Ninth International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

Traditionally, in the medical health context taste is seen as having a gatekeeper function. The idea is that our ability to taste helps us to avoid uneatable or potentially toxic food and on dysfunctional sense of taste. There is a focus on diseases and treatments that reduce the function of taste buds. However, our ability to taste has a much wider function than avoiding illness. It is also the precondition for experiencing food deliciousness and pleasure, which is even as important in a health promotion context. In this paper, we demonstrate a way in which the taste of food can be systematically described, including a system of seven taste dimensions, all of which are important in the context of using food for prevention and treatment of diseases and health promotion. In our research, we have identified seven dimensions of taste, and we have developed an empirically based theory of the system of taste dimensions. The aim is to support the understanding of the importance of food tastiness for health promotion, and to develop a research-based vocabulary of taste in order to strengthen the professional communication of food among health professionals.