One of the most powerful influences on our taste buds and preferences is how we perceive and interact with different foods. It's amazing how we can be attracted to one food, but repulsed by another food that's exactly the same.
For me, I love bananas and think they're delicious... until I try them again 6 months later. At that point, I find them absolutely gross. My opinion of bananas hasn't changed even after going on a two-week diet that included no fruit at all. Even though the two bananas I had on that diet were exactly the same, I still couldn't stomach them.
These taste differences are based on chemical compounds called "flavor molecules" that influence our perception of food. Understanding these compounds and why they affect our perceptions is the first step towards mastering the science of taste.
To figure out how these compounds are affecting our perceptions of food, I started analyzing the components of different foods using gas chromatography.
By separating compounds and then identifying them through mass spectroscopy, I was able to determine which food has the greatest concentration of flavor compounds and how they affect us.
I prefer older bananas