    - 12y ago
jobu 12y ago
Every different brand of sausage patty tastes a little different regardless of the meat(s) used. The real difference with meat and veggie is the texture. Sometimes veggie patties lack umami, but many newer brands have even been able to fix that too. Based on my experience, it can be hard to tell if a patty is meat or veg if the quantities are small (too small to feel the texture difference).

by pawn 12y ago

sanderjd 12y ago

I always think this about the soda taste tests, where people say they prefer Coca-Cola, but then prefer Pepsi in the blind taste tests, as if they couldn't taste the difference. They don't taste the same at all...

zaphar 12y ago
I've done the Coca-Cola vs Pepsi blind taste test. I could tell the difference. I've also seen other people fail the test when they swore they could tell the difference. The fact is some people can tell the difference and some people can't. Part of it is training if you devote some time to learning the differences in taste then you will gain some skill. I drink both of those colas roughly about the same amount so I've become acquainted with the taste differences. Part of it is genetics some people just have more sensitive palates than other. I do in general have a more sensitive nose than many of the others I know so that may be part of it as well. I would wager though that the majority of the population have neither trained nor have the sensitivity to tell the difference between a lot of things.
- sanderjd 12y ago
  I meant my comment more as "as someone who can taste the difference between certain things, it's really hard to imagine what it is like for people who can't" than a general "I can't believe some people can't tell the difference between how some things taste!" I don't think people are lying or stupid or anything else, just that it's hard to imagine. The color-blindness analogy in another comment is apt I think - if you can see color differentiation, it's really hard to imagine not being able to.
  - zaphar 12y ago
    Ahhh I totally misread that then. :-)
    - sanderjd 12y ago
      No, I think I actually mis-wrote.
DanBC 12y ago
There's a couple of things going on. Those taste trsts normally give small sips of the drink. That changes the way you drink it, and that affects the flavour. They also tend to use colder drinks which also affects flavour.
ripter 12y ago
I did the taste test, mine was rigged. The Coca-Cola was warm and flat, the Pepsi was chilled and recently opened. The people who picked pepsi got swag, the people who picked coke did not. They didn't hide this at all, they would yell that pepsi was the winner every time someone picked it, and gave them cool stuff in front of everyone.
HeyLaughingBoy 12y ago
I probably couldn't consistently tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi in a blind test either, although I generally prefer Coke. However, I will immediately reject any diet soda as the taste of aspartame, which so many say is tasteless, is obvious and disgusting. Other sugar-free sweeteners are less offending, but I can generally taste the difference between HFCS/sugar and an artificial sweetener on the first sip. I suspect something similar is going on with other taste tests. Different people are sensitive to different flavor profiles.
- derekp7 12y ago
  Not sure what it is, but I have the same reaction when it comes to diet sodas -- with the exception of Dr. Pepper. Not sure if it is the additional spices in it or not, but a number of times I didn't realize I was drinking the diet version.
  - HeyLaughingBoy 12y ago
    Dr. Pepper seems to have less aspartame. It's the only diet soda I can drink without gagging (though I'd still normally avoid it). I can still taste it, but it doesn't bother me as much. Pretty much a moot point since I don't drink much pop to begin with...

pmoriarty 12y ago

There's a difference between thinking you can tell the difference or convincing others that you can tell the difference, and actually being able to tell the difference. Nowhere is this difference more strikingly demonstrated than in the studies that have been done on wine tasting.[1] An example from the article: Hodgson isn't alone in questioning the science of wine-tasting. French academic Frédéric Brochet tested the effect of labels in 2001. He presented the same Bordeaux superior wine to 57 volunteers a week apart and in two different bottles – one for a table wine, the other for a grand cru. The tasters were fooled. When tasting a supposedly superior wine, their language was more positive – describing it as complex, balanced, long and woody. When the same wine was presented as plonk, the critics were more likely to use negatives such as weak, light and flat. [1] - http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/23/wine-tasting-junk-science-analysis http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/23/wine-tas...

cryptophreak 12y ago
I have no knowledge of or interest in the methodology of this particular study, but I can tell you my own experience: I can, under double-blind conditions, be given four different ages of The Macallan whiskey and correctly identify the year by taste.
waterlesscloud 12y ago
I keep seeing this kind of thing, but it goes directly against my personal observations. I've seen people blindly identify any number of wines, down to the exact vintage at times. There are people who can do this, I've seen it done.
- msandford 12y ago
  That is literally what you have to do in order to be a sommelier. That's the whole test! If you can't do it, you don't pass. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sommelier http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sommelier http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2204371/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2204371/
  - 12y ago

jobu 12y ago

Every different brand of sausage patty tastes a little different regardless of the meat(s) used. The real difference with meat and veggie is the texture. Sometimes veggie patties lack umami, but many newer brands have even been able to fix that too. Based on my experience, it can be hard to tell if a patty is meat or veg if the quantities are small (too small to feel the texture difference).