From the Latin gustus , taste is the bodily sense that allows one to perceive chemical substances dissolved in saliva. This sense gives the sensation of taste, which can be divided into four main types: sweet (like sugar), salty (salt), acid (citrus) and bitter (beer). Some theorists acknowledge the existence of a fifth flavor: umami.
Taste is linked to smell, since the smell of food affects the perception of taste. That is why when a person has a cold, they usually feel that food is tasteless (tasteless).
The sense of taste helps digestion: by receiving a pleasant sensation, the secretion of saliva and gastric juices is stimulated, key elements for digesting food. The taste buds found on the tongue are the main promoter of the sense of taste.
By extension, the taste of things is known as taste. For example: “I love the taste of pickled pepper” , “I will not buy this cake again: its taste is too sweet, it makes me cloying” , “Could you pass me the salt? This salad has almost no taste . "
The pleasure that is experienced for some reason or that is received from a certain stimulus and the will or determination are also known as pleasure: “I am very glad that you are here with us” , “It was a pleasure to have met you” , “Roberto liked It was nice that we invited him to dinner ” .
Let's start by looking at good taste. It is an appreciation that varies according to social and cultural conventions, but also according to the particular customs of each person. It is known that in some parts of the world it is normal to touch food directly with your hands, without using cutlery; transferring this custom to Western countries would be very difficult, since it is a situation that is opposed to the concept of good taste that has been imprinted on the unconscious of its inhabitants for generations.
Similarly, finding yourself in a country with such customs and refusing to act like others can be considered rude. Human beings are not always aware that normality is part of a structure created by other people, and not of nature itself. Good taste is subject to the needs and convictions of each one, as well as its limit: bad taste.
For a coroner, examining a corpse in a state of decomposition while drinking his coffee and eating a croissant may seem the most normal and everyday combination in the world; however, the mere visualization of such a painting can be a scene from a nightmare for a person outside of medicine.
Taste also represents the set of activities that attract a living being and that does not seem to choose. For example, when you first taste your (future) favorite food, something happens inside you that leads you to label it as such and try to consume it whenever you can for the rest of your life. This happens to all animals, and it is also appreciated during leisure moments: each dog finds a particular game especially fun, as much as we do, and there is nothing we can do to avoid it. As long as a taste does not deprive another being of its freedom, it should not be questioned or sanctioned by anyone.