--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Flavor is a combination of taste (sensory…" description: "\"“Flavor is a combination of taste (sensory input from the surface of the tongue) and smell, but mostly it’s the latter. Humans perceive five tastes—swe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/mary-roach-635_flavor_flavor-is-a-combination-of-taste-sensory_621862.jpg" --- # Flavor is a combination of taste (sensory input from the… ![“Flavor is a combination of taste (sensory input from the surface of the tongue) and smell, but mostly it’s the latter. Humans perceive five tastes—sweet, bitter, salty, sour, and umami (brothy)—and an almost infinite number of smells. Eighty to ninety percent of the sensory experience of eating is…” quote by Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/mary-roach-635_flavor_flavor-is-a-combination-of-taste-sensory_621862.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/mary-roach-635_flavor_flavor-is-a-combination-of-taste-sensory_621862.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/mary-roach-635_flavor_flavor-is-a-combination-of-taste-sensory_621862.jpg) > ““Flavor is a combination of taste (sensory input from the surface of the tongue) and smell, but mostly it’s the latter. Humans perceive five tastes—sweet, bitter, salty, sour, and umami (brothy)—and an almost infinite number of smells. Eighty to ninety percent of the sensory experience of eating is olfaction.”” [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Taste is largely determined by smell; most of what we experience while eating comes from olfactory input. **In simple terms:** Smell shapes most of our eating experience. Key Takeaway Pay attention to aromas for better flavor. Themes sensory perception taste smell food science Mood curious educational analytical Type informative scientific explanatory When to use this quote - cooking - wine tasting - food marketing - dietary choices Key Concepts olfaction gustation neuroscience Questions to Reflect On - How does scent influence your food choices? - Can you enhance meals by focusing on smell? A Different Perspective Aroma can be altered by environment, affecting perception. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“Time to try the palatant. I raise the cup to my nose. It has no smell. I roll some over my tongue. All five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/time-to-try-the-palatant-i-raise-the-cup-to-my-nose-it-has-no-smell-i/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [The words 'maybe' and 'perhaps' are literally the same - the flavor is the same, the educational level is the same. But you just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/the-words-maybe-and-perhaps-are-literally-the-same-the-flavor-is-the/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“I don't like it when the inside parts of you don't match up with what the brain part of you thinks. If there were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charise-mericle-harper/i-don-t-like-it-when-the-inside-parts-of-you-don-t-match-up-with-what/) [Charise Mericle Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charise-mericle-harper/) > [“Moeller came to AFB from Frito-Lay, where his job was to design, well, powdered flavor coatings for edible extruded shapes. “There are,” he allows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/moeller-came-to-afb-from-frito-lay-where-his-job-was-to-design-well/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [Eighty percent of flavor comes from your nose, including a set of internal nostrils. When you chew food and hold it in your mouth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/eighty-percent-of-flavor-comes-from-your-nose-including-a-set-of/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > ["There is no disputing about tastes," says the old saw. In my experience there is little else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/there-is-no-disputing-about-tastes-says-the-old-saw-in-my-experience/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [“In my mind’s eye I see her spread out in front of me, back arching as I taste her neck. She tastes amazing. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-wylder/in-my-mind-s-eye-i-see-her-spread-out-in-front-of-me-back-arching-as/) Penny Wylder > [Tastes are created by the business interests. How else can you explain the popularity of Al Hirt?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mingus/tastes-are-created-by-the-business-interests-how-else-can-you-explain/) [Charles Mingus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mingus/) > [And your skin, it tastes like me. I want to taste you everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larissa-ione/and-your-skin-it-tastes-like-me-i-want-to-taste-you-everywhere/) [Larissa Ione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larissa-ione/) > [When we're binging, we do not think about death. We just think about how good it tastes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-simmons/when-we-re-binging-we-do-not-think-about-death-we-just-think-about/) [Richard Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-simmons/) > [“Pistachio?” Sure, this place doesn’t have as many options as Della Palma, but there are at least twenty, the rest of them all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-rae/pistachio-sure-this-place-doesn-t-have-as-many-options-as-della-palma/) [Kristin Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-rae/) > [Desiring things widely different for their various tastes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/desiring-things-widely-different-for-their-various-tastes/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [I ask you what is the taste of your mouth all you can do is to say: it is neither sweet nor