WE CAN taste temperature as well as food—but only in unusual
circumstances, say scientists in the US. They have discovered that rapidly
cooling the tongue leaves a sour or salty taste in many people’s mouths, while
warming the tip of a cold tongue gives a sweet taste.
“It’s a very fundamental characteristic of the taste system, but the taste
system has evolved so this normally doesn’t intrude into our daily lives,” says
Barry Green of the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.
In a series of experiments, Green cooled the tongues of volunteers below the
normal body…
