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Questions tagged [taste]

Questions related to the crude analysis of a compound by identifying its taste.

Questions tagged are related to the chemical property of taste; Either in analyzing an unknown substance or for other uses. Not recommended for identifying an unknown chemical species due to crudeness and danger.

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Do all salts taste salty?

Recently, I am learning the production of soluble and insoluble salts. My friend and I have done this experiment at the school lab. We wanted to taste them to see whether they are salty are not. The teacher luckily stopped us from doing that. So…
Simon-Nail-It
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Does heavy water taste sweet?

In this YouTube video from Cody's Lab, Cody claims that heavy water tastes sweet. He does some fairly convincing comparisons but still expresses a little doubt that the effect is real. Has this been studied by others? Is the effect verified and if…
matt_black
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What causes that foul taste with combination of toothpaste and orange juice?

Ugh, I drank orange juice too soon after brushing my teeth and my mouth feels awful! What causes that foul taste with this combination of toothpaste and orange juice? Is it a reaction between the oil of wintergreen in the toothpaste and the citric…
Eliseo D'Annunzio
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Silver and milk (or milk products)

In the title I am refering to silver spoons, which, when used to consume milk products (like yogurt), get a weird taste. It could be described as umami/meaty, a little bit like onions. I came to the conclusion that it must be the silver, because…
Evgeni
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Why does meltwater taste different?

I've noticed that water obtained from melting ice cubes (by keeping them in the open) tastes different from water cooled to the same temperature. Furthermore, the taste goes away if you keep it in the open for a sufficient duration of time. I can…
ManishEarth
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Do L-sugars (enantiomers of natural sugars) have a sweet taste?

I'm wondering about how L-sugars taste. They are obviously not digestible by humans, but what do they taste like? If they are sweet, too, why isn't sucrose with the unnatural chirality used as a zero-calorie table sugar substitute?
user23965
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Why do green bell peppers become bitter when cooked?

Why do green bell peppers taste sweet raw, but become bitter when cooked (steamed)? What chemical process is responsible for this? I don't believe the temperatures are high enough for the Maillard reaction
MWB
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Why should space whisky taste different to Earth whisky?

I recently read an article about a vial of whisky being stored on the International Space Station for 3 years, and having its taste compared to a control sample stored on Earth. What could cause this difference in taste / chemical…
JohnLBevan
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Discrepancies between smell and taste

In my experience, most foods smell like they taste. Fragrant soaps, however, taste quite awful in comparison to their fragrances. How can some things smell and taste identical while others are so vastly different? I have a feeling this may have…
ringo
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Is Sweetwater, Missouri, named due to water contamination with lead compounds?

The town of Sweetwater, Missouri is known for its mineral resources, particularly rich lead sulfide (galena) deposits. I am curious to find the origin of the name "Sweetwater" and if it has any connection with lead compounds that at one time or…
docscience
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Is it the Na+ or the Cl- that gives table salt its taste?

What gives it that salty taste? I'm wondering if it's the $\ce{Na+}$ or the $\ce{Cl-}$. I know that $\ce{KCl}$ also tastes salty, and other salts have different flavours, but where does the saltiness in $\ce{NaCl}$ come from? I mean, it makes sense…
drunkBrain
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How is taste of chemical compounds determined?

How do we know the taste of compounds, and their smell too, when some of them are poisonous. My textbook had that Lead is sweet in taste, but it's poisonous. So, how exactly do we determine their taste and odour of such compunds?
Yashasav Prajapati
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Why does opened wine develop the sour taste and smell of vinegar?

An opened bottle of wine developed into a sour taste and smell of vinegar. Why?
Kaushee
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Can plastic leak into water from a HDPE "2" plastic container at room temperature?

Here in USA supermarkets often sell water in plastic 1 gallon jugs. These jugs seem to all be stamped with the text "HDPE" (meaning that the material is High-density polyethylene) and a resin number of "2" on the bottom. I had one of these jugs,…
user13112
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Why do many organic halogen compounds smell or taste sweet?

Is it just coincidence that many organic halogen compounds (especially chlorinated ones) tend to either taste or smell sweet? Examples include dichloromethane, vinyl chloride, chloroform, and sucralose. This chart also shows that many low-carbon…
user51326
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