bitter, nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/i-ask-you-what-is-the-taste-of-your-mouth-all-you-can-do-is-to-say-it/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [Growing up, my dad drank a lot of wine, so I got a taste for, and learned how to enjoy it. He spoke a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-araya/growing-up-my-dad-drank-a-lot-of-wine-so-i-got-a-taste-for-and/) [Tom Araya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-araya/) > [“While taste conveys the complexity of life, a good chef should keep in mind that food can have a meaning that is often not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-m-kelby/while-taste-conveys-the-complexity-of-life-a-good-chef-should-keep-in/) [N.M. Kelby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-m-kelby/) ## More by Mary Roach > [“Rawson points out that although snakes can’t taste, they have a primitive sense of smell. They’ll extend their tongue to gather volatile molecules and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/rawson-points-out-that-although-snakes-can-t-taste-they-have-a/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“As the number of Inuit who hunt has dwindled, so has the consumption of organs (and other anatomy not available for purchase at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/as-the-number-of-inuit-who-hunt-has-dwindled-so-has-the-consumption/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [For the most part, if somebody approaches me and says, 'I'd like to interview you,' who am I to say no, when I spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/for-the-most-part-if-somebody-approaches-me-and-says-i-d-like-to/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [To me, death is dark, pain, grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/to-me-death-is-dark-pain-grief/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“If you look at survivable crashes, it’s rare that even half the emergency exits open,” says Shanahan. “Plus, there’s a lot of panic and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/if-you-look-at-survivable-crashes-it-s-rare-that-even-half-the/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“…he was doing a breath hydrogen test. If you know the amount of hydrogen someone is exhaling orally, it's a simple matter to extrapolate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/he-was-doing-a-breath-hydrogen-test-if-you-know-the-amount-of/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“Viagra isn't the only drug being prescribed off-label for women with arousal problems. Los Angeles urologist Jennifer Berman told me some doctors are prescribing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/viagra-isn-t-the-only-drug-being-prescribed-off-label-for-women-with/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [Sharing a room with a cadaver is only mildly different from being in a room alone. They are the same sort of company as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/sharing-a-room-with-a-cadaver-is-only-mildly-different-from-being-in/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [Every now and then, someone will tell me that one of my books has made them laugh out loud. I never believe them because:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/every-now-and-then-someone-will-tell-me-that-one-of-my-books-has-made/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“panel applicants at the initial screening were asked not only to describe the cat foods but also to rate them according to how much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/panel-applicants-at-the-initial-screening-were-asked-not-only-to/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“\* Kissing is a less aggressive form of bacterial transplant. Studies of three different gingivitis-causing bacteria have documented migration from spouse to spouse. Periodontically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/kissing-is-a-less-aggressive-form-of-bacterial-transplant-studies-of/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“Nirlungayuk reached a similar conclusion. I tracked him down, seventeen years later, and asked him what the outcome of his country-foods campaign had been.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/nirlungayuk-reached-a-similar-conclusion-i-tracked-him-down-seventeen/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [Astronauts are like these mythic legends, but really, they are just regular people, people who wear chinos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/astronauts-are-like-these-mythic-legends-but-really-they-are-just/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“Olive trees grow in the same climate and soil conditions as grapes. The olive oil people have been up in Napa Valley all along,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/olive-trees-grow-in-the-same-climate-and-soil-conditions-as-grapes/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“A patient on the way to surgery travels at twice the speed of a patient on the way to the morgue. Gurneys that ferry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/a-patient-on-the-way-to-surgery-travels-at-twice-the-speed-of-a/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) [Explore all 435 Mary Roach quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) ## More Flavor quotes > [The improved American highway system isolated the American-in-transit. On his speedway he had no contact with the towns which he by-passed. If he stopped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/the-improved-american-highway-system-isolated-the-american-in-transit/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [Balance is key in cooking - you want a little acid, a little sweet, a little savory - the flavors should be