ANDRZEJ KRAUZEThe season to chow down at parties, surrounded by delicious smells, is behind us. But a leftover candy cane can give you a surprising peek into how the human brain helps process those delectable flavors.
Take a deep breath and pinch your nose shut. Bite into the candy as you hold your breath, and then breathe out. Experience how the minty flavor only emerges when you exhale—not when you take that first bite.
When you chew, volatile compounds are released in the mouth and, upon exhaling, carried up into the back of the nose. Here, they bind to odor receptors, which send a signal to the brain. Combined with sensory input from taste buds, and sensations of temperature and texture from other receptors, that back-of-the-nose smell, known as retronasal olfaction, creates what we perceive as flavor.
“There’s a whole world created by retronasal smell that we’re totally unaware of when we’re eating. When we experience a flavor, we think it’s ...
