Tastes  (part one)

In this post I’m going to concentrate on tastes, still not even food itself as food really is the last contender.

Taste is something not often discussed, anywhere really -it’s always about the food itself.
We always say ‘a little of what you fancy does you good and it’s true!

Sour  – Before we have a meal you’ll often find sour foods put on display, I’m thinking of olives, gherkins, and at Christmas time we used to have pickled walnuts, one can also add to this list, lemons and anything vinegary, all of these foods are sour. These foods have this particular taste which in turns reacts on us internally and helps to stimulate the digestion. The sour taste actually reacts on the liver and gall-bladder enabling the latter to release bile to help with the breakdown of food.

In the same way the taste and action of a little sherry before the meal also promote and stimulate hunger but as with anything, moderation is the key.  It is knowing when you’ve had enough. A friend once said to me having too much of something was like going ‘passed your bus stop’. I’ve always thought of that by having too much would be like getting off the bus beyond your bus stop and you’d have to walk back! Why would you want to do that?  By having too much sherry or something alcoholic, although can stimulate one’s appetite it can also make one heavy and bloated which is defeating the purpose completely. Remember all these foods etc are aiming too make one as hungry as possible before eating.

Bitter  is also a taste we don’t often think about. Bitter taste can be found in coffee, chicory, turmeric, dark chocolate, nettle and dandelion tea, bitter gourd and even melon.
This taste has rare qualities, I think that’s why dark chocolate has had such good press lately as the bitter taste can help to reduce water retention. Bitter even has properties of what one might call the three anti’s – qualities helping with antibiotic, anti-parasitic and antiseptic traits. All these tastes have a contradictory effect, everything should be consumed in moderation but too much bitter could agitate the heart and cause anxiety – at worst palpitations – maybe just the taste of one coffee a day or a nettle tea could be enough!

Sweet  – we all know sweet – probably today most of our food is drenched in hidden sugars and salts and our palate is losing the fine definition of these other lovely tastes and flavours. Even a squeeze of lemon over ones fish or suchlike meal will give you sour taste for the day.

It’s all about trying to get the five tastes everyday. By having the five tastes everyday one is nourishing all aspects of your internal organs.
We have spoken so far about sour, which reacts on the liver and gall-bladder and bitter an unusual taste but absorbed everyday without people probably knowing that they’re consuming it. This reacts on the energy of the heart that is why too much of the bitter taste can agitate.
This is to be continued in the next blog with the Sweet and the other two tastes  Pungent  and  Salty  completing the five tastes.
Here ends part one of ‘ Tastes ‘

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