harmonious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-simmons/balance-is-key-in-cooking-you-want-a-little-acid-a-little-sweet-a/) [Gail Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-simmons/) > [And the flavor of Pippa's kiss--bittersweet and strange--stayed with me all the way back uptown, swaying and sleepy as I sailed home on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-the-flavor-of-pippa-s-kiss-bittersweet-and-strange-stayed-with-me/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [The Bushes were certainly part of Texas in their mind, but they didn't have the kind of political flavor that you normally find in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/the-bushes-were-certainly-part-of-texas-in-their-mind-but-they-didn-t/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [I like to abide by the seasons and let the natural flavor in food speak for itself. I use quick cooking techniques of high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-cora/i-like-to-abide-by-the-seasons-and-let-the-natural-flavor-in-food/) [Cat Cora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-cora/) > ["Serenity" is the flavor of meditation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/serenity-is-the-flavor-of-meditation/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I think too many times people can get rigid in life, put our blinders on, get locked into one way of thinking, and forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-smalley/i-think-too-many-times-people-can-get-rigid-in-life-put-our-blinders/) [Dave Smalley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-smalley/) > [I'm definitely an anomaly, but I'm making things. They're selling, say, martinis, and I'm kind of making vintage Riesling. People aren't going to sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-folds/i-m-definitely-an-anomaly-but-i-m-making-things-they-re-selling-say/) [Ben Folds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-folds/) > [Cutting pain was a different flavor of hurt. It made it easier not to think about having my body and my family and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/cutting-pain-was-a-different-flavor-of-hurt-it-made-it-easier-not-to/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [A lot of food criticism has a similar flavor to it, and I'm probably going to write about it in a different way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-kapranos/a-lot-of-food-criticism-has-a-similar-flavor-to-it-and-i-m-probably/) [Alex Kapranos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-kapranos/) > [Those who misrepresent the normal experiences of life, who decry being controversial, who shun risk, are the enemies of the American way of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wriston/those-who-misrepresent-the-normal-experiences-of-life-who-decry-being/) [Henry Wriston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wriston/) > [Love, like a chicken salad or restaurant hash, must be taken with blind faith or it loses its flavor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-rowland/love-like-a-chicken-salad-or-restaurant-hash-must-be-taken-with-blind/) [Helen Rowland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-rowland/) > [I add a lot of citrus to my food and I think that flavors it. And, to me, that what makes it healthier, lower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-cora/i-add-a-lot-of-citrus-to-my-food-and-i-think-that-flavors-it-and-to/) [Cat Cora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-cora/) > [I've been singing about love a long time now, because my kind of love carries a different flavor. My lyrics are not so outrageous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burning-spear/i-ve-been-singing-about-love-a-long-time-now-because-my-kind-of-love/) [Burning Spear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burning-spear/) > [I was too lazy to read, and I was even too lazy to imagine scenarios drawn up by the pictures. They just suggested a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-maddin/i-was-too-lazy-to-read-and-i-was-even-too-lazy-to-imagine-scenarios/) [Guy Maddin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-maddin/) Browse all 726 Flavor quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Flavor is a combination of taste (sensory input from the surface of the tongue) and smell, but mostly it’s the latter. Humans perceive five tastes—sweet, bitter, salty, sour, and umami (brothy)—and an almost infinite number of smells. Eighty to ninety percent of the sensory experience of eating is olfaction.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Roach" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/flavor-is-a-combination-of-taste-sensory-input-from-the-surface-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Flavor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/flavor-is-a-combination-of-taste-sensory-input-from-the-surface-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/mary-roach-635_flavor_flavor-is-a-combination-of-taste-sensory_621862.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/mary-roach-635_flavor_flavor-is-a-combination-of-taste-sensory_621862.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/mary-roach-635_flavor_flavor-is-a-combination-of-taste-sensory_621862.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Flavor is a combination of taste (sensory input from the surface of the tongue) and smell, but mostly it’s…” — Mary Roach", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mary Roach", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Flavor is a combination of taste...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/flavor-is-a-combination-of-taste-sensory-input-from-the-surface-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/flavor-is-a-combination-of-taste-sensory-input-from-the-surface-